the weekend was full of brazilian friends, hillsong and delectable home made feasts...emily and i rocked up at the consulate. over the weekend we had learned that because of my youth and emily's years of experience beyond mine, she should be the one to do the talking. i should not even make eye contact or anything close...leave it to emily. we had received a letter from a goverment official in the stan endorsing not only the foundation we were working with but emily and i...we'd put the final touches on some paperwork, saw more finance come in, and really pressed in through inter-sesh.
over and over emily practiced our new government "friend's" name, so when she needed to reference the letter, his name could roll trippingly off her tongue. we entered the consulate as soon as it opened-although the desk we needed was not open for another hour and a half. we stared off into space, occasionally getting the urge to make the other laugh...i thought about having a quiet time, reading the word, and then realized that most likely the worst thing i could do. the time was passed by a little boy and his father, waiting for visa. the little boy did not listen to his father at all, rather his inner spider man, which made for much entertainment. at the stroke of eleven, our friend who had told us "NO!" and then given us the stipulations rocked up (emily and i accidently looked at him and smiled) and without even making eye contact with us said-"your letter has come through, your visas will be issued today". and so we held the building excitement until we organized our passports,etc. and then let it all out in the elevator ride-"AHHHHHHHH!".
thus began our frantic ticket booking, inter-sesh, final finance collaboration and insurance purchasing. we saw each dollar needed for the tickets, visas and insurance come through...how phenominal is our G*od.
that night we were on the plane through dubai and to our final destination.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
this is the story all about how...part three...this is getting longer than expected...
And Friday morning, we arrived on the other side. We had exactly 1 1/2 hours to get to the embassy, plead our case and get our visas, hoping to fly out that day.
After hopping off the plane, we jumped on the train and briskly walked to St. Martin's Place in Sydney. Home of the consulates, and the fountain from the Matrix.
We took the elevator to floor seven, whipped out our official paperwork and invitation from an NGO and they looked at the paperwork and said "No, we cannot issue your visas, you are not Australian citizens. You need to apply from your countries." Not having come all that way to hear that, we said "Is there someone else we can talk to?" We arranged our meeting with the Consular General for two hours later.
We went to Hyde Park, chilled out, finished our airplane snacks, spent time with J*sus and then stormed the heavens together. Before we knew it, we were back in the office of the only person who stood between us and the flood relief victims. He was clothed in a suit that would have paid for both of our airfare, had the physique of a cricketer and had adorned his coffee table with a photo of him shaking hands with George Bush. He seemed important. And as we pleaded our case...without any warm fuzzies, he gave us some new info..."No one wants to be responsible for your ladies' lives. If I stamp your passports and something happens to you, I am in trouble." (This was the first of many insights into the instability of the nation. Everyone is afraid to mess up, no one wants to be responsible and actually it is quite unsafe for westerners, especially Americans--because we threaten to burn qur'ans, etc.) And then we basically asked, "what can we do to make this happen?" and he said "Get me a letter that endorses your NGO and takes responsibility for you from a government official and as soon as I receive that, I will give them to you. I will be here until 5 pm, and if it comes in before then, no problem, I will give them to you."
We made some more phone calls, found out that there had been a stabbing of a political figure who had taken political assylum in London and that things were potentially moving towards a declared 10 days mourning. This also meant that we would be delayed in getting our letter. Our contact in the UK was confident that it was possible though, we knew what we needed and now all we needed was time and we would get our visa.
And me? I was discouraged, tired and wanted to crawl under the lounge in the waiting room and fall into a deep sleep of hybernation. But Emily was right there, speaking truth, telling me that we knew what needed to happen, but we needed time and hey, we get the weekend in Sydney. A little bit earlier she had gone to the store while I had made some phone calls and in that time she had bought some sustenance. That was the best time ever to be surprised with a roll of sushi and a mini fish full of soy sauce. We toasted for what was to come. We remained in the lobby of this large commercial building there for the next couple hours, decompressing, downing hummus and listening to a man snore who was on the couch next to us. At one point the consular general walked past us and with a hint of soft heartedness said "Hey, if your letter comes this weekend, give me a ring." We smiled at each other, hopeful for this kind glimmer, even though we didn't have his number.
