Great progress has been made in our journey to become part of Austria. We finally finished our visa application process, wahoo! All things considered it was not as harrowing or bureaucratic as I thought it might be. On our initial visit to the government office, the woman who was graciously helping us with our paperwork revealed that we needed a statement from the Arizona Police Department declaring that we are not criminals trying to escape the law. When we had looked on the Austrian visa website before coming to Salzburg they didn't mention this type of required paperwork. We spent the next couple of days trying to figure out how to procure this statement. At first it seemed like it was going to be really difficult to get it. The Tucson police department said we needed to physically be there or to have someone come with temporary power of attorney with our actual drivers licenses and notarized paperwork to get a criminal report for us. God blessed us with incredible friends in Tucson who spent an entire day running around the city talking to different police offices to figure out the best plan of action. God had another awesome blessing in store when Melia found a very helpful service that the Unites States Embassy provides. What we had discovered was a sworn statement affidavit form where we swear, to the best of our knowledge, that we are not criminals in the United states. Then the officials there notarize it and, presto! You are qualified to apply for a visa. There is no United States Embassy in Salzburg so we had to take our first trip to the capital of Austria, Vienna.
We decided to make the train trip multipurpose. Before going to Vienna, we stopped in a small town called Gröbming. A friend of ours lives there and is currently recording a worship album. He had invited Abby to join him in the recording and add her beautiful voice to the mix. They finished all the recording in one day and then we traveled on to Vienna.
Little did we know a humorous navigation battle lay ahead of us. We had come prepared and had received very clear instructions on how to get to the embassy from the hostel we were staying at. The morning of our appointment we sent out a full hour and a half before we were expected, to allow for any mishaps. We arrived 40 minutes early just like we had planned. I was feeling rather accomplished and adult. Upon hearing the purpose of our appointment the guard at the embassy promptly told us we were at the wrong building and needed to go to the small consulate branch that was on the other side of town. I guess this mistake happens often because he brought us a mass printed instruction paper on how to use public transit to get from the embassy to this satellite consulate office. We didn't have much time before our status would definitely be qualified as late. We dashed onto one of the street cars/trolleys, then hopped on the wrong bus, had to walk briskly back to where we thought the right bus station was, quickly realized that bus stop was no longer operational, conceded defeat and hailed a taxi. Even though the wind in Vienna was bitingly cold we were sweating buckets due to stress and our frantic running. The kind taxi driving pointed out the entrance to the consulate and, thanks to God, we even made it perfectly on time. We became aware of the irony of the situation when Jonathan looked at a map later and found that the consulate was only about a 10 minute walk from our hostel. All in all it was a comic adventure and is another one to add to the history books.
When we returned back home to Salzburg we turned in our forms to the visa office and now we just have to wait for all our paperwork to go through and for them to grant us the actual visa.
We decided to make the train trip multipurpose. Before going to Vienna, we stopped in a small town called Gröbming. A friend of ours lives there and is currently recording a worship album. He had invited Abby to join him in the recording and add her beautiful voice to the mix. They finished all the recording in one day and then we traveled on to Vienna.
Little did we know a humorous navigation battle lay ahead of us. We had come prepared and had received very clear instructions on how to get to the embassy from the hostel we were staying at. The morning of our appointment we sent out a full hour and a half before we were expected, to allow for any mishaps. We arrived 40 minutes early just like we had planned. I was feeling rather accomplished and adult. Upon hearing the purpose of our appointment the guard at the embassy promptly told us we were at the wrong building and needed to go to the small consulate branch that was on the other side of town. I guess this mistake happens often because he brought us a mass printed instruction paper on how to use public transit to get from the embassy to this satellite consulate office. We didn't have much time before our status would definitely be qualified as late. We dashed onto one of the street cars/trolleys, then hopped on the wrong bus, had to walk briskly back to where we thought the right bus station was, quickly realized that bus stop was no longer operational, conceded defeat and hailed a taxi. Even though the wind in Vienna was bitingly cold we were sweating buckets due to stress and our frantic running. The kind taxi driving pointed out the entrance to the consulate and, thanks to God, we even made it perfectly on time. We became aware of the irony of the situation when Jonathan looked at a map later and found that the consulate was only about a 10 minute walk from our hostel. All in all it was a comic adventure and is another one to add to the history books.
When we returned back home to Salzburg we turned in our forms to the visa office and now we just have to wait for all our paperwork to go through and for them to grant us the actual visa.
Here are just a couple Street Buddies pictures. We continue to connect with stellar young people. Abby and I met and chatted with some lovely ladies from Bayern Germany. Nothing beats being able to talk with these folks and tell them they are worthy of love and the reason we are out there late at night helping them is because Jesus loved them first and we just want to reflect that fact. It is definitely getting CHILLY out there. The Kai is right next to the Salzach river, which brings in really cold breezes which chew through your clothes like little frozen icicle teeth, but no matter what the weather is it's always worth it to be out on that street.
All we have to say is, God is good. Every week I'm feeling more a part of Austria. I'm developing my German more each week. Recently I spent time with one of our awesome Austrian friends and we spoke German the whole time! I also talked on the phone with a service person to set up a cell phone plan (with help from my sweet husband when I struggled). Our relationship circles also continue to grow. I want to say a big thanks to all of you who are praying for us and cheering us on. The ministry that we're doing here is so enriched by that prayer and love. Sorry for the delayed post and lack of update, its been a little crazy lately :).
Prayer Requests:
1. That the visa application acceptance will happen soon
2. A friend of Micah and Melia will be staying with us for 3 months for a short term mission, also working with Street Buddies and the house ministry. Prayers for house unity and blessings during transition would be awesome.
3. That we would continue to make deep and lasting contact with the young people we meet on the Rudolfskai.
Much love!!
-Rachael
All we have to say is, God is good. Every week I'm feeling more a part of Austria. I'm developing my German more each week. Recently I spent time with one of our awesome Austrian friends and we spoke German the whole time! I also talked on the phone with a service person to set up a cell phone plan (with help from my sweet husband when I struggled). Our relationship circles also continue to grow. I want to say a big thanks to all of you who are praying for us and cheering us on. The ministry that we're doing here is so enriched by that prayer and love. Sorry for the delayed post and lack of update, its been a little crazy lately :).
Prayer Requests:
1. That the visa application acceptance will happen soon
2. A friend of Micah and Melia will be staying with us for 3 months for a short term mission, also working with Street Buddies and the house ministry. Prayers for house unity and blessings during transition would be awesome.
3. That we would continue to make deep and lasting contact with the young people we meet on the Rudolfskai.
Much love!!
-Rachael