Today we went to the Federal Police with a lawyer to hand in all of the prepared papers for our visas to be renewed. These documents would then be stamped by the people there and sent to the central government migration office in Brasilia for processing which would take about 1 month. However, it did not all go according to plan as we discovered something which was done by the Brazilian Embassy in London when we originally applied for our visas in Nov 2007. On the official visa forms it states that I have 2 children (dependants) but Beckie is separate so our family just consists of me (Dave), Josiah and Gideon. Strange, huh? The implication of this is that Beckie's application is treated as separate too so it is possible for the outcome of our applications to be different. For example, she could get a 2 year extension and us 3 could only get a 1 year extension! There is no clear or logical explanation for this. Today, it meant that the visa renewal applications were sent off for josiah, Gideon and me but Beckie's has had to be delayed because separate papers now need to be prepared for her, costing us more time and money.
There is something i do want to make clear though....it is this: these things do not fill us full of worry, just drive us closer to God because it is all in his very capable hands. For us, it is another lesson in trusting Him with everything and for the outcome of everything, for we are his. Hallelujah.