Visa Troubles- We need prayer
We ran into the first major snag in our attempt to start a foundation and get visas through it. On Friday we went to the immigration office, expecting a stamp in our passports to give us another 60 days in Thailand (part of a 3 step process toward getting a one year visa). Instead, we were told we hadn't made enough progress in opening the foundationoffice (we thought we had more time for this and were in the process of getting air con, a front door, and a sign but aren't' yet open for business) and they are asking us to leave the country within 7 days to get a new visa. This also involves Tom reapplying for a new work permit under the foundation also.
This was really disappointing news for us and we felt a lot of frustration related to our lack of understanding of the requirements (we had no idea they would be doing an office inspection or that the foundation should already be open). Our lawyer Joe is working on the situation and is optimistic that he can help us plead our case at immigration and ask for another shot at the 60 days without leaving the country. He is coming down from Chiang Mai and we'll go with him to immigration on Wednesday morning to ask for more time. Please pray for grace from the officials that day.
If that plan doesn't work, we will need to go to Laos (Tom has already been to Laos on two separate trips in the last month!) and apply for another visa at the embassy (we'll plan to take the kids).
Please pray for peace, especially for Tom. He has put a lot of work into this process and it's very disheartening for him and we question our ability to get through this process at times because of the red tape and language barriers involved. Pray that God would ease our doubts, help us to have faith and give us wisdom.
Thank you!
-Candice