Those official papers

Instituto Nacional de Migracion

We went to Mexico City this morning to complete our visa process (for this year, anyway!).  We had the help of an old friend named Illiana, who is an expert in such matters, and the process went like clockwork today.  (These are called "FM-3" visas, the next step up from the tourist VISA)

Illiana, Shari, Hannah and Nathanael
Illiana with Shari, Hannah and Nathanael
outside the photo-takin’ place

 We also had fellow missionary Toby come along, and he made the traffic navigating a lot smoother!

We went to the immigration office, then went out and had our pictures taken (this was Nathanael’s biggest challenge of the day – he had to sit still for a full 3-4 seconds at a time!).  Then we stopped for lunch, and went back to immigration to sign all the papers, check the information to see if it was correct, and make some thumb prints on the documents.  That was about it.

This process we actually started before we left Canada, so lots of mail, email, phone calls, and hundreds of dollars later we’ve finished!  So now we’re all set until next July, when we need to renew – a much simpler process.

Not only did we get to spend some time with Toby and reconnect with Illiana, we met some more old friends in Cuernavaca (Antoñio, Becky and Jessica), and met some friends of theirs, and were able to spend some time with them.

So, a big day, but a very good day.  Praise the Lord for friends, a smooth visa process, and, of course, the visas themselves!  Oh, and ice cream.