Company progress

We have received an email about an hour ago that says our forms we submitted for company formation are lacking some information and we have 14 days to get it corrected or we need to start the process again. We are waiting to hear from our accountant in India as to what needs to be done but it is currently 6:15am over there so he is probably not at work yet. It appears we may be able to make corrections online but I am not sure of this. Hopefully we don't need to get any papers attested again as this will be hard over the new year and costly. We shall sit back and see what happens.

When there's little else to do

Mr Batra

We have made our first verbal contact with our accountant, Mr Batra, in India. David decided to call him the other day because we had not heard from him for a while and he had usually been so good at responding quickly.

It turns out that they are in the process of changing offices to a new address so had been a bit out of action. The good news is that all our papers are down in Bangalore and he expects the company should be incorporated before the end of the year. Woo hoo!

It was great to speak to him and to find that his English is very easy to understand. He seems to be a really lovely man. It was quite sweet because he calls David "Mr David".

I really feel like the count down is on now. It is very exciting.

Last N.Z Christmas for a while

Yesterday was Christmas day and probably the last one we will have in New Zealand for a while.

We spent Christmas eve over at my sister in laws and they cooked us a great pork roast, very yummy, complete with cooked to perfection crackling, Mmmm.

Christmas morning started out with coisonts and coffee while we were still at my sister in laws.

We then headed over to my parent places where we had the mass gathering of my mothers side of the family. It comprises of Grandparents, parents, aunties, uncles, cousins, second cousins etc. It was a great time to see everyone and some of which I may not see again before we head to India. We had a yummy turkey dinner washed down with a nice glass of wine, straw berries and ice cream and way too much food.

After everyone left we had about an hour and a half to clean up and reset everything ready for my Dads side of the family. We had a big ham and salad for this event and again it was good to catch up with our extended family.

At the end of the day we were very satisfied and very exhausted. What a day!

It was hard to comprehend that we will not be doing this again next year. I am sure we will be in for a very different Christmas next year.

Thanks giving banquet

Last night at church we had a fabulous and somewhat chaotic thanks giving banquet. It was fun to decorate tables and enjoy a big feed with friends.

There was a time for people to come and share how they are thankful and it was great to hear what has been happening in peoples lives.

Some people took the opportunity to thank us as a family and to be honest I didn't quite know how to respond. I am going to find the whole farewell thing quite awkward I think. I am not sure if I should smile, laugh, or cry and part of me wants to hide in a hole and not be center of attention and yet I also want to honor my friends. I have such wonderful friends and I don't think anything I say or do will do justice to how I feel about them. I think I will end up being a bit of a blubbering mess in the end. My problem is that I do not look attractive at all when I cry and when I do cry I tend to sob and not just do dainty girl cries. Some people seem to be able to still look great even when crying (just a glistening tear down the cheek) but this is not something I have been blessed with. I am a self professed ugly crier :) I also loose all ability to speak.

My friend Lana organised a New Zealand flag to be signed by the church. It really is so special and it will be something we cherish in India. You guys rock!

My eldest and youngest daughter were part of the worship team and did so well. i was very proud of them both. Sam sang and danced while Daya led the worship time. Here is a snippet of them:
Daya and Sam in worship

Our wee flat

The contract is now unconditional and we will take in a bank cheque to our lawyer tomorrow and then settlement is on the 23rd.

I have felt a bit stressed today because I lazed around in the morning and thought we would get the bank cheque made out when after we went to the movies with Tim and Xenia. The movie 'Avitar' was really good and could be the topic of a whole new post but I shall refrain. The point is that it was 3 hrs long and by the time we got out from the movie and I realised I had left behind the amount the bank cheque needed to be made out for, the bank was closed. I need to take the cheque to our solicitor tomorrow at 9:30. The banks open at 9am so I will need to get down there pronto.
I really don't like doing things last minute but what can I do now? I will just be pleased when it is all settled and another thing to cross off the list.

Wow! we have been so blessed.

What's up with the business in Inida?

There are times when being so far away and not knowing exactly what is happening can be a little hard. It is not stressful but I do at times wonder just where things are at. All our Docs for company formation are in India now and we are just waiting. Our Accountant wanted an office address in Bangalore because you need this for incorporation, this is a bit difficult for us because without a business we cannot get one. It's a bit of a catch 22. Our accountant is going to organise a virtual office for us so apparently that is acceptable. I have not heard back from him to see if he has done it yet. I may actually send him an e-mail now just to see what stage we are at and how long he predicts things will take from here. It's not that we need to rush but it would be nice to know a time frame we are working towards. It will aslo give us an idea then of when we may be able to start visa applications.

