Things Come Together

From June 25 to July 9, the dates when I arrived back from the US and when my visa was set to expire, it was crunch time to get my paperwork in order and ensure Ecuador’s immigration office would let me remain in the country, at least until I could finish the required steps to get residency.

Originally, I thought everything was set. I had my documents, and the church said they had everything else for me to get a renewal on my missionary visa. And then I went to get the visa, and was told that one document was expired. Come to find out, that document had been a back-and-forth issue for the church for the past year, and even when a government ministry in Quito mailed a new document that week, it was missing one single line of information—the exact thing that I needed for the visa.

One week before my current visa was to expire, I felt lost. I was doubtful of whether I still should be in Ecuador. And this creeping uncertain had me playing the worst-case scenarios in my head. Thoughts of getting stuck at the Peruvian border and unable to return to Ecuador had me worried. I finally had to step back and realize that everything was out of my hands. No amount of anxiety would bring that simple sheet of paper that I needed. The one thing I could do was pray.

Not only could I pray, but I could also invite others into the journey. I could explain my situation and ask friends, family, and coworkers to pray that everything would come together. On Friday I asked for prayers. That evening, in the course of a conversation, I felt clarity that I needed to leave things over the weekend and then on Monday go back to the immigration office with the documentation for a 6 month “commercial activities” visa.

When Monday morning rolled around, it was surprisingly easy to assemble the necessary documents. I already had all but two, and by late morning I stepped into the immigration office. The young woman who helped me not only reviewed the document, but started telling me “Sign here. Let’s paste your passport picture onto this document.” In the course of a few minutes, she was looking at her computer screen to schedule an appointment for Wednesday to officially make the switch to my new visa, which was all but stamped in my passport at that point.

All I could think as I walked out of the immigration office was, “God answers prayers.” I had only asked that by Wednesday I could work something out to not have to go to Peru and hope for a 90-day tourist visa when I returned to Ecuador. This was Monday, and I already had confirmation that I could get a visa. Moreover, I had an appointment, which meant I did not need to show up Wednesday morning at 7:30am to get in line.

When Wednesday arrived, things went smoothly, and by 1:30pm that day, I had a 6-month visa. God provided, and things came together.