85

After walking 10 blocks to the Consulate-I took a number and began to catch my breath. 59, 60, 61 appeared on the digital board as I thumbed my 85. It was growing closer and closer to noon and it seemed like the room got smaller and smaller as the crowd multiplied. When the number 85 finally materialized-I somehow ended up at the window. I explained my business (It had been four months and I needed my passport) to which he basically said you left your passport and you are just now picking it up. He and I went around about three times until I finally convinced him that they had called for it. He finally told me to use the phone in the office to call the lady in charge of my case. Upon calling her, I was shocked to find out that she would bring my passport right down. I was definitely not expecting these actions. She brought the passport and said it should only be a couple more weeks. I assured her that when she called-I would send my passport back to them. I walked out feeling most confused. Why would the office dodge all of my phone calls and send me on wild goose chases for days and weeks at a time? All I know is this is what God wants. I don't know why He wanted it to be this way-but I am still here. I put my trust that He knows better and is always at work!
I almost left DC feeling like I got nothing accomplished. I decided to call them this morning to find out some more information (some names, phone numbers, direct contacts in Brazil). I called several times and there were no answers. After a few minutes of thoughts-I called my favorite lady's number back. She informed me that my case was turned back over to her. She sent my visa application to Brazil and it should be next week. I'll admit-I was a bit numb to this information. **Many of you know that I have heard all kinds of excuses, time spans, explanations, etc.** After that, I phoned Daniel (in charge of visa affairs in Brazil) and he was pretty excited about this information. He said this is what we have been waiting on! I began to get pretty excited as well!! We talked for a moment and he said that he was on his way to a meeting about my case with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He assured me that there was nothing else I could do and that I could come on home! I felt so much better about leaving!

In -DC-there is always something great to do, something awesome to learn, and somewhere new to explore. This time-I learned more about God's timing, being faithful, and again "There is a reason!"

Prayer Requests

• The White's-their adoption journey, birth mother, baby, financial, other adoption routes.
• Missionaries being sent out this summer-Aaron King, Stewart Miles, Mary Wolford, Julie Lasslo, CrossPoint Baptist Church Youth (going to MFUGE)
• People at the Brazilian Consulate in US and for those in Brazil.
• My patience and continued seeking the Lord in delays, distractions, etc.
• More Short term jobs
• Lost friends

Praise

• The movement of my Visa Application to Brazil!!!!
• Daniel Lopes (the guy in charge of visa stuff in Brazil)-his little daughter was thought to have cancer-but it is all BENIGN!!! :) He was so glad to tell me this news today!!!
• Short term jobs being provided.
• Another Cuban friend made it to the United States! Adrian is living in Pheonix, Arizona and is doing well!

Oh the Places You'll Go

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!


Day 1
In an effort to retain my passport (hopefully-if they haven't lost it) and information on my visa, I have traveled to Washington, DC. We made it into town about 2pm and after a few seconds of readjusting to public transportation maps (The Metro) we headed on the Blue Line towards the Consulate (which is about an hour from our hotel-with all the Metro stops and switches). I think we looked a bit out of place because he spotted us. We weren't looking at a map or doing the other things that tourists usually do-we were just sitting there. He walked in with a boom box-"old skool" style (no kidding) and said "Ya'll mind if I play some tunes for the ride?" to which we looked at each other and Mare responded, "Sure". We didn't know we would be listening to "dying fetus, obituary, and scorpian". After a few moments, we realized he would say what everyone else was thinking with no refrain. After a few minutes he realized there had been no proper introduction to which he said, "I'm John" that escaladed until we realized he was talking to us. We, however, did not respond with our names. He did not give us time before he said, "I have ADHD and I'm always happy." He proceeded to tell us about his extra curricular activities, inviting us to the skate park (to which he said, "That's okay if you don't, I've got plenty of people that will be there.") By this time I was shaking in my seat and trying not to breath. I could feel that laugh coming on-the one that is uncontrollable and loud-you all know that laugh. BUT-I kept it in. Until-we realized that we could not hear the conductor telling us which line we were on and what stop we were approaching. Before I completely thought that thought through, I heard, "WE CAN'T HEAR YOU, SPEAK UP ....." and I LOST IT. I just put my head down and he commented on how hard I was shaking. We had several other conversations with John and he included himself in about four other conversations with others before he jumped off at the skate park to join his "lots" of other people. The rest of our rides were not as eventful. Most of the people slept, read the paper, and minded their own business. We realized how much we missed our friend and his annoying/interesting lifestyle. One comment that really stuck with us was, "I am always happy. I could be ticked off and talking to someone and be grinning the whole time." How many times am I happy when on the inside I am really upset? I am ashamed to say that sometimes being upset affects my whole life-even people who are not directly involved with that particular situation. I pray about this often and lay at the feet of Jesus when situations like this arise.

