Immigration Issues Getting More Frustrating!

This has been an incredibly full and blessed season of receiving mission groups, and I look forward to sharing more with you in a monthly update very soon. But for now, we are requesting your special prayers for our family as we face an immigration crisis here in Mexico.

To make a long story short, we were required to pursue temporary religious worker visas upon entering the country in January, 2007. As part of doing this, we were required to submit a variety of materials, letters, etc. to the Mexican government, including our original passports and original tourist visas. Since God has so graciously provided for all of our needs up to this point, we complied with this requirement, despite some anxiety. Well, it appears now that we are required to submit even more documents that must originate in North Carolina and still have none of the required documents for being in Mexico or for re-entering the United States. Since we have plans to visit NC in mid-August, this is even more problematic. Officially, our car permit expired last Saturday, and our Mexican tourist visas expire at midnight tonight.

We humbly ask for your prayers for our family and for the bureaucratic wheels of motion in the Mexican immigration office. We have been so grateful for the assistance of our pastor, Steve Lindsley, Ginny's dad, group members who have carried documents for us, and others who have helped with this process to date. We do understand that immigration matters are part and parcel of the mission field experience, but that doesn't make it any less scary.

Please pray that:
- we can fulfill the most recent document requests promptly and correctly;
- that there are no more document requests;
- that our FM-3s are approved;
- and that we receive our original passports and FM-3s before mid-August.

Watch for an update on all that's been going on with our ministry and/or check out other entries on the blog to walk with us along the way. Thank you in advance for your prayers, and know that we will keep you posted. This whole situation is a perfect example of why it's so important to have partners in missions to pray with and for us through times such as these. Thanks be to God to have you in this with us.