Dear Friends and Family,
We are so excited to tell you all that we have finally gotten our long awaited approval to apply for our visas. The process of applying for these works a bit differently for the country of Indonesia. If you care to know what that is, read on in the next paragraph, otherwise, skip to the one after that J!
This is how we understand it to work. First we had to collect all the paperwork required to apply. Things like our birth certificates, passports, wedding certificates, diplomas from High School and up, etc. Once we had it all, we sent it over to our co-workers in Indonesia so that they could begin the process of gaining our approval to come there. They then took the information to our sponsoring board, made up of Indonesian Christian businessmen. These men then evaluate us based on this information agree to sponsor us into the country. Then the Indonesian government then wires the approval for us to apply for our visas to the consulate in Chicago and we can then send in our application.
So we received the cable today saying that we have been approved to apply and will send in the applications later today. Our leadership in Indonesia gave us the go ahead to purchase tickets and say our final goodbyes and so we believe the process of actually getting the visas should be quick. The date we have now set to leave the US is April 18 and we hope to arrive on the 19th some time.
Last evening was our commissioning/sending service at our home church and it went really well. It was a special time of worship, Joel preached an excellent message (is it ok for me to brag on him? J) and then our missions committee presented us with a certificate of commission and a Bible to take with us to Indonesia. There was a time following in the gymnasium for us to say our goodbyes to folks and we enjoyed it so much! The timing of the news was so perfect because we were able to announce it to so many who had been praying for us in that regard. Thanks for your prayers! God is faithful to answer when He knows the time is right.
So now what? We have one more thing at our apt. to move out and then we’ll be done there. And we will then continue to weed out the items we’d like to take to Indonesia with us. My parents house will be a mess for awhile as this process unfolds, but Lord willing we will be able to fit it all into our totes and suitcases and be ready to leave in just over 3 weeks. We also will be spending as much time as possible with our family and friends as we anticipate not seeing them again for about 3 years.
Please pray for us in these next weeks about the following things…
That we’ll have wisdom as we pack and sort
That what we need will fit into what we can take
That we will rest in the process and not loose our minds
That we’ll be able to find the right agent to help in booking our tickets and things and that it would be as cheap as possible.
That Jack will survive this time of transition and not be too worse for the wear!
That the finances needed to make this move will come by God’s provision
Praise the Lord with us too that He continues to be our strength and courage and that we can count on Him to provide everything we need both physically and emotionally in the next weeks and months.
In our next update, we’ll let you know what the days and weeks following our arrival will look like. Until then, thanks for following along with us in this journey we are on. For those of you interested in more information about what is going on in between our email updates, we have posted a “blog” online. You can find it at danielael.blogspot.com.
Excitedly,
Bethany for all three of us!
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