Life in the caravan is so much fun

Investment property

After the sale of our house, we made a good amount of money even once we had paid off our mortgage. It has been enough to buy a two bedroom block and tile unit freehold. It is all but a done deal. Fortunately for us but not so fortunate for the vendor, he has to sell due to financial difficulty. It had been on the market for quite a while due to the fact that the tenant was being difficult and not letting anyone through the property. After letting then vendor know we were cash buyers that wanted to buy before Christmas and after letting the tenant know that if she would co operate we would might her stay on, we were the first people able to view the property. We also got some pre purchase advice from a property manager and she seemed to think it was worth looking at.

We were very happy with what we saw and have put in an offer. The price has been agreed on and the only clause now is the vendors bank releasing the mortgage because he is in financial trouble. The settlement date is the 23rd Dec if all goes to plan. Yay!

The great thing about this flat is that it will be freehold so anything we make in rent, minus taxes, rates and management fees will be income for us in India. We also have a lump sum left over after the flat is paid for to tie us over until our company gets up and running in India. God really is so amazing!

Hot hot hot

The weather has been so hot the last few days and I'm loving it. I am beginning to relax and adjust to the fact that I don't have much to do.

People have been so extremely generous to us. It seems that people feel sorry for us because we are in the caravan and have been asking us over for dinner or providing food. I have not cooked since we left home. The truth is that we are loving the caravan and loving being parked up at the church. We have everything and more than we need but we still appreciate every ones giving and generous hearts. We would hate to deprive them of their chance to give:)

I got to do washing at the laundromat the other day. I felt like I was in an American sitcom.

Tonight we are heading to the beach with the Coop family and grabbing some fish and chips on the way. I am looking forward to it. Nice to hang with good friends and eat Kiwi food while we can.

Doc on way back to India

I posted our documents for company incorporation off yesterday. It should take about 4-5 days before they get them in India and then 12-14 days for incorporation providing the documents are completed properly. This means that possibly within 3 weeks we could have our company sorted and then we can apply for Visas. Yay!!

Emotions

I have found that the thought of something happening and the expectation of saying goodbye has been worse than the actual goodbyes. Even Danielle said to me that she found it easier leaving our home than she thought it would be.

There have been a few wobbly voices as I talk to some friends and family about us leaving. I guess it is the thought that some family who are unwell or who are getting older may not be here when we come home for visits. I am just so pleased that we have such clear direction of what we are doing because sometimes the heart strings get plucked and the lump in the throat rises. This does not diminish the fact that I am really excited to go to India. I can't wait to step into our inheritance.
The tears and goodbyes are just something we are going to have to go through. I know it will be worth it in the end.

Papers in Wellington

Because we didn't have enough to do on the day we were moving out of our house, we received our papers for formation of Nski network Technologies back from N.Z internal affairs. Each paper was "bundled" with a blue ribbon and a red formal seal. It all looks very professional. They are now down in Wellington at the Indian consulate for consularisation. We should have them back mid week and then we send them back to India. I am not sure if we need to do any further paper signing after this or if this will be the final stage of incorporation. I guess we will see soon. We have signed a paper to give our chartered accountant in India the power of attorney. This means he can sign on our behalf without needing to send everything over here.

NZ Monsoon

As I write we are camped up in our caravan down at the church building and the rain is pelting down. At one stage it was getting close to the door. New Zealand's version of a monsoon. It's actually quite exciting. We are just so grateful to be allowed to park down here. Maybe we will end up floating away like Noah's ark.

All the kids are asleep, baby is in the cupboard. We are officially out of the house and no longer own it. After a few weeks of full on cleaning, painting, selling etc, we now have time to breathe. I went back and did a last spot of cleaning today and then this afternoon the settlement happened. God has been so amazingly wonderful to us. Thanks also to my parents for having the boys for the day and for showering them.

There was a movie and sausage sizzle for the kids down at church. We snuck out to the caravan with Doug and Erin and had a celebratory glass of bubbly. It was a great way to put a full stop on the era of our house and to realise that life is still the same no matter where we are. It was lovely to share that time with them.

Jeff and Sonya have been great, we have stored our boxes up at their place until we go and we have shared a few meals and good times with them during our busy times. We so appreciate you. We have such amazing friends.

We have had endless offers of places to shower and wash our clothes. People are so generous. I am not too worried about showers. As long as we have running water, we can get clean.

As you can see, the children are enjoying themselves in the caravan.

Bye bye Coffee

Yesterday we said goodbye to Coffee. Not the steaming hot cuppa you may be thinking of but our dog. He really was a great dog and very much part of the family. The nice thing about this farewell is that he has gone back to the Setu family where he lived for the first year of his life. We think he remembered them all, especially his play mate Motzart (another dog) that he grew up with. The two of them frolicked in a way that two boys shouldn't but it's great to know he is happy and back with a family that love him.

The kids did really well and found it easier than they thought they would.

We have had contact from the lady who took our cat Budster. She rang at first to say he had run away on the first day she had him but then rang again to say he was back and she is keeping him in doors for two weeks.