So a little more settled, Emily and I started to consider the fact that it was approaching 7pm and we had no place to stay and we were going to be in Sydney until Monday.
Alas, we live in a massive community where everyone seems to know someone, we were connected to some very kind people, now dear friends, that allowed us to stay at their flats, fed us to no end, showed us around and sent us out from Sydney after making us a priority all weekend. We love you Marcia and Jacob! Did you know there is a large Japanese population in Brazil? I never knew...
Onto part four...
After hopping off the plane, we jumped on the train and briskly walked to St. Martin's Place in Sydney. Home of the consulates, and the fountain from the Matrix.
We took the elevator to floor seven, whipped out our official paperwork and invitation from an NGO and they looked at the paperwork and said "No, we cannot issue your visas, you are not Australian citizens. You need to apply from your countries." Not having come all that way to hear that, we said "Is there someone else we can talk to?" We arranged our meeting with the Consular General for two hours later.
We went to Hyde Park, chilled out, finished our airplane snacks, spent time with J*sus and then stormed the heavens together. Before we knew it, we were back in the office of the only person who stood between us and the flood relief victims. He was clothed in a suit that would have paid for both of our airfare, had the physique of a cricketer and had adorned his coffee table with a photo of him shaking hands with George Bush. He seemed important. And as we pleaded our case...without any warm fuzzies, he gave us some new info..."No one wants to be responsible for your ladies' lives. If I stamp your passports and something happens to you, I am in trouble." (This was the first of many insights into the instability of the nation. Everyone is afraid to mess up, no one wants to be responsible and actually it is quite unsafe for westerners, especially Americans--because we threaten to burn qur'ans, etc.) And then we basically asked, "what can we do to make this happen?" and he said "Get me a letter that endorses your NGO and takes responsibility for you from a government official and as soon as I receive that, I will give them to you. I will be here until 5 pm, and if it comes in before then, no problem, I will give them to you."
We made some more phone calls, found out that there had been a stabbing of a political figure who had taken political assylum in London and that things were potentially moving towards a declared 10 days mourning. This also meant that we would be delayed in getting our letter. Our contact in the UK was confident that it was possible though, we knew what we needed and now all we needed was time and we would get our visa.
And me? I was discouraged, tired and wanted to crawl under the lounge in the waiting room and fall into a deep sleep of hybernation. But Emily was right there, speaking truth, telling me that we knew what needed to happen, but we needed time and hey, we get the weekend in Sydney. A little bit earlier she had gone to the store while I had made some phone calls and in that time she had bought some sustenance. That was the best time ever to be surprised with a roll of sushi and a mini fish full of soy sauce. We toasted for what was to come. We remained in the lobby of this large commercial building there for the next couple hours, decompressing, downing hummus and listening to a man snore who was on the couch next to us. At one point the consular general walked past us and with a hint of soft heartedness said "Hey, if your letter comes this weekend, give me a ring." We smiled at each other, hopeful for this kind glimmer, even though we didn't have his number.
So a little more settled, Emily and I started to consider the fact that it was approaching 7pm and we had no place to stay and we were going to be in Sydney until Monday.
Alas, we live in a massive community where everyone seems to know someone, we were connected to some very kind people, now dear friends, that allowed us to stay at their flats, fed us to no end, showed us around and sent us out from Sydney after making us a priority all weekend. We love you Marcia and Jacob! Did you know there is a large Japanese population in Brazil? I never knew...
Onto part four...
this is the story all about how...part two
Wednesday night was spent talking with my family, pr*ying-getting a word to stand on as I was sure that we were heading into a battle, making phone calls and writing emails to specific people to see if they wanted to partner financially. Thursday morning came much quicker than expected.
