This morning as I was heading out to Dallas, I began to pray that God would see me through the day, keep me safe, and let it be that getting my visa would go smoothly. But as I prayed I felt guilty for asking God for things once again as He has been soo good and soo faithful to me of late I could hardly bear it. I felt bad for asking for more since I had already been blessed soo much, but then I thought to myself that I didn't dare not pray and ask for God to lead me on; I didn't dare to try and take one step without God. And that thought brought to my mind the hymn Be With Me Lord, which has been something of my hymn and prayer for the day:
Be with me Lord-- I cannot live without Thee,
I dare not try to take one step alone,
I cannot bear the loads of life unaided,
I need Thy strength to lean myself upon.
Be with me, Lord! No other gift or blessing
Thou couldst bestow could with this one compare--
A constant sense of Thy abiding presence,
Where'er I am, to feel that Thou art near.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
The visa has come through! I went to Dallas today and got it finished. Thank God. I tried to also go by the LST offices in Bedford (which is somewhat on the way between Dallas and Stephenville), but my directions were not sufficient and after an hour and a half of driving up and down Airport Freeway without finding the office, I headed back to my brother and sister-in-law's house.
Looking back on the passed couple of days I'm kind of impressed with myself; there are lots of things I can do I didn't know I could, like:
Take care of a car (I put water in my radiator cause I was overheating, added a quart of oil cause I was low, and added air to my tires which were only at half the air pressure they were supposed to be at (yikes)).
Drive in big city, rush hour traffic when I don't even know where I'm going (which I did through Dallas twice and through which I discovered that intense classical music helps me drive).
I can go to a city I don't know all by myself and figure out where and how to get important documents processed (which is what I did with my visa today).
Not to say that these things were not accomplished without pointers from other people and lots of help from God, but it's still neat to find out that I have it in me to do all those things, and I thank God for having equiped me with the knowledge and gumption to do them; it is truly amazing how God makes you ready and then leads you through everything he puts before you to face.
Looking back on the passed couple of days I'm kind of impressed with myself; there are lots of things I can do I didn't know I could, like:
Take care of a car (I put water in my radiator cause I was overheating, added a quart of oil cause I was low, and added air to my tires which were only at half the air pressure they were supposed to be at (yikes)).
Drive in big city, rush hour traffic when I don't even know where I'm going (which I did through Dallas twice and through which I discovered that intense classical music helps me drive).
I can go to a city I don't know all by myself and figure out where and how to get important documents processed (which is what I did with my visa today).
Not to say that these things were not accomplished without pointers from other people and lots of help from God, but it's still neat to find out that I have it in me to do all those things, and I thank God for having equiped me with the knowledge and gumption to do them; it is truly amazing how God makes you ready and then leads you through everything he puts before you to face.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
There have been many snags with my visa, but God has been faithful, and each one has been overcome in time. It has worked out for me to be able to complete my visa paperwork in Dallas, and it has worked out that I don't need the medical form, which it would have taken me so long to obtain (I called the Dallas office and asked to make sure I really did need it, and it turned out that I didn't since I had an American passport and I had never been to a third world country), also there was part of my paperwork that was supposed to arrive to me by mail on wednesday so I could leave thursday and complete my visa at the Dallas office friday, but the papers did not arrive when I had expected; I didn't know where they were, but they turned up saturday (yesterday) and today (sunday) I am on my way to Dallas.
And so I am on my way to Dallas, my journey begins, and it is thrilling to be on the move once more with God going before me and the loving support of so many friends behind me.
Praise God for being so faithful and bringing me and blessing through this passed week during all my preparations to leave Searcy.
There is so much more to tell about this passed week, but time is short and I must hit the highway and so I shall leave it here.
And so I am on my way to Dallas, my journey begins, and it is thrilling to be on the move once more with God going before me and the loving support of so many friends behind me.
Praise God for being so faithful and bringing me and blessing through this passed week during all my preparations to leave Searcy.
There is so much more to tell about this passed week, but time is short and I must hit the highway and so I shall leave it here.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Visa
Preparations are coming along. I have hit one big snag in getting my visa. There's lots of paperwork that needs to get done for it and not a lot of time. One good thing about the visa is that once I get all the papers together I can get the visa processed in Dallas in one day, which is great for me as I was planning to be near Dallas in the next couple of weeks to visit my brother's family. A lot does go into getting the papers ready, not only do they require information, but all sorts of proofs for this information, also I must include photos and I must go to a doctor to certify that I don't have leprosy, syphalis, and other such strange deseases. The medical stuff is what will hold me up the most as some of the tests can take up to three weeks!
I have two more days at work, and then I will have my big packing day, and then Thursday it's off to World Missions Workshop.
Pray that all my preparation will get done and that I won't hit too many rough spots while growing through them. God has been amazingly faithful to far in getting me through all my preparations; pray that he will see me through to the end.
I have two more days at work, and then I will have my big packing day, and then Thursday it's off to World Missions Workshop.
Pray that all my preparation will get done and that I won't hit too many rough spots while growing through them. God has been amazingly faithful to far in getting me through all my preparations; pray that he will see me through to the end.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Preparations
Ok, here's a quick rundown of what all I'm looking at needing to get down before I leave Searcy in a month:
-Finish my LST assignments. I have one assignment left which involves reading a book and writting about it.
- Attending and doing homework for my LST training sessions. These will probably be 3 sessions of 2-3 hours each with homework inbetween.
- Finish reading my book on Thai culture (about 150 pages to go).
- Figure out what all's going on with my visa paperwork and when and how I need to mail my passport, and getting that all done.
- Learn about and buy health insurance for while I'll be in Thailand.
- Pack. Figure out what I will and won't keep, out of the things I will keep decide which go and which to box up, and out of the things that I won't keep decide which are trash and which are too nice to throw away and give that stuff away to people (so if you've ever coveted any of my stuff now would be a good time to let me know).
- Buy things I will need to take that I don't have (especially gifts for my readers).
- Wrap up and close out my bank account (right before I leave).
- Have the oil changed in my car (and have other stuff checked) to prepare it for the trek to Nebraska.
-Write letters to all my contributors.
Well, that's what I've got off the top of my head; I'm sure I could add to the list if I consulted my planner.
I'm actually not stressed about getting all these things done, but I do sometimes feel the wear of going-going-going all the time. My biggest concern is keeping on top of things and keeping at it, as long as I work on this stuff a little each day it'll all get done.
-Finish my LST assignments. I have one assignment left which involves reading a book and writting about it.
- Attending and doing homework for my LST training sessions. These will probably be 3 sessions of 2-3 hours each with homework inbetween.
- Finish reading my book on Thai culture (about 150 pages to go).
- Figure out what all's going on with my visa paperwork and when and how I need to mail my passport, and getting that all done.
- Learn about and buy health insurance for while I'll be in Thailand.
- Pack. Figure out what I will and won't keep, out of the things I will keep decide which go and which to box up, and out of the things that I won't keep decide which are trash and which are too nice to throw away and give that stuff away to people (so if you've ever coveted any of my stuff now would be a good time to let me know).
- Buy things I will need to take that I don't have (especially gifts for my readers).
- Wrap up and close out my bank account (right before I leave).
- Have the oil changed in my car (and have other stuff checked) to prepare it for the trek to Nebraska.
-Write letters to all my contributors.
Well, that's what I've got off the top of my head; I'm sure I could add to the list if I consulted my planner.
I'm actually not stressed about getting all these things done, but I do sometimes feel the wear of going-going-going all the time. My biggest concern is keeping on top of things and keeping at it, as long as I work on this stuff a little each day it'll all get done.
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