The last few days in our house

I am feeling ready to move on from our house now. I have purposely chosen to say house rather than home because our home will be wherever we happen to be. I have great memories in the house with family and friends. Two of my babies were born here but it still doesn't make it home. My family is what makes it home and that is what is important to me.

We just have a few odd things to sort and then give the place a good clean but I am truly ready to move on. We plan on sleeping in the caravan from tomorrow so tonight will be our last sleep in this place.

David's Mum has just been up from Christchurch for the weekend. She is a wonderful lady and didn't mind living amongst the boxes and eating on the floor. Her health has taken a bit of a turn and she is going to need to start Dialysis due to kidney failure. It has been hard for David because his Dad has Alzheimer's and it may be that with his Mum's health not being so good that they need to look into long term care. I think it does pull the heart strings when you are leaving parents that could really do with your help. Fortunately they are sharing a section with David's brother and his wife. They have been amazing and we are so grateful to how well they keep an eye on Mum and Dad. It does give us peace of mind that we are not completely abandoning them. David's sisters are also very good and we know they will all look after them.

No apostille this time

Well it seems we cannot bypass the Indian consulate so I have sent our docs to the Internal Affairs today and once they have issued their authentication certificate we can send it into the Indian consulate. The New Zealand side seem to think we can bypass the process but the Indian side seems to think otherwise. I would rather go through the red tape now than be back at square one and repeating the process if the Indian side rejected our docs. All up, it is costing about $500 just to get our papers signed and authorised to get our company incorporated, it's not worth having to pay again.

Next step in the Business world

We now have some documents that have been signed by a Notary of the public yesterday towards our business being incorporated in India. He seems to think we have a treaty with India that should bypass needing to send the documents from Internal affairs to the Indian consulate for consularization. It's something called an apostille certificate that can be issued by Internal affairs. It would be one less time factor and less expense if we could bypass it. I am just waiting to hear back from our Chartered accountant in India to double check on it. I am hoping to hear from him today so we can get them sent off tomorrow. If we don't hear from him soon I think we shall take the consulate route to be sure.

In New Zealand we have heard back from all but one school who want to carry on contracts next year. Some schools also want to extend their hours with the option of hiring Doug at a lower rate. It is all looking quite good so far.

Zo Zo has gone :(

The weekend was full of joy and sadness. The sad part was that Zoe went back to India. Although we will see her in a few months it was sad to see everyone else so sad. She is such a special friend to our family and I know it will last a life time. She also left behind Sean her most special friend so it was sad to see them parting even though it wont be forever.

I think our kids were extra upset because their emotions of leaving are just under the surface. Watching Zoe leave and seeing all the farewell hugs and tears scratched that surface so I think their emotions were heightened. I just need to keep a close watch on them all and give them permission to let the tears flow if they need to.

The happy thing was that Daya received an amazing prophetic on Sunday that again confirmed what we are doing. It was so encouraging for her and the rest of us. Have a listen if you want:

Baring it all

Things are really looking on the bare side now. Pictures are off the wall, beds are all gone bar one. All furniture sold or have found a home. Just a few more deliveries of stuff to various people and then we will almost be a shell we are living in. I like it!!

Today I have wrapped and boxed the few treasures we are taking over, they fit into one box so that was a good score. We had sold our couch to a friend of the lady who bought our house (does that even make sense?)but he rang to say he can't take it any more. It turned out to be a good thing for us because we sold it for double the amount he was going to pay.

Bye bye puss

Yesterday was a bit of a sad day but also happy. It was happy in the fact that we found a home for our cat Budster and sad because there were many tears as we said goodbye. It was Danielle's cat so she felt it the hardest and Daya was trying to keep tough but I could tell it was hard. I was not overly fond of our cat but I must admit that I did have a cry because I felt for the kids and I think I might miss him a bit. Even my Mum couldn't hold the tears in and she definitely didn't like our cat.

Levi decided to comfort Dani. He said " It's Ok Dani, we are going to give away Coffee (our dog) too." Thanks for that Levi, nothing like pouring salt into the wound.

NSKI NETWORK TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED.

There it is. I just found out this morning that we have our company name approved. This is so exciting and one more step towards the incorporation of our company in India. We now have a bundle of papers to get notorised and then sent on to the Indian consulate for stamping. Once that is done we can get the last process of incorporation done. This has been estimated to take about three weeks.

News flash

I now have my DIN (directors identification number) and we both have our digital signatures. Yay! Now it is time to register the company name. This has been predicted to take about a week at the most. They are asking for a registered address in Bangalore but we do not have one yet so am waiting to hear back from the accountant we are planning to use in Bangalore to see if we can use his address at the moment. I am not sure if this will hold up the process.

The house that Ben told us about does not appear to be available to us. We sent them an e-mail and they said no. They would prefer to sell rather than rent it out. We wont give up on it though as it sounds ideal, we'll just pray that God will make it available if that's where he wants us.

