Back to Square One

William has been trying since the fall of 2006 to obtain a passport. He first had to get an ID card before being eligible to apply for the passport. He has been jumping through hoops, chasing down documents, paying fees, and traveling all over western Kenya in the process.

Well yesterday was the big day when he went to go pick it up. He had a three hour drive in public transportation (vans that stuff about twenty people inside). I was praying all would go well, but at the same time not holding my breath. It seems that very little goes right on the first try for us. So I wasn't shocked when he sent me a text message saying he would be coming home without a passport.

When he arrived they told him that they never even started to process his application because there was an error on his birth certificate. His birth city was listed as being in the wrong county. They put North instead of South (or South instead of North, I'm really not sure which it was supposed to be). So not only was he denied the passport but he had to go back to his birth city to apply for a new birth certificate. He made the journey immediately and got home late last night.

Today he has gone back to hopefully pick up the birth certificate so that he can once again apply for a passport. Pray for doors to open and paperwork to be processed correctly. We will be going to Nairobi a week from Sunday to work on getting my visa. We had hoped that we would be able to start the process for his visa as well. But it looks like that may be postponed now.

Please pray that my residency visa is really ready this time. Last time we arrived and they told us that it had not been denied but that it was not ready yet. Having residency will open many doors for us. For one, I will not be required to obtain a work permit which costs thousands of dollars.

Some days I wonder why we get to experience so many challenges. But I do know that God is in control. I know that He is walking through each of these challenges with us. And his grace is sufficient. And it is a blessing to be involved in some of the incredible things that are currently happening here.