Jay and Laura Stoms working with International Students in South Africa.

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.