Thursday I rushed to prepare for family chores and also rearrange my schedule for the day. (Each morning I get to prepare all the cleaning supplies for one area of our base so that we can blitz clean together as a family for about 30 minutes first thing in the morning.) I was supposed to be on chocolate selling, a fundraiser that happens all year, every year, taking turns selling chocolate to businesses to raise funds for our building costs. I ran around looking for a swap and found a gracious beautiful friend who said "yes!".
I was in the clear, the day was Emily and I's to work on visa stuff.
I had no idea what an adventure we were embarking onto.
We spent the morning calling embassies in Australia. And the common consensus after 2 hours of phone calling was "No, we will not give you a visa."
The reasons:
-American and British citizens are not allowed to receive visas in any nations except their own.
-"And no, you cannot get a visa upon arrival."
-All visas take 6 weeks to process.
After hours of trying, we then stopped, took a breather and said to each other "Why did we think this would be easy? Of course the enemy doesn't want us to get in." So, we went into an AWESOME time of open heaven intersesh (my new fav version of "that word"). This was the beginning entering into a battle that has been raging for years in a country that separated itself to be an Islamic nation. Oh man the enemy has been a part of that from the beginning and does not want any land to be claimed back.
Around 1 pm, it seemed as if we received some breakthrough. Phone call after phone call led me to calling consulate after embassy after official person. I ended up on the phone with some man in S. Asia who said "Yes, we will grant you a visa upon arrival." We absolutely ELATED and double checked with our contacts in the UK and S. Asia, and they seemed to think it was a go. So at 7pm, it seemed as if, we were done, we could work on finances, flights and be on our merry way. We walked home 2 feet off the ground. I sighed when I arrived home, so satisfied to have seen G*d answer with his favour after we stormed the heavens, and asked, seeked and knocked.
It must have been 9pm, almost 24 hours after we first found out that we were going to be able to go, that Emily called and said "We can't enter without our visas." I fell to the ground...quite dramatically (and unnecessarily), exhausted, doubtful and afraid. I knew I was meant to go, but not being able to get our visas on arrival meant this battle was not done, it meant going to a consulate in Australia. So after a series of phone calls to the UK and Emily, we confirmed the only options were Canberra and Sydney. I didn't know what to do, with not much money in my bank account and the word of the L*rd to stand on, Emily and I went back to dad and asked him what to do. I took a shower and cried out. My housemates pr*yed for me and listened to me process the options.
And then G*d spoke "Go to the other side". This to me brought me to the story of J*sus and his disciples (Mk 4:35) when they were going across the lake and J*sus said "Let us go to the other side." And then the storm was a-brewin' and the disciples were frightened and woke him and asked him if he even cared about them. He then silenced the storm, as you do, and questioned their faith. The direction he gave to them was to go to the other side, he didn't say it would be without storms, but would not have told them to do something they were incapable of. And so I took this heart. "You orginally said to give myself as an offering, and though it is a battle to do so, I need to keep chugging along." I called Emily and shared this with her and she said "Hey, Sydney is on the other side of Australia!". It was also during this time of waiting on the L*rd that Emily received 1,000 pounds in her account, so we had enough money to buy our tickets to the other side.
The next 6 hours consisted of sending an email to my whole mailing list asking if people wanted to support this trip, {and this email was overwhelmingly responded to. It was each of you that made it possible for the whole trip to happen...okay, I know I am fast forwarding, but...so many times (more than I ever get asked) people wanted to know "WHY? are you here?" and I was able to respond on behalf of so many people from so many nations and say "the nations care for your people and I am here to tell you that."}, contacted individuals on the phone to see if they could give, organized details that you organize in order to travel and didn't pack my bag (because my amazing housemate/friend/fellow midwife Sarah packed it.
Before I knew it, I was riding my bike at 3:00am to pick Emily up from her house and then we were on our way to the base for our dear leader to drive us to the airport.
And it was all so surreal.
