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

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.