We were unsuccessful at getting to the Consulate in time today. Transportation was hard and we ran into a lot of traffic that slowed us down on the way. We walked about 5 miles out of our way to the Consulate. We were about 45 minutes late and knew that there would be no getting in the door. We went anyway and sat on the steps(the picture!) of 3009 Whitehaven Street NW. This is the place that I have been calling for 5 months. It became all so real to me as I took off my flip flops and began to wonder what could happen tomorrow. After a few minutes, we realized that we could not sit there all night and the Brazilians might not like that. So, after much talk about the things we could see in DC-we ran off to find a bus. We chose an Ethiopian Cuisine restaurant which Mare said it was very true to actual Ethiopian food! The meat was in long strings? You ate with this like....bread stuff that you tear off, pick up the food, and then dip? Different. Very different.
Then, we decided to go Federal Triangle to see the Monuments in the dark. They were absolutely beautiful. I appreciate the fact that I live in America and have leisurely freedom to say the least.

Day 2

The Waiting Place...
...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

We woke up REALLY early in order to make our hour and a half long trek to the Consulate. Upon getting out of bed-I nearly fell into the floor. That is what wearing flip flops in DC does for you. My calves and feet simply could not work the way they should. We threw on some clothes and headed for Whitehaven Street NW
After the 45 minute Metro ride and hooving it about 10 blocks, we made it to the Consulate!!! (read "85" for the rest of this )

After the Consulate-we hopped a bus up to the National Cathedral as I called Brazil to let them know the results. Mr. Bose and I talked about what would happen next and not really understanding what was going on at the Consulate. We talked about some options and agreed to talk again once I had some more questions answered.
The National Cathedral is full of art, history, and beautiful architecture. The arches, stained glass windows, and mosaics are so intricately designed-it is hard to tear your eyes away from them. We had to carry on!! We had three days of sight seeing to do in just one! We ran off (well, actually we hobbled) to see the Holocaust Museum. I don't know if this piece of history can become a reality until you see this place. The smells, sounds, poems, photographs, artifacts, and exhibits bring this monstrosity to life. Sometimes you need to see, hear, and smell hard things.

The wild grasses rustle over Babi Yar.
The trees look ominous,like judges.
Here all things scream silently,
and, baring my head, slowly I feel myself
turning gray. And I myself am one massive,
soundless scream above the thousand thousand buried here.
-Yevgeny Yevtushenko (excerpt from Babi Yar)

We are the shoes, we are the last witnesses.We are shoes from grandchildren and grandfathersFrom Prague, Paris and Amsterdam, And because we are only made of fabric and leatherAnd not of blood and flesh, Each one of us avoided the hellfire
– Moshe Szulsztein, Yiddish Poet

My number is 174517; we have been baptized, we will carry the tattoo on our left arm until we die."
-Primo Levi, Survival in Auschwitz

We stopped on the Mall to recount what we saw, catch up on some reading, and watch some guys frisk others into playing whiffle ball with them while a friend video taped? Strange. Then, we headed up to "the Hill" to quickly see the Library of Congress and make our way to the Capitol Hill Baptist Church for Wednesday night service. This sign is what we found outside the church. We did not get to hear Mark Dever speak, but he has an outstanding Assistant Pastor who opened the Word and lead a discussion about Matthew 5:25-26. These verses talk about if you are going to court with an adversary, you should settle before you get there. This was quite interesting as the lawyers and other "legally" involved people from the Hill gave their insights and views on this passage. At the end of the hour, he gave us something to think about. He basically said, God is our adversary-we need to settle with Him before Judgement Day. I hadn't thought of these passages like that before.....

