After submitting my second set of visa paperwork to the Brazilian Consulate in Houston, I hunkered down to wait patiently at my Aunt and Uncle’s house in Graham, TX. My parents, who had recently relocated to Graham, were staying there also. So, with the addition of my sister and niece in from New Mexico, it was a full house for Christmas.
Then I drove my sister back to NM with enough time to celebrate the New Year with friends there. I was blessed to stay with a family from my church there, the Howes. Unfortunately, on the last day of my stay with them, they had a fire. No one was hurt, but there was substantial damage to their home. Please pray for the Howes (Rick, Lori, and Kyle) during this time of transition as they live in a rental house while theirs is repaired and as try to piece together or replace what was lost.
I returned to Texas for awhile. I still hadn’t received any definitive news of the visa, but I did have confirmation from NICS that all the correct paperwork was filed and in process. However, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to wait around for the visa indefinitely. I needed to secure a source of some income, and I had three options: I could stay in TX and apply to substitute teach there, I could return to MN and substitute there, or I could go to NM and substitute teach there. I eventually decided on NM because I had a larger support community there and because of Betsy’s upcoming wedding in NM in February. I made the difficult yet practical decision to remain in the states until after Betsy’s wedding regardless of the visa paperwork… Plane tickets are expensive, and one trip is obviously less expensive then three.
So I am now in NM and staying with another friend from the church there, my name is on the district’s substitute call list, and I’ve already been able to be helpful to Betsy.
As you know, this year has not gone the way that I expected or according to my plans. However, I haven’t wavered in my belief that God’s plan in these circumstances will out. Thank you for remaining faithful with me, and please continue to pray that God’s will will be accomplished.
With my prayers, Amy
Come now you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4: 13 – 15