We have a VISA!!!

Wonder of wonders, Miracle of Miracles!!! Our little girl has her VISA!

Christiana went with our agent today to apply for a temporary permit which would allow us to travel to the United States over Christmas. Instead, when they approached the desk, the agent told them Susanna Jane's application had finally been APPROVED!
Phil thinks it's because Susanna Jane was there in person - who can refuse a visa to this cute face?

Christiana was able to finalize all of the details & complete the formalities for Susanna Jane's residency card. We can't pick it up until January, but PRAISE GOD for granting us this very important document.

Thank you for all of your prayers for us over these many months!

No News is...Aggravating.

We're still waiting for news on Susanna Jane's long-term visa. The same one we started applying for last January.

About a month ago, Christiana met with our visa agent to give him the latest round of documents, including new letters from our insurance company and a lease with Susanna Jane's name on it. However, when Christiana handed that particular document over to our agent, she was told it was merely an amendment to our original lease. She would have to return home with Susanna, locate the original lease, and bring it back to our agent the same day if we were to meet the deadline we'd been given.  Why? Because all of the previous copies of our original lease had "expired".

True story - documents have expiration dates. If we were to go a certain number of days past the date stamped by the notary, we have to start again. It's the same lease, the exact same information, with the same original date of occupancy. The only difference is it has a fresh new stamp on it. 

More documents = more trips to the notary = more MONEY to be paid! 

People have insinuated that our visa agent is to blame - he isn't. He's merely the messenger, so don't shoot him. (As a matter of fact, he doesn't get paid until our daughter gets the visa so he's every bit as anxious to see this completed! The extra fees go to the document center & the notary.) Unfortunately, we've gotten caught in a corrupt loop somewhere in the office of the foreign police. Someone is sitting on our daughter's case file, probably expecting a bribe. 

Our baby girl turns ONE next week - we'd love to give her a VISA for her birthday! Will you continue to pray with us to see that this matter is finally resolved?

Nerozumím česky

We're in the middle of an intensive Czech class - a *very* intensive Czech class. We've had four classes so far, and I'm told we've covered at least half a semester's worth of material. I don't doubt it. I feel as though we're moving at the speed of light.

This has been a frustrating week for me, I think primarily because I'm the only person in the class who hasn't studied some Czech prior to enrolling. (Phil attended classes at CISP last fall; two of the other girls in the class have already done most of the workbook pages we've been assigned.) I'm also discouraged because I don't have the time to give it my undivided attention like I did when I studied Russian. I'd love to spend three solid hours on my homework, but I have a very busy 8-month-old (who's still nursing,) and a job with RCE.

Some have assumed I'd have an easier time with Czech because I already spoke Russian. I've been told that Czech & Russian have a 60% crossover, but I'm seriously starting to doubt this. For every word that I recognize that actually means the same thing in Czech as it did in Russian, there have to be at least 5 more that sound the same, but mean exactly the opposite. While the grammar structure is fairly similar, the verb endings are throwing me for a loop.

I'm not wanting to sound disgruntled - I'm thankful to finally have the opportunity to study! I do want to give everyone fair warning that I'm not going to come home speaking in full paragraphs. Grace is appreciated. 

Our Very Own "Biometric" Cards

We are now "card-carrying" residents of the Czech Republic! We received our Biometric cards (sort of like a driver's license, but about 10 times more expensive) this afternoon, which means we're good until July of 2015.

One small hiccup - while we were given our long term residency permits, Susanna Jane's application hasn't even gone through yet. We're not sure why there seems to be this delay, since we applied as a family, but we'd appreciate your ongoing prayers for this situation.

Parcel or "Partial" Post?

One of the things we counted as a plus to being in Central Europe is that regular mail, such as letters & post cards, make it to us between 6-9 days. (When we lived in Moscow, it wasn't uncommon to receive Christmas cards in February, if we received them at all.) We've already received some very kind notes and a birth announcement, and it's always great to hear from friends & family.  Given this speedy rate of delivery, we were hopeful that we would have equal success in receiving care packages or boxes of goodies from friends & family. 

Unfortunately, we had a very difficult time with our first package. Some of it was our fault; some of it is just the particularity with witch Czech Post handles parcels. 

