Another Visa post....
We found out on Tuesday that we had to have the boy's passports and birth certificates translated to Ukrainian, and notarized so that they could be added to our residency documents. Jessica and I tackled that task yesterday only to find out that our government-issued, Canadian birth certificates aren't actually viewed as legal documents in Ukraine! What?!?! I was so mad!! They wouldn't translate or notarize them for us without a certain stamp on them that we could only get by going to the Canadian Embassy in Kiev. I about lost it. Jessica called the Canadian Embassy who knew exactly what we would need and how to go about getting it and then she started calling some of her connections to see if there was some way around it. In the end we decided to just hand in what we had this morning with confidence and pray that it was overlooked.
Nope.
Jessica said that as soon as she walked into the office this morning, the agent who was working with someone else at the time looked up and exclaimed to her "So you have the birth certificates and passports translated and notarized?" Ummmm....not exactly. So much for being overlooked. So she was told our options...um, option...go to Kiev.
I was upset - after all of these days of running from place to place, getting this and that I was just DONE and I will admit that I was being a massive, ginormous, ugly baby. I didn't sleep last night because I was so worried about this morning - I KNOW God was telling me to trust Him and every time I would think about it I would remind myself over and over again that Yes God, I DO trust You!!
Around lunch today Steve suggested that I try some other avenues. We thought if we could just get someone to translate the documents, we should have no problem getting them notarized and once they're notarized, they're official as far as all of this paperwork goes. Steve called a friend and I called a few people as well. I called the girl who helped with our documents last year and she said that she couldn't help us but she has a translator friend who she would call, and that friend had a friend who was a notary. I could hardly breathe thinking that this just might work. She called and then texted me her name and number and she said there would be no problem. I dropped it off with this woman, she looked at it and didn't say anything about any kind of stamp! She translated it and then took it over to get notarized so all I had to do was pick it up!
Okay God, I'm a big baby for no reason, AGAIN. But you know what? The awesome thing about God is that He isn't thinking about how big of a suck I was today and how I was worried and mad and scared; He's just thinking about how much He loves me and about how much I love Him. And He's thinking that it was so awesome that He got to show me how much He loves me today and I know that He'll continue to do that even when other hard situations come up that make me freak out. I would love to say that I've learned by now that God ALWAYS shows up, but unfortunately I'm still a human and am still emotional and crazy so chances are that I'll need a reminder again in another crazy situation....hopefully not any time soon though, OK God?
Friday, November 22, 2013
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Visa Update
I spent another five hours with Jessica walking from office to office yesterday, collecting the right documents, applying for ID numbers, getting passport pictures and so on. It wasn't nearly as much fun as last Friday but we got everything done with no major problems and encountered mainly friendly people along the way.
Jessica was super nice to drop off everything we have so far at the proper office this morning (we have to wait three to five days for that ID number...praying that it's three!) so that they can get started on our new temporary residence documents. She said there was a man there in front of her yelling at the agent working there about missing certain documents and when it was finally our turn the agent was so happy that we had everything altogether! Yessssss!!
So that's where we are now...just waiting. We would have been in deep trouble without Jessica's help and we're so thankful for her!
Jessica was super nice to drop off everything we have so far at the proper office this morning (we have to wait three to five days for that ID number...praying that it's three!) so that they can get started on our new temporary residence documents. She said there was a man there in front of her yelling at the agent working there about missing certain documents and when it was finally our turn the agent was so happy that we had everything altogether! Yessssss!!
So that's where we are now...just waiting. We would have been in deep trouble without Jessica's help and we're so thankful for her!
Friday, November 15, 2013
Another Visa Miracle
Our Ukrainian visas expire January 18th and you must renew at least 15 days before the expiry date, and at that time we will be in Canada. The process is long and it changes each and every time you have to renew so we really wanted to get a head start on it but we weren't sure if they'd let us renew this early. However, if you don't renew at least 15 days early, you have to leave the country and go to the Ukrainian consulate in another country to reapply for a visa.
This afternoon I had our friend Jessica go with me (and the kids because Steve is in Kiev) to see if we could start the process now already - more than two months ahead of time...or so I thought....until Jessica asked if we could renew this early and the woman looked at my visa and said: "Oh, it expires December 1st." Um....WHAT?!?! That means that T.O.D.A.Y is 15 days before it expires which meant that we had to start immediately, on the spot!
We went to another government building and got "the list" which is a list of the documents we have to have which includes things like copies of our passports, 3-5 passport-sized photographs, a letter of invitation, a letter from the Department of Religious Affairs, and other things. The lady was a different one than previously (who was apparently expressionless) and she was super nice - she had seen Jessica's passport which says that she's from New Hampshire and was all excited because her daughter is living there - it was a nice surprise to have someone friendly to deal with....read: that is not normal!
