Houston Visa Trip and Some New Prayer Requests

Hello everyone! Last week, my team and I went to Houston to work on getting our Italian visas--the trip was a great experience, but we ran into a few unexpected problems.

God did some amazing things in the process, though. The Italian Consulate for our region is located in downtown Houston, and Houston is about a seven hour drive away from Little Rock...meaning traveling to Houston for a visa wasn't going to be a short day-trip. I quickly realized I'd need to stay somewhere in the city overnight. My parents/ aunt and uncle had a some old Crusade staff friends, the Swansons, in the Houston area and connected me with them to see if they would be able to keep me at their house for a couple of nights. I told Mrs. Swanson the dates for my trip, and, as it turned out, my trip overlapped with a visit from their extended family--something that rarely happens but would leave them without any extra room in the house to keep me. Mrs. Swanson eagerly volunteered to contact some of her friends in Houston to find somewhere for me to stay. Houston is a big city, though, and she wanted to make sure to place me in an area of the city where I would be close to my team. She asked for the zip code of the places they were staying, said she would ask around and get back to me soon. Several days later, she called back as promised and began to tell me about a family friend from her church in the area who would be able to keep me. Mrs. Swanson and I had talked briefly about my STINT, but she had forgotten the name of the city I was going to. "What was the name of that city again?" She asked. I told her I'd be in Bologna...spelled like the meat. "You're not going to believe this," she responded. "But the couple you're staying with has a daughter who's a year older than you and she actually went on a summer project to the same city two years ago and she knows your director and his wife." We finished talking, and I got off the phone amazed by God's concern with the details. It's crazy to me to think about how He took all of the changes in my original plans to orchestrate something so specific. All that to say, I loved my stay in Houston and enjoyed the opportunity to connect with new friends.

Matt and Ashley Walton and I had our visa appointments at the consulate last Friday. Crusade had provided us with letters from Agape Italia leadership and other documents indicating we had training necessary to obtain religious worker visas, and we assumed the visa application process would go seamlessly. However, when Ashley went in for her appointment, the consulate official flipped through her papers, glanced over her certificate and proceeded to tell her that her documents were insufficient and she would not be able to obtain a religious worker visa because she was not an 'ordained minister.' We were a little surprised with his response, and began to contact Crusade staff and the lawyer who'd been working with Crusade to secure these visas. We also contacted Jesse and Tricia Marcos, our directors from Bologna, who were in Houston before going to CSU for staff training. Though we were unable to get our visas as planned, the consulate officials allowed us to satisfy the in-person appearance requirement for the visa application process. Crusade staff are working on this situation, and it should be resolved soon (the Italian consulates throughout the U.S. are notorious for their inconsistency--the documents we had worked for STINT teams at the Miami consulate). Please continue to pray for wisdom for those working on our visa applications.

After a chaotic morning, we went to lunch with our campus director and his wife and enjoyed some time talking about Italy. It was so refreshing and encouraging to be together as a team. Some exciting things are happening in Bologna.

Here are some prayer requests ...

Florence, Italy
Fall 2010

• Praise God for what He's doing in Bologna and please continue to pray for new believers at the university. 
• Please continue to praise God for His provision! Pray for full support in-hand for my team and I by August 1 (a little over a week away!). Please pray specifically for Matt and Ashley Walton as they are working to raise a significant amount of support in these final weeks.
• Continue to pray for our visas. Pray that God would give Crusade staff wisdom in working on this situation and that God would allow for us to get our visas quickly. 

"The cattle on a thousand hills..."

Psalm 50:10 has come up in conversation and prayer time and time again over the last several months. Never before has this passage about God's character been so relevant to my everyday life. God is truly the owner of every material thing on this planet--He provides and withholds resources as He pleases.

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.

 Psalm 50:10-11

In the last several days, God has once again abundantly blessed me in terms of financial resources. Again, I do not want to focus too much on this aspect of serving in Italy, but I want those of you praying to be encouraged and to know how those prayers are working. This week, God has provided the equivalent of about $600 in monthly support and filled all of my one-time needs (and much more!). With less than four weeks remaining until August 1, I can certainly see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I am already so grateful for the people God has brought into my life and chosen to come alongside me for the next year. Last night, I was skimming over the list of people who have committed to joining my support team, and that list is really just amazing to me...

God is so specific--He knew exactly who He would use before time began. He ordained every one of those conversations--some with friends I've known since I was born, others with people I hardly know at all. He brought specific people across my path at so many different times, knowing they would eventually play a role in this season of my life. I firmly believe--I know--He has assembled and is still assembling this team with a purpose in mind.

On another note, His timing is so perfect. Most of the amounts listed above literally came in in the span of several hours, which is mind-boggling to me. His timing is teaching me so much about trust.

Trevi Fountain
Rome, Italy
Fall 2010

Here are a few prayer requests...

• Praise God for provision! He has been so gracious in answering prayers for financial support.
• Continue to pray for new believers in Bologna. Also pray that God would go ahead of my STINT team and staff on the University of Bologna campus.
• Pray for safety as my STINT team and I travel to Houston next week to get our Italian visas. Pray that that whole process would go smoothly.
• Continue to pray for God's provision in these final weeks for me and my team. Please pray that God would raise up committed monthly supporters or the equivalent amount in one-time gifts.