Dear Friends,
sometimes God answers prayer so quickly it makes your head spin. On Wednesday we sent out a prayer request regarding Deanna's documents. We need two things for her to return to the States with us for home service starting this summer: her passport (from the Russian government) and her visa (from the American government). And we need them soon since Cecil's Russian visa expires June 20th and we need to buy tickets.
The process of receiving a Russian passport takes a month. Tonya went to the passport office yesterday (Thursday) and the line was very short (in Russia that alone is amazing). Tonya needed to speak with different officers. The first was to pick up a document we needed to prove Deanna's citizenship. This lady had been very helpful by processing the document faster than usual. Tonya was able to give her a copy of the book "Son of Man" by Alexander Menn, a Russian Orthodox priest who was killed for preaching the Gospel (sorry, but it hasn't been translated into English yet). The second was to submit the documents to get the passport. This lady also was very polite and helpful. But the response of the director of the office that was most amazing. She was very interested and touched by the story of Deanna's adoption, and mentioned that Deanna is lucky to be adopted into a good family, and agreed to process the passport in one week (and didn't even hint at wanting a gift).
We contacted the American Consulate in Vladivostok about getting a 2-year visa to the States for Deanna (not an immigrant visa, that is a whole different matter). They first stated that Deanna we not eligible for a non-immigrant visa to the United States since she might become an illegal immigrant, and the tone was quite negative. After sending our last prayer request out, Cecil asked if we were able to show that the whole family was returning to Russia, would she then be eligible? Their response was yes, if we could provide documents proving our ties to Russia and showing we would return, and this time the tone was quite positive. So now Cecil is gathering documents showing we own property here, own a vehicle here, have Russian driver's licenses, have Russian bank accounts, and getting a letter from AGWM that after a year of home service we will be returning to Russia as part of our jobs.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. It is true that we don't yet have the documents in our hands, but we sense that the Lord as given us favor on all sides.
Praise the Lord.
In His Blessed Name,
Cecil, Tonya, Timothy, Vera and Deanna