Before we left the states, Christiana had packed a box of miscellaneous clothing & books (basically all of the "non-essential stuff" that over-weighted our suitcases), addressed it, sealed it, and left it with her parents to send to us in Prague. There was nothing particularly priceless in there, but it was stuff that we wanted back eventually.

The box was mailed on or about the 23rd of August, and approximately 10 days later, we received a notification that it was at the postal customs house. "WOW, how awesome!" Or so we thought. (Again, it was not uncommon in Moscow to receive a parcel several months after it had been shipped.) Unfortunately, attached to that notification was also a whole stack of additional paperwork which we were asked to complete. We discovered that - even with all of the additional documentation we might provide - it didn't guarantee us delivery of our package, at least not right to our door. Assuming we cleared up all of the "problems" with this box, it was still going to be an additional charge for the postman to bring it to the address printed on it!

What had we done wrong? 

Well for starters, we'd used an old blender box - it had a picture of a very expensive kitchen appliance on it. 

Strike one. 
The customs declaration only said "personal items" - it didn't itemize clothes, shoes or books. It was also not marked as a "gift", something which we've learned is essential if we want to receive anything without having to pay additional customs fees for it.

Strike two.

Although there was nothing particularly valuable in the box, it had been insured for more than $40 USD. 

Strike three!

We'll spare you the rest of the tedious details. By God's goodness, we managed to escape a hefty fine in customs, and after two more weeks, six additional papers, and a delivery charge, the box was FINALLY brought to us at school. You know you're suffering from culture shock when it's exciting to receive your old clothes & shoes in the mail.

We've received several requests from readers & friends for our mailing address, and we're glad to provide this to you. However, for anyone who is considering sending us a package of some sort, please, please use the following guidelines before sticking anything in the mail!

1. Unwrap/untag everything. Take off excess labels, take off price tags. If it's baby clothing, please wash, dry & fold so you can call it "used". Package like things together in Ziploc bags. If something comes with directions, package those separately somehow, perhaps as a "bookmark" in a used book. 
2. If anyone sends us anything like a DVD, CD, or book, make sure to unwrap it completely & remove the electronic security tag from the inside of the case. Play the disc so it has been "used". Write our last name on covers or inside flaps of books. Again, please make sure all price tags are removed.
3. List the entire contents of the package on the customs declaration (say "used _________" whenever possible), and make sure it is marked as a GIFT.
4. Do not insure the package for more than $40! Most people end up paying fines for packages insured over this amount. Regardless of what you've sent us, please don't insure it for a large amount of money.
5. Try to mail things in bubble envelopes or flat-rate postal boxes. The larger the box, the more likely it is to be snagged for inspection. Do not use commercial packaging - meaning boxes with pictures of toys, electronics or appliances on them. That's a huge red flag.
6. Please be sure to write the mailing address directly on the package somewhere. Even if  you're told the customs label is enough, it's not.

Packages may be sent to:
Christian International School of Prague
Attn: Brande  - (Please don't put either of our first names on it, because if one of us isn't at school on the day it's delivered, the other one can't claim it without a power of attorney.)
Legerova 5
120 00 Praha 2
Czech Republic

We realize that we've probably just caused most of you to cancel any plans to send us anything for Christmas - we understand. Please know that any regular letter or card is still highly appreciated, and those *can* be delivered to us at no extra charge by the Czech Post.

One of "Those" Days

We've been in Prague three weeks today, and we've accomplished quite a lot in this time span. So much, in fact, that I was lulled into believing that I could continue to check things off my still very long "To Do" list at a rapid-fire rate. Instead, I've had a day in which nothing was accomplished according to my desires. I've had one of "those" days.

