The last 24 hours have been....interesting, to say the least. A combination of ups and downs...although, looking back there have definitely been more ups than downs.
It started last night. I have been patiently (well, maybe not-so-patiently) waiting for my visa to South Africa to arrive in the mail. As I was driving home, I decided to see if the post office was still open, even though it was technically past its closing hours. To my surprise, it was! As I opened the box, I saw a parcel slip in there. When I saw that the parcel was from the South African Consulate General, my heart did a little leap. My visa had finally arrived. I'm pretty sure I danced out of the post office, much to the amusement of Ken, the postman. When I finally arrived at home, I ripped open the envelope, only to stare at the top paper in shock. It said that my visa application had been denied due to some missing paperwork. As I stared at it some more, I realized that some of the paperwork needed to come from South Africa. My heart sunk. My mom hugged me, told me that I would get to SA when God wanted me to get there, and told me that all we could do was pray.
It's interesting...I have been told several times in the last week (and even more time in the last few months) that I will get to South Africa when God wants me there. God is sovereign, He is in control, and He has a great plan for me, and I just need to trust Him. To be honest, last night I wasn't doing a very good job of trusting Him. I couldn't help but wonder what He was thinking and why He couldn't have just made my visa go through with no complications.
Anyways, this morning I woke up, and was struck by how at peace I was. I just had the knowledge that everything was going to be okay. I may not be in South Africa by the end of January, but it is still going to work out...somehow, someway. Because God is in control.
I phoned the SIM office in Toronto (small miracle, they are two hours ahead of Alberta, so I could phone as soon as I woke up) and talked to Ruth, the lady in charge of travel arrangements. She told me exactly what paperwork I needed to get and e-mailed the SIM South Africa office to see what could be done. I drove to the bank in Taber to get the paperwork that I needed and shortly after I arrived home again, an e-mail was waiting in my inbox with everything I needed from South Africa. I got back in my car, drove back to Taber, and quickly mailed my application again. And now all I can do is wait.
In summary, my departure date will probably be delayed until the beginning of February now, which means that I will have to endure two more weeks of winter until I can enjoy the wonderful South African summer. Sigh. But that's okay, because I feel like I got to experience a whole bunch of small miracles in the last day. The post office was still open (when it should have been closed), and I managed to pick up the letter yesterday. If I hadn't picked it up until today, it could have delayed everything by another day. The people I needed to talk to were in the office when I phoned. I was able to get all the paperwork from the bank that I needed with no problem. The South African office checked their e-mail from home after the office was closed, and even drove back in to make sure I could get the papers I needed.
It's funny. I can doubt the timing of God, and then I look at the timing of today, and how everything worked out, and I can't help but realize that He is obviously in control and was clearly working everything out today. Just goes to show that I really shouldn't doubt God. Sigh. Just another lesson that I need to keep on learning.
It started last night. I have been patiently (well, maybe not-so-patiently) waiting for my visa to South Africa to arrive in the mail. As I was driving home, I decided to see if the post office was still open, even though it was technically past its closing hours. To my surprise, it was! As I opened the box, I saw a parcel slip in there. When I saw that the parcel was from the South African Consulate General, my heart did a little leap. My visa had finally arrived. I'm pretty sure I danced out of the post office, much to the amusement of Ken, the postman. When I finally arrived at home, I ripped open the envelope, only to stare at the top paper in shock. It said that my visa application had been denied due to some missing paperwork. As I stared at it some more, I realized that some of the paperwork needed to come from South Africa. My heart sunk. My mom hugged me, told me that I would get to SA when God wanted me to get there, and told me that all we could do was pray.
It's interesting...I have been told several times in the last week (and even more time in the last few months) that I will get to South Africa when God wants me there. God is sovereign, He is in control, and He has a great plan for me, and I just need to trust Him. To be honest, last night I wasn't doing a very good job of trusting Him. I couldn't help but wonder what He was thinking and why He couldn't have just made my visa go through with no complications.
Anyways, this morning I woke up, and was struck by how at peace I was. I just had the knowledge that everything was going to be okay. I may not be in South Africa by the end of January, but it is still going to work out...somehow, someway. Because God is in control.
I phoned the SIM office in Toronto (small miracle, they are two hours ahead of Alberta, so I could phone as soon as I woke up) and talked to Ruth, the lady in charge of travel arrangements. She told me exactly what paperwork I needed to get and e-mailed the SIM South Africa office to see what could be done. I drove to the bank in Taber to get the paperwork that I needed and shortly after I arrived home again, an e-mail was waiting in my inbox with everything I needed from South Africa. I got back in my car, drove back to Taber, and quickly mailed my application again. And now all I can do is wait.
In summary, my departure date will probably be delayed until the beginning of February now, which means that I will have to endure two more weeks of winter until I can enjoy the wonderful South African summer. Sigh. But that's okay, because I feel like I got to experience a whole bunch of small miracles in the last day. The post office was still open (when it should have been closed), and I managed to pick up the letter yesterday. If I hadn't picked it up until today, it could have delayed everything by another day. The people I needed to talk to were in the office when I phoned. I was able to get all the paperwork from the bank that I needed with no problem. The South African office checked their e-mail from home after the office was closed, and even drove back in to make sure I could get the papers I needed.
It's funny. I can doubt the timing of God, and then I look at the timing of today, and how everything worked out, and I can't help but realize that He is obviously in control and was clearly working everything out today. Just goes to show that I really shouldn't doubt God. Sigh. Just another lesson that I need to keep on learning.
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