So close I can taste it...

After we were first announced to Japan, I began scouring the net for information about visas, immigration, residency, etc. On one hand, the news was good - Japan has a missionary visa, the application process is relatively straight forward, and the government doesn't charge exorbitant fees for their visas (Yes, I'm looking at YOU, Panama...) 

The only complication had to do with obtaining something called a Certificate of Eligibility. If you're going to work for some corporation in Japan, that corporation would basically take care of applying for your Certificate of Eligibility (henceforth referred to as a "C of E" and not to be confused with the Church of England). 

The Holy Grail

A "C of E" affirms that they have hired you, that you are qualified for that position, and that should anything happen, they will take care of it (sounds like "the Mafia takes care of its own" doesn't it?).

So if you're a businessman, the Japanese business that's hiring you takes care of it. And if you're an English teacher, the Japanese school that's hiring you takes care of it (notice a pattern?). And if you're a missionary, the Japanese Missionary Agency that's "hiring" you takes care of it.

Land Ho!

See the problem? It's no biggie as long as your denomination or mission agency already has an office here. Easy peasy. That's the great thing about first world democracies - they're not obsessively paranoid to the point of keeping out Christians (yes, I'm looking at YOU, Mexico...)

But what if you're the very first missionaries of your fellowship or church or denomination?

So, like many a wiser man before me, I began flooding the church world with emails. The earlier and better emails read like Paul's Resumé to the Galatians. "Greetings! We've been missionaries forever (brag brag brag brag) and now we feel called to Japan." The latter ones read more like "Come on, dude! Don't you even want another church in Japan? 99.5% unreached - HELLO!"

The best replies at least offered to keep us in prayer. The worst ones felt like "Paul I know, and Jesus I know, but who the heck are YOU!"... Well, actually, I suppose the worst ones were the people who didn't bother to reply at all.

There were some people, however, who sympathized, and encouraged us to come to Japan and meet as many missionaries and ministries as possible, in the hope that someone would be willing to apply for a C of E for us. So, armed with a tourist visa, 4 suitcases, and the Google Translate app - that's what we did.

Through a couple of very providential circumstances we came into contact with a very experienced senior immigration lawyer. He explained to us how extremely complicated it would be for us to get visas as missionaries (could be done, but would take forever without a local sponsor). So he started working on getting me a Son of a Japanese National visa (Lisa gets a "and wife" visa. Hey, it's Japan). Using my mother's birth certificate, he procured a copy of our family registry from Fukuoka. 

So we're going to the lawyer's office on Tuesday to sign the final forms for our C of E! Once it's approved, we would then send it to the Denver Consulate along with our passports. We're scheduled to fly back to ABQ in a week or two. If all goes well, we should get our visas within 2 weeks to a month, and be able to fly right back to Japan. 

Please keep us in prayer. God's grace has been lavish, and He's helped us with everything so far - but we have not because we ask not, so I'm going to keep asking, in faith!