• My parents mailed us a package, and wonder of wonders, it's already arrived. (If we still lived in Russia, I wouldn't even look for a package until mid-October.) We were given a large packet of papers from the post office a week ago which confirmed the package was in the customs house, and told that we could begin to file the appropriate forms to claim it. I foolishly thought that claiming a package in a progressive country like the Czech Republic would be pretty straight-forward, but for every paper I've submitted, I've received another request for more information. Today, I was asked to send in either a work permit or my study-abroad papers, neither of which I have. I'm starting to think that I may never receive this box or its contents.
• One of the things we were told we had to do once we signed the lease on our flat was to transfer the utilities into our names, and we needed to do this within 10 days of moving in. "Okay," we thought. "No problem." It probably wouldn't have been a problem except it took the resident manager nearly a week & half to get us the proper forms that we needed. It probably wouldn't have been a problem if it hadn't taken me an extra day to complete these forms (and this was with a great deal of help from one of our co-workers.) Still, I gamely set out to find the main offices for the electricity and gas services, believing that I'd be able to just get us in under the wire. I reached the offices about 1:15 p.m., only to discover that they'd both closed at noon. "Yeah," someone told me later, "forget trying to conduct business on a Friday." Information that would have been useful yesterday...
• The refrigerator we purchased came with an extended warranty, but the warranty wasn't delivered with the frig. But not to worry, said the e-mail which came on Wednesday, I simply needed to find one of the stores and ask them to print the warranty information for me. Sounds simple enough, right? Not if you're trying to conduct business on a Friday!
• We had three days in which to register our visas when we first arrived in Prague, and we did so. However, we have a new apartment, which means we have a new address, which means that we have to re-register our visas! I'd sent the signed contract which confirmed our new address to the visa agent (who truly has been incredibly helpful - I'm grateful to have his assistance) but unfortunately, we won't be able to get an appointment with the foreign police until at least two weeks from now. That's okay, because in the meantime, Phil has to declare me his legal power of attorney in Prague so I can take his passport with mine to register us both at the same address.

Quite frankly, the events of the day made me feel that I was still living in Moscow, but with much nicer weather and friendlier clerks. In fact, I was starting to wish that I *was* back in Moscow, because at least I would know what sort of hoops & hurdles I'd have to jump in a day's work. I took myself to a coffee shop to sulk for awhile, noting that at least I was only paying 1/3 of what I'd pay for coffee in Moscow. It was one of those classic "pictures of Egypt" moments, when you start to wish for what you had, not necessarily because it was great, but because it was so familiar. It's important to remember that God did not call us to serve in Prague because it would be "easier" or "calmer" or "better" than our previous place of service. He called us to be here because it's where He wants us, period.

Thankfully, I'm ending the day on a better note than I started it. I did manage to collect some necessary groceries on the way home, and I even found some local honey (which hopefully will help with my terrible allergies!) I'll rest & recoup over the weekend, and set out to accomplish the same tasks next Monday.

Our Container Made It!

Today is an exciting day - our container has arrived! 

clothing, bedding, pictures & books

the boxes we've managed to unpack so far

kitchen table, dishes, pots & pans

the new (full-sized) frige

In the midst of all of the chaos of the unloading or our container, we received a phone call from the appliance store - our refrigerator was downstairs waiting to be installed. What timing! We are thankful we found this appliance for such a good price. Still no washing machine - this may have to wait another month. 

We are grateful to have our household items and our furniture again - especially our own bed.

Our Current "Campground"

We have a home - Rumunska 14!  Although it's lacking a few several comforts of home, we're very thankful to have found a place to live which is so close to the school, and so close to our budget. Now we're praying that our container will clear customs without any further delay, so that we'll finally be able to sleep in our own bed again. We've gotten several mixed messages concerning the delivery of our belongings, but we're hopeful that our things might arrive before the start of school next week.

Here are a few pictures of our new place. Please excuse the mess - we're still trying to determine where we'd like everything to go.

Our entry way - big enough to be a room!

This is our current "bedroom" - we're futon-sitting for some colleagues headed on furlough.

While our kitchen came with a stove, oven & even a dishwasher, it did not include a refrigerator. We're currently borrowing one from the school, but we will have to purchase one in the near future.

Our kitchen - refrigerator not included.

The frig & microwave graciously loaned to us by CISP

Here's Baby B's future room! We're very grateful that we've been loaned a crib and a changing table for this year.

Baby's room - some assembly required

Our bathroom has it's own boiler (no more summers without hot water!) but it did not include a washing machine.

Shower & washroom on the left; toilet & sink on the right.

We had not planned to have to buy two major appliances right at the start of our term, so we are praying for the Lord to provide not only affordable equipment, but also the additional funds we'll need to pay for delivery and installation.

