Visas and Vaccinations

By Natasha

Ok... so now we have less than 70 days to go before our departure date! And the reality of what we are about to embark on is really starting to set in. Like Lana mentioned in her previous note, we are right in the thick of preparations. And things are only going to get busier and crazier as we approach that mark.

One thing we haven’t mentioned yet is that we have been meeting every Monday night for the past few months to plan and prepare for our trip. What we do is we get together for a meal, do a Bible Study together, give updates on the to-do’s on our list and then do some route planning (which is quite complicated believe you me!) and then some time to pray. Some weeks we’ve gone completely off topic, but it was all so good and necessary… for example, one week we spent the entire night talking about conflict and resolution! How invaluable is that? Especially considering we’re going to be in each other’s faces for about 6 months?!!

I can’t speak for the other 3, but for me personally this time together has been truly incredible. It is not always easy as we all are so uniquely different (personalities, sense of humors, desires and passions), and in the beginning planning took forever as our different desires sometimes drew us in 4 different directions on the same map. But God is totally in this, and the closer we draw to his heart, desires and passions for this trip and our lives, the more alike our wills and desires have become. It is really awesome to see such a dramatic change and to see God bring us together as a team and now even more than that… a unit!

So, we’ve started the visa processes and in the first week we got our Ethiopian visa! Then we had our passports translated into Arabic (needed in some of the North African countries). It really is just a stamp in your passport that translates everything on the information page. Last week we applied and got Egyptian visas for all but Nick, since we’re still waiting for his new South African passport from the South African consulate. As the only one without a full-time job, I have made it my responsibility to handle the applications and quite enjoy visiting all the different consulates and embassies. The procedures for both visas and the translation were very straightforward and simple and only took a couple of days each – unlike the horror stories we read about in our books and online. So we feel really blessed in that regard.

That being said, we have come up against our first obstacle – to be able to visit Libya, we need a tour company who will act as tour guides, escorts and translators while in the country. It is also the only way we can even try and get a visa to be able to enter as we need a tour company to essentially invite us into Libya. But since Tim and I both will be traveling on our US passports, we are having some trouble finding anyone who will be willing to act as our representatives in Libya. Their arguments are all the same: Libyan visas are impossible to obtain for Americans and that they can’t do much about that. Hey, but we believe in a God that does the impossible all the time… so we will keep on looking until we find someone who will be willing to do the impossible on our behalf!

Nick and Lana (praise God) only need to get 2 more visas, but as US passport holders we need around 11 more! A huge difference from our Dual-Citizen travel mates traveling on their UK and SA passports. But we all knew and foresaw that from the beginning stages of planning. The challenge comes in getting as many as possible in the time that we have leading upto the trip… can’t get them all now, since they might expire by the time we actually arrive at the different countries’ borders. In other words, we need to plan it so that we get 6 months visas in January that we can just barely use in May or June before they expire. But again… a challenge we look forward to.

We are getting in touch with so many amazing people and organizations to work with and as we are setting up our visits, we can see why God has led us to the routes we all decided on. I am so excited… seriously bursting with excitement to get involved in all these missions and projects! Lana and I will get plenty of opportunities to play with the children, hug and show Jesus’ love to the widows and orphans and pray for the sick. And the guys will get plenty of opportunities to partner with the ministry leaders to disciple and encourage, and to get their hands dirty with hut and well-building projects!

On the vaccination front, Tim and I (barely) just completed round 2 of the jabs! We are getting a total of 8 shots… well, since Tim is a bigger guy… he’s getting a few more jabs than me. Anyway, I say barely completed as I almost didn’t make it through this second round. I made the mistake of letting Tim go first and watching as I was filming him… well, in the nurse’s words he “sprung a leak” and after the sight of the blood, I started feeling queasy and apparently turned white as a sheet. I am embarrassed to admit, but I royally freaked out… they had to all but pin me down to give me those shots. It took about 15 minutes, but I made it through with a sticker for my bravery from the nurse non-the-less! The actual jabs are really not that bad… it’s the pain afterwards that kills you! Nick and Lana have their first round this week!! Good luck you 2!!

Thanks for all your support guys… we are truly moved and touched that we have so many good friends and family getting involved in some way or form! Please keep spreading the word for us, as our circle can only reach so far. And also please keep praying for a Libyan tour company, the other visas and vaccinations, and our Land Rover Driving Experience this coming Sunday. Thanks so much!