official documents

We got a package from Salt Lake on Wednesday requesting information for our passports and visas. This meant phone calls to Vital Statistics in Utah and Florida for birth certificates and marriage certificates because only certificates issued within the past five years are acceptable. It also meant fingerprinting and letters of good conduct from the police department and FBI.

 

 

 

Doug and I received our birth certificates, 2 copies each, the next day (Thursday)  from Utah and then I received an email that Brianna’s birth certificate, also 2 copies,  would be delivered on Friday, signature required. We assumed that the package would come around 4 as it had the previous day since it was being delivered by the same courier. Nevertheless, 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, and 5:30 came and went without the appearance of the delivery person. I prayed that all would go well with the receipt of the package and tried not to worry about the fact that we had to pick up the general authorities for dinner at 6:15 and wanted to have the car washed, which hadn’t been done because I had been babysitting the door all day.

The Berge’s unexpectedly showed up at 5:45 and were gracious enough to accept the door sitting job and I headed off to the car wash, only to arrive at 6:01. Yes, that would be one minute after they closed. I found another car wash and met Doug in the Lowe’s parking lot to accommodate our time schedule.

The Berge’s tasked their daughters, Megan and Kirstie, with our door job.

Sometime later, Gail and Derek went to Office Depot and when Derek ran inside to complete an errand Gail noticed a UPS truck in the parking lot. With bravado, she ran over and asked the delivery person if he delivered to Eudora Road. When he answered in the affirmative, she told him that her daughters were waiting for a very important package at a house on Eudora.  He then told her that since they weren’t legal adults, he wouldn’t be able to accept their signatures, nor leave the package. Of course, Gail volunteered to drive back over to the house. He told her that wouldn’t be necessary and just to give him the address…

which…

she didn’t know.

However, she did know my name!

And he did know that the address is also known as the Birdhouse.

And there, in the Office Depot parking lot, due to an incredible turn of events, she signed for the package!

 

Monday our unable-to-be-expedited marriage certificate, 3 copies, arrived. So, we were able to finish up our task list. We were leaving the county offices and heading to the post office to mail all of our documents back to the Departments of State from whence they came to have them all apostilled, 

(The apostille is an official certification that the document is a true copy of the original. Both apostilles and certifications are used by foreign governments to assess the authenticity of an official signature on a document; the capacity in which the person signing the document acted; and the identity of any stamp or seal affixed to the document.)

when Doug yelled out, “Stop!” 

There in the stairwell was a black racer, that I hadn’t even seen! Harmless as it supposedly is…I did not want to find out via personal encounter. We gingerly slipped by and reported it to the attendant at the desk in the county offices. (FYI, I did not stop and take this picture, and am sure our racer was bigger!)

I have felt like a contestant on The Amazing Race lately. The big hurry for all of these documents is the fact that  apparently processing time is taking something like 16 weeks for FBI clearance and 10 weeks for Visas, and we are supposed to be leaving on our mission in…..17 weeks. More prayers needed.