A friend told me that it took someone he knew 15 months to get a criminal background check from an African country to get a Canadian Visa. While our circumstances differ fortunately so did our timing. We received our criminal background check from Malawi via email the very day we asked people to pray for us.

Visas in hand thanks to your prayers!

It took us two weeks to get our medical records, blood tests, birth certificates, background checks and send them to the South African Embassy but we received our visas in just over a week. Their Embassy normally takes two weeks to issue a visa assuming they receive all the proper documents and forms. We even received a call from the South African Embassy telling us of some changes we needed to make in our applications which we corrected and sent back overnight. Normally it is difficult to get through to a person from their Embassy, but when I called the Embassy I reached the very person that was working on our Visas. Moreover, he told me they had already issued our Visas.

We had already changed our flights and housing arrangements so that we are now scheduled to leave for South Africa on October 30th. We are so grateful for your continued prayers. Now we are moving to another family’s home and Laura will need to start home schooling while we’re still in the states. This whole episode is a powerful reminder of the importance of prayer and of our dependence upon God.

Zikomo kwambiri (thanks very much),

Jay, Laura, Clara, Katherine and Lauren Stoms

Other Prayer Requests:

1) Four (4) new churches and eight (8) new families or individuals who can give $1 a day.

2) For the emotional and spiritual health of our family as we go through more transitions.

3) To connect with friends and family as we begin to say our ‘goodbyes’ before we leave.

Contact: jaystoms@hotmail.com (Befriend Jay and or Laura Stoms on FACEBOOK).

PLEASE SEND ANY GIFTS AND OR MONTHLY SUPPORT TO:

Africa Christian Training Institute (Stoms Family Ministry Fund)
P.O. Box 15621; Panama City FL 32406-5621.

 

Dear Friends and Family,

Saying 'goodbye' to a friend.

Thanks to your prayers we were able to send in the required documents to the South African Embassy in Los Angeles to obtain our visas. We sent out our applications, passports, medical records, birth certificates and background checks from both the States and Malawi this past Saturday.

Much to our surprise we were able to acquire the criminal background check from Malawi the very same day we asked people to pray for us. We were also able to get our TB tests, have additional blood work done and get the results back in just a couple of days. Moreover, we even received a phone call from the South African Embassy saying that they received our applications. This was encouraging because it is rare to get through to a live person when you call their Embassy.  

The processing time for the visas is 10 business days assuming all the requirements are satisfied.  The challenge now is getting approval on all the documents we submitted.   

Please pray that we can get all our visas without any delays or extra charges. It also turns out that we were able to change both our flights and housing arrangements at no additional costs. We are now planning to leave at the end of October. We also received a generous check from our dear friends from Covenant Church in Issaquah which more than offset the extra costs of getting the visas.

We would be grateful for your continued prayers.  At the end of the month we will transition to another generous family’s home and Laura will need to start home school rather than waiting to begin in South Africa.

Zikomo kwambiri (thanks very much),
Jay, Laura, Clara, Katherine and Lauren Stoms

Other Prayer Requests:

1) Four (4) new partnering churches and ten (10) new families or individuals who can give $1 a day.
2) For the emotional and spiritual health of our family as we go through more transitions.
3) To connect with friends and family as we begin to say our ‘goodbyes’ before we leave.

Contact: jaystoms@hotmail.com (Befriend Jay and or Laura Stoms on FACEBOOK).

PLEASE SEND ANY GIFTS AND OR MONTHLY SUPPORT TO:
Africa Christian Training Institute (Stoms Family Ministry Fund)
P.O. Box 15621; Panama City FL 32406-5621.

Dear Friends and Family,


Deception Pass with the Laramy sisters.
 

We have a pressing need for prayer. We’re having trouble acquiring our visa or a temporary resident permit to stay in South Africa for 3-5 years. In the past this could be applied for in country but the law was changed in May of this year. Unfortunately, by not applying sooner I’ve created a lot of additional stress for our family. We would have to send out our Passports with our application and hope that we secure a visa at the last minute. Since extensive paperwork is required we have decided to delay our flights.  God willing, we would now plan to leave for Africa at the end of October. Please pray that we can get all the required items and that our visas will be processed in a timely manner so that we can travel soon.

In order to receive our visas we have to complete applications for each person in our family and send them with valid Passports and passport photos to the South African Embassy in Los Angeles. Some of the items we need are notarized birth certificates, medical reports, including TB tests, and proof of health care coverage. We also need Police background checks and clearance certificates from the United States and from Malawi. The background check from Malawi is proving to be one of the more difficult items to obtain. We also need to show we have roundtrip tickets or we have to provide a repatriation deposit of $1500 for one way tickets. The processing time for the visas is 10 business days assuming all the requirements are satisfied. However, the challenge is getting everything they require and according to their standards in order to gain approval.

With the Bohlings in West Seattle
 

If you can make this a matter of prayer we would be very grateful.

Zikomo kwambiri (thanks very much),
Jay, Laura, Clara, Katherine and Lauren Stoms

Other Prayer Requests: 
1) We are still seeking four (4) new partnering churches and twelve (12) new families or individuals who can give just over $1 a day. 
2) For the emotional and spiritual health of our family as we go through more transitions.
3) To connect with friends and family as we begin to say our ‘goodbyes’ before we leave.
 

Contact: jaystoms@hotmail.com (Befriend Jay and or Laura Stoms on FACEBOOK). 

PLEASE SEND ANY GIFTS AND OR MONTHLY SUPPORT TO:

Africa Christian Training Institute (Jay Stoms Ministry Fund).