Just a few Brazilian Visa requirements...

Oh me oh my, this past Saturday 21 Feb Trent received a packet from the church's Travel Services in the mail. Trent was at work until 11 pm, so I texted him to see if we could open it. Then I wished I hadn't ; ) Wow. It contained his travel plans for June 2nd. Cool. It also contained 8 forms to fill out and instructions for five items to obtain and have notarized. Here's a little sampling:

• Obtain 2 original Melchizedek Priesthood Ordination certificates and have the stake president sign them in front of a Notary. Have them NOTARIZED
• Obtain 2 original Seminary transcripts
• Obtain 1 certified birth certificate - which must have been issued within the last five years (to do this I have to have a Certificate of Identity NOTARIZED and then apply for the certificate via mail to the LA County registrar. Within 20 working days [4 weeks] it should arrive - which would be after the church's "we need to receive no later than" date).
• Obtain 1 notarized letter of good conduct from our local police department. Take a notary and have it signed and NOTARIZED there.
• Type two curriculum vitae using a provided guide. The number of years in seminary and the letter grades must match your transcripts. Sign in front of a Notary and have NOTARIZED. This is virtually impossible for us because the records for his Seminary classes in England are in England and there's no way to get those notarized...
• Obtain 1 NOTARIZED copy of your driver's license.
• Make a b&w photo copy of EVERY page of your passport and have the ID page copy NOTARIZED.
• Get various immunizations / innoculations.
• (Easy!) Obtain 2 passport type photos dressed in full missionary attire and following missionary grooming standards.
• Etc etc etc... But the rest of the extensive list is relative "cake" and I won't even bother listing it.

Can I just say that to serve in Ecuador I only recall getting some immunizations and a passport. I didn't even need a Visa. Those were the days : )


GOOD NEWS!
I just called the church travel department about some specifics (for instance, Trent was ordained a Priest in Provo. How do we go about getting original certificates? And he attended Seminary in California AND England - what's the best way to get those transcripts? etc) and she asked if there was any way we would be in Utah or Idaho within the next few weeks. I said we're planning to come Conference weekend. She said the requirements from Utah are much less stringent (copies only are needed of priesthood ordination and birth certificate and no Seminary transcripts are required, etc.) I gave a cheer! (okay not really, but I felt like it) and had to resist the temptation to pack everyone into the car and head to Utah straight away just to get this behind me. The phrase "heaving a sigh of relief" was a complete understatement.

Hallelujah! (and I mean that in the true definition of the word!)