We had a good chat with Tony and Linda last night. They are looking into the possibility of us renting a place close to where we will be in Delhi. It sounds like a great place but we need to see if the owner would be prepared to rent it out short term.
It was nice to be able to chat as friends and have some laughs. I almost wished we were there having a coffee with them. Not long now and it will be a reality.

Getting bare

Our stuff is exiting the house at lightening speed. Our fridge, dishwasher, TV, drawers x6, boys bunks, toy box and filing cabinet were all picked up yesterday. The house is getting that hollow sound. The boys wanted to go to bed early because they are camping out in their room on some squabs from our caravan. Most of the things have gone from their room. It is going to be easier to keep it tidy now :) I can hear the squeals of joy from the room as I type, not a sound I should be hearing while they are sleeping mind you but hey, better than crying over their bunks going.

We have clothes all over the place due to drawers being sold. I have started to sort them into piles of keep handy, box ready to ship over and give away. The give away pile is definitely winning.

We still need to finish off a couple of jobs in our flat for the new owners. My Mum and I put lino tiles down in the bathroom the other day. It is not a professional job and does look better if you look from a distance. The house is all painted now so I can cross that off the list.

We are still no closer to our business formation in India since the last time I blogged. Still playing the waiting game in that area.

It is feeling very real now and David said he felt a tinge of sadness today at church. The sadness does not take away from our longing to go but it would be silly to say there were not emotions involved.

We are wondering if we may ask our friends and family if we can say I final farewells before the airport. As much as we want to see everyone to the last possible minute I think it may be too much for everyone to cope with, especially the kids. I would like the airport to be a time where we can focus on the adventure ahead of us. We'll see nearer the time.

Green lights all the way.

Right down to the finest details we seem to be getting the green light go ahead.
I decided to look on trademe for some suit cases so we can start packing our few belongings that we will take. I found one for $10 so I was really happy. The pick up was on the North Shore and I was happy to make a trip to buy it but the guy e-mailed me to see if it would be more helpful for us to pick it up from his work. His work happens to be in Mt Wellington (where we live). Yay!
My auntie also has some suit cases for us that she says we can have for free.

I also got another good deal on some packing boxes with bubble wrap and white wrapping paper. They cost about $6-8 from the moving companies but I have got them for $1.30 each item. I am so chuffed.

So proud of my kids

I was just reading over my earlier blogs on how we had been introducing curries and a bit of chilli to the children's diet. I used to only put the tiniest amount of chilli in and the kids would be taking a mouthful of food then some drink and plenty of huffing and puffing. After remembering those meal times about 6 months ago and comparing them to the dinner we had tonight, I am astounded. I am so proud at the way the kids are adapting. They are no longer bothered about the chilli that I have been slowly increasing and instead of complaining about having a curry, they get excited and go on about how good it smells as it is cooking. I think the kids are turning Indian little by little. I expect to see their hair getting darker soon.

Whirlwind

It's been a while since I last blogged because things have been happening so fast and there is so much to do.

The house is now sold!!!! It has been absolutely amazing because it was only on the market for 2 weeks exactly. We now have three and a half weeks to get out. This means we need to sell our stuff and sort out what we will take with us to India. We do not plan on taking much, in fact just about the clothes on our backs and a couple of personal items. We have some things we are selling on trade me and other things that friends have made a claim on. I feel like I have been picked up in a whirlwind except that it is not chaos because everything is falling into place so beautifully.

We now have David's Full Directors identification number, I have had to reapply due to my proof of address not being adequate but it should be done in a couple of days. We also have our digital signatures done. Once my DIN is approved we can then get a company name approval done and then incorporate. Once we have our business incorporated we can then apply for our Visa's.

I have so much more to write about but I need to get some other stuff done. So in a nutshell, that's where we are at.

Home in Bangalore?

Our friend Ben has just come back from Bangalore and while he was there he found a 6 Bdrm house right where we want to live. The owners actually wanted to sell the house but the asking price is so high that no one is able to buy it. They are thinking of renting it out for Rs15,000 per month. That is about $455 NZD per month. Wow! Ben thinks we would love the place and he has found a place for them a few doors down.

Hopefully we are going to be sent some photo's of the place. It is not flash but Ben thinks we would like it. It is apparently an old villa owned by the YWCA. Vinu said it is very Indian and that's what I am after. We could start paying the rent before we get there and that way know we have a place to go to when we arrive.

Ben and Vinu came and had dinner with us last night, we did an impromptu chinese takeaways night.
Ben brought back some coffee from Bangalore. It was from Cafe coffee day, India's starbucks equivalent. He also brought us some yummy Indian snacks. We love these guys so much and are so pleased they are going to be coming to Bangalore with us.

