iceland could borrow some of wyoming's wind without us noticing the loss

i have a new flight scheduled from denver on friday arriving at london heathrow on saturday morning. here's hoping for wind over Iceland.

Loving friends sent this to me as encouragement before I get into an airplane.  They're irreplaceable really.

i would recommend not ever planning to fly with me

right. last time it was a strike, the time before that a snow storm. I seem to provoke flight disruptions on international flights.


my scheduled flight for today was just cancelled due to more volcanic ash. at least there's the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing the UK Border Agency would have let me into the country this time. 


but for now, I shall have to enjoy the thought of my visa rather than enjoy its functionality 

it's official. I fly back to the UK on tuesday :)
UPS faithfully delivered me my Passport and Visa

Success.

12:11pm
UK Tier 5 Charity Visa Issued.

Still waiting to receive it in the mail but looks like I will be headed back to London on the 20th of April as planned!!!  Praise God :)  Visa FTW

and now I am headed to the eMi Colorado Springs office to pick up survey equipment and see Heather! road trip!

waiting for a visa...

Last Friday I arrived back in the States just in time for Easter festivities with the family at my home in Wyoming.  The reason for the flight home, however, was in order to reapply for a UK Charity Visa.  Apparently the charity visa is in the one tier of visas that cannot be applied for within the UK.  Of course this was only figured by me after first applying for the visa back in February, while already working at eMiUK, and having the application rejected.  Thus, I am now taking a forced holiday back in the States in order for me to return back to the UK to continue my work with eMi.  The application is supposed to process within 10-15 business days. My application should arrive to the consulate on Wednesday (tomorrow) and I have a flight scheduled to return me to London Heathrow on the 20th of April, so not to put a time limit on you, God, but it'd be nice to have a visa by that time! :)

In the meantime, I am doing a bit of remote work here and there as well as spending time at the sewing machine and in coffee shops about town.

I also decided it was time to give my head a change once again...

Prayers for a UK Charity Visa by the 20th of April would be much appreciated! I won't be able to return to work with eMi in the UK office unless I get a visa.  I'll let you all know how things turn out as soon as I hear back!

life as a LTV

life as a long term volunteer at eMi...well crazy

For the past month I have been settling in to life in Colchester where our new eMi office is located. Colchester is an old town outside of London about 45mins by train.

  









 I am staying with Mike (eMi UK Director) and Marietta Woods and their adopted daughter, Lela, in Great Wenham.  We live in a nice old country house called The Baylies that is dated something like 100 years old and located about 10 miles outside of Colchester.

By far my favorite spot in the house: the lovely little conservatory off the kitchen facing the back garden. A perfect spot for tea times :)

My room is upstairs. Mike and Marietta lived in Uganda for a time, and thus the majority of my furnishing happens to be tribal drums! ..the shoes and ducks are my contribution.

Because we are out in the middle of no-where-ville, the extra car in the drive has been entrusted to me for the time being.  Let's just say that learning manual for the first time while attempting to remember how to maneuver round-a-bouts and drive on the wrong side of the road has been entertaining for all spectators.

Our brand new office is finally up and running after a month's worth of painting, furniture buying and assembling, fighting with internet and phone lines, and redrilling holes for shelving in 100-year-old plaster.  We plan to fit three interns, two ltvs, and director in this tiny room...don't ask me how :) Note the pink guitar in the corner above my workstation.  It's a necessary piece of equipment, I assure you.  We are now officially located in the back of the Colchester Baptist Church.

I have been attending Sunday Services at St. John's Church in Colchester.  It's a wonderful Anglican Church with a heart for serving God and following His Spirit. Lela and I are excited to continue getting more plugged in the community there!



So that's my life for now. Until our trip to Liberia in early June, I will be finishing up the project report for the India trip, writing an article for the ACDP (Association of Christian Design Professionals), helping with Intern Orientation for the summer term, and preparing for the project trip to Liberia...with a detour home for a couple of weeks to sort out my visa!

funds 3_02

Special thanks to those of you who recently sent in gifts! The cost of my flight back to the US to reapply for a visa has been covered as well as my participation on the project trip to Liberia in June! Thanks to you all, I can now commit to that orphanage project outside of Monrovia! Thank you ever so much!!!! I am so excited to be able to contribute to the design and the project team this summer :)  Praise God so much for our Christian family that crosses oceans and cultures!