Dear Prayer Warriors,

 

Happy New Year to each of you! I trust you are enjoying the winter season and have adjusted well to the cold and snow that most of you have received! I had some photos sent to me… wow… truly is an ‘old fashion winter’! We are into summer here which also brings with it rainy season. So most nights and days we get rain, but not all day. Then the temperature climb up to the high 20’s or low 30’s and then a storm comes and drops the temp to 12-17 and that feels cold!

 

I’m writing to update you on the status of my ‘permanent resident visa’ and to seek your prayers.

May I explain briefly how this works. When you enter the country you receive a 30 day tourist visa. Then you apply for a one year missionary visa. Following that I applied and received a two year missionary visa. (expires June 29, 2008). The next visa to get is called a ‘permanent resident visa’. This does not have anything to do with citizenship, it is a ‘permanent visa’ to stay in the country and to travel in and out without (major) problems. You can only begin the “visa” application six months prior to the expiry date of your 2-year visa – hence, I’m starting the process now.  If I don’t apply for it, I lose everything and start over with a 30 day tourist visa when I return from Home Assignment.

On January 2nd I took my passport in to begin the process. I was advised that it had to be pre-paid so off I went trying to get money from the banking machines. Because of the holidays some were not working (no money!) and because of the deflation of the dollar now, the machines are no long disbursing 100’s… only 20’s and now there is a maximum of how many you can get out. So, I managed to get money from one machine. The next morning I got money from two more. January 3rd I returned to the agent’s office and paid my $600 US. I was advised to return the next morning at 10 AM to go to the lawyer’s office to sign the legal papers. So next morning I was off again. The lawyer wasn’t there, but the papers were, so I signed them. The agent advised me that legally it takes one month to receive this permanent visa sticker in your passport, but it really can take months.  She will call me around February 6th and advise me as to the status.

 

I REALLY would like to have this visa in my passport before I travel on March 30th. If I do not receive this visa, they (immigration office) may write a letter approving an extension of my two year visa. If they do that, the expiry date could be before I had planned to return from Canada -reducing my home assignment time. OR, they may not and it would mean I start the process over with a tourist visa when I return. Which seems a shame because I’d have to pay all those fees over again and really, I’d never get to the permanent visa stage because of future HA’s.

 

So… all this to say - - please pray the government will look favourably upon my passport and will ‘sticker, stamp and sign’ all the documents needed to give me my ‘permanent visa’ before I head out. I cannot buy my tickets until I know what ‘document’ I will have to leave with.

 

Thanking you in advance for taking this before the Throne to the One and Only who hears and answers our prayers – God the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Praying with you,

 

Lorna

Field Address:

Lorna Bailey
Cajón 736
Cochabamba, Bolivia
South America

Canadian Mission Office
SIM Canada
10 Huntingdale Blvd.
 Toronto, ON
 M1W 2S5

Email: baileylorna@hotmail.com OR baileylorna@gmail.com