Another obstacle

As I waited for the people in Wales to let me know the best day for me to come I began to experience increasing anxiety about the possibility of traveling again, especially concerning the immigration process and making sure I was prepared. I was encouraged by friends to continue to trust God and begin to thank Him for what He was about to do.

Finally on September 14 I received the text I was waiting for, but not the words I expected. While I was hoping to come ASAP, they told me I should apply for a visa because of what happened before. The complication was that this process could take up to three months, and I didn’t think I would be able to supply some of the documentation that was needed in order for a visa to be granted. I again went to the Lord in tears, not sure what He was doing, but knowing I needed to submit to the authority of my internship supervisors in Wales. I wasn’t sure exactly what to do next, because I believed the Lord had confirmed that the time was now. What would happen to my internship if the visa process took too long? In the natural it looked to me like everything had failed. What about all of God’s promises? I thought He had spoken so clearly the week earlier that I was released to pursue this again, and He had told me twice that He could make a way where there was no way. I had just finally come to the point where I had decided I was willing to risk my entire internship for the sake of this adventure and trying to follow the Lord’s voice. Now I felt so discouraged…it was the closest I had come in the past five and a half weeks to unpacking my suitcase and giving up for good. I was discouraged by running into yet another seemingly impossible obstacle. And yet the words of a mentor kept going through my mind: You can’t give up…the battle is too great…the testing of faith produces perseverance…will you trust Him through all of this and just obey one step at a time?

Taking the next step

The next day I was given an opportunity to fulfill a few more internship hours at the school office, so I spent about five hours folding letters, stuffing envelopes, copying and labeling CDs, and packaging books to be mailed. Friday the 16th I began applying for a visa. I was also exploring the possibility of arriving in the UK at the same time as Ben, the son of my host family in Wales who had just spent a few weeks in America, so that we could get picked up in London, England at the same time. The challenge was that meant I had to fly out of Charlotte in four days (Tuesday). I had no idea if I could a visa that quickly, but decided to give it a try. I was feeling very overwhelmed with everything that I had to do and it took all afternoon for me to complete the visa application form.

Saturday morning I completed my application and my payment finally went through on the third attempt. I had to schedule a visa application appointment but the soonest I could get in was Tuesday, the day I hoped to leave. I had no idea if I could gather the appropriate documentation by then or whether they could even issue me a visa on the spot. If so, I would have to immediately buy my ticket to fly out that evening. This seemed rather crazy and impossible.

I printed out my visa documents and in the process discovered that the visa application center did not actually issue visas, so there was no possible way to get a visa AND leave on Tuesday. So I contacted my hosts in Wales and asked for their thoughts. They told me that if I had all my documents and was comfortable with what I needed to say then I could go for it. I suddenly realized that for the first time in about six weeks there was nothing preventing me from buying a plane ticket immediately, and I felt frozen. What had been impossible for so long was suddenly possible and I was a bit terrified.

The time is now

As I shared all this with a friend I remembered that one of my roommates had had a dream the day after I got sent back from my first attempt to go to Wales. In her dream the family with whom I had been planning on staying for most of my time in Wales had actually come to America to get me, saying that I was family and I belonged with them. At the time she shared the dream it meant so much to me, even though I knew that would never actually happen. But now it was the fact that Ben was in America traveling back to Wales on Tuesday that I was trying to go now, and two other members of my host family were going to be coming to the airport to pick us up and take me back to Wales with them. So I stepped out in faith and purchased my ticket for Tuesday night, to arrive in London first thing Wednesday morning!

Final confirmation

On Sunday morning the Lord reminded me for the third time that He can make a way where there seems to be no way. I spent that evening packing and sorting documents in preparation for travel. Monday morning I spent about three hours at the school office again folding letters, packaging books, and sending emails. While there I got a text from a family member reminding me of Joshua 1:9, the verse the Lord had spoken to me nearly two weeks earlier to confirm that the time is now.

Day of departure: Tuesday, September 20

Finally, the day had come! I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I was so excited! I was really praying and hoping that this time everything would be easy, though I was willing to go through whatever was necessary, as long as ultimately I made it. For over six weeks now I had been living in a prayer room out of my suitcase, one day at a time, without pursuing work or making plans more than a few days in advance, all based on God’s promise that I would be leaving soon, and finally that day was here!

Everything went smoothly at the airport in Charlotte, though while waiting at my gate I began to wonder what in the world I was doing…I was risking everything all over again…what if they turned me back? What if I had to go through all of that questioning again? But I had already decided that the only way to know for sure if this was God’s plan was to try again, and I began thanking Him for another chance.

The final test

The flight itself felt quite long as I couldn’t sleep much and began to get more and more anxious and restless as we approached London. When I got off the plane and got in line in the passport control area I began praying that I would get the right officer, and that God would get me through.

When it was my turn the lady began asking questions and immediately it felt like a replay of what I had experienced in Dublin, except this time I sensed that she possibly actually believed my story. She asked detailed questions about where I was going, the people I would be staying with, why I was going for so long, where the money in my account came from, why I was denied entry into Ireland six weeks earlier, what I was planning to do in the UK, etc. When she found out I was coming to “volunteer” she told me that I could only volunteer for one month without a visa. Eventually she said that she needed to check on the visa and possibly call my hosts, and also look into why I was denied entry into Dublin. So I sat down and waited, with past memories running through my head. I was scared that I would once again be denied entry or that she would change my flight and I would have to leave in a month…and I was so close…

Freedom

After many long minutes of waiting she came back and escorted me through passport control, handing me my passport and telling me she granted me a visa but that I could only volunteer for a month and I had to leave the date I originally told her I would (December 15). Then she let me go! I walked toward baggage claim and then toward the exit realizing I was finally free and entering the UK! I praised the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness and cried from relief when I saw my host family.

Wales at last

After we picked up Ben we stopped to see the Windsor castle (a real castle!) and ate lunch. Then after a couple more hours of travel we crossed the Bristol Channel on the Severn Bridge, and entered one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, full of mountains, sheep on the hills, a country so green because of the frequent rain…Wales at last!