Thank you again to all who had prayed for our visa situation and Jonathan's trip to Delhi this past week. Here's the latest:
After Jonathan's initial meeting with the Ministry Office in Delhi, he was asked to wait in the lobby while they processed his request. Seven hours later---they returned with a sealed envelope that was to be delivered back to the Bangalore Foreign Registry Office. Once delivered, we found that we had been rejected and only offered a 22 day extension to allow for the preparation of our return to the United States. Obviously, this was not at all what we expected or had hoped, but we do have some options. While we cannot return to India on our current visa, we can fly home to America, reapply for a tourist visa and then return to Bangalore to finish our work with ACTS. We've considered quite a few alternate scenarios (involving a visit to nearby Sri Lanka or Thailand to attempt gaining a tourist visa there), but with all the unknowns and the limited time frame we have to work with, our most solid option (albeit the most expensive) is to return to the States. So, it looks like we will be home for the holidays this year! We are still working out specifics for departure/length of stay, but we're hoping to be home for the full month of December. While this was not at all in the plans, we certainly are anxious to see friends and family (not to mention the American food that awaits us!) Please continue to pray for the reapplication process for our tourist visas, as well as the logistics involved with our travels. We will be sure to keep you posted and will hope to see you all in December!
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