“Happy Independence day!…you are obligated to leave Holland within 24 hours.” Fantastic. But as always, there is more to the story, and this most recent rejection is just one more step in the process. So, to bring you up to speed, here is what has actually taken place in our visa application process since we arrived last November:
- November – January: We enjoyed three months of automatic tourist visa as Americans.
- February – May or June(-ish): The government processed our applications to ensure that there was no legal argument that would allow us to stay here.
- June(-ish): We received the official “No” from the authorities because Calvary Chapel is not on the preferred list of religious organizations the government grants visas to (a list that was made six years ago).
- June: Our lawyer Robert filed a letter of protest against the government’s ruling.
- July: The government rejected Robert’s letter of protest (as expected), spurring the beginning of the official appeal process.
Sunday Nathan, Anna, Kate, Jude and I had a brief conversation with our lawyer about the next steps. First up is our lawyer’s instructions that we “Don’t panic, but stay cool.” Whew. Deep breath. Okay, what’s next? Two options:
- The appeal process, which will buy us at least another year in Holland, may end with visas granted or,
- We may be able to get visas through a Calvary Chapel in Germany (which would require us to make a one-day trip to Germany once every 90 days).
Of course the ideal for which we would like you to pray is that the Lord would put Calvary Chapel on the list of preferred religious organizations that the government works with so that future missionaries might also be able to come out more easily. This is the option we are asking of the Lord and we’ll keep you posted on what he chooses to do.
