Skip to main content

God is Bigger Than My Situation - Applying for a Visa


There have been many times where I want to give up and take the easy road when things get challenging. When I was applying for YWAM DTS, things seemed to be going fairly smooth. Preparing to move out of Korea and leave behind a life I had built for the past 7 years was definitely the hardest part of this whole process. But now that I am back in Canada preparing to go to Honolulu is January things are looking interesting. Being a Canadian citizen allows me free access to the States with no visa EXCEPT since I'm not going over as a tourist but a volunteer missions trainee (not a student), I need to apply for a B-1 visa. 

Downtown Edmonton
To make things a bit more interesting, Canada post is on strike which means applying for the visa needs to be done in person at the nearest US Embassy/Consulate. I'm not sure how long this process will take me (please pray that this won't take long) but I am preparing to get my photos today and will fill out 40 pages online before I can make an appointment. Thankfully the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate is about 3 hours drive from where I am currently visiting. I don't drive so anywhere I go will need to be done by public transit via plane as the greyhound buses have recently shut down as well. 

When I think back on this crazy life journey that God has walked with me through, I can't help but laugh. Over 10 years ago, while I was in the middle of bible college, I was failing and was soon to be dismissed from college. Reality truly hit me in the face as I thought that I had failed God at life. I pleaded with Him to give me a second chance but nothing seemed possible. Shortly after I got into a tobogganing accident during a college event when I went down a ski hill at exceptional speed, hitting my face on a rail or pole, suffering a severe brain injury. I have no memory of the actual accident, only the few hours before leading up to it. At the time I INTERPRETED the situation as God's punishment to me but that was not the case but rather it was His GRACE that I survived! 

"Blind date" with a book at a cafe in Edmonton
It really changed my life forever for the better! I missed one semester of college (I was in the hospital) and as you can see, God gave me second chance at life and college. As I sit here and write this, I hear "Faithful, God you are faithful!" - Elevation Worship. It's the truth! It does get overwhelming at times when I run into these sort of obstacles along the way and I do get discouraged at times. There are many things I am thankful for and I trust that God will come through like He has in the past. I'm visiting college friends in Edmonton and I'm much closer to the U.S. Consulate than I was when I was in Manitoba. Also, there is a new airline that is extremely cheap in Canada and I do have friends that I could stay with if I need to. Most importantly, I have a God who loves me more than anyone and He is the one who directs my path.  

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

YWAM DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING SCHOOL/OUTREACH UPDATE – March 19, 2019

Each morning at 7am, we are required to wake up for breakfast and start devo/quiet times at 7:30-8:30am. Every day looks slightly different as we have intercession/book reading time/chapel talk/base worship. This DTS was NOTHING like I anticipated and we have not only participated in lectures but also are involved in weekly EVANGELISM and COMMUNITY OUTREACH . I have been working with an afterschool program once a week, helping kids with homework and doing chapel services. Every Tuesday night we go out to the streets and tourist area of Waikiki beach in Honolulu, to evangelize (share about Jesus) with people. When I first went out, I was so scared of running up to random people and telling them about Jesus. Over the past 2 months I've been continually challenged to get outside of my comfort zone and to embrace rejection. We continued walking a bit when a young guy caught my attention. I said that we need to go talk to him. Awkwardly turning around, we began to fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

First Month at YWAM Honolulu!!

Shekinah House (Girl's House) It hasn't been a full month yet but it feels like I have been here for awhile! I arrived on Jan 9th and began orientation on the 10th. When I arrived on base I was brought to my living quarters which is Bunk beds a small house shared among 25 girls. We share 3 bathrooms, one fridge, a small common room and sleep on bunk beds. This has been the most people I have ever lived with in my life. Its very similar to what I imagine living in a college dorm is like but I never had that option in college. View of Manoa Valley The YWAM base is located in Manoa Valley in Honolulu and is near the University of Hawaii. Everyday we begin our day with breakfast and one hour of bible reading/journal quiet time with Jesus. This is very important and something that YWAM values highly! Starting each day with Jesus is the most important thing you can do. We have lectures throughout the week covering various topics. In our first week of lectures, we ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Upside Down Kingdom

O ver the past 2.5 months since coming to Honolulu for DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM, my life and perspective has changed radically. The theme coming into our DTS quarter is " All in. All for. All because of Jesus. "  The other day I was talking with my friend Anna, about all that I have been learning since I arrived in Hawaii but also some struggles I still have. It's not easy to put things into words, especially when you don't what you are feeling or why. I have been feeling anxious about the future and about going to Indonesia . I love the team that I'm apart of but I worry about what I will do once we come back. I am done with school so I won't be doing that like many other young people will be doing.  I don't have a place to call my own even though I do have family to stay with temporarily. I don't have a husband either so I am doing this alone. I feel as though I have been wandering through life alone and its hard at times, e...
Post a Comment
Read more