So I applied for my passport on the 17th. This was 4 days after I received my call. I thought that that was pretty quick, but it seems that it was too quick.
2 days after I applied for my passport (the 19th), I got a letter from the Mission Travel Department (MTD) saying that they needed me to send my passport, along with other information, to them by 20 August so that I can get a visa to live in Ukraine. The problem is that I didn't expedite my passport because I was told that the process would take 4-6 weeks, which seemed pretty quick since I don't report to the MTC until 10 October. I didn't know at the time when I applied for the passport that the MTD needed that info so quickly. The letter from the MTD told me that if they do not receive this information by 20 Aug. then my MTC report date could be delayed AT LEAST 6 weeks.
Yeah, I feel pretty sick about this now.
But I did the best I could with the information I had at the time. I'll just have to play things through. I also know that Ukraine has a 90-day visa free policy for foreigners. At least, I have read that they have this policy. My hope is that with this "time buffer" for a visa, I will still be able to report on 10 October and move along unimpeded.
-Jordan M. Kelley
Showing posts with label MTC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MTC. Show all posts
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Preparing for the Journey
Well, I have received my mission call to serve in Kyiv, Ukraine. I can hardly believe that this day has come. It is truly a dream come true. I know that I, Jordan Kelley, am supposed to serve in this mission. I know that the call is from God, my loving Heavenly Father. Indeed, I believe that mission calls are chosen from the pre-mortal life. I feel this belief for three reasons: my patriarchal blessing, my mission call, and my prayers.
Now, I must prepare to leave and report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. There's alot to do. First on the list, is starting this blog. I had the idea to document my mission in three phases: Three months before reporting to the MTC, two years in the mission field, and the first three months after I come home. I love to document aspects and events in life, and then look back on those events during the years after. I begin this blog also for my posterity. In the world of technology in which we live, it is my hope that I will be able to show my children the pictures and stories of my full-time labor in the Lord's Vineyard in a way that is more interesting than physical books and letters (albeit physical books and letters will still be a part of it). So I hope that anyone who reads this blog and follows it regularly (yeah, right haha) enjoys what they read and will find touching experiences that lift them up to serve their brother's and sister's of God.
So hear we go! Wish me luck and pray for my family as I take this "small step for [myself], one giant leap for [Christ]."
-Jordan M. Kelley
Now, I must prepare to leave and report to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. There's alot to do. First on the list, is starting this blog. I had the idea to document my mission in three phases: Three months before reporting to the MTC, two years in the mission field, and the first three months after I come home. I love to document aspects and events in life, and then look back on those events during the years after. I begin this blog also for my posterity. In the world of technology in which we live, it is my hope that I will be able to show my children the pictures and stories of my full-time labor in the Lord's Vineyard in a way that is more interesting than physical books and letters (albeit physical books and letters will still be a part of it). So I hope that anyone who reads this blog and follows it regularly (yeah, right haha) enjoys what they read and will find touching experiences that lift them up to serve their brother's and sister's of God.
So hear we go! Wish me luck and pray for my family as I take this "small step for [myself], one giant leap for [Christ]."
-Jordan M. Kelley
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