We had dinner with a friend and talked about his work on the Hill. He spoke of many neat opportunities and experiences! It was good to see a bit of familiarity within that big city!
We wanted to make use of every single moment-so we rushed off to sit on the Lincoln Memorial! The experience is breathtaking, serene, and the breeze seems to wrap itself around you. This is a great place to talk to God, think, and epitomize different things in your life. God has been speaking to me about several things in my life and through this experience confirmed some changes in my thoughts and actions.
So-you think the night is over? It isn't-we quickly got back to the Metro where we caught one of the last trains back to Franconia/Springfield. Life is just generally funnier when you are exhausted, in pain, and people watching. As we approached our final destination-we started counting the stops. The only problem is-is that we counted the "routine maintenance" stop and accidentally got off on the wrong one. It only took us five minutes to realize what we had done-to which we can do nothing but laugh. So-we wait fifteen extra minutes and catch the last train. This train carried a different group of dancers (ha ha) who thought it was funny to dance up and down the isles as the train was moving. I barely kept myself together. These are the Metro rides I LOVE. It's no fun when everyone minds their own business and follows all the rules!

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.



So-in essence-I got to experience a little bit of everything along with the Consulate. The news was somewhat not what I was expecting. That's how God wanted it to be. So-I'm off to Great Places while I wait for His glorious and perfect timing in this situation. I am confident in His Sovereignty and ready to climb whatever mountain may come!!



you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
-Dr. Seuss Oh the Places You'll Go (all in green)

Submission

In the book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem , the foreward is for singles. This is a bit encouraging as I continually answer the single questions of life for this part of my life.........

Jesus is the example to follow. He was single. He was born to serve.... He had deep friendships among all sorts of people-men, women, single, married. That was his work, an intimate part of his ultimate mission of dying on the cross for our sins... His relationship with Mary, Martha, Peter, and the other disciples helped prepare him for his death. No one can love in the abstract. he allowed hmself to be interrupted by needy children, distraught fathers, hungry men and sick women...Jesus sought to make himself vulnerable.
-Cheryl Forbes

I cared not how I lived, or what hardships I went through, so that I could but gain souls for Christ. While I was asleep I dreamed of these things, and when I awoke the first thing I thought of was this great work. All my desire was for the conversion of the heathen, and all my hope was in God.
-David Brainerd

She had been a missionary in China for six or seven years before she ever thought of wanting a husband. When a British couple came to work near hear, she began to watch the wonderful thing they had in marriage, and to desire it for herself. Being a woman of prayer she prayed-a straightforward request that God would call a man from England, send him straight out to China, and have him propose. She leaned toward me on the sofa on which we were sitting, her black eyes snapping, her boney little forefinger jabbing at my face. "Elisabeth, " she said, "I believe God answers prayer! He called him." Then, in a whisper of kenn intensity, "but he never came."
-Gladys Alyward conversation with Elisabeth Elliot

My whole being cries out continually for something I may not have. My whole life must be lived in the context of this never-ceasing tension. My professional life, my social life, my personal life, my Christian life-all are subject to its constant and powerful pull. As a Christian I have no choice but to obey God, cost what it may. I must trust him to make it possible for me to honor him in my singleness.
That this is possible, a mighty cloud of witnesses will join me to attest. Multitudes of single Christians in ever age and circumstance have proved God's sufficiency in this matter. He has promised to meet our needs and he honors his word. If we seek fulfillment in him, we shall find it. It may not be easy, but whoever said that Christian life was easy? The badge of Christ's discipleship was a cross.
Why must I live my life alone? I do not know. But Jesus Christ is Lord of my life. I believe in the sovereignty of God, and I accept my singleness from his hand. He could have ordered my life otherwise, but he has no chosen to do so. As his child, I must trust his love and wisdom.
-Margaret Clarkson on submission