Timing timing timing

I am still being constantly blown away with how things are falling into place in an incredible way.
We had the builder come to fix our floor and ceiling in the flat yesterday and the job has ended up being a bit bigger than expected and we required a plumber. I was already amazed at how we were able to get a builder so quickly but when we needed a plumber quickly (because the builder couldn't do his work until the plumber had been) I thought it may slow things up. Plumbers normally don't come for a day or two. I found one who came within the hour. He was even amazed we had him there so quick. Now that's not all, he decided to pop in this morning to see how the builder was doing and just happened to walk in at the exact time the builder finished the floor and the next lot of plumbing was needed. What can I say?

We are awaiting to hear the final verdict on the house offer sometime today. The building inspector found a few issues so it will be interesting to see what happens. At least I feel we will be selling the house with nothing concealed and hidden.

We have an open home tomorrow so it will be good to have a new floor down and the ceiling fixed. If the offer still comes in then we may call off the open home. It's just a matter of waiting and seeing.

I love this

Here is a photo of an Inn David, Daya and I stayed at in Old Delhi. It was only $75NZD for three of us, three nights with breakfast. It looks really dodgy but it was actually OK. Definitely not 5 star but we had a roof over our heads, food and a cold shower. What more do we need?

It is the pink building. The balcony on the right is where we would eat our breakfast. We had a triple share room that meant we could fit three people in one bed. It was fun and worth a laugh. It was on Main Bazaar Rd and very close to the train station. We loved it.

The little photo is the ally way up to the Inn at ground level.

A definate to Delhi

We have made the decision that we will definitely be heading to Delhi first but we are not sure how long we will stay there. It will depend on any compliance issues with the start of our business and housing etc.

It is going to be so nice to spend time with our friends and it will be extra nice that Zoe will be there for the kids.

I have been wondering how the kids are going to react when they first walk out of the Delhi airport terminal. I have a smile on my face as I picture it. It is a sea of people, taxis, various people wanting to carry your luggage etc. Quite an assault on the senses if you are not ready for it. Last time we arrived in the early hours of the morning and the airport was still pumping.

I couldn't find a picture that truly captures the moment but here are a couple that give a little idea.

So close to a deal on our house.

We have a firm offer now but it is conditional on us fixing up our flat and on the place passing a building inspection. The inspection is happening tomorrow at 3pm so although I am feeling a bit like I am awaiting exam results I also know that God has everything under control. I just need to keep reminding myself of that fact from time to time.

Our flat has rotten floor boards and a ceiling that needs repairs. We were hoping someone would take the place as is and fix it up themselves but the offer we have is good and we are prepared to fix things up. I called a builder today for a quote, my darling hubby could do the work but time is the constraint. We were unsure how much it was going to cost but he has rung back to say $250. I was amazed because when we were talking with him at our house, he was saying it could be just under $1000. I am not sure why it is suddenly so much cheaper but thank you God. He is coming tomorrow morning at 9am. Not only is he cheap but he is also available quickly.

My Mum and Dad have been great helping around the house. They have come and helped paint, clean etc. Mum and I got stuck into the flat today. We painted, pulled up old carpet and generally made it feel fresh and clean. David had a half day of work today so he was able to wield a paintbrush and roller around the place too. We now only need the ceiling and bathroom fixed, painted and then it is done. We also need to do the last painting of the outside of our house. It will probably only take a day or two.

We also had good friends of ours Cam and Nikki turn up with two ponga trees to plant in our garden, Cam even dug the holes while Nikki cleaned some of our windows. We so appreciate the time our parents and friends have given us. Every little bit of help makes things so much easier. Thanks guys.

Our documents have arrived in India

This is a bit of a funny post but it has been fun to track the progress of our documents through NZ post. Check out where they have been:

3104433032 - Detailed Report
Date		Time		Location Service Area		Checkpoint Details
November 02, 2009		18:48		Auckland - New Zealand		Shipment picked up
November 02, 2009		19:57		Auckland - New Zealand		Processed at Auckland - New Zealand
November 02, 2009		21:16		Auckland - New Zealand		Processed at Auckland - New Zealand
November 02, 2009		21:17		Auckland - New Zealand		Departed from DHL facility in Auckland - New Zealand
November 03, 2009		06:54		Singapore - Singapore		Arrived at DHL facility in Singapore - Singapore
November 03, 2009		07:02		Singapore - Singapore		Processed at Singapore - Singapore
November 03, 2009		07:26		Singapore - Singapore		Departed from DHL facility in Singapore - Singapore
November 03, 2009		12:42		New Delhi - India		Arrived at DHL facility in New Delhi - India
November 03, 2009		12:58		New Delhi - India		Processed at New Delhi - India
November 03, 2009		13:34		New Delhi - India		Processed at New Delhi - India
November 03, 2009		13:42		New Delhi - India		Departed from DHL facility in New Delhi - India
November 03, 2009		14:52		New Delhi - India		Arrived at DHL facility
November 03, 2009		15:11		New Delhi - India		With delivery courier
November 03, 2009		20:27		New Delhi - India		Consignee premises closed
November 04, 2009		08:18		New Delhi - India		With delivery courier
November 04, 2009		09:25		New Delhi - India		Processed at New Delhi - India
November 04, 2009		11:39		New Delhi - India		Shipment delivered

How amazingly detailed is that! It's good to know they have arrived and we have even been told that Ganesh signed for them. (who ever he is?) Now to see how everything else plays out from here.

