After four years and four failed attempts, the fifth attempt was successful. We are officially Registered with the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago as a non-profit Company. This was done without any legal help, only by asking the Lord in prayer and obedience to the answers He gave.
I tell this story as a testimony to the Lord’s ability to do whatever He wants without man’s business ways. I hope the testimony will bless and encourage you as you read it.
This is no small accomplishment. The first two refusals came in years 2008 and 2009 when the name Sanctuary for Children was not approved by the government. The officials said the name did not fit the requirements of the laws for non profit status in Trinidad. They told us to choose another name and try to get approved. The Lord was clear to me that we already have the ministry name He gave us, Sanctuary For Children. We are already covered by a non profit 501c3 status in the United States and recognized by that name. The Lord was clear to me, government rejection or not, that is the only name we should register in Trinidad. Two more refusals of the name came in 2011.
The successful registration process was finally signed and approved by the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on November 4, 2011 due to the faith, persistence and obedience of Rosie Samaroo, our main contact in Trinidad. Rosie started this process earlier in 2011 and was sure that we should be legally registered as a non profit. I knew that registration was an essential step in actually building the children’s homes that will come later, but I did not see it as essential to this current phase of child evangelism. However it will make things easier. The Lord knows best when this and that should be done. I did not encourage Rosie, nor did I discourage her, I just supported her in the Lord leading her to do this and Rosie was strongly led. Rosie is not deeply experienced or skilled in legal or business matters. She is just now trying to learn to use a computer, but she has the faith of a child that if the Lord wants something done, it will be done.
In order to not discourage Rosie, I did not tell her the government had already decided not to approve the name Sanctuary For Children even when we had asked twice before. Rosie attempted to register twice again in 2001 and the name was refused two more times, making four refusals from the same government office. Rosie prayed each time to go on the day the Lord led her, to the exact person the Lord led her and the the third time for Rosie was the fifth time for the ministry but the name was approved by the same office that had rejected it four times before. Rosie was obedient and the Lord got it done.
Once the name was approved, we then began the lengthy and complex legal process of legal registration of non profit status. We used no attorney even though there are over 600 pages of Trinidad law relevant to the process. We asked the Lord to give us the answers in prayer. The Holy Spirit was our counselor. What was given to us in prayer we put into writing. We submitted what was written having no professional understanding as to the legal meaning of what was submitted. The papers submitted made sense to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and now we are covered under non profit status in both the US and Trinidad. It will help tremendously in the process of the work of Child Evangelism and later in building the Orphanages.
Please do not discount this as anything but a miracle of the Lord;
-to successfully navigate the complex legal process taking many months
-in another country
-without an attorney helping here or there
-no legal fees
-no business person in Trinidad, only Rosie.
This success is only the miraculous work of the Lord.
I think Rosie must have made 20 or more trips taking most of a day to the capital Port of Spain far from her home. Jonathan and I spent many hours trying to understand the laws of another country and how to complete the forms to meet the legal requirements. As usual, I had no earthly skills or wisdom in how to achieve this success in another country much less in the US, but answers were clearly given in prayer as promised by the Lord in Jeremiah 33:3 and James 1:5.
Praise to the Lord, Lee
November 4th 2011
