The Unexpected

Sometimes, life takes an unexpected turn. Last week, Paul and I rode a barge down the Amazon River (a happier tale for another post) to Leticia, Colombia, so that we could re-enter Peru and request new six-month tourist visas. We arrived early Wednesday morning and planned to return Sunday after a few days of vacation.

But when we went to the immigrations office on Saturday, the officials told us we had used up our six months for the year and therefore couldn't return to Peru. When we questioned this, they conceded that Paul could actually return for 10 days, because they could see that he first entered Peru in September 2010, and thus his year was counted starting from the beginning of September. But my name has changed since that Goshen College trip we both took, and so their records show that Serena Manickam first entered Peru in late August 2018. I have no more days left.

Frustrated but not discouraged, we spent three days making phone calls, visiting various offices, and doing research. On Tuesday, however, we finally received what we considered to be an ultimatum. Pastor David spent all morning in the immigrations office in Iquitos, but like us, he hit a dead end. We couldn't get new tourist visas, and there was nothing we could apply for without being present in the country. We were stuck with the worst-case scenario on our list of brainstormed possibilities: With his 10 days, Paul would return to Iquitos while I waited in Leticia, and then we'd head back to the U.S.

Paul borded the ferry that night and is currently in Iquitos packing our things and saying goodbyes for both of us, six months too early. Meanwhile, I am staying with friends of David and Cecy who have generously welcomed me into their home. Paul plans to stay in Iquitos through Sunday so he can attend church there one last time, then he will reboard the ferry and rejoin me here in Leticia.

From here, we plan to fly to Bogota, Colombia, to visit the parent church of the Iquitos congregations for a short time. And although there is a possibility of us finishing our term in Bogota or even Ecuador, we will likely fly back to the U.S. after a week or two.

This was all very unexpected, and I think we are both numb - and exhausted - from the shock of it. Please pray for us as we continue to process what has happened, as we muddle through these days in two different countries, and as we discern exactly what our next steps should be.