God's Sense of Humor

Sometimes it's funny being a follower of God. Not specifically because of what happens, but because of God's great sense of humor. My dear, wonderful father (except when coaching basketball, of course, because after all, "basketball covers a multitude of sins") has always pointed out the humor of God at times when I have wanted to scream and yell and curse and cry and punch something (or someone).

Looking back over my life, it's been riddled with moments of God's great humor that at the time I didn't necessarily understand (and sometimes still don't) nor find very funny. Yesterday was one of those days.  After spending a very stressful two to three weeks earlier this month filling out paperwork, traveling back and forth to BB, talking to more office workers and foreign police officers than I have ever cared to do and finally getting the green light that everything was okay and legal and I could stay in the country no problems, receiving a letter that essentially says, "Oh wait, just kidding. You can't stay after all" feels like a very hard blow. A blow to the heart, the head and to morale. 

As I was pondering my current predicament this morning while lying in bed rebelling against the fact that I actually had to get up, a thought occurred to me. A thought that has struck me many times over and yet I still haven't learned from it. (Thank goodness salvation is a process and we serve a God who has the mercy, grace and patience for those of us, *ehem* me, who take a very loooooooooooooooong time to learn something he's trying to teach.) Anyway, the thought. Every time I try to plan out my life and have all my ducks in a row and know exactly what's going to happen when (or at least what I think should happen when), God throws the proverbial wrench into the mix. "Oh, yes, Emily. Those are nice plans and well thought out and I know you've prayed about them, but they aren't the plans I have for you." Yes, folks, God's sense of humor is avery much alive and at work. 

Because God is always good, as my dear brother-in-law so often, and rightly, points out, and his plans are never wrong, I am really trusting him on this one (okay, I'm more of a doubting Thomas at the moment and really trying to trust him). I have no idea what to expect on Friday when I got to the Foreign Police to discuss this letter and what options I may or may not have. They, the F.P., obviously have much more clout and authority in this country than I ever will, and if they say I must leave and lose everything I've worked hard to gain and there's no way around it, then that's what I must do. Where I'll go and how I'll get there is another matter entirely, but I pray that God will give me the grace to accept what I can't control. The grace to surrender the situation and trust him. The grace to say, "Yes, Lord. Here I am. I will obey and leave even though I would rather be in Slovakia right now." 

A verse I read last week has really struck me throughout this situation. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength" 1 Corinthians 1:25. It isn't necessarily talking about my situation, but at the same time it is. No matter how much strength or wisdom I think I have when making decisions, God will always have more when it comes to the plans for my life (or just in general). And in this situation, obviously he's exerting his greater wisdom and strength because he knows what's best. What that best is, I don't know. Maybe I'll find out Friday, maybe I won't. But until then, I must learn to trust in and rely on him, and surrender what I don't want to.

Prayer Request

I would like to take this time to ask for prayer as I found out today that after the last month of paperwork, trips to Bystrica to see the foreign police and the work office, trips to Speak Language Institute to get the contract in order, trips to the work office in Brezno and then getting the "okay" from all related establishments regarding my visa status and stay in the country the Foreign Police have decided that I am no longer allowed to be in the country, are canceling my visa and I must leave (whether that's the EU or Europe as a whole I have yet to find out) for at least thirty days due to a facter that didn't seem to be a big deal four weeks ago. This means that I will lose my work status and must reapply for a new visa (and supply all the paperwork that's involved with that including fingerprints from the FBI in the states). I find this both frustrating and disheartening. I know it's all in God's hands and I know He knew this would happen, and I'm really trying to trust in Him that all this seemingly "bad" will be turned into good for His glory. But at the moment those words and thoughts are much easier to say and feel than actually believe. Lord, help me overcome my unbelief! Give me a heart that will be truly obedient to whatever happens in this situation whether it's staying in Slovakia or leaving.