Thursday I rushed to prepare for family chores and also rearrange my schedule for the day. (Each morning I get to prepare all the cleaning supplies for one area of our base so that we can blitz clean together as a family for about 30 minutes first thing in the morning.) I was supposed to be on chocolate selling, a fundraiser that happens all year, every year, taking turns selling chocolate to businesses to raise funds for our building costs. I ran around looking for a swap and found a gracious beautiful friend who said "yes!".
I was in the clear, the day was Emily and I's to work on visa stuff.
I had no idea what an adventure we were embarking onto.
We spent the morning calling embassies in Australia. And the common consensus after 2 hours of phone calling was "No, we will not give you a visa."
The reasons:
-American and British citizens are not allowed to receive visas in any nations except their own.
-"And no, you cannot get a visa upon arrival."
-All visas take 6 weeks to process.
After hours of trying, we then stopped, took a breather and said to each other "Why did we think this would be easy? Of course the enemy doesn't want us to get in." So, we went into an AWESOME time of open heaven intersesh (my new fav version of "that word"). This was the beginning entering into a battle that has been raging for years in a country that separated itself to be an Islamic nation. Oh man the enemy has been a part of that from the beginning and does not want any land to be claimed back.
Around 1 pm, it seemed as if we received some breakthrough. Phone call after phone call led me to calling consulate after embassy after official person. I ended up on the phone with some man in S. Asia who said "Yes, we will grant you a visa upon arrival." We absolutely ELATED and double checked with our contacts in the UK and S. Asia, and they seemed to think it was a go. So at 7pm, it seemed as if, we were done, we could work on finances, flights and be on our merry way. We walked home 2 feet off the ground. I sighed when I arrived home, so satisfied to have seen G*d answer with his favour after we stormed the heavens, and asked, seeked and knocked.
It must have been 9pm, almost 24 hours after we first found out that we were going to be able to go, that Emily called and said "We can't enter without our visas." I fell to the ground...quite dramatically (and unnecessarily), exhausted, doubtful and afraid. I knew I was meant to go, but not being able to get our visas on arrival meant this battle was not done, it meant going to a consulate in Australia. So after a series of phone calls to the UK and Emily, we confirmed the only options were Canberra and Sydney. I didn't know what to do, with not much money in my bank account and the word of the L*rd to stand on, Emily and I went back to dad and asked him what to do. I took a shower and cried out. My housemates pr*yed for me and listened to me process the options.
And then G*d spoke "Go to the other side". This to me brought me to the story of J*sus and his disciples (Mk 4:35) when they were going across the lake and J*sus said "Let us go to the other side." And then the storm was a-brewin' and the disciples were frightened and woke him and asked him if he even cared about them. He then silenced the storm, as you do, and questioned their faith. The direction he gave to them was to go to the other side, he didn't say it would be without storms, but would not have told them to do something they were incapable of. And so I took this heart. "You orginally said to give myself as an offering, and though it is a battle to do so, I need to keep chugging along." I called Emily and shared this with her and she said "Hey, Sydney is on the other side of Australia!". It was also during this time of waiting on the L*rd that Emily received 1,000 pounds in her account, so we had enough money to buy our tickets to the other side.
The next 6 hours consisted of sending an email to my whole mailing list asking if people wanted to support this trip, {and this email was overwhelmingly responded to. It was each of you that made it possible for the whole trip to happen...okay, I know I am fast forwarding, but...so many times (more than I ever get asked) people wanted to know "WHY? are you here?" and I was able to respond on behalf of so many people from so many nations and say "the nations care for your people and I am here to tell you that."}, contacted individuals on the phone to see if they could give, organized details that you organize in order to travel and didn't pack my bag (because my amazing housemate/friend/fellow midwife Sarah packed it.
Before I knew it, I was riding my bike at 3:00am to pick Emily up from her house and then we were on our way to the base for our dear leader to drive us to the airport.
