Visa Update

SUNDAY
We made the physically taxing bus ride to Manila to finish up our visa extensions. Bus rides from the province to the city are no joke. The rugged, crooked, mountainous road is full of surprises. There is one 'executive line' that drives through the night, curtains closed and I usually sleep right through it. However, this isn't always an option and it's a good deal more expensive than the ordinary buses. Because we were traveling right after All Souls Day when everyone was going back to their homes, the executive line was fully booked so we got seats on a bus the next level down. I really can't complain about the bus itself; everyone has their own personal seat and there is air-con (we've had our fair share of buses that lack both of these). But the ride is tiring nonetheless, especially when you're 25 weeks pregnant. I literally had a bruise on my arm when we got to Manila from pressing into the window sill every time we made a turn. But bruises or no bruises, we made it to Manila 9 hours later and were thankful for a safe ride that provided lots of bathroom stops. I was also thankful for these beautiful views to occupy my attention around those curves. Such a beautiful country.

MONDAY
We spent Monday at the Bureau of Immigration. 

 

All 3 of us :) 

We went from window to window obtaining signatures until we finally made it to the end. We were given an appointment for a hearing with an attorney at the end of the week and we were sent on our way. We did meet some interesting people though and Josh made the comment that Immigration is somewhat like Heaven- there are people from what seems like every nation and tribe. That's about the only thing that I would dare compare to Heaven in that place :)

TUESDAY
We made plans to make the most of our time in Manila and do all the fun touristy things. We were booking our reservations to go on a tour of Corrigedor Island/Fort which holds tons of interesting WWII history and includes a ferry ride and lunch. Fun! Except preggos aren't allowed. Boo. But it ended up raining the whole day anyways so we roamed around a mall, looked in baby stores, and enjoyed a coffee & cake date as we planned all the details for the mission team coming to visit us in a couple weeks.

WEDNESDAY
No rain today but the heat was unbearable. So our trip to the park was also replaced with lunch in a mall ha. And we got the bus tickets for the team since we can't make reservations from the province. Don't worry Holly Team, we got the executive bus line. We'll sleep right through it!

THURSDAY
The big day. We arrived early for our hearing and it went as smoothly as it possibly could have. We answered some questions and gave a resume of what we've done in the past year and that was it! No fingerprints, no pictures, no standing in line. It was such a blessing. Especially as we were racing the biggest typhoon in history! We wanted to get back to the province before the rain set in. Rain can mean mudslides and we didn't want to get caught in that. Praise God we made the whole ride back with not even a drop of rain.

FRIDAY
Today we've rested up and cleaned the house and listened to the rain and winds. It's been quite relaxing. However, that is not the case for most of the Philippines south of us. As Typhoon Yolanda (the Philippine name) made landfall, she brought much damage with her. Please pray for the nation as recovery from this storm will likely be long and difficult. Pray for the church to know how to respond.

So now you've seen our week at a glance. Thanks for praying for our visa process. We're very thankful to be done so quickly. And thank you for praying for the storm.