I have a job interview on Friday morning at an elementary school in Bystrica where I could possibly be hired to come twice a week and teach conversational English. This opportunity, despite being in BB, sounds like it's right up my alley as it's a laid back environment, I don't have to explain grammar and I could still focus on ministry opportunities in Zavadka. However, with everything that's going on with my visa this may all come to nothing. Lord, help my unbelief!


Thank you for your thoughts and prayers during this time. I'll be visiting the Foreign Police on Friday morning (to try and fight this issue, of course, since it wasn't a problem until now when everything was supposedly fine)  before the job interview at the school. I'll let you know.

Blink. Blink. Aha!

Procrastination is the name of the game. Actually it's more like I'm in work overload and not getting anywhere (never a good place to be when a lot needs to be accomplished). So I'm updating the blog instead. With what, I don't know. Oh there's stories I could share and updates to give, but as of late when I sit down to write my mind has been a little blank while a blinking cursor stares at me just waiting, hoping something will come to mind to be typed onto the keypad. Blink. Blink. Blink. Taunting me, teasing me. "Write, Emily. Write. Something has to come to mind. Anything. It doesn't matter. Just type, type, type. Make me feel alive again with whatever's on your mind be it random letters or actual sentences. Please, oh please, oh please!" Blink. Blink. Blink. 

My life has been faaaaaaaaaaar from boring as of late. Far from lack of stories. Far from lack of adventures, a word I use loosely here as the adventures have been more of the dealing-with-insurance-companies-and-labor-office variety. Paperwork can often be a headache, nuisance and "busywork;" add foreign language to the mix (both in speaking and writing) and you've got a grade A migraine forming. Fortunately, God has been very gracious and helped me find the right people at the right time with whom I've been able to communicate (through a painful mixture of broken Slovak and English) and help me get what I need to continue legally living in the country. 

On the language front, I spent four hours yesterday speaking Slovak (though very grammatically incorrect and very much with the help of a dictionary) with the boy's momma and brother. It was actually a very nice, relaxing evening spent around amazing food, belly-wrenching laughter and stories from my childhood and recent happenings in our lives. I was surprised at how much I was able to understand and then be able to respond to. My Slovak's not great by any means, and anyone who knows me can attest to that, but I felt that maybe I'm finally making some strides... maybe. It helped that over the weekend I had a house full of junior high age kids (there's an amazing form of birth control if I've ever been around one!) who only speak Slovak aside from the memorized "How are you?" and "Thank you." So I was forced to use the Slovak that I know, and really take the time to listen to what was being spoken so I could understand and not give someone a glass of water when in reality he needed to use the toilet or something. I was encouraged by how much I did understand not only when speaking to the kids but also in speaking to the guy who came from BB to run the weekend program for the group. It's the small things in life, that's for sure. 

On the story front, I was walking home the other night after dark. It was a quiet night, partially cloudy with cool temperatures. As I trudged up the hill minding my own business waiting for the "zoo" to rush to the fence in all their barking glory (there's a family who quite literally have at least six or seven dogs who all like to defend their home by barking at the slightest movement or noise) when out of nowhere I hear, in an eerily calm and creepily slow voice, "Dobry večer mala pani (good evening, little lady)." I swear I jumped out of my skin as I looked around to see who was talking to me, and there he was, this man I could barely see in the dark, staring at me, smoking his cigarette by the sidewalk. I was so startled I accidently told him Good Day instead of Good Evening, but I didn't really care. I had no desire to stop and converse with creepy man who felt the need to smoke his cigarette outside of his gated fence rather than inside of it. 

Another random story, though decidedly much less creepy, happened a few weeks ago. I was driving home from Heľpa, the next village over to the east, and had a woman in the car with me who I was taking home. I dropped her off at the bus stop in Z and as she was getting out an elderly couple waiting for a bus asked if "this car," a.k.a my car, was going to Brezno and could I give them a lift. Really? Do I look like a chauffeur? Is there a big yellow light on the top of the car that says taxi? I couldn't help but laugh as I drove away. Oh my goodness, people are funny, especially older couples. Oh so great. 