Electricity

My Dad sent me a few photo's this morning of Indian electrical wires. We have witnessed this first hand. The monkeys walk and play along them. People just hook wire over a line to grab some power for the house or put stripped wires directly into a socket. It is not always like this but we have seen some very interesting masses of power cables that make you go Hmmm?

Business update

We have just posted off some papers to the company in India that is helping us set up our business and paid him for his work. It is the first exchange of money for the set up of the business.The time estimates we have been given are:

1. For name approval - 7 working days, once we have obtained Director's Identification & Digital Signatures of the proposed director.

2. For final incorporation - 12-14 working days, once the duly signed & authenticated documents are received back from your end.

I think it will probably take about 2 months for it all to be sorted and papers sent back and forth via post.
It has taken about 2 weeks just to get our DIN and Digital signature application together and signed and sent off. It is then about 5 working days for documents to be sent either way. Although, in saying that, With rate of everything else falling into place I may be surprised.

Potential buyer

We have a lovely Chinese lady who is very very keen on buying the house. She has been three times and had a QV valuer come yesterday. She had hoped he would have the report to her by the afternoon so she could come with an official offer. Her verbal offer sounds good so we will wait until Monday to see what happens. We sat and had coffee and chatted for about an hour. She had a lovely Irish man in his 80s with her. He has made an offer on our lounge suite that we will probably accept. Even though we might be able to get more for it, I just like the guy.

God is just blowing me away at the rapid speed everything is happening. I know that the house is not a done deal yet but I thought selling a house was supposed to be a major headache, God is so good and I just thank him for easing us through this.

The reality of it all

It is hard to know whether to be excited or not when telling friends and family of how things are falling into place. It is just so faith building and incredible to see God orchestrating everything. My enthusiasm sometimes goes before me and I don't stop to think about the impact on peoples feelings. I keep making people cry :( I am not quite sure how I should deal with this. Everything that falls into place is another step closer to us going and that excites me and also brings a tinge of sadness. As my youngest daughter (9) explains it, she is Exsaddened (both excited and sad). The first people you want to tell are those closest to you and those people are the ones who really don't want to hear it even though they are supporting us. The reality seems to be setting in for everyone. I think that for so long it has been something we were going to be doing in the future and now that future is on our doorstep. In all honesty though, I am ready to jump into that future.

The house is on the market

It has a been scrubbing, painting, tidying frenzy but the house is now on the market. We are not completely finished painting the house but decided to put it on the market anyway and let people know what else we are wanting to do.

We decided to try and sell privately first and advertise on trademe. Within one hour of listing the house I had our first inquiry and since then we have had many more. Today I showed three people through the house and they were all very interested and one lady is returning for another look shortly. We have had 372 people view our listing on trademe.

I contacted a lawyer today because I realised I didn't really know about how organise contracts through a private sale. I now know what we need to do if we get any offers. The lawyer was so helpful and cheaper than the one we used to use.

There has been some emotional times from the kids, mainly our second eldest daughter. I think selling the house has made everything feel very real and it is a bit unsettling. Taking down posters from their walls so it looks better for selling was just a bit much for them. A few night time sobs and cuddles from mum were needed. It is a real mixture of emotions at the moment, it's exciting, scary, fun and emotional all at the same time.

My provider

It is such an exciting place to be when you have to rely on God completely. I know we should always be in a place of knowing that God is our provider but it is all too easy to take things for granted, especially when we have a job that is bringing in an income. God provides the job but somehow we can fall into the trap of thinking we are providing for ourselves.

The other night we found out we are going to need to pay our accountant in India $1000USD after he has finished incorporating our business and that we will need $2000USD in capital in the company. We know these are legit prices after doing a bit of research and getting a few other quotes. So we were wondering where we were going to get $3000USD without dipping into our airfares that we have been putting money aside for. And here's what God has done: I woke early on Saturday morning and decided to check our bank account online. When I had logged on I noticed that there seemed to be way more in our account than there should have been, in fact, there was $2000 more! I went to our statement page and found I had been given a refund from IRD of $2230. We also received a home school supervisor form that gets given out every 6 months and there will be about $1100coming our way soon. This means we are only about $500 short now. Our God is an amazing God, he really does provide for what we need in ways that we don't even think about.

