The Pre-Trip "MOMENT"
Before I post about our actual trip to Nicaragua, let me share what happened ‘pre-trip.’ Seriously, there is always ‘something’ that happens right before we are supposed to leave for a trip. When we moved to Nicaragua, if you remember, we were told at the ticket counter that we couldn’t fly out since our tickets were ‘one-way.’ That was AFTER we had been dropped off 1.5 hours from home with all of our belongings (including a cat) at 5 o’clock in THE MORNING. That was that trip's "moment." Clearly, we got it all straightened out because we did indeed move to Nicaragua that day.
So, our scheduled dates for this past visit to Nicaragua {which was our FIRST TIME BACK}, were November 9-19. Emotions were high. There was lots of excitement to 'return.' To travel to Nicaragua (and most other international destinations), your passport expiration date canNOT be within six months of expiration. {How many of you just went to check your passports?} I had checked all five of our passports when I bought our tickets and would have bet money (um, the price of 5 tickets to Nicaragua) that our ‘dates’ were fine.
On the morning of November 8th, the morning before our flight {as in 24 hours prior to travel}, I got our passports out of safe-keeping and just happened to look at the dates again.
Here it is. HERE is the MOMENT.
Jeff and I’s passports had an expiration date of February 2018. Um, that is like 3 months away!!!! They aren't going to let us into the country (especially since there have been some changes and greater restrictions coming into Nicaragua).
TOTAL PANIC.
I walk out into the living room where Jeff is conducting our homeschool Bible class and I say,
“We have a problem. Like a BIG problem.”
All eyes on me. Everyone stops breathing.
“Our passports are going to expire in 3 months.”
Lots of questions. Kids on the verge of tears. Scrambling to find information on-line. Frantic phone calls. Brief discussion on 'slipping someone' a hundred dollar bill at immigration. Text messages asking for prayer.
I called the Passport “people” and I get connected to a customer service representative (in record time) named Joseph. Joseph is calm and kind. He asks me what state I live in and upon hearing that I live in Colorado, he then asks how far away I live from the city of Aurora. I tell him we live about 45 minutes away. He says, “Fantastic.” {I am NOT feeling fantastic. In fact, I am still unshowered, in my pajamas, and in a state of panic. Nothing about this is fantastic.} He gives me a short of list things that we need to collect and tells me to drive up to the passport agency in Aurora, CO with all the items on the list...and don't forget to write in black ink. He says 'they will take of me of there.' By the way, these agencies do NOT exist in every state. Had we lived in Kansas...this story would have been different.
Let me pause the story for a moment and say that I believe I talked with an angel from Heaven that morning. Joseph the Angel. Seriously.
So, back to the story...we download a passport photo app onto my phone. We take passport pictures in our dining room. By the way, NEVER have I taken a WORSE passport photo EVER! And now, I’m stuck with it for TEN YEARS!!! I even asked Jeff to re-take it (or let me take a shower and 'do' my hair)--but he looked at me with that look that said, "REALLY?!?"
When we arrive, there is one other person in line at the Passport Agency. We sheepishly hand over all of our paperwork and wait to be called. Less than five minutes go by and we are standing at the passport window paying what the United States calls an “expediting fee” {other countries may or may not call it a “bribe”}. We are told to go out to lunch and come back at 2:15pm to pick up our new passports.
WHAT?! SERIOUSLY?! AMAZING.
So, now we have new passports with freshly stamped pages from Nicaraguan immigration...and the WORST.PHOTO.EVER.
Stay tuned for more post about our first return visit to Nicaragua.