We do not have internet at home. Christiana initiated the process of trying to get us connected, but it will be another week before they even send a "technik" to evaluate our flat to see what sort of a set-up we can have. The next big step is to put all of the utilities into our names, and to get an affidavit from our landlord stating that she has the legal right to rent us this place. Once we have those documents, we can apply to be legally registered in Prague 2, which will pave the way for us to eventually have our visas extended.

Please continue to pray for the safe delivery of the contents of our container, as well as for all of the tasks we still have to accomplish to be residents of Prague.

What a Week!

We've been in the Czech Republic exactly one week. In this time we have:

• Celebrated at a colleague's birthday party
• Purchased sim cards & activated our phones
• Attended an international worship service
• Looked at apartments
• Acquainted ourselves with the tram network
• Registered our visas with the foreign police
• Looked at apartments
• Visited our new OB and received a clean bill of health for mommy & Baby B
• Signed more documents for the shipping company to deliver our container
• Looked at apartments
• Started orientation at CISP
• FOUND an apartment
• Checked out the metro system
• Investigated a thrift store
• Registered ourselves for "Open Cards" (the Prague transportation cards which will also double as library cards)
• Signed the rental contract for our new home
• Celebrated our first week in Prague with a date night, and somehow ended up on the wrong tram home

The biggest praises this week are for the very encouraging doctor's appointment, and the location of our new home! While this apartment did not come "fully equipped" as we had hoped it might (it's missing a refrigerator and it doesn't have a washing machine), it is a very good-sized apartment, and it's only a ten-minute walk from school. It's also one of the only buildings we looked at which allowed a stroller to roll right in off the street - no two flights of stairs before we even reached the elevator. 

Even though it doesn't have a single stick of furniture in it yet, we're moving in TOMORROW, and we appreciate continued prayer for the safe & hassle-free delivery of our container. It's supposed to be here next week - we'll see whether that materializes or not.

Time Well Spent?

It's been a rather long day for us. We left the place where we're staying about 8:25 this morning. Here's how we spent our time:

8:25-8:30 - Walk to the tram stop; just miss the 8:30 tram
8:40 - Catch next tram
8:40-9:10 - Ride the tram; view Prague from the windows
9:10-9:15 - Walk from tram stop to school
9:15-10:25 - Make more inquiries about possible apartment rentals; only 1 out of 4 phone calls yields an appointment
10:25-11:00 - Find our way from school to the designated meeting point with the person who will help us register our visas
11:00-11:22 - Take public transport to the foreign police office
11:22 - Receive our number for our place in "line" to see visa registration official
11:23-12:00 - Wait for our number to be called
12:00-12:30 - Wait for our number to be called
12:30-1:00 - Wait for our number to be called
1:00-1:13 - Wait for our number to be called (Hey, it could have been worse...)
1:14-1:35- Have number called; meet with visa registration official & receive appropriate stamps in passports
1:35-2:40 - Make our way BACK to school
2:45 - Leave school to go look at apartments
3:00-6:30 - View possible apartments with mixed results; the one with the best location had the least amount of space and virtually no kitchen; the one with the most incredible space was listed at one price, and the realtor asked for another. Hmmm.
(Not all of these appointments were back-to-back, so we're making ourselves acquainted with various coffee shops around Prague. We're VERY thankful for our colleague, Melodee, who not only helped us set up appointments, but also went with us to every.single.one.)
6:30-7:10 - Make the return trip to our current lodgings
7:15-present - Continue to pray that TOMORROW will find us finding the perfect place to live!

Will you join us in prayer for our apartment? We're looking for something that's not too far from the school (or from the hospital), something that has at least 3 rooms, and a building with an elevator (if we're higher than the first floor.) We'd also really like to find one that included all appliances, since buying things like refrigerators wasn't really in our budget. We know that God has the perfect place for us to live - we just need Him to help us find it!

Safe Landings

This was us, approximately 24 hours ago. At least, we think it was 24 hours -it's hard to tell. We've been awake for a very long time.

You'd think we were moving to another country or something...

We have landed safely in Prague, Czech Republic, and miraculously, so did ALL of this luggage! (If you know Phil's history with lost bags, you'll appreciate the significance of this.)

