A Mess Only God Could Fix

When we arrived in central Europe last spring, we were highly confident that we had all our ducks in a row. We had done a lot of paperwork ahead of time, we had a list of what we needed, and we thought we could get the rest of the documents in a short amount of time. We had researched several web sites and had asked our teammates for advice. We had even gotten our pictures taken so we wouldn't have to find a place to do them here. We were prepared.

Or so we thought. 

It didn't take long before we realized we hardly had anything we needed and if we did have something, it was either close to expiring, no longer needed, or there was a detail missing in the paperwork. The laws had just recently changed and the web sites had not been updated. Some necessary details were left out completely. Our Slovak background checks were expiring too soon. Our rental agreement needed all the boys' names and birth dates. Myself and the boys all needed Slovak health insurance. The companies we called wouldn't take us without a residence permit, but we needed the insurance to get the residence permit. Some of our ABWE letters needed more information. Our FBI checks didn't have our birth dates. Our marriage certificate and the boys' birth certificates all needed apostilles - a word I'd never heard in my life. Then they had to be officially translated and bound in red/white/blue string with a special stamp. A new application had been developed, so I had to throw away the five, separate applications I had taken quite a bit of time to fill out ahead of time. 

It was a nightmare. 

We were basically starting from scratch - all the money, time, energy we had spent before was wasted. We started running here and there getting new documents done and expressing things back to the States for processing. Everything that could be expedited (for a fee) was expedited. We would rush around getting something done only to have to sit and wait for it to be done before we could rush around again doing the next thing. We got the boys' info. added to the rental agreement and notarized - a process which required our landlord, Jason, and someone from the church to translate. After they got home I looked at one copy only to realize Dawson's birth date was wrong. It required another fix, another trip to the notary, and more money. 

It was physically and emotionally exhausting.

I found myself in tears more than once. At one point we thought we would have to pay 20% tax on all the contents in our container because we needed proof of our residence permit application submission to get it duty free. At best, we expected to pay $1,000.00. Worst case scenario was $2,000.00. And we couldn't exactly refuse the container and lose all the possessions we and friends from church had spent months packing, wrapping, loading, etc. There was also a very real possibility that we would have to leave the country if everything wasn't submitted, accepted, and granted within 90 days of our arrival in the country. They do not make exceptions. I was really afraid that if I got on a plane to go back to the States I would never get on another to come back. I told God in desperation that I didn't think He really wanted me to do that because I wasn't sure I could. 

The pressure was on.

But then God worked in several miraculous ways.

After a meeting with a visa company who helps foreigners with paperwork and residence issues and realizing what a mess we were in, I had an idea pop into my mind. What if Jason submitted his paperwork without ours and got his residence permit? Then he could receive the container duty free and they would be more likely to process our applications more quickly since his would already be approved (Lord willing). Also, even if myself and the boys had to leave the country, he could stay. There were far less problems for us to fix with his application, so we thought it could be done. The visa agency agreed and he submitted his application on a Friday. We celebrated by going out to the only Pizza Hut in Bratislava. The container arrived on Tuesday. No duty was charged.

The FBI clearance letter takes 8-10 weeks for processing and we already had our letters - without our birth dates. Slovakia requires two types of identifiable information on the letter and the last four digits of our S.S. numbers didn't count. We also learned that FBI letters only include your date of birth if you are a criminal. Was it wrong to wish we had a record at that moment? We asked the FBI if they could print another - this time with the birth date - and they said yes. After getting them to do this, which in and of itself was a miracle to us (they could have made us re-apply), we realized they would not arrive in time unless they sent them directly to us. They were going to send them to our former PA address, which would then need to be forwarded to my parents, and then sent on to us. We called them again and asked if we could change the address. We could, but only if they had something in writing. We had no idea how we were going to accomplish this and we had to do it ASAP. That was when we realized we had a small printer that could scan. It didn't get put into our container so we had brought it over in our luggage. As Jason got it set up, I quickly scribbled a hand-written note with the new address and we both hastily signed it. We scanned it and then e-mailed it to our teammate who lives over an hour away. We were using wi-fi that Jason had through his phone because we did not yet have internet in our house. Our teammate had told us he pays a small fee for the ability to fax things. He printed out the e-mail attachment and faxed it to the FBI. Thankfully they got it before our new letters were processed and they were sent directly to us. Soon after another American was going through the same problem and she called the FBI. They told her, "We jut had a meeting about Slovakia." Ha! I hope that's the only time I ever provoke an FBI meeting!

All of our paperwork was accepted the first time we submitted it. This was not only a blessing because of the deadline involved, but also because the physical process of submission is not exceptionally easy. I would like to write about that experience some time. worked  in another way during my submission - the police officer was concerned because one document (I think it was the FBI letter) had only my middle initial and my application and passport had my full middle name. Because they were not the same she was concerned. Slovaks don't have middle names, so they are not accustomed to some things having everything and some things only having the initial. I waited with a fair amount of inward panic and on-going mental prayers as she checked with someone else about it. Thankfully they decided it wasn't a problem and she accepted my application. What a relief!

It was definitely not an easy way to start our missionary career. I knew it probably wouldn't be all smooth sailing, but at the same time we had no idea of all the things that could and would go wrong with something we thought we had under control. I'm glad that God did and that He saw us through.

As we approach the first anniversary of our arrival here, I am very glad, once again, that we were all granted two year residence permits so we don't have to re-live this process for another year!