Appreciate prayer as we navigate through our increasingly limited options for legally residing in Ukraine. As many of you know, I have applied for Permanent Residence which will ultimately make living and exiting/entering the country much easier. Until then however, we are caught in ‘no man’s land’ it seems, unable to get the kind of visas we need to stay more than 90 days.
To make things more interesting, we are also told we can’t stay in the country for more than 180 days in a calendar year unregistered, which is the status of those staying in Ukraine without a visa. So essentially, unless my Permanent Residence comes through in the next 3 months, our family may have to leave Ukraine until it does. That would not be an easy task for a family of 9.
Abigail is a joy - She is now 6 weeks old
I spent an hour on the phone with the Ukrainian consulate in Toronto, where I knew they could speak English! The poor fellow was as hopelessly confused as I was reviewing our situation and documents. The local authorities here in Ukraine have their interpretation, border crossings have theirs, and then the consulates abroad add to the chaos. Only layers of defunct bureaucracy like this could produce the mind bending situation we find ourselves in (I’m only giving you a taste of the complexity).
We leave for Poland on Tuesday for a border run. We have to be out of country by the 21st. Fortunately we just received Abigails passport so she can come too, or that would have been interesting. We’ll be leaving the kids here in RZ. Pray they let us back in without Visas, and that once in, the Lord would supernaturally guide us to the best options to stay. Pray my Permanent Residence goes through within 90 days, everything really hinges on that document for us… until then we are in the Twilight Zone and time will be ticking.
Friendly neighborhood tractor - Now to get the boyz planting sweet corn!!
I’d rather be writing about the Cafe, and the tractor that surprised me this morning ready to plow my garden (sweet corn here we come!!). This is however where most missionaries live, spinning their wheels among processes. It’s humbling, discouraging, frustrating, tiring. Hopefully God is also working some good things in our hearts as we surrender and trust more in Him. It is not easy.
Bruce & Deb