We are very, very tired, but we are so grateful to be here. The next few days will be spent registering our visas, getting Czech sim cards for our phones, buying transportation passes, and most importantly, signing a rental contract for a place to live. Please continue to pray for all of the details to fall into place for our housing & the arrival of our shipment.

Down to the Wire

We're about 36 hours from our anticipated departure time. There is still so much we need to accomplish, and we need your prayers.

One major issue looming over us is the fact that we do not have a rental "contract" for a place to live once we arrive (we have a housing agreement - apparently not good enough). While we're not too concerned about it for ourselves this is a big deal for getting our shipment delivered. We've been trying to get the necessary paperwork in order, but it's not happening as quickly as we would like. Please pray for all of these details to fall smoothly in to place. Pray that we'd be able to sign a "contract" even on the day we arrive!

As for getting ready to go, here's our "To Do" list for the day:

• Attempt to scan & send the additional paperwork to clear our shipment for delivery
• Send final financial documents to RCE
• Confirm our airline reservation & our tickets
• Double check to make sure our passports, visas & letters of service are in a safe place
• Make one last trip to Wal-Mart for the toothbrushes, pain relievers, vitamins and the other random things we forgot to buy
• Re-sort all of our belongings & baby gear - even with the extra bag allowance, we're not sure we can get it all into the suitcases.
• Call our bank & credit card companies and remind them that we'll now be accessing our accounts from outside the US
• Get last-minute haircuts
• Call various insurance agencies and make sure everything is in order
• Call family members "one more time"
• Try to get a full night's sleep before tomorrow's departure

We are so excited about all that God has in store for us in the Czech Republic - we just have to get there first! Please continue to agree with us for a smooth departure.

End of the Road-Trip

We've made it! After six weeks, 16 states, 20 different beds, and more than 6,000 miles, we're back in the DC area.

The Brande Support Tour of 2013

This was a long trip, but we were so blessed by the opportunities we had to connect with dear family & friends. We were grateful for every speaking engagement, and we appreciate every opportunity we had to meet with a supporter or a sponsoring church. Most of all, we are tremendously thankful for everyone who opened their homes to us along the way!

So after all of this travel & talking about our calling to missions, we are almost to 90% of our total monthly support needed. Our sending agency would prefer us to be at 100% - we still have 72 hours in which God can work.

Over the next four days, we will:

• Wash clothing & pack all of our suitcases
• Weigh and repack our suitcases
• Complete the additional documents required to get our shipment through customs
• Print out all of our travel documents & confirm our flights
• Reweigh (and possibly repack) all of our bags
• Continue to trust in the Lord to provide for all of our needs

Please continue to lift us up in prayer!

Up, Up, and Away!!!

For many, many months now you all have been praying with us ...from the start of our making the decision to move to Prague, through all the craziness of visas, and on the winding roads (some literally) of support raising.

We are very happy to tell you that our support level has risen enough to the point of getting permission to buy tickets, and God blessed us with an incredible price through a "missionary fare."  Today we received our tickets to leave on August 15! We are excited and at the same time taking very deep breaths as we realize that we are leaving in less than 10 days.

This does not mean that you should stop praying.  Please continue to pray for:
1.) The last leg of travel -- We are in Minneapolis now and will be making our way back to DC this week, arriving Saturday evening.
2.) Continued support provision -- We are trusting that God is going to provide the rest of what we need to meet 100%.
3.) Physical strength and energy -- It's been a long month of travel and we are very tired!
4.) All the details on the other side -- Apartments, dr. appointments, shipment of our container, start of school.

We are so grateful that you have stayed with us on this journey, and we look forward to having you with us on the other side of the ocean as well.  

Two-week Countdown

It's the last day of July. We're hovering between 71-72% of support raised. God has been so gracious in providing us with additional speaking engagements, and slowly but steadily, He's providing new sponsors. We only have $1585 left to raise in monthly pledges.

This would be the equivalent of:

     One hundred new donors making pledges of $15.85 monthly
               OR
     Seventy-five individuals giving $21.30 on a monthly basis

               OR
     Fifty people giving $31.70 each month

               OR
     Twenty-five people pledging $63.40 per month

               OR
     Ten people (or churches) giving $158.50 monthly

               OR

     Any combination of new pledge commitments. 

