Visa 3

Fyi… I am writing this at around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday evening regardless of what time the post says.

Oh, what a day. We worked hard. We visited the YWAM office. (It is at a different location than the base.) We visited the Bureau of Immigration Visa Extension Office. We visited the Bureau of Immigration main office. We visited the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. We visited the United States Embassy. We had high hopes. We are now on a bus to Baguio. I wish I could say that we have submitted our paperwork for our long-term visas. Instead I we have extended our temporary visas and now have much more work to do on our long-term visas.

But in all things we are to give thanks. Without getting all philosophical, spiritual, and otherwise deep, I recognize my need to recognize that God is often more interested in our growth through the process and our obedience than what we think the end result should be.

We are excited to be on our way to Baguio. But the bus process was much like the visa process. I won’t say more.

In all of the traveling until the bus, Annalise sat with me. I am not sure I can explain that conversation, but I will give you a little story that might give you a flavor. While driving to the first bus station, we heard a rooster crow. This was the first we heard while in the country this time. She commented on the rooster crowing then, “Daddy, why do them cocka-doodle-doo?”

My lame answer, “I don’t know.” When I saw that this was not good enough, “It’s just what they do. It is kind of like asking why 5 year olds talk so much.” (She really had been a chatter-box, going non-stop especially in the van.)

“But I like to talk.”

“I suppose roosters like to crow.” And with that, we were on to another subject.

P.S. It is now Wednesday morning. We arrived in Baguio at 1 a.m. and spent the night at the home of our friends. We are all glad to be here right now. (And it is much cooler.)