By the time we got out of there it was already closing in on 3 pm (on a Friday afternoon) but we headed to the bank anyways to try and get the stamp saying the date that we started the process and to pay for insurance, which is another requirement. As we're standing there at the bank, already getting the paperwork done, the realization set in - if we wouldn't have paid for this TODAY and gotten this stamp with TODAY'S date on it (exactly 15 days before Dec.1), we would have had to leave the country by December 1st to go apply for a new visa in another country! I almost started crying just thinking about how God orchestrated everything so perfectly so that we got everything done in the nick of time!
So we just finished at the bank and I'm getting the kids ready - getting their hats and mittens on and we turn around and the bank window is closed with a sign on it that said "Closed from 3-4 pm"!! I had looked at my phone when we got there and it had been 3:09 and the lady still took our stuff and processed it!! I almost died on the spot! I was absolutely overwhelmed by our Father's incredible love for us! We were just laughing like crazy people because in the very first office we were in, when we still thought that we had until January 18th, Jessica had smiled and said: "I've got a good feeling about this."
We are reminded again and again of God's amazing love for us, and reminded again and again that we are 100% where we're supposed to be. I love sharing stories like this, of God's amazing provision despite my short-comings (seriously, how did we not know that it expires December 1st!!!) and it's stories like this that remind me in the tough times that He's always got our backs and He's always going to show up!
This afternoon I had our friend Jessica go with me (and the kids because Steve is in Kiev) to see if we could start the process now already - more than two months ahead of time...or so I thought....until Jessica asked if we could renew this early and the woman looked at my visa and said: "Oh, it expires December 1st." Um....WHAT?!?! That means that T.O.D.A.Y is 15 days before it expires which meant that we had to start immediately, on the spot!
We went to another government building and got "the list" which is a list of the documents we have to have which includes things like copies of our passports, 3-5 passport-sized photographs, a letter of invitation, a letter from the Department of Religious Affairs, and other things. The lady was a different one than previously (who was apparently expressionless) and she was super nice - she had seen Jessica's passport which says that she's from New Hampshire and was all excited because her daughter is living there - it was a nice surprise to have someone friendly to deal with....read: that is not normal!
By the time we got out of there it was already closing in on 3 pm (on a Friday afternoon) but we headed to the bank anyways to try and get the stamp saying the date that we started the process and to pay for insurance, which is another requirement. As we're standing there at the bank, already getting the paperwork done, the realization set in - if we wouldn't have paid for this TODAY and gotten this stamp with TODAY'S date on it (exactly 15 days before Dec.1), we would have had to leave the country by December 1st to go apply for a new visa in another country! I almost started crying just thinking about how God orchestrated everything so perfectly so that we got everything done in the nick of time!
So we just finished at the bank and I'm getting the kids ready - getting their hats and mittens on and we turn around and the bank window is closed with a sign on it that said "Closed from 3-4 pm"!! I had looked at my phone when we got there and it had been 3:09 and the lady still took our stuff and processed it!! I almost died on the spot! I was absolutely overwhelmed by our Father's incredible love for us! We were just laughing like crazy people because in the very first office we were in, when we still thought that we had until January 18th, Jessica had smiled and said: "I've got a good feeling about this."
We are reminded again and again of God's amazing love for us, and reminded again and again that we are 100% where we're supposed to be. I love sharing stories like this, of God's amazing provision despite my short-comings (seriously, how did we not know that it expires December 1st!!!) and it's stories like this that remind me in the tough times that He's always got our backs and He's always going to show up!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Steve's Birthday!
Steve's birthday is today so we had a party for him and invited a bunch of friends - between 25 and 30 people came! I of course, prepared some food:
One Year In (a few days late)
It has been one year since we left Canada.
I wouldn't say that I'm an emotional person and I don't usually focus a whole lot on specific moments in my life but this year has been full of major changes and there is a lot to reflect on.
It's funny - since being here we've watched a few movies, have read and heard about several people who have uprooted their families and moved across the world. Even thinking about any Mennonite heritage you realize that they left everything to move across the world (okay so they didn't have much here anymore and were super oppressed here) but the thought that always goes through my head is "HOW could anyone do that?! How are they brave enough to do that? That's so scary!!" But then I kind of laugh at myself as I am reminded that oh yeah...I'm in Ukraine - we did that! But it just doesn't feel the same! I don't feel brave or like an exceptional family. I feel the complete opposite - overly normal and average and with nothing special about us....except that God called us up and said Go.
The first few months were rough. We had very few friends, it was winter so there was nowhere to go, we spoke little Russian so even going to the grocery store was painful, draining and a chore. There was a lot of frustration with the culture - things that bothered us that for everyone else were completely normal. There was one day where I was in the middle of making supper and I was mad and was praying out loud in frustration and anger, just wanting to be HOME and then all of a sudden the words came out of my mouth: "I don't even what on earth I'd be doing in Canada because I'm not supposed to be there." I screeched to a halt in the middle of the kitchen, stunned that those words were even in my brain because I just sooooo wanted to be home.
