HERE I COME!

After many prayers, laughter, tears, struggles, comfort, emails, and phone conversations I just found out that my visa has been granted and I will be flying to Prague Thursday evening! I'm so awestruck by God's faithfulness! So...the next blog post should be coming from Prague. :) Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Keep them coming and remember to praise Him too.

Answers

How's the visa coming? When are you leaving for the Czech? Both are very valid questions and deserve an honest answer. I don't know. My visa is currently being processed. I am waiting for more paperwork to come through the mail. Once this paperwork is filled out then the visa will be moving forward again. So as of right now my flight date is still March 24th. If this changes I will try to post the information as soon as possible.
I am happy to announce that my MST and I have reached 91% of the funds needed for outreach. Thank you so much for all your support! It's truly a blessing!

Unity-A Thread in the Carpet

GO training has come and gone and the winter YES training is here. This week has been full of adjustments and transitions as we get used to having participants in the house and settle in for 8 weeks of digging deeper. I had the privilege of leading a discussion on humility this week and was dumbstruck through the discussion and session we had attended prior to it. I am a prideful person. Sounds silly to say "Hello my name is Emily and I struggle with pride" but in essence that's what God wants us to do so that we can embark on a journey towards humility. It starts with vulnerability and if I'm not willing to be vulnerable then I can't embark on this journey. I realized that my unwillingness to be vulnerable at the right times causes discourse in my unity with the Father. We are co-workers and my inability to say out loud what I am struggling with hinders this unity.
It's like we are all a piece of thread in a carpet. If we are by ourselves then we don't make a carpet at all. We are just a piece of fuzz. But as we realize the need for God and others or as we realize the importance of our journey in it's entirety the little pieces of thread come together to make a beautiful carpet.

"Now we hope..."

After many forms were filled out and sent to numerous addresses, I ventured southeast to Washington, DC yesterday to file for my long term visa at the Czech Republic Embassy. Nervousness and excitement the night before kept me from sleeping and 6 hours of driving to and from DC made for a non-coherent Emily last evening. As I sat in the waiting room, vigourously chewing a piece of gum and moving my leg, a bundle of nerves, a Czech couple came in the door to meet with the consulate. Listening to them speak Czech slowed down my gum chewing and made my leg stop moving, it was so calming. The night before while I was dosing in and out of sleep I had a dream that the embassy staff person who would be helping me file for the visa was a very nice woman. This proved to be entirely true. We stood on either side of a window with a moveable tray between us passing documents and figuring out which address goes where. We laughed, sorted everything out, and finished the hour long conversation with her stating: now we hope. But I'm choosing to add "and pray" to the end of that statement.

Christmas time is here!

It's hard to believe that Christmas is this week. Where has the time gone? I've been back at HDC for two weeks now and it's definitely a change from being a participant...a positive change. I've been enjoying getting to know my fellow staff members better. I've noticed some patterns in myself that will probably continue. An example you may ask...I go into Jess' office space, lay on the floor and stare at the world map when I'm processing. The others who share the space don't see me when they walk in and wonder who Jess is talking to. We sing often and randomly which I absolutely love. We play games and sometimes laugh so hard that we cry. I start my day and then the next thing I know it's midnight and I'm left to wonder where the time has went. With the Christmas season we've had many holiday gatherings that we've attended and have found ways to help out in the community. This week we'll have some visitors in the house which will be a nice change.

Just Keep Swimming...

Training is over, Thanksgiving is here, and I am no longer leaving for the Czech Republic in December. I have to apply for a different visa and there is a 90 to 120 day processing period. My new flight date is scheduled for the end of March 2011. So what will I be doing for the next 4 months? I will continue to live at HDC (Harrisburg Discipleship Center) as a staff member. I will be the intercessor. This means that I will be interceding for persons, situations, nations, staff, and trainees through prayer. Although it is hard not leaving for Prague in December as planned, I am looking forward to being on staff and working with the winter training. I feel a deep sense of peace and know that our Father has something special up His sleeve with this new plan.

Drum Roll Please.....

As on Friday I reached the 80% mark in my fund-raising! This means that we can start the paperwork (i.e. visa) and look at flight dates. Thank you to all who have helped made this possible and a BIG thank you to my MST for all their hard work!