We wanted to share some information with you regarding the current situation with our visa & work permit. In the middle of this past April we applied for a 2 year business visa. This is the same visa with which our predecessors at Camp Langano lived in Ethiopia. However, we were only given a 6 month business visa due to a change in Ethiopian government policy. This means that our current visa and ability to stay in Ethiopia expires in October. SIM was warned that applying to extend our business visa would bring unwarranted and unneeded scrutiny onto other missionaries with SIM in Ethiopia. So that option is very low on the list of potential solutions. Ideally, we would be able to get a work permit, which is different from a business visa. A work permit is tied to a government contract for a given project and that contract specifically lists the qualifications necessary to obtain the work permit. Currently there are no available work permits for anything remotely related to construction. Also, the work permit needs to be in Bryan’s name, which rules out any soccer or community related options that Nicole might be able to apply for. One great thing about SIM is that there is a whole team of people working on this issue so that we can focus on serving here at Langno. That team is currently looking into a number of options, most of which include writing a new government contract or re-writing an existing contract to create a new work permit for us. Once there is a work permit available, we will most likely need to be out of the country for two weeks while the paper work is filled and hopefully approved. All of this could take months to happen and force us to leave in October or it could take a matter of days, which would mean we would miss a few weeks of camp later this summer. We really have no idea on the timing, but are aware that we may get an email and need to leave the country within the week :)
So, we really need your prayers and support in this. Please pray for wisdom as we try to figure out the best option for obtaining a work permit. Also pray for favor with the government officials that SIM is working with. We are glad to be here at Camp Langano and able to serve for the time being and trust that God has a plan for us. Who knows where he will lead, but we are excited to follow!
So, we really need your prayers and support in this. Please pray for wisdom as we try to figure out the best option for obtaining a work permit. Also pray for favor with the government officials that SIM is working with. We are glad to be here at Camp Langano and able to serve for the time being and trust that God has a plan for us. Who knows where he will lead, but we are excited to follow!