I think submission to husbands/wives is over emphasized. It must be important to submit to my Lord first and foremost. How well do I do that? Do I submit to my Lord better than what I would a husband? How well do I carry out my submission to God? Is my submission fearless, relentless, diligent or just stagnant, unreliable, and unstable? I would say that it is both. I seek more of the former and less of the latter. I must admit that daily I struggle to kill the latter, but it is an uphill struggle. It is a fight of the flesh. Why wouldn't I submit? The one true peace, perfection, sacrifice, and so many other things.... It seems so easy s0-why isn't it? Submission= spending time with God daily, making outward to others what Christ has done inward, seeking out the sin problems in my life, giving Him my problems first, and seeing Him in every situation.
These are some verses I found that have encouraged me in this......

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
-James 4:7

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden trasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives widsom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound widsom for the upright; he is a shield to hose who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.
-Proverbs 2:1-8

In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
-Ephesians 2:22

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let you reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which supasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
-Philippians 4:4-7

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
-2 Peter 1:3-4

Watching and waiting #EB912392547US

I'm just watching and waiting.......literally. Sometimes it is like I'm spinning around and around into the unknown Bermuda triangle or something. My job as a dental assistant ended last week-so I've been debating on whether or not to go back to my substitute position in Madison County. I guess I should be spending some time in prayer about that. If I start back right now, I will not receive a check until May-so the benefits aren't really relative to me at this moment. I like doing odd jobs and babysitting!


My paperwork should all be in D.C. and my passport should be stamped and in the Express envelope # EB912392547US And yes-I do have that number memorized. I've been inputting that into the USPS site the minimum of 3 times a day. Sometimes it is very discouraging to repeatedly see the "No Record" tracking message. I just have to blow it off and continue on with the daily tasks and be thankful for the time God has given me in the United States.


I found out that one of my Cuban brothers, Mario(or Mayito pictured on your right), has made it to the States with his father! This is great news, I just hope that people are being kind to him and that he has found a "Little Havana" church to go to in Miami. He speaks no English except for "God Bless You" a phrase I heard him say every time he opened his mouth in Cuba. :)





Prayer Requests:

• Mario and father
• Visa Papers
• BIS-new building, teachers, students, Daniel (visa guy)
• Struggling friends and family members

Praises

• Provisions in the much needed dental work I needed!!
• Living arrangements
• Continual patience

One of my greatest fears....

was the dentist. As a child, I really hated going and having them scrape and vibrate my brain into a headache. I never liked the taste of the dust from my teeth as they were working.
Well, I'm working for a dentist until I leave (if it is within 6 weeks) as an assistant. I just imagine what the patients must be feeling. How can I make them more comfortable? What hurts? Why are they anxious?
Secretly-I really love this job. I mean, I really really like it. Who knew I would love loading silver into an "instrument" and doing things in a certain way--all the time.
I love listening to the elevator music and watching people being relieved from their physical and appearance pain. I love to watch their smiles creep up after they are shown their new teeth. I also really love talking to people and hearing where they work, what they do, and "rubber lip". Life is just precious and these people remind me of that with their attitudes, their conversations, and dedication to their dentist!
I hope to acheive this with my students.
There are many reasons that I'm learning this information. It's a job I didn't think I would ever do or a job that I would enjoy doing-but-I do. I am thankful for the opportunities God has given me. He provides in spectacular and miraculous ways-ways that I couldn't. I love that about Him. I've had lunch with my Dad TWO days in a row! I miss Richmond so so so bad, but this time is completely precious. I also love spending time with my Mom- :) We've been trying to get me together to leave, but it hasn't happened yet. We talk about going through the whole wall of teaching stuff to send to Brazil-but-we end up just hanging out :)
Tomorrow, I'm going to start tying up loose ends and taking care of the major stuff that needs to be taken care of here in the states!

Prayers and Praises

• My teammate, Casey, got his visa after waiting for months and months. His patience has been SOOO encouraging!
• Mary, my best friend, as she looks for the right opportunity for her life!
• My new temporary job!
• Brasilia International School as it opens back up for the semester and as my teammates travel back to Brazil.
• For the students as they travel
• For my family!!!! They are amazing!
• For my future and current sponsors!! THANK YOU!!!
• For AMAZING friends and their continuous love and joy they have been sharing with me! Our time has been SWEET!!!!

