It's off to Washington we go...

It almost seems like a miracle, but we have an appointment tomorrow at the consulate's office in Washington. We will be going in to pick up Olivia's visa. Usually it takes hours to get through on the phone line to an actual person. This morning I called and they answered on the first ring. They verified that all the paperwork had been approved and was there. So, we leave bright and early in the morning! We are hoping to have a few hours left over at the end of the morning to visit a few sights in the area. We'll head out of town before the worst of the traffic starts. I figure the D.C. area traffic will help us acclimate to Peru where there is real traffic issues! I hope this is blessed news for all of you that have faithfully prayed for this visa for many months!

Lord willing, this time tomorrow, we will all be legal residents of our beloved second homeland of Peru!

So, what will we do in the next two weeks before we leave? We have the quick trip to Washington, visits from friends in town and traveling in, appointment to finalize our new prayer cards, paperwork regarding the sell of our car, ordering contact lenses, packing the last minute baggage, arranging long term drug prescriptions, two more speaking engagements, attempting to call and check-in with all of our supporters one last time, and a church picnic. In our "spare" time we hope to: arrange our pickup in Peru, helping paint a bathroom at our folks house, working in the garden, and playing outside with Elizabeth and Olivia. I don't imagine we'll be bored any time soon!

Good News!

We received a special email today. It contained the important news we have been waiting for-Olivia's resident visa has been approved! Lord willing, we will receive a claim number tomorrow and we can head to Washington to pick up her paperwork at the Peruvian consulate office. (We'd love to think we could go on Thursday.) This is a real answer to prayer. We had been told at one point that this was not going to be granted. God works when His people pray! This will save us thousands of dollars in travel in the future.

Thanks to all of you that visit the BLOG frequently and keep us in your prayers.

Countdown to our departure for Peru: 14 days!

Ouch!

Today our family took the dreaded trip to the Health Department for our travel related vaccinations. It was a fairly miserable experience for us all! We each took our turn at being jabbed in the arm. Then the worst part was having to pay the bill of over $500! It is expensive to stay healthy. Elizabeth left with a hand full of stickers, Olivia got lots of sympathetic looks from the staff. Mom and Dad were glad to have all the shots done. We are thankfully that modern medication prevents many diseases that would have plagued our family in the past. We're most thankful for the protection that God provides everyday.