We are especially grateful to the Lord this week because Aaron and I just bit the bullet and sent $7,000 away to the Australian government. Why, you might ask? Because! This woman right here wants to become an Australian citizen! Don't worry, my American compadres: I plan to attain dual citizenship -- not to give up my right to American soil! First things first, though: I need to become an official permanent Australian resident. The only way to do that is to play my "I married an Australian" card and apply for a Spousal Visa! So, now that we've officially sent in (and paid for) my 38 page application, we can start waiting. In four months, my "bridging visa" will come into effect, meaning that I can legally study and work in Australia. Somewhere between then and 20 months from then, I should (Lord willing!) be granted a temporary spousal visa, essentially giving me the oxymoronic "temporary permanent resident" status. That will stand until the Immigration Department makes a final decision on my visa grant. Finally, at some point after that, our hope is that I will be granted the permanent and luxurious version of the Spousal Visa, bringing along with it Permanent Australian Residential Status. More or less, this makes me a citizen in all but name. All in all, this process takes about 2 years start to finish. I will have travel limitations placed on me and my sweet little passport from now until I get the temporary spousal visa. Unfortunately, this means my visiting the States in the next year is unlikely. We would greatly appreciate prayers and encouragement in this time of agonizing waiting! Patience has never been my strong suit, as most of you know!
In other news, Aaron and I are both doing splendidly. He has been struggling with a bug of some sort these past few days which has been a pain (literally and figuratively), but other than that, we are plugging along, making progress in life as best we can. Aaron just got the last needed component in order to fix his computer tower that he built from scratch many years ago. Thanks to my bother-in-law Ashley, he's been able to start doing things again that he hasn't been able to do since his phone and laptop broke in 2016. Plus -- and this is the really exciting part -- he found a game online called Lego Marvel Superheroes that we can play together. It's my new favorite thing. I play as Iron Man and fly above all the little rooftops, occasionally falling off cliffs and into waterfalls. While we don't have a monitor just yet, we do have a monstrous TV... so if you were to walk into our living room there's a chance you would find on our TV screen Lego Hulk and Lego Iron man running around a digital New York City, smashing mailboxes and pizza trucks by accident. It's a great game.
Last week, I was able to take a miniature vacation with my friend and former maid of honor Katrina. We took a ferry over to a nearby island and rented a private bungalow for a couple of nights. I had a coupon -- as I do for most things on earth -- so it was low cost and high entertainment. We went for walks, had delicious meals at nearby cafes, pubs, and taverns, read in hammocks and went kayaking over open ocean. That was a bit nerve wracking seeing as how it's jellyfish season and Australia is home to the single most poisonous creature on earth: the Box Jellyfish. Apparently there exists no pain like being stung by one; it's also nearly invisible in the wild. Flipping our kayak was on the very bottom of our bucket list that day.
That's all for now, I gotta run! The grocery store is calling. Fun fact: there is a bird nesting on top of one of our aircon window units. It's little talons scratching on the metal are making me smile! Much love to you all. Please contact me by clicking here for my email address.
God bless,
Anna and Aaron
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