The world is made up of so many different cultures. Different ways of life fascinate me. The different ways children and family are viewed, the cuisine, the pace in which life is lived, the smells and sounds, the process of decision making, the homes and marketplaces, and the bureaucracy. O the bureaucracy. This week we have learned much about the bureaucracy of the Philippines. Some things about culture are so fun to learn; some are a bit more challenging. And this has been one of those challenging times. Last week we spent our days gathering documents, signatures, and notaries to obtain our visas (something we had already done in the States, but we learned in Baguio we were lacking a few things). We needed a petition from someone here inviting us and promising that we will not be a burden to the community. Understandable. We needed an official form from the Barangay Captain (similar to a mayor) stating that he knows we are here. Understandable. So we gathered all these things along with birth certificates, marriage license, high school and college diplomas, etc. and we made a trip to Manilla. After the 5 hour bus ride that left at 4:30 a.m. we got to immigration and were there about 30 minutes when we were told that our documents weren't in an official folder, the forms that had all three of our names (Josh, Autumn, and Monica) needed to be separate, and the forms on which we were separate, we needed to be combined. And a few more things needed to be notarized. This could have all been taken care of in Manilla if it weren't for that one simple form from the Barangay Captain- the very one that took us 3 days to obtain. So we headed straight back to the bus station and made our way back to Maria Aurora via three different forms of transportation arriving at 8:30 p.m. All in all, we spent 16 hours in transit, 14 of which were sitting on a bus. It made for a long day, but we couldn't help but laugh at our situation. Things are just different here. Paperwork is a slow process and the government craves bribes and money. BUT GOD is faithful and He has a sovereign plan, even for our visas. I mean after all, He brought us here.
During our travel and mission to get our long term visas, I remembered how good God is. The Holy Spirit transferred my mind from complaints about a sedentary day of nothing but sitting, another bus trip, and the unhealthy food we were eating along the way and I began to praise the Lord that He sent us to a country that allows missionaries. We could be undercover, needing to come in as 'businessmen and women' or 'students'. But here we are welcomed as missionaries. Maybe not as Protestant Christ-followers, (if we were Roman Catholic this process would be a bit easier) but missionaries nonetheless. I praised God that our means of transportation could have been much worse. I was reminded of people like Adoniram Judson who trekked to Burma by boat. Praise the Lord for airplanes! And for buses. Even the ones without air conditioning (I'm for real about this- the wind against my face felt amazing). I praised God we were able to eat snacks along the way and didn't go the whole day without food, as many people around the world did. Praise God for His faithful provision. And praise Him for His GRACE. His grace that covers my selfishness. His grace that puts me back together when I realize how broken I really am (and even when I don't realize that I'm broken at all). Praise God.
So today as we gather more signatures and notaries and as ministry is put on hold once again, I praise God for His faithfulness and His good timing. Our long-term visas will come at just the right time.
Please do pray for us as we continue to advance through this process. Our temporary visitor visas expire November 17th. If we have not obtained our long-term visas by this point, we will either pay a lot of money to extend them or make a trip out of the country for a couple days which will give us another 21 days here. Thank you for praying alongside us.
"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forevermore. Amen." Jude 24-25
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