We are so incredibly grateful for everything which has already been given, and we continue to trust the Lord to provide for the remainder of our monthly needs.

We are still holding fast to our target date of August 15. That's just two weeks from now! There are many tasks to complete before this time, not the least of which is purchasing our airline tickets. We're finally in communication with a travel agent, so at least we're getting closer.

Today & tomorrow are our last days in Missouri - we're leaving Friday morning for Iowa & points north, so please continue to pray for us as we travel. Our greatest needs (aside from the last portion of our monthly support) are for safety, health and strength. We do not want to arrive in the Czech Republic completely worn out! 

Worth the Wait

Visa Application Charges - $254
Translation Services - $320
Notary Fees - $30
Postage & Courier Fees - $120

Two 6-Month Visas to Czech Republic- PRICELESS

Reservation Complete!

Praise the Lord, our reservation for a space in the maternity hospital has been completed & confirmed! We are very thankful to our colleagues in Prague who've persevered with this process. We also appreciate everyone who has been praying over this situation.

One more thing we can cross off of our "Czech List"!

And They're OFF!

Three months, multiple agencies, and 32 pages later - we're FINALLY submitting our visa applications! They were dispatched not 20 minutes ago, to the Czech Embassy via Express Mail.

32 pages, 4 pictures, 2 passports and 2 payments

Here's an itemized list (per person) of everything that was just stuffed (and we do mean STUFFED) into the envelopes:

5 pages of visa application
4 pages of bank documents (+ translation into Czech)
2 pages of Russian background checks (+ translation into Czech)
1 letter of invitation from CISP (thankfully, already in Czech!)
1 letter verifying place of residence
1 notarized affidavit for the Czech Embassy
1 letter of employment verification from RCE
1 passport
1 copy of passport data page
2 visa pictures (thank you, Walgreens, for having the technology to format pictures according to European standards!)
1 money order for $127 dollars to cover the application fee
(not pictured, the return envelopes which also had to be sent with the documentation)

Please continue to pray for us as these documents go forward. The embassy claims that it can take anywhere from 90-120 days for them to process our applications. Pray that we might somehow gain favor and speedy processing time, allowing us to have our visas no later than the first of August.

One Step Forward, Three Steps Back...

Just when we think we're ready to submit our applications for long-term visas in the Czech Republic, we hit another speed bump.

First, we hit roadblock after roadblock in trying to obtain our background checks from Russia. When those finally arrived, we realized we had to get them translated. Additional delay of 7 days.

We needed four very important documents from the school in Prague, verifying our purpose of stay and our residency. When the envelope was delivered, we discovered we'd been sent another couple's papers. The other couple  had ours. We contacted each other & arranged a trade. Additional delay of 5 days.

Once we had the correct papers in our names, we were informed they had not been completed. The school had inadvertently omitted two key dates of some sort. The papers must be redone, and resent. Additional delays unknown.

Today we received an envelope from the Florida Secretary of State. We assumed it contained the much-awaited apostille on our marriage license. Nope. Even though we had called (TWICE) to verify the procedure, the office refused to apostille the papers because we were not married in the state of Florida. (Any WHY did it take them two full weeks to return our documents with this news???)
We must contact the Secretary of State of North Carolina. Additional delays of up to two weeks for the apostille, with a potential 7 additional days for translation.

We know we've been called to serve at CISP. We see God providing blessing after blessing, and we continue to receive confirmations that we are to arrive in Prague by August 15, the date the school requested us to be there. Please continue to pray with us as we press forward with our visa applications!

We Have Background Checks!

Our Russian background checks have finally arrived!! We received four pieces of paper - two in Russian, two in English - stating that the Russian Ministry of the Interior has no criminal record on either of us. (We weren't expecting they would, but it's nice to have it in writing.)

Now we have to send these documents to be translated into Czech. We would love it if it could be done overnight, but in all probability it could take a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, we're still waiting on several other documents which must be submitted along with our visa application. They are all in various stages (and locations) of completion.

We are so thankful to everyone who's been praying with us through this process. Please continue to stand with us as we track down the remaining paperwork!