Dear Friends,
We made it back from Laos in one piece. Praise the LORD!
It was very stressful, but God was with us.
We left our home on Tuesday morning, the 19th.
I thought it would be interesting to write how our original plans would have worked out... so the following brief description will depart from our actual experience.
We landed in Udon Thani, Thailand, and our goal was to get to the border 1 hour north. As recommended, we got a convenient van ride from the airport to the border and got a hotel room. Before and after dinner, we reviewed the instructions people had blogged about how to go through the border to the Thai Embassy in Vientiane, Laos. People talked of waiting in a long line. Someone mentioned a new online appointment system, but after searching for 15 minutes, nothing was found that worked.
The next morning, we got a ride to the border and "checked out" of Thailand on our passports, took a Tuk-Tuk across the long bridge and bought Laos visas for $35 per person.
We went straight to the Vientiane Embassy, and when we talked at the counter, they said we can only be seen with an appointment. Finding the web address, I registered and found there were no appointments for weeks ahead! What do we do now??
We sent a message to some missionary in Chiang Mai and also searched online. Found another Thai option in a town called Savannakhet. A bus there would take 6 hours... but was the only logical option. Leaving Laos means buying a new visa...
*** Okay, that was what would have happened on our original plans ***
But what REALLY HAPPENED was BETTER, praise GOD!
Back on that airplane ride from Chiang Mai, we realized that we were missing some school documents that were needed for the Business Visa for Jeff. What to do without them??
Shipping the documents to us was too slow, so Jeff bought a plane ticket back to Chiang Mai for that same night. We all went to the guesthouse, had dinner together, then said good-bye as Jeff took a taxi back to the airport.
On the 1 hour plane ride, Jeff met someone returning from their visa renewal, but he didn't mention the online appointment system. At 6 AM, Jeff was back on the plane with the documents, and started searching out visa renewal instructions. On the plane, Jeff met a former Laos missionary, and who was bringing a co-worker to renew get her own visa. He informed Jeff that a new online system is required for Embassy appointments. Wow, that is important information!
Arriving at the guest house, with the family ready to jump on a van or bus to Vientiane, Jeff was busily searching out the online appointment system. The official web link was dead. Finally found another website that referred to it and registered to make an appointment. Available Appointment today? None. Tomorrow? None. Friday? None. Next week? none available. To go onward to the Vientiane Embassy with no appointment hoping they accept our application could be a waste of time. We could get stuck in Laos without a Thai visa and no appointment to get a new one.
I typed out some text messages to three people who could know something. We stopped to pray. Do we go to Vientiane and try? or what else? Shortly, arrived a taxi driver - the man that brought Jeff from the airport. Jeff had mentioned taking the family to the van/bus station. We decided to get out and go as a bus could be leaving at 9 AM. We all squeezed into one taxi with our backpacks. |
(Continued)
I know its getting long, but worth it!
Arriving at the bus station...
(A missionary, William, writes to me "You may want to change your plan and consider Savannakhet, a different city in Laos with a Thai Consulate."
Wow, I don't know anything about getting there!
William continues, "You can cross from Mukdahan - get a bus there."
So we're at the "Hire-a-van" place and ask about Mukdahan. We walk in the direction they tell us, decide it is getting too far and ask a Tuk-Tuk driver, who said it's in the other direction (there's two bus terminals). To make it a little short, here's what happened:
The Tuk-Tuk driver circles around the bus terminal shouting, "Mukdahan?" until they point us to the bus. Everyone hops out and I ask about tickets. Before buying tickets, I tell Jubilee to go buy some lunch over there, and the bus departs in 4 minutes. I go and buy some large water bottles, some snacks and we meet on the bus after it's pulled backwards from the terminal.
The bus ride is 5 hours; thankfully, the toilet works! ... Also thankfully, the baby sleeps, and people get on the bus to sell more food to us.
Next, we arrive in Mukdahan, hop out and I see the bus to Savannakhet has already left its parking space. I shock my children by standing in front of the bus to make it stop. They let us get on and we're now headed to the Thai/Laos Friendship bridge and border crossing.
Let me catch my breath and say that we learned we need all of Thursday and Friday to get the Visas processed, so we need to be there at 8 AM Wednesday. Also, without the delay back to Chiang Mai, we wouldn't have learned about the changes at Vientiane.
Surprisingly, at the Laos border, they don't like the look of our American currency! With ink here, dirt there, they don't like it! If we pay in Baht, it wil be $100 higher in cost. Exploring options, a currency exchange will let me buy dollars with Baht and we clear that, but the bus already left us behind! Our carry-on luggage still on the bus! A van taxi driver has been watching and says 200 Baht to the bus terminal and hotel. We spend ten minutes quietly discussing our worry with the Lord. At the terminal, the driver happily waves us over to show that he kept our bags safe. I don't bother trying to ask why he left without talking to us. Someone said that he was really doing a favor just for what he did do.
On we went, I could detail more, but will close saying that God shepherded us through the steps. Praise the LORD that He can direct our steps even through our mistakes or ignorance! He provided a meal with a Lao family, an interesting zoo-like outing while waiting for the Consulate, and kept Faithful okay through a fever that lasted until we got home.
We did get the visas we planned to get, another point of THANKSGIVING.
We are also thankful for the way God uses everything for our good. We are blessed that our children can visibly see, moment by moment, what it is like to abide with the Lord. They saw us cry out in prayer and God answer. They saw what looked like a mess turn into God's handiwork. They also saw how the Lord graciously used our mistakes (forgetting important paperwork) for His glory. The Name of the Lord be praised!! |
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