Just in case you didn't believe in miracles and God's provision, let me share one with you. When we arrived at immigration at the airport in Portugal, one of our team discovered that her passport was missing. She emptied both her carry-on and purse, checked her empty pockets, to no avail - her passport was simply missing. As the saying goes, "A man without a passport is a man without a country" - a saying which doesn't mean much until you're trying to enter another country, stuck in that no-man's land between the gate and the immigration checkpoint. The last point she remembered having it was at the gate at Heathrow, where we'd shown our passports with our boarding passes. Whether it fell out of her bag at Heathrow or whether it was stolen, we'll possibly never know. We used the courtesy phone to call British Airways and the airport ground crew; they didn't find anything on the plane. THANKFULLY, Portuguese hospitality extended to immigration officers - who let us through with a photocopy of the missing passport. (Note to travelers: ALWAYS carry a photocopy of your passport on you!)
Monday brought multiple calls to Heathrow's lost and found office - most of which were disconnected before anyone actually answered. When someone finally did answer, the response was that nothing had been turned in to them. A trip to the American Embassy here in Lisbon ensued, with a promise on the embassy's website that new passports take a minimum of 2 weeks to process. The result? A brand new passport was produced - and ready to pick up in just 3 hours. We are praising God for amazing provision and that we will all be able to travel together at the end of the week when it's time to leave Portugal!
Wow, what a huge praise! The Lord is good, and faithful. May He continue to work, move, and use you all to spread His reknown throughout Europe!
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