Praise from Joey and Leah Clapp

We just wanted to let you know, that if you have prayed for us at any time in the past seven months since we started the process of getting our visas, your prayers have been answered! We finally have our visas in hand! We went yesterday (Thursday) to the Consulate to try applying again. I knew we had been spending too much time at the Ukrainian Consulate when the man behind the bulletproof glass, Serhey (yes, I know his name) said, “Welcome back my friend, lets try again.” We were just sure that we had all of the required documents and even some documents that they didn’t ask for. All of the documents had been translated and notarized and we came in beaming, thinking that this was the day. When we slipped all of our crisp, translated, notarized documents under the glass, our friend Serhey face turned to disappointment. He told us that they had just found out, since the last time we were in the office, that all of these documents have to have an additional seal called an apostile. It is essentially an international notarization. “Not to worry, they do these over at the Secretary of State’s office on State Street in Chicago. If you hurry, they will all be done before we close today,” he said. Oh great, another step, but this one sounds simple. We’ll just run over there, get the seal and be back in an hour or two. Unfortunately, you can only get the seal for documents issued in Illinois and my birth certificate was obviously issued in Michigan. We realized what this meant, we have to drive to Michigan. We knew that if we didn’t leave right that moment, we would have to wait almost a full week longer because of the days and hours that the Consulate is open. Leah and I looked at each other and knew exactly what we had to do. We ran to the car and took off for Grand Rapids, MI: the closest location to Chicago that gives these seals. We breathed a sigh of relief as we breezed through Chicago traffic. We were so excited that we were going to make it with over an hour to spare, then it hit us, WE’RE LOSING AN HOUR! We raced (faster than I’d care to admit) through the streets of Grand Rapids and arrived 15 minutes before they locked the doors. We were able to get our last seal, eat some dinner with my brother that lives in Grand Rapids, and jump back into the car to race back to Chicago. We spent the night in a hotel and woke up this morning in time to go back to the Secretary of State’s office to get our last two seals and then go over to the Consulate to apply. This time, when we slid all our papers to Serhey he said, “Very good, I’ll have them to you in an hour.” Sure enough, we came back in an hour and the process was done! He gave us our visas! Praise the Lord!

We have learned so much in this process, not only about international bureaucracy, but even more about praying and resting in the knowledge that, “…the eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” Deuteronomy 33:27 What an amazing experience to learn so much about ourselves, God, and His perfect timing. Thank you so much for praying and encouraging us through this process. Praise the Lord for His provision.

In Christ Alone,
Joey and Leah Clapp