Thanksgiving at Christmas!

I know we should celebrate Christ's birth at Christmas. I'm just so thankful that He came, lived, and then died for me-to save such a sinner as I. That overwhelming feeling always feels that way-overwhelming that someone would care so much for me.

Many of you might already know, but I have received my phone call from the Brazilian Consulate in Washington D.C. NOrmally these phone calls mean that you can be expecting your visa to be coming to you in a matter of several days or a week. With me, it's been a little different(kind of like the whole process) and with my visa only being at the consulate for about a month-it was a bit quick. We are all amazing that they have called for my passport already-as if it is going to be granted. My boss e-mail me to be honest with me about what they do and not know. He said that Brasilia has not contacted them about my paperwork being in Brasilia as of yet.-so it's a little odd that they have basically said that I am going to be getting my visa in january. So-we are not sure what is going on. I'm not questioning anything-I'm just giving God the glory for the experiences and even the hardships. I'm learning much about patience and how God works-if just a bit. I won't every fully understand but I can learn to deal with trials in ways that glorify God in every way!

Mary, my roommate came home from Peru two weeks and it is/has been very sweet to spend some time with her. Actually we have been connected at the hip and loved doing all of our old habitual activities together. Road trips, sports, great food, Fellowship, Bibile Studies, discussions, talking until we fall asleep,-just to name a few. I missed her and I know we will miss each other when things begin to change for us again. God only makes friends like this -friends that not only share your common interests but your spiritual and service interests as well! I thank God for her!



Prayer Requests

• Continued prayer for the people handling my paperwork


• for spiritual growth


• for my teammates that are waiting or who are dealing with changing circumstances


• for Brasilia INternational School-faculty, staff, and students as they are on holiday


• for Daniel Lopes who works diligently to communicate with the Brazilian government on my behalf and the future BIS teachers as the visa process changes.


• for the people who are giving me places to stay while I wait-Gail Wolford, John and Tammy Brockman, my grandparents, and my parents~!


• for people who are supporting me-GOd is just sending them to me again and again! They come at just the time when I need encouragement!


• as things come to a close here-that I will remember all of the loose ends that I need to tie up before I leave.

richmond meets manchester!

CrossPoint Baptist met early on Saturday morning to serve God in Manchester. Richmond and Manchester? That's right, my CrossPoint family drove down to help out at the John Rice Center. The gains were A-Mazing! The Kendricks, Mr. Albert Spencer, Robbie Randall, and Joe Martin all did the "manly" jobs of laying trim, re-setting toilets, wiring and hanging lights. I stood in awe of the work being finished-task by task. The women buried themselves in clothes and took on the challenge of sorting, hanging, and laughing at some of the things found in boxes. (You can't tell me that underwear isn't funny and that very "Gamin" skirt I wore around-absolutely was funny) The students did an amazing job as we showed them what needed to be done. I thank God for such easy going girls that will do whatever needs to be done! Truly servants hearts were seen during this time.
The day came to a close and all of a sudden-I hear this buzzing around of a semi coming? What was this? Soon, a semi maneauvered into the loading dock and literally as soon as the door opened-the boxes began falling out. For two hours the workers unloaded these boxes labeled: womens, ladies, girls, boys, men's, infants, household, summer, and wemon's (we aren't sure what a wemon is...we're still looking for new owners of the contents...). These clothes were given out on Sunday to over 700 people in a matter of a couple of hours.
Serving God in this capacity is simply amazing. We had many opportunities to talk to the workers (mostly single mom's and children) along with the people coming in to receive something from the center. You can hear a constant-"How can I pray for you?", "Have you heard the gospel today?", "What do you think a person must to do get to heaven?".
I'm so thankful for the amazing church family that raised me and then for the church family who continues to nuture me in this stage of life. God is so good. He has given me much to do during this waiting period and I am thrilled at the chance to give back to the community that gave and has given much to me in the past and present. Also to be given the chance to serve with my current church family is priceless-their hearts are amazing.