uk visa = craziness

it was all going so well...
although a long tedious process, the sponsorship license that had to be applied for and awarded before I could even apply for a visa went through about a month ago.  I came back to the UK and straight away sent in my visa application.  Yesterday, after all of that, they sent me a rejection letter.


In the large scheme of things, it's not a huge obstacle because the grounds that it was rejected on was that the particular charity visa I applied for can only be granted to someone applying while living outside the country. sigh. That means a trip back to the states to sort the whole application out again.  While that in and of itself is just majorly inconvenient, it possess a relatively small obstacle of an extra plane flight and chillaxing at home with the parentals for a couple of weeks...not so bad :)


The thing that knocked me off kilter a bit from this news was a thought that perhaps God had not been calling me to serve with eMi in the UK as I had originally thought.  This was a really scary thought.  I hate when I miss the mark: i've already been support raising, i've moved in here, started learning to drive on the wrong side of the road (surprisingly i haven't killed anything but the gear box so far!)...etc.  It would be so disappointing to have to just drop all the work I am currently doing for eMi and flee the country for good.  You feel sort of disoriented when you start questioning whether you followed God into His path for you or you went your own way thinking it was His.


I can't say that I am one hundred percent reconfirmed now, but God continues to remind me that as long as I am seeking His will, I enable Him to work through me, no matter where I am at.  This morning, after having a frustrating day of bad visa news and leaving my favorite umbrella behind on the train yesterday, I suddenly remembered an e-mail I received not 24 hours before I got my unfortunate visa letter.  That e-mail contained great news of a donation made on my behalf from the Wheatly Fund, a fund set up by a wonderful couple from my home church in Wyoming.  


The realization:  
donation = cost of flight back home


He is My fortress. My rock. My provider. Yet again, God reminds me that He provides for his children who are walking along side Him.  Lord, although I never will, help me to deserve that spot at your side.

Pressing on towards the goal:

Back in the USS...K

Every time. I feel like busting out the beatles' song every time i say im back in the UK. If only the SSR was a K.  I suppose it's still appropriate seeing as the Beatles did come from the UK.
oh anyhow

news updates!
I am back in the UK and living with the eMi directer and his wife out in Colchester.  Monday and Tuesday's I commute into London to work for Evans Davies Architects and Wed-Fri I stay out in Colchester to work at the eMi office.

and YES, eMiUK now has an official office!!! We just finished painting and are currently moving into a room in the Colchester Baptist Church. nevermind that the wall color is a rather unfavorable shade of yellow...grateful...grateful...grateful :)

the funny thing is, much sooner rather than later, we will likely need to find and move out into a larger office!?! (new paint color! whoot!)  Apart from me and Mike, the director, there is Jean, another who does part time with eMi like me, a couple of fabulous interns, David our accountant, and a couple of perspective full-time volunteers! How crazy is that? eMiUK is growing! It's so exciting to know that God is working within our ministry and is continuing to bring people here to serve with eMi!!

on the heavier side of things, Marietta, Mike's wife, has been diagnosed with breast cancer and on top of that needs to have a quadruple heart by-pass in a couple of months time.  Mike's first priority, quite rightly, is at home with Marietta, and because we-even though growing-are not a big office.  Thus, we dont have anyone to take over as the project leader of our planned trip to Liberia in March and because of this it has been postponed.   

The Liberia trip has, however, been rescheduled for the summer term sometime in June 2010.  Plans as of now are that I will be participating with that project team and designing a Technical School for an orphanage outside of Monrovia.

Support for participation on future project trips keeps coming in, and for that I can't thank you all enough!!


Prayer Requests
Please pray for Marietta. She as well as Mike are so involved in my life, the other eMi staff and interns, and with eMi as a ministry. They are such lovely people with amazing servant hearts and it is so difficult to see them both going through such a rough time.  The eMi UK office wouldn't exist without them.  Please pray for a swift and complete healing and recovery from heart surgery as well as treatment of breast cancer.  Pray for great doctors and surgeons. Please pray for abundant rest time and perhaps a lack of eMi busyness so that Mike doesn't feel pulled in two different directions.  Please pray for the surrounding of their friends and family and people who have time and willingness to help out and be around.  Please pray for a presence of peace and courage in Marietta rather than anxiety as she waits for these procedures to take place.

I would also ask for prayer on guidance as to where to find a church home for the next year.

And please pray for the interns and eMi team members who are a bit tossed about at the moment with all the plans for the semester being rearranged on short notice.

And of course prayer for continued support from my friends and family back home.  I am scared of losing touch with all of my wonderful friends and growing apart from them as I will be away for such a long period of time.  I am really praying that I'm out of my mind even to think of it!

Thank you all so much!
my current financial standing is as follows:

God Bless!!