A PASSPORT IS AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT OF IDENTIFICATION ISSUED BY THE PERSON’S NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.  It is in the form of a little booklet that has a photo I.D. along with standard identification information (name, DOB, sex, place of birth, etc.).

While having a passport entitles a person to freely enter and leave the issuing country, it does not necessarily guarantee entrance into another.  That depends on the country one wishes to visit.  Most people visiting the US are required to have a passport and a visa.  Only those from a select 27 countries under the Visa Waiver Program do not.

A VISA IS A STAMP OR SEAL attached to a person’s passport THAT ALLOWS THAT PERSON ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY BY WHOM IT IS ISSUED FOR A SPECIFIC PURPOSE AND A DEFINED AMOUNT OF TIME.  Visas indicate permission to enter a country; thus, permission must be requested of the country that a person desires to visit.  That’s what I mean when I say that my parents and I have applied for visas to Brazil.  NOTE: Technically, a visa only entitles a person to apply for entry into that country at a port of entry (i.e. international airport); but usually, if you get the visa, you’re allowed into the country.

What is surprising to most people is how requirements can differ depending on which country a person leaves and which one he enters.  The U.S. and Cananda’s agreement about I.D. requirements even varies based on how a person enters the other country (car, plane, etc.).  For example, Canada does not necessarily require a passport for US citizens who arrive by plan; however, the US does require a passport for those flying in.

Some countries, in response to the U.S.’s position and the difficulty of obtaining a U.S. visa, make it intentionally difficult to for U.S. Citizens to enter their country.  Tit for tat…and that, at the moment, is where I and Fred are at.

I think it’s important to clarify that our difficulties are coming from both countries.  Brazil denied my visa in March.  The U.S. denied Fred’s last month.

Right now, my parents and I are waiting for word on our tourist visas (permission from Brazil).  A phone call yesterday afternoon assured us that our applications are at the Brazil Consulate in Chicago, but at this point, nothing more can be known (about their approval, expected delivery date, etc.).  I can call every day after 4:00 PM for updates.

Obviously the visas will only be mailed on business days.  In mentally thinking ahead, I had failed until yesterday to consider the effect of the upcoming holdiay weekend on the mail.  My parents and I have tickets to fly out Wednesday, but if the visas do not arrive on or before Tuesday (that leaves us four days!)…well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

Until then, friends, do keep praying.  God knows.

The other day I “came to the end of my rope.”  That was literally the phrase that popped into my head; but in that same moment, the Holy Spirit reminded me that “God is faithful, who will not allow [me] to be tempted beyond what [I am] able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that [I] may be able to bear it” (James 1:13).  So with that thought now in mind, I prayed, “Lord, throw me an extension cord!  My rope’s about to run out!!”  And, truthfully, that’s where God wants me to be, depending solely on Him; and that truly is the only place any of us will true peace.

Sounds backwards, doesn’t it?  But it is only when we recognize and acknowledge our weakness and frailty that we find true strength, power, and fulfillment in the One who created us to fully depend on and delight in Him.

“And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you,
for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’
Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities,
that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches,
in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake.
For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9,10