Fatigue

I can barely lift my arms to type. Day three outside getting weeds sorted, rust treated on garage door before we can paint, potting soil in pots ready for planting, water blasting anything that gets in my path. Today I have spent a straight 6.5hrs painting all our outside windows that happen to be french windows. This means lots of bitsy fiddly little things to paint. I did not realise I had been going so long and my arms were literally shaking when I got to the last window. I am a bit like a dog with a bone at times. Once I set myself a goal, I find it hard to stop until it is complete. I am sure my muscles will remind me tomorrow. 6.5 hrs with your arms above your head has got to firm up those muscles.
We want to put the house on the market after this weekend when our tenant moves out.

I hear the baby crying now, how I would just like to flop down and rest, but alas, I have a family that needs me and dinner to get ready. Let me get up from my 10 min sit down and drag my body around. Must say though, the girls have been so wonderful looking after the boys the last few days so I can get stuck into the jobs. Thumbs up to you girls, Love you :) What would I do without them.

Car boot sale

Yesterday we had a car boot sale. We have started to sell off or give away some of our household items. It is actually really freeing and refreshing to be clearing stuff out. There is a lot of stuff we had that we really did not need. Our cupboards are beginning to look bare with one or two pots in them and I have managed to sort through all Jaxon's things and get down to the bare minimum.

We managed to make over $100 dollars at the boot sale so the kids have now reached their target of paying Jaxon's airfare. It had been lovely to see them get involved like this. If we can get the cheapest fare and if we go before he is 2 yrs, he will only cost around $100. They have made $160 in total now. Go Kids!!! Proud of you.

I also got to practice my bartering, I am pleased I stood my ground with one couple from Afghanistan. They were very nice but trying so hard to get a bargain on a bargain. They ended up buying my food processor at a very good price and then set up their own stall to sell it for more. Seems cheeky to us but they obviously were not at all phased by it. They also gave me their number for when we are ready to sell other electrical appliances like T.V, vacuum cleaner etc. I am just pleased I did not budge on my already good price I had given them. They tried oh so hard.

DIN (director identification number) In India

We now have a provisional DIN (director identification number). This is the very first step towards starting a company in India. I found we could apply for this ourselves. It was a bit of a brain spinner initially trying to navigate around the Ministry of Corporate Affairs web site but once I found what I needed, it ended up working itself out. I had some trouble paying online and our good friends back in Bangalore did some running around for us to try and pay Rs200 ($5.86 NZD) They were having trouble finding a bank to accept the payment but with a bit of phoning around I managed to sort out payment online. I feel bad for the guys running all over Bangalore for us when I should probably just made the phone call in the first place. My pet phobia is making phone calls, I really get so nervous and clammy. It is so silly and I am way better than I used to be. I always try to get David to do the phoning but sometimes he displays tough love to help me over come my irrational fears.
We only had a week to get the payment sorted so we can hold onto our provisional DIN and from there we can send all the official signed documents via post to be verified and we can then receive our permanent DIN.
Our tenant is a lawyer and he has offered to certify any copies that we need signed, it is so nice to have him living next door.

In case anyone reading this wants to know the process for applying for DIN online, here it is:

1. Go to http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/index.html

2. Click on Apply for DIN tab and fill out online form. Once submitted it will give you a provisional DIN and will give you a PDF application form to print out.

3.Register as a user by going back to http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/index.html and clicking on
New user registration on right hand side.
You cannot pay without being registered. This will take you through the registration process.

4. Pay by logging in back at http://www.mca.gov.in/MCA21/index.html and then clicking on Pay miscellaneous fee. Find the tab to pay for DIN. This will take you through the payment process where you can pay online.

5.Once you have paid you will get a service request number that you can manually write onto your application form. This will be in a printable PDF format.

6. Get together verified copies of passport, birth certificate and one form of ID to verify your address. Get verified passport sized photo to add to application.

7. Send to India within 60 days of first application or you will need to start the process again.


You can check the progress of your application online by logging into MCA21

Missionaries???

One of my daughters asked me today if we are going to be missionaries. It's a funny question because peoples perception of a missionary is that if you go overseas to be full time for God, then you are a missionary. My reply to her was that we are already missionaries, no matter where we are, no matter where God puts us, no matter if we are employed by a church, working in a business, bringing up our kids, selling cars etc, our whole purpose is to reach those who don't know about Christ and to bring the good news of the kingdom of God in what ever we are doing and to bring Glory to God in all that we do. God places us all in communities, work places, sports groups etc and these can be our mission fields.

I would find it very hard to use the word "missionary" in relation to what God is calling us to, yes we will be missionaries, but not in the way most people think of a missionary. We are not going to be raising financial support from churches here in N.Z but if people want to and feel that God wants them to contribute financially then we would not reject His provision but we will not be asking for it or trying to drum it up. We plan on setting up a company that can help us financially and can also contribute to the economy of India and in time give employment opportunities to nationals of India. This in no way means we are not relying on God for his provision but I believe we are not to be a burden on others in what God calls us to and God is providing provision through our N.Z company, our rental property and also potentially our India based company. We are not trying to be self sufficient but trying to listen to what God leads us to do, we are still seeing it worked out before us.

