Road Trip! Do As We Say, Not As We Do

Yesterday was an exciting day for us. Sarah took her test to receive her driving permit. We were so excited for this special day. As a proud father, I took her to the DMV with all of the required documents including her passport. As we were signing the official papers for the test, the lady looked at me and said “you know her passport expires on August 7, 2012”. I replied, “That isn’t possible. She has only had it for 5 years!” Well, she was correct. 

For months we've been planning, packing and getting everything together for our big move and journey to Uganda. Not only that, but we even had Lori's passport renewed about a month ago. We have also been working with other team members to make sure their passports are up-to-date and everything is in order. How did we miss this “minor” detail in our own documents. Oh well, it’s just a minor bump in the road, right? We will just go and get it renewed at the Post Office and get it expedited. 

As we left the DMV office and headed to pick up Lori, I let Sarah drive. This was her first time driving on a busy street, so being the confident father that I am, we went the way that would only allow her to make right turns!  It took a little longer than normal but we arrived at the Show Mercy office safely.

After we picked up Lori, we hurried to the Post Office to get Sarah's passport sent off and renewed. However, they told us that it would take 2-3 weeks EVEN IF we expedited it. “What? We leave for Africa in only two and a half weeks. How are we going to get this done in time?” The postal worker smiled and told us there was only one option.....We were going to have to set up an appointment, drive to Seattle and get it renewed in person. Oh my.

So the adventure continues. We are off tomorrow on a road trip to Seattle for a 9am appointment on Monday. God must have something good for us in Seattle. Maybe we will meet a multi-millionaire at the Passport Agency that tells us that God spoke to him to fully fund Show Mercy and the Salley family for the rest of our existence with the money he earned by creating the smart phone.....or maybe there is someone there that needs to hear some good news and receive some encouragement. Either way, we will be living on purpose and looking for God to do something super cool. 

At least we didn’t arrive at the airport with our 20 bags ready to head off and find out that we couldn't board or worse we would have to leave Sarah in Uganda when we came back! 

This is just one part of the journey that will help us to learn to “go with the flow.” It will only get more exciting in Uganda. Let the adventures continue!

Mike