3 Things That Help When Facing Visa Issues
Needing a visa to live in the country you call home can be a huge pain! Visa related issues cause tremendous stress in the lives of many missionaries.
“You have 24 hours to leave.” These are the dreaded words every missionary hopes to never hear. Yet, sometimes do. Our friends do. We hear stories about these situations. We may even wake up at night concerned about it.
If they are nice, immigration officers might give you a week. It is still awful. Having to uproot your entire life and family, is a major challenge. Or, your nightmare scenario might be having entry at the border suddenly denied, even when you have a valid visa. You return from a nice beach holiday. Slightly sunburned, but refreshed, suddenly they say you are not allowed to go “home“. Or maybe it’s Covid related issues. Everything is in place, your visa, your entry permit, tickets, covid tests are scheduled. Until it all falls apart. A cancelled flight means your tests are invalid now and everything changes.
I wish I could say this will never happen to you – that God will always keep the current door open for you in missions. Unfortunately, that is just not the case. In our missionary lives, doors open and close to various countries we feel called to work in. Visas and permits are granted, but they are also denied.
Visa Related Issues- An Unexpected Place Of Healing
Visa challenges are a somewhat regular part of a long-term missionary’s life. The hopeful reality is that God uses these challenges to draw us close. He prunes and heals us through visa issues. He takes our fear and uncertainty and transforms it. Your place of anxiety can become a place of deep trust in His goodness, power, and sovereign nature. God uses visa uncertainty to expose roots in our lives He wants to heal. It’s part of His deep work inside us as He prepares us for greater fruitfulness and fulfillment.
Losing Our Visa And Home
Let me share a bit of our story. It happened when we had three small children. Our oldest daughter, Jenna, was in class two. Steffi, our second child, was in Kindergarten (Reception for the Brits, or Pre-KG for Indians). Our son, Jeremy was three. Our kids were happy and settled. So were we. We’d lived in that country for about ten years and learned the language. The ministry we were involved in was fruitful and growing. We thought we would be there the rest of our lives.
It was not to be. We were pursuing a new visa platform that seemed like it would serve us better. But the paperwork at immigration didn’t move. Months ticked by as our current visa ran out. We prayed hard, and asked others to pray. Nothing changed. We reached the point where there was only one month left on our visa. We hadn’t seen the breakthrough we hoped for. Our only option was to leave.
We didn’t feel God calling us back to our home country. So, we made plans to cross the land border into another nearby country. Friends there kindly said we could stay with them. There is a lot more to the story! I will have to post an excerpt from this chapter in my upcoming book, God Encounters in the Wild Places, with more details. Suffice it to say though, it was very hard. How did we get through? What do we think about it now, as we look back?
3 Things That Help When We Face Visa Related Issues
1. Remember God is the One in charge of your destiny.
When we lost our visa, it didn’t make sense. What I did know was that God was in control. He was the One who had called us to the mission field. He was master, I was His servant. I knew deep in my heart that He was the One responsible for my destiny. Whatever He called us to accomplish, it was going to have to be Him who did it. I surrendered. “God, I hate this, but you be in charge”, I prayed. Surrender is the key to joy. His ways are not usually our ways. His path never seems to be the one I expect. But He is the One who knows how to get me to my destination. He knows how to get you there too.
2. Remember that God is greater than government authorities.
Visa related problems reveal how we think about God. How great do we believe He is? Is He sovereign? Is He powerful?
It is hard when God doesn’t do what we expect or ask for. We must come to a place where we know, deep in our heart of hearts, if God wants us to be there, He can and will make a way. No government can stop His purposes.
Don’t let immigration and the security forces in the country you work in become bigger in your mind than God. The same is true about Covid-19. It’s not bigger than Him! Continue to remind yourself of His greatness and power. He can blind the eyes of officers, place a person of favor in a line you go through and bring about His purpose. Though you may or may not see that “miracle,” keep your heart in a position of faith about what God can do.
3. Remember that God is always good.
No matter what happens, we come back to the bedrock of God’s character. He loves us and He is always good. Even when His ways seem mysterious or we feel like He has failed us, He is still good. He knows the challenges you go through and is ready to walk with you through them. Be mindful of His goodness. Expect His kindness. Watch Him turn something you never thought could be good, into something wonderful.
Through visa challenges, God helps us come to a new place of peace and trust we have never known before. A child struggles then falls asleep in their mother’s arms. Be like that little one, after the fight and struggle- relax into His loving arms. He loves you. Like the title to Brian and Jenn Johnson’s song says, You’re Gonna Be Okay.
Receive His Peace
Take a few moments to pray. Thank God for His goodness to you and your family. Express your faith and trust in Him during this stressful time. Ask Him to fill you with His peace and presence. Then, sit quietly and receive His special grace for your visa related issues.
He will be with you. No matter what happens with your visa, His calling on your life will be fulfilled. God is totally committed to it. And when He commits to something, there is no stopping Him! Amen?
Are you facing a visa struggle? Share about it on Missionary Life’s Facebook Group. We’d love to pray with you.
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