Once spring started, we had Bobi and Justin join us and things started to get easier. We made more friends, more connections, Bobi's help with the language was incredible and we started to settle into a routine.
Before we left home we felt that the first few months here would be rough and that if we could go in winter which was also a tough time, we'd get all of the hard part out of the way all at once and by the time summer came around we'd be good to go, and that's really how it worked out. Summer was awesome - we always had things to do, activities to be involved in, people to hang out with, it was great. I really started to feel like this is home - the roller coaster ups and downs were definitely fewer and farther in between. I adopted a motto of sorts that is "if I don't laugh about it, I'll cry" and it really changed my outlook on frustrating situations that I couldn't change. It's much easier now to let cultural, frustrating things go and choose to be joyful in spite of them. God has truly been changing my heart and teaching me to chill out with things like that.
God has shown up in huge ways again and again for us this year. It's so cool knowing that He is the reason we're here and anything we do is because He has made it possible. We rely on Him for everything in a different way that we did in Canada - there we relied on Him for sure but here now, we're following through - doing the thing He asked us to do - it's just totally different relationship-wise. He told us to come here, we're here and now it's HIM who does everything. He brings us people, He makes connections for us, He heals where we need healing, He speaks to those who need speaking to, He gives us ideas and vision of what's next. Every day I am reminded that He loves us so very, very much.
This has definitely been one of the most memorable years in my life so far and I know that God has so much more for us here that we have no idea about and I can't wait to see how this next year goes!
We again thank you so much for your continued support in prayer and financially. We would love for as many visitors as possible to come and see for yourselves, and be involved in all the amazing stuff we've got going on!!! God is amazing and uses each one of you to bless us and continue His work!
I wouldn't say that I'm an emotional person and I don't usually focus a whole lot on specific moments in my life but this year has been full of major changes and there is a lot to reflect on.
It's funny - since being here we've watched a few movies, have read and heard about several people who have uprooted their families and moved across the world. Even thinking about any Mennonite heritage you realize that they left everything to move across the world (okay so they didn't have much here anymore and were super oppressed here) but the thought that always goes through my head is "HOW could anyone do that?! How are they brave enough to do that? That's so scary!!" But then I kind of laugh at myself as I am reminded that oh yeah...I'm in Ukraine - we did that! But it just doesn't feel the same! I don't feel brave or like an exceptional family. I feel the complete opposite - overly normal and average and with nothing special about us....except that God called us up and said Go.
The first few months were rough. We had very few friends, it was winter so there was nowhere to go, we spoke little Russian so even going to the grocery store was painful, draining and a chore. There was a lot of frustration with the culture - things that bothered us that for everyone else were completely normal. There was one day where I was in the middle of making supper and I was mad and was praying out loud in frustration and anger, just wanting to be HOME and then all of a sudden the words came out of my mouth: "I don't even what on earth I'd be doing in Canada because I'm not supposed to be there." I screeched to a halt in the middle of the kitchen, stunned that those words were even in my brain because I just sooooo wanted to be home.
Once spring started, we had Bobi and Justin join us and things started to get easier. We made more friends, more connections, Bobi's help with the language was incredible and we started to settle into a routine.
Before we left home we felt that the first few months here would be rough and that if we could go in winter which was also a tough time, we'd get all of the hard part out of the way all at once and by the time summer came around we'd be good to go, and that's really how it worked out. Summer was awesome - we always had things to do, activities to be involved in, people to hang out with, it was great. I really started to feel like this is home - the roller coaster ups and downs were definitely fewer and farther in between. I adopted a motto of sorts that is "if I don't laugh about it, I'll cry" and it really changed my outlook on frustrating situations that I couldn't change. It's much easier now to let cultural, frustrating things go and choose to be joyful in spite of them. God has truly been changing my heart and teaching me to chill out with things like that.
God has shown up in huge ways again and again for us this year. It's so cool knowing that He is the reason we're here and anything we do is because He has made it possible. We rely on Him for everything in a different way that we did in Canada - there we relied on Him for sure but here now, we're following through - doing the thing He asked us to do - it's just totally different relationship-wise. He told us to come here, we're here and now it's HIM who does everything. He brings us people, He makes connections for us, He heals where we need healing, He speaks to those who need speaking to, He gives us ideas and vision of what's next. Every day I am reminded that He loves us so very, very much.
This has definitely been one of the most memorable years in my life so far and I know that God has so much more for us here that we have no idea about and I can't wait to see how this next year goes!
We again thank you so much for your continued support in prayer and financially. We would love for as many visitors as possible to come and see for yourselves, and be involved in all the amazing stuff we've got going on!!! God is amazing and uses each one of you to bless us and continue His work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)