On March 29th we will head to Spain! We are excited and scared to death about this move, and we know that we're where God wants us. There are still several loose ends for us to tie up...or to see God tie up, not the least of which is for the Spanish authorities to grant us our residency visas. The Consulate tells us that we should expect a call this week or next (of course they made no promises!), so please pray that barriers would be removed from the granting of our visas. Also, please pray that we'll be able to work out the details of shipping our things, finalizing health and life insurance, and other paperwork. We have great reason for hope!
Yes, if you check our blog with any regularity, you have noticed that we've not posted anything for about a month. You have waited, just as we have, since we haven't felt like there was much to say. We were told a month ago that we should have our visas by now, but we continue to wait. It has been a bit frustrating for us as we sit on edge with every phonecall, anticipating our call from the Spanish Consulate telling us to pick up our visas. So far that call has not come, and we are continuing to wait as faithfully as we can.
So what have we been doing as we've waited? We've prepared our possessions for shipping, we've sold our car, we've visited and spoken at a couple more churches, we've been praying and reading Scripture together, we've visited many dear friends, we've been doing a lot of paperwork (for life insurance, retirement, and health insurance--none of which have been as quick and easy as we had anticipated), we've been working on B.J.'s Spanish, and we've been struggling deeply with our impatience in the midst of this season of waiting.
Yesterday, as we drove to meet with the buyer of our car, we heard the song, "While I'm Waiting," (by John Waller) on the radio, and we found ourselves surprisingly encouraged by its message--it seems to speak directly to the season of life we're in. If you click the above video, you can watch, listen and perhaps even be encouraged yourself. Below are the lyrics:
I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord; And I am hopeful, I'm waiting on You, Lord; Though it is painful, but patiently, I will wait. I will move ahead, bold and confident, taking every step in obedience.
While I'm waiting, I will serve You; While I'm waiting, I will worship; While I'm waiting, I will not faint, I'll be running the race, even while I wait.
I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord; And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You, Lord; Though it's not easy, but faithfully, I will wait, yes, I will wait. I will move ahead, bold and confident, taking every step in obedience.
While I'm waiting, I will serve You; While I'm waiting, I will worship; While I'm waiting, I will not faint, I'll be running the race, even while I wait.
I will serve You while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting, I will serve You while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting, I will serve you while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord
On Tuesday of this week, we spoke with an official in the visa department at the Spanish Consulate in New York City, which was a minor miracle in itself (it can take several calls on several days before talking to live person at the Consulate). This official told us that she expects our visa to be approved within the next month! We are hoping that this is not a case of Spanish avoidance and procrastination ("mañana, mañana"--"tomorrow, tomorrow"), but it does give us promise that we will be able to get to Spain soon. So please pray for swift approval, as well as for our patience and spiritual growth as we continue to wait!
We had a super-busy December, galavanting around the country (buckle up!), from Pennsylvania to Kentucky to Indiana to Colorado to New Mexico back to Colorado back to Indiana to Illinois to Missouri back to Illinois and Indiana to Ohio and now full-circle back to Pennsylvania, though in Lititz and not Myerstown. It was a very full time and such a great blessing to see family and friends, receive great training at MTI, and to see more family!
And now we wait...to receive a call...that says..."Come to New York and pick up your residency visas from the Spanish Consulate." We could receive that call tomorrow, or it could come in two months. It's out of our control, so we wait. Please pray with us that our visas come swiftly, and even more that we would not view this limbo time as a waste but as a great opportunity to catch our breath and prepare for the big leap we're about to take. We hurried through December, and now, in January 2009, we wait on Spain...more significantly, though, we wait on God as He guides us through this transition.
