Residency Visas in Process

It's only Tuesday, yet it's already been a roller-coaster week emotionally.

Yesterday, we went to the Mexican consulate in San Jose to try and apply for our residency visas (note: these are not the actual visas, but the stamps that show we are in process. In order to continue the application process in Mexico, we must have these stamps in our passports. If you enter the country as tourists, you cannot apply for residency. It must be done from outside of the country).

It was a bust.

We needed copies of bank statements to show proof of income. But the biggest obstacle was that we still, at this time, have not received our Costa Rican student visas. We had documentation stating that they are being processed by the government, but it was dated in November and was deemed too old to use.

When we left the consulate yesterday, I was very frustrated and very discouraged. Poor Troy had to pull his mind away and concentrate on a three-hour Spanish grammar test in the afternoon! Honestly, although I knew I should show more faith, all I wanted to do yesterday was host my own pity party. And I did, for several hours.

Then, I realized that nothing had really changed. Sure, there was the chance we might need to leave the country for a short period 6 months in (to renew our tourist visas). But the point was that we were still going. That was the part I forgot. That after waiting since 1999, when God very first called Troy and me to Mexico, we are finally going to step foot on Mexican soil--for more than a week's visit--in just over 1 week's time. By indulging in my pity party, I was letting the disappointment over something we had absolutely no control of steal the joy of this next step.

Shame on me! Shame on me.

Today, Troy went to the consulate with our teammates to begin their process. Along with them went Miguel, one of the men who is directly involved in the student visa process at the language school. What a difference! He had copies of all the documents he has submitted on our behalf to the government. These, along with his confirmation that we have done everything the Costa Rican government has asked of us and are only waiting for its' response, helped us immensely. I thank God for Miguel and his help.

That doesn't mean it went completely smoothly, however. We still needed copies of our bank statements for the last 6 months---per child---something we hadn't been informed of yesterday. We also needed copies of Miguel's documentation for each person. So, they all raced back to campus and, at 11:25, Troy told me we had an hour to make the required copies, get the kids, and get back to the consulate before they closed for the day. The biggest problem was that the two older kids had gone to a nearby swimming pool as part of their summer program (the two younger kids' swimming session was earlier in the morning, so they were back at school). So, paperwork copied, Troy and the two youngest kids grabbed a taxi and hustled back over to the consulate so that they could get a "foot in the door", so to speak, and let the ladies there know we were coming. Once the kids returned at 12:20, our teammate, Jonny, called a taxi friend of his who picked the four of us up and sped over to the consulate. We arrived at 12:35. We said goodbye to Jonny, and worked to get all the documentation signed for the ladies.

As each person's mound of paperwork was assembled and signed, the ladies looked them over and STAMPED THEM. This was new! This hadn't happened yesterday! Finally, all the paperwork signed and stamped, they took them to the back room and both disappeared. About 10 minutes later, one of the ladies emerged with a big receipt book and called Troy over. Payment was exchanged. Again, this hadn't happened yesterday! Then, they asked for the kids' birth certificates. Thanks be to God, we'd had the foresight to have new ones, freshly issued and apostilled, delivered to Costa Rica (the Costa Rican government has our originals from last year)! One of the ladies made copies of them and added them to the pile. Finally, we were each called back to have our pictures taken and digital fingerprints made.

One of the ladies, upon hearing that we fly out very early next Thursday, was a bit concerned. But the other one was not, and since neither told us there was no way we could get the visas after all, we're hopeful. Indeed, I don't believe God would have brought us this far only for them to say, "Nope, can't do it. Sorry." Still, we'd love for you to join us in prayer as we pray these--and the visas for Jonny & Gemma and their family--are issued speedily.

On the way home, Troy and I were saying to each other, "What a difference 24 hours makes." You'd think I would've learned this lesson by now. That there is NOTHING impossible for God!

I can't even tell you how many people were praying for this process the last two days. If you were one of them, we thank you. We thank you for your continued prayers in this matter and as we settle into new ministries in Mexico.