Not sure if this makes sense, it does to me but not sure if it has come out right in writing.

Seperate company??

It is taking a while to get things moving along in India but we are fine with that. We are needing to answer a few questions asked by the guys helping us set things up for our company . They have asked us some questions that I have no idea of the answer, something about "what would be the Authorised Capital and issued/paid up Capital of this company, this is important as the statutory levies for formation of the company and various fees is based on this." Umm? pass. I have forwarded this on to our N.Z accountants to shed some light. I really am a greeny when it comes to the business side of things, it would have been so good if I had a bit more knowledge but it is amazing how much you learn as you go.

As I was writing this, our accountant has rung me and given me the number of a tax specialist who he believes will be able to help us out the best. He seems to think it would be better to start a complete new company in India because the only reason a subsidiary is needed is if you want to send money back to N.Z from it. It's funny because if we had not thought about a branch office or subsidiary company then we would not have looked at trying to keep our business going in N.Z. As it has worked out, our N.Z business will bring us a small income we can use in India and also provide others with work. We now would still be keen to keep the N.Z side of things going even if we don't need to for the sake of the India company.
It is also interesting that the N.Z side of the company has fallen into place very easily and quickly where the India side has been slow in setting up a subsidiary. Maybe it is time to change tack and look into setting up a completely separate company in India. Our accountant says that the initial set up may be more expensive but the ongoing tax issues between countries will be more of a hassle in the long run.

I have not even talked to David about this yet but it does seem much clearer in my mind.

contract renewal

After David sending out the new contract offer to all our schools yesterday, we have received 2 replies already. Both schools have said yes and one wants to increase their hours with us. So far so good. Just another cog falling into place and keeping the wheel spinning. I will keep updating this post as schools reply to us.

Check this out.

This is not the best filming but very funny to see just how many people can fit on one train in India.


Can You Believe That - The best video clips are right here

When to put the house on the market?

With the section now looking not such an eyesore we are thinking we should probably put the house on the market very soon. We will still paint but can do that after we put the house up for sale and let people know our intentions.

Our tenant/boarder has just given us notice today that he will be moving out in the next week or two. Even though we will miss the extra income, the timing is great because we can do a few maintenance things in the flat and make it look more appealing for selling. It's just one more thing making us think the time to sell is now.

David also sent a letter to a New Zealand company he sub contracts for to let them know that we will be off to India next year. They have replied saying they are in the process of setting something up in India and want to know where we will be situated. At present, David does remote access work for them and it could well be that he can continue this while in India. It is just another opportunity that perhaps God is going to use. Time will tell. This sort of thing excites me so much, God has the big picture and we are seeing it unravel before us.

The garden is shaping up

We spent a 9 to 5 day out under the cloudy and at times crying skies as we continued to try and get our section looking a little more appealing. We can now sit back an say, "Yes, it looks good" just a little more weeding of cobbles, water blast the deck, paint the house and then the outside is complete. Why didn't we do this before?

Letters

David is in the process of sending letters to all our New Zealand clients to let them know our plans and to introduce the guys who will be working for them if they decide to renew their contracts with us. It will be interesting to see how the response will be. This will be the deciding factor of how much work we will be able to give to Douglas, Erich and Stu. Over to you God.

We have set the ball rolling

We have now set the wheels in motion as far as getting our subsidiary company set up. I had e-mail contact with our newly found chartered accountant in Bangalore and he is referring us to another firm for the initial set up process. Sudhir who we have been having contact with has been amazingly prompt in communication and we have been very impressed with him so far. Hopefully the firm he puts us onto is just as good.

I have been doing a lot of googling on the start up processes and although some things we could probably get done on our own, there seems to be so many little bits of forms, documents, stamps, registrations, and who knows what else, that I feel it would be good to have someone orchestrate this for us. It's hard at the outset when you are not familiar with how business works in a foreign country and most of our Indian friends do not need to know the ins and outs of a foreigner setting up a company. I know when we get asked questions about immigration in New Zealand, I have no idea because I have never had to go through it.

Time to sit back again and wait for contact from the set up firm.

Floods in Bangalore, Karnataka

Floods have hit southern India with over 200 dead and they are thinking that up to about 750,000 and rising people have been displaced and left homeless.

After a a very dry monsoon season the rains have come powering in wreaking havoc throughout the south. The water levels are still 5 to 10ft in certain areas and the water is not draining away quickly. Obviously, disease and sickness is a real threat with this much stagnant water lingering.

Bangalore is the capital of the state of Karnataka in southern India and is where we are heading, we have people we know living there and our heart and prayers goes out to all those affected by the floods.