livin'

some thoughts & prayer requests...

Flying, lately, has left me feeling awed. When I allow it's concept to roll around my brain for too long, I find that I cannot fully fathom how simple it is to wake up in Winnipeg and crawl into my bed in Seattle the very same day; within hours even ...Realizing that I cannot fathom flying in all it's normality this day and age, it makes me realize how much more difficult it is for me to wrap my mind around how huge God is. It would take me a hundred lifetimes to understand His greatness, and even after all that time, I still wouldn't fully understand. Kinda leaves me speechless, and even better - helpless in His hands. I am so in need of Him. Every day I see my brokenness and my sin more clearly. I see the ways in which I do not come close to the person I would like to be. Not fun, nooooo. No one enjoys seeing the ugly parts of themselves. But if I didn't have God, I would have no where to go after that ... with Him I am blessed with the reality of His grace being enough to cover all that causes me shame. With Him, I can live in freedom even though I really don't deserve to.

*sigh*

I have to aknowledge that it was only God that I even made it to Seattle. See, I missed my connecting flight from Vancouver to Seattle. I watched as 10:55 am (when my flight was due to take off) came and went ... and still I had not been called in for "questioning", or whatever you want to call it. I thought about crying, and then realized that that really wouldn't do me any good in the long run. So I prayed and resolved to simply answer the questions honestly (just in case you're wondering, I have never considered lying...haha) and concisely. I got stuck at the border explaining why I was coming into the country, being told I needed to "prove that I didn't plan to abandon my country", and a barrage of other most frustrating questions. And then, I suppose the immigration officer decided that she didn't have anything that she could really hold against me, and in the middle of asking me "how long I planned on doing this", she had me filling out forms and a minute later, I walked out with a year & a month long Visa!!! My flight was rebooked and I arrived in Seattle at 2 pm instead of 12:30! I was a little exhausted and stressed, but soooo happy there were no further complications.

So thank you for all who prayed!!! It's always a bit stressful at immigration, and I thought of many of you whom I'd asked to pray while sitting in the waiting room.

I need your continued prayers while I'm here - mostly for finances. I really need more financial support. I would like to raise $1000/mth. I don't really know what else to say about that, except that that's just what I need. Rent, groceries, transportation, communication, and basic necessities (like toothpaste and shampoo and t.p) add up quite quickly and right now I fall hugely short of what I need. I am trusting that God will continue to take care of me as he has this past year and sincerely thank you for your prayers on my behalf.

.LOVE TO YOU ALL.

posted by Amanda @ 8:48 PM