A lot can happen in one week. We've been on a major road trip, seeing friends and family across several Midwestern states. After overnighting in Ohio, we spent a few nights in Michigan and Illinois with friends I knew in Jos (Murrays and Kirschners). And we're about to finish a visit with my brother and his family in Wisconsin. It has been a special time for our kids to get to know each other and have fun being cousins together.
A lot has been happening with our plans as well. On Monday, Steve got his loans approved by Oxford, as well as the final acceptance letter that we needed to apply for visas. Steve also met that day with a key professor from Wheaton who encouraged him to go to Oxford, in spite of the financial risks. So we've decided to go, and are praying that God will provide the money that we don't yet have to pay for this program.
But now we're facing the hurdle of getting visas in time. It turns out that we have to get fingerprinted as part of the visa process, so we're doing that in St. Paul, Minn. this Saturday (while we're visiting our friends, the Evans' and Snodgrasses). Then we're back to Chicagoland on Sunday, and into the city on Monday to submit our application. Please pray that the British consulate will turn those visas around quickly. We leave the following Sunday for England!
We still don't have our flat/home finalized. We discovered that the house we wanted doesn't have any beds or chairs, as well as lacking heat in two of the bedrooms. The more we thought about it, the more we realized that the costs of buying furniture made it less attractive. So we got back online and started looking again, and came across a house that's cheaper and fully furnished. A friend is scheduled to view the house on Tuesday; please pray that if God wants us there that the viewing will go well and we can move quickly on the house.
Some of you have asked if we're scared about this move, and all the last-minute preparations. The short answer is yes! But we believe that God has opened this door and we are walking through it. We covet your prayers.
1 comment:
Yea! A new adventure! Of course you're scared, with so much up in the air. But I do think God provides when we step out in faith--I'm sure there are so many other Americans in Oxford who will be resources for you as well. I don't know if you have contacts already--if not, let me know, and I can "introduce" you by email to some American expats I know online. You'll be wanting a ride from the airport, dinner your first night, a place to crash if your flat doesn't come through--but I'm praying it does!
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