In early 2023 I signed up for the IFES’s InterAction scheme focusing on cross-cultural student ministry. I was linked to others working among international students in Turin, Italy, and started the preparation of heading out to Italy in September 2023.

What I never expected was that I wouldn’t be allowed to go. Or rather, I wouldn’t be allowed to stay.

My visa to Italy has been refused. Twice. The initial refusal in August was surprising since someone had gone to Turin from the UK two years prior without any issue on the same IFES programme. They too used the same ‘religious reasons’ visa I had applied for with the same supporting paperwork. It was decided I would still fly out to Italy in September without a visa, like a tourist would – a UK citizen can be in the EU without a visa for 90/180 days. The hope was we would find a solution whilst I was in Italy, but every avenue I pursued came to a dead end.

I felt overwhelmed thinking about it and the stress started to impact my sleeping.

It was hard to live in the country and feel insecure about my position there. Visa laws are complicated; it felt like nobody could advise me on what to do next. I felt overwhelmed thinking about it and the stress started to impact my sleeping and eating. It was a challenge to live out the reality of trusting that God would provide all I needed and that this was exactly where he wanted me to be.

It was also difficult to accept that perhaps I wasn’t to be in Italy for the whole year. My tourist visa ended in December, and I wasn’t able to return until March. Throughout my time in Italy I was settling into the ministry and building relationships with the students and although this was a smooth transition, it made the following three months in the UK even more frustrating. Despite trying to connect online I felt distant and cut off from the students I had hoped to serve.

I trust that the Lord has been working and growing me through this time, even just in patience. No time serving the Lord is wasted. I went into this year praying that God would lead me to where he wanted me, and I know he has done this. In January we put in another visa application and went weeks without hearing anything. In the meantime I returned to Italy for another 90 days with the desire to make the most of the time I have here to disciple and encourage the students. Last week I heard the visa has been refused again which means I will have to leave in early June.

I have found myself returning again and again to the sovereignty of God.

As the academic year has come to an end, I have found myself returning again and again to the sovereignty of God. The ongoing visa issues are not unique to me but a problem faced by many mission workers seeking to go and work in Europe. 

Pray for the provision of visas needed for the workers being called to the region and I ask too that you would pray for me as I consider the future. 

Photos: top: view of the Alps from Turin (Unsplash); Katie and international students studying in Turin.

Katie Bouckley has been serving on IFES InterAction in Turin, Italy