Traveling to Botswana - Visa Extension

It is time for us to extend our visas so we can continue to stay in South Africa, and to do so, we must exit the country and then re-enter.  So, on Thursday, November 27 we will be traveling out of the country to Botswana.  We will be catching a ride with a guy that travels there weekly so the Lord is blessing us already!  We need to be ready to depart outside the main gate of Footprints at 7am and are expected to return by 7pm at the latest….in time to Skype with my family back in the States!  It’s about a 3 ½ hour drive to and from Botswana, so we will be packing our lunch and bringing some “entertainment” for the kids.  I’m sure they’re pretty excited to have a day off from school, although we might plug in some teaching along the way! ;-)  We will pass through a guarded gate at the border and then re-enter the country of South Africa – the exact process we’re unsure of.  Typically the border guards either grant 7 days or 90 days, so of course we are praying for the latter.  After our new 90-day (see, I’m already declaring it!) visa expires we will apply for a residential visa which lasts much longer and does not require us to leave the country.  We are asking the Lord for the following and would appreciate you joining us in prayer:

1. 90-day visa extension.
2. No issue with my (Mindy’s) visa.  Since my expiration date is different from the rest of the family’s, due to my leaving the country back in September, we’re praying that doesn’t cause a red flag.
3. Smoke-free drive (the driver is in the process of quitting and is aware we’ll have children with us.
4. Safety and smooth travels; grace with children in the car for 7+ hours.

We will post another update once we’ve returned from Botswana.  Thanks and much love from the Mason Family!