Visa Renewal Trip, Part 1

It's that time of year again when we must leave Russia to apply for new visas. As usual, we will add some family vacation time to this trip. If you would like to follow our activities and whereabouts, see the following schedule (be sure to click on the many links if you'd like to see more information about the places we plan to visit):

Wednesday, September 12--fly to Munich, Germany

We have decided not to spend any significant time here, but we will stay over one night because of our 10:25pm flight arrival. Someday, I'd like to return to visit the BMW museum.

Thursday, September 13--drive to one of YWAM's bases in Switzerland

This will be our longest driving day, but we will split the 7-hour trip into 3 segments to make it more relaxing and to see several key sites along the way. The 1st segment will take us to Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany near the Austrian border. The Disneyland castle was modeled after this magnificent structure.

The 2nd segment will end in Vaduz, the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein. Vaduz Castle, the most prominent landmark of the town, is the residence of the Reigning Prince. This tiny country is home to only 35,000 people.

Our final destination for the day is YWAM's Einigen, Switzerland base. We plan to stay here for 3 nights, enjoying the breath-taking views of the Alps and of nearby Lakes Thun, Brienzer, Lungerer, Sarner, Alpnacher and Vierwaldstatter. It has been my dream of nearly 20 years to visit Switzerland, and now, it is finally coming to pass. I'm grateful for this opportunity.

Sunday, September 16--drive to Strasbourg, France

We hope to join YWAM's staff for a Sunday morning worship service before heading north toward France. We have 1 stop scheduled along the way in Weil am Rhein, Germany where we plan to meet our friends, Michael & Delynn Walz who recently moved there from Vancouver, Washington to teach at Rhein International Academy.

After lunch and delightful (I'm sure) conversation with the Walzes, we'll continue our journey toward Strasbourg, France. We hope to avoid the major highways in order to take in the beautiful French countryside along the well-known Route des Vins.

Monday, September 17--apply for visas

Unfortunately, most of my time in Strasbourg, France will be spent at the Russian consulate applying for our new visas while Christy and the kids enjoy the sites. We would like to ask you to join us in praying that God's will be done in our attempt to obtain new visas. We want more than anything to follow God's plan for our life as we seek to continue our work in Russia.

Tuesday, September 18--drive to Paris, France

Providing there are no complications in obtaining our visas, we'll head to Paris for a couple days to enjoy the City of Lights. In the limited amount of time we have, we plan to, of course, visit the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Other than that, we'll just have to see what happens.

That covers our plans for the first half of the trip. I'll tell you about the 2nd half in another article, so watch for it soon.

Patrick