GREAT NEWS!

I think most of you are aware of the issues we have had with our Brazilian visas, but in case there are some that don't know what has been happening, here is the story...
Starting in about March of this year Lacy, Greg and I started the process of applying for one year volunteer visas from Brazil. Our plan was to begin our year in July. When our leave date arrived, Lacy had her visa, but Greg and I didn't. After about one month of waiting, we found out we had been denied that visa. According to our contacts, that denial left us with no other options to try to stay in Brazil for the whole year, but we could apply for a tourist visa which is usually for 3 months and then apply for an extension and get a total of 6 months in the country. So, we decided that is the thing to do. We did get approved for a tourist visa, but when we received it we realized that it was only a 30 day visa. This was completely unexpected and left us with a big decision to make. Do we go on to Brazil for the 30 days and hope for an extension, or, Do we give up on Brazil all together and spend the entire year in another country? Since the church here in Natal was expecting us and we had told them we were coming, we felt like we should go there for whatever time we were allowed. With this decision made, we then needed to decide what to do, where to go, when we have to leave Brazil. The people at LST recommended two churches in two different countries that were really wanting and needing interns to do follow-up work from the LST summer projects and after reviewing all the contingencies regarding both sites we come to a decision about the rest of our year.
So, now you have the whole story up to today.
Now for the GREAT NEWS! Today, we got word that our applications for an extension on our Brazilian visas have been approved. Instead of having to leave in less than a week, we can stay in Natal for 2 more months. We have to leave the country by December 20. We are praising God for this blessing and we are so thankful to Him for granting us more time to work with the people here. Greg and I both feel that we are just beginning to see some of our readers opening up to God's Word and we are excited that we will be able to stay here longer and continue to be involved in God's work in their lives.
We know that if we are willing to be used by God, it doesn't matter where we are, He will use us and we are striving to always be His servants. But for now, we are very excited that He is using us at Commundade de Cristo in Natal, Brazil. And at that end of December, if He is willing, we will move to Panama City, Panama to continue our year long LST Intern project and serve Him there.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
(Psalm 143:10)