Visa Renewal

The government here definitely likes to let you know who is in charge. One of the major problems for the Church in having missonaries here is that any visitor has to leave the country every 90 days and get their visa renewed to get back into the country. Just imagine the cost in dollars and time to do this for every missionary every three months. We are close to the border but, of course, many of them have to fly long distances to do this. In the past it often took a couple of weeks, sometimes longer, out of the country to get this done.

Recently, the Church has worked out a system that at least cuts down on the time it takes for the process. After each missionary arrives someone in the mission office applies to the US embassy for a second passport for them. This seems strange since ordinarily you can only have one passport at a time, but this is an exceptional, two-year passport. Then, having two passports, one can be sent to the Russian consulate in the country nearest the missionary 10 days ahead of renewal time. The missionary still has to go to that country but the turn-around time is only a day or two because the paperwork has already been done.

We had our first experience in this process last week. We were driven to Tallin, Estonia, about a 4 hour drive, and there picked up our new visas and came back the same day. Should have been a piece of cake -- but it wasn't. Driving out of Russia was no problem, but getting back in is something else. The cars get so backed up because of the time it takes to process each one at the border that they have you park in a designated parking lot and take a number. Our number at 2:00 in the afternoon was 643. Then we sat there in the hot car for the next 8 hours! Of course, it could have been worse -- it could have been cold! (And will be the next times we go.)

I believe I mentioned when in Lithuania that it seems every European city has its fortress, and Narva, Estonia, was no exception. (This was the border town.) Shown here at two forts exactly opposite each other on the sides of a not-very-large river. One is Russian and the other Estonian, but who knows what countries were in power when they were built! It seems that all their history was just continual warefare.