With mixed emotions, we’d like to announce that we’ll be
heading back to the States rather quickly, as we found out yesterday that our
visas were rejected and we have 10 business days to exit the country before having
to pay a fine. Long story short, we came
to Africa on a tourist visa but are needing to change our visa type to a
volunteer visitor’s visa for an extended stay of 3 years (that’s the maximum
they offer). The only way we can do that
is by applying for it from our country of origin, the US. It’s a bit disappointing that we paid $1K for
our initial visa application, only to find out that we would have never been
granted it in the first place, regardless of whether or not all of our
documents were in place….. but God! He
uses everything for good to those that seek out His heart and perspective in
life’s unexpected circumstances.
We are excited to see everyone but are also sad to leave the
guys we’ve been mentoring, our friends, amongst other things. However, we know the Lord was preparing our
hearts for this because He spoke to me back in December that something
significant was going to happen in the month of April. He never told me exactly what that was, but
now I know a small part of it! Towards
the end of February and the week following, I had felt a tug of war going on in my
spirit and felt “off”. Thoughts of being
in the States had been entering my mind, but honestly, our family did not have
the desire to return to the States quite yet.
We love it here – this is home and this is where our hearts are. I wondered why, out of nowhere, I began
thinking about the States and even us being at different places/churches
there. I remember sharing these thoughts
with Josh not thinking much of it. The
other day Josh was also prompted by the Holy Spirit to look at flights back to
the States, and that was a day or two before we even received the results of
our visas.
So, with all that said, we know the Lord is in it and steps
need to be taken as part of the preparation for what’s to come here in Mossel
Bay, South Africa. We are trusting Him
and allowing Him to orchestrate what needs to take place in order for us to
move forward with the vision He’s given us, and if that means coming back to
the States then so be it. It is a bit of
a setback financially, as it will take everything we have left to make this
trip, but again we are trusting the Lord for His provision. Josh was leaning towards purchasing a one-way
ticket into the States with no scheduled return flight back to Africa (at least
until we were “comfortable” with finances), but this morning I woke up at 2am
and was sensing that the Lord was asking us to look up round-trip tickets. The return date of June 7th was
also highlighted to me. We have peace
and unity about this direction, and so as it stands, we will be in the States
for 2 months, arriving on April 7th and departing on June 7th.
I’m thankful that we don’t have much to pack, as we’ll be
leaving most of our stuff here, so it will be quite the enjoyable trek not
lugging around a bunch of luggage!! We’ve
already paid for our rent through the end of May and have someone to look over
our house/car while we’re away. All of
the little details seem to be coming together nicely. Although it’s a bit of a shock for our
family, we are choosing to stay in a place of peace and joy. Why would we choose anything else?!?! We serve the King of Kings and Lord of
Lords!!
For those that feel led to pray, we ask for your prayers in
peaceful travels, confidence in the Lord’s hand in this, revelation on how to steward
our time while in the States, replenishing of finances, divine appointments, a
place to stay while we’re there (along with access to a vehicle) and so forth.
Sien jy gou! (“see you soon” in Afrikaans)
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