And it was all so surreal.
this is a story all about how...part one
Every Friday night, together as a community, we come together and hear a challenging message, apply it and then grow corporately. this is the idea at least. about a month ago, the challenge came before the message. one of our base leaders led us into a pr*yer time for flood relief victims right at the beginning of the meeting. My heart was broken for the devastation, the women and children in need and the lack of response to the collapsing nation. In conclusion of the time we went into a time of giving, where we ask G*d what we could give financially. I felt like I could give myself as an offering. Sitting through the meeting was tough that night as my mind stayed in South Asia the whole evening.
After the meeting I found myself in my seat as the rest of the community stacked chairs up around me. Soon there were only a few people left and random people chatting around me. I waited for the base leader and found myself in the company of Emily, a British friend who just completed the birth attendant school, who too felt like she was supposed to go to Pakistan. It was late by the time we were able to speak to him, and once we had his attention, it was like "How do I put this...We want to go." He caught the curve ball and said he would get onto it, he had some connections and would see what he could do. Emily and I went to our leader after that, conveniently the same one, as we both work in health care. She said that would pray about it with our base leader and this other leader as well, for the weekend, we just needed to sit on it. As eager as I felt, I was grateful for her sound mind in it all. One of my house mates suggested that I paint "P stan" on the bum of my pants to show her I was taking that to heart.
Not much was mentioned on Monday and Tuesday I organized to speak with my leader and let her know what G*d had been saying over the weekend. She said she hadn't been able to pr*y but that she really wanted to see something happen and I felt like she was really going to all she could to make this happen. That day as well, the other base leader said he had gotten a response from inside the UK who is organizing the work in the country and that they would be happy to have two health care workers come...the door was opening.
I was so impressed with the support that we had. Wednesday afternoon Emily said that our leader was pr*ying...that didn't end up happening...she is busy. Really busy. Wendesday evening at about 10:00 pm, I was writing thank you cards for my BAS outreach finances...and Emily called and said "It's a go. We are going." And just like that, they had prayed and the base leadership was backing us to go into South Asia.
onto Part #2...
After the meeting I found myself in my seat as the rest of the community stacked chairs up around me. Soon there were only a few people left and random people chatting around me. I waited for the base leader and found myself in the company of Emily, a British friend who just completed the birth attendant school, who too felt like she was supposed to go to Pakistan. It was late by the time we were able to speak to him, and once we had his attention, it was like "How do I put this...We want to go." He caught the curve ball and said he would get onto it, he had some connections and would see what he could do. Emily and I went to our leader after that, conveniently the same one, as we both work in health care. She said that would pray about it with our base leader and this other leader as well, for the weekend, we just needed to sit on it. As eager as I felt, I was grateful for her sound mind in it all. One of my house mates suggested that I paint "P stan" on the bum of my pants to show her I was taking that to heart.
Not much was mentioned on Monday and Tuesday I organized to speak with my leader and let her know what G*d had been saying over the weekend. She said she hadn't been able to pr*y but that she really wanted to see something happen and I felt like she was really going to all she could to make this happen. That day as well, the other base leader said he had gotten a response from inside the UK who is organizing the work in the country and that they would be happy to have two health care workers come...the door was opening.
I was so impressed with the support that we had. Wednesday afternoon Emily said that our leader was pr*ying...that didn't end up happening...she is busy. Really busy. Wendesday evening at about 10:00 pm, I was writing thank you cards for my BAS outreach finances...and Emily called and said "It's a go. We are going." And just like that, they had prayed and the base leadership was backing us to go into South Asia.
onto Part #2...
Saturday, October 09, 2010
hi there.
hi friends. i just wanted to let you know that I am alive, doing well and have not had any time to procure blog posts about adventures to south asia yet.
this weekend i am babysitting two sweet children with a lovely friend called Sarah.
i will need to be posting soon.
see you all.
i think you are wonderful.
this weekend i am babysitting two sweet children with a lovely friend called Sarah.
i will need to be posting soon.
see you all.
i think you are wonderful.
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