October 29
We want to thank everyone who has been praying about our visa trip to Spain. The visa situation in Russia is complicated and is getting more so even as I write this. Just to remind you of our situation:
In August we returned to Russia on a one year religious visa. Even though our visa was good for one year, the new laws would only allow us to stay in the country for three months. We would then be required to leave Russia and remain outside the country for three months before being allowed to return again for another three month period. As you can see, this situation would be very expensive for our mission as well as impractical for our family and those we minister to.
In October we applied for a work visa. This is a different category of visa. With a work visa we would be allowed to stay in Russia for as long as our work contract dictates. Our work contract is with the national church we have been working with for the last fifteen years. This visa does not require us to leave the country to renew every year as we have had to do in the past. So it is a good option for us.
We traveled to Madrid to receive our new work visa. Why Madrid? It is the only Russian embassy that would grant us this visa outside of the United States. We went into the embassy on Monday not knowing what to expect. Thirty minutes later we walked out with our new visas in our passports! Thank you for praying for us.
While we were in Madrid we received a phone call from Germany where Michael attends school. On Sunday night, 26th, Michael hit his head against a low door frame. He blacked out for a period of time. When he awoke he went to his room and began vomiting. The dorm called an ambulance and Michael was taken to a local hospital in Lorrach. They kept him for observation for the next two days to make sure he had no complications. He was released on Wednesday and is now back at the dorm. Please pray for Michael as he recovers from this experience.