Well, so much for a blank mind and blinking cursor. Now it's back to work with the goal of actually accomplishing something. Hmmmm, we'll see how that goes!

It's Been a While...

I haven't written much lately... I'm not sure if that's because of how busy I've been, camp two weeks ago, CampFest over the weekend, the relationship with The Boy, the numerous visits to the work office & foreign police, and interviewing at the Speak language institute for a teaching job. In any case, the blog world hasn't held much enticement for me lately.

It's such a long story, but I've been dealing with "visa" issues lately. Not because my visa is about to expire, but because it's connected to a work contract that apparently expired at the end of July. Trying to be the good law-abiding citizen that I try to be, I went to the work office that handles foreign work contracts to see what course of action I needed to take. Basically it boiled down to these two options: find a job within seven days, or you must leave the country (and if you don't the foreign police will find you and make sure you leave) and go to a non-EU country for at least ninety days. The reason for this? My visa (which isn't a visa, but a temporary permission to live in Slovakia) is a work visa that was connected to the fact that I was "employed" by Global Partners Slovakia. (In case you're not following all this, don't worry; just trust me on this one.) However, God in his mercy provided a contact who is on very good terms with the foreign police several days before all this happened and he took time out of his day/week/month/life to help me with this problem. This guy is manager/principal of the Speak language school in BB and in the process of helping me with my contract issues he formally interviewed me as a possible teacher in the fall. Anyway, the issues with the contract have been taken care of as the Speak school gave me a fake contract (don't worry, it's very legal) to prove to the F.P. that I am "working" so I don't have to leave the country or lose my visa status. As for the job, I didn't get it. Not because he wouldn't give it to me but because I essentially turned it down after two days of interviewing and observing summer school classes (I did have my reasons; it wasn't just a random thing I did). So now begins the work of finding a job!

So you might be asking yourself what all this means. Well, I will be resigning from GPPD (the organization in Virginia) sometime within the next three or four months (so I will no longer be an organization-backed missionary); I will be, Lord willing, working somewhere in Slovakia (hopefully close to Z); and I hope to continue ministering in Z as I'm able (I do realize an actual job might hinder that a little). Oh, and also that I won't be flying back to Texas in September like originally planned. In fact, I probably won't go back until some time in December so I can spend Christmas with the ever-growing family.

So why this decision? Well, two-fold. Reason one: I didn't really want to leave Z for an undetermined amount of time (to switch mission boards, go through the interview process, pre-field training, support raising, etc.) and lose the ground I've gained among the village and church members here. (This culture is one where they don't trust people who constantly come and go, nor do they accept foreigners right off the bat; it takes time for them to warm up to you.) I have been more than seriously considering staying in Z since Oct/Nov of last year, and was desperately trying to figure out a way to do that. I feel the Lord has very possibly provided one.

Reason number two, which came much later in the game, is The Boy. Yes, yes, I can officially say I'm twitterpated! (That's a Bambi reference for those of you who might now know.) Since I got back from Texas our relationship has taken a bit deeper and more serious turn. To say I like him is an understatement at best. And it helps that I kind of... okay, really adore and admire and respect him so, so much. The more time I spend with him, the more I like him. The more I talk to him about life, the future, ministry, work, music, family, and everything in between, the more I like him. I love that I can be myself around him; that I can be open and honest with him (something that's very hard for me to do as a very private person in general); that he listens to and encourages me. I love it when he makes me laugh, which is quite frequently. And I love that he loves and desires to follow God and that that's a priority for him. Okay, enough "lovey gooey oozing" over the The Boy.

I know this post is much longer than it needs to be, but I thought I'd try to start attempting to catch you up on what's been going on in my neck of the woods lately. Maybe next time I'll tell you about CampFest, which was great and amazing and I got to meet the lead singer of my favorite Slovak Christian band! But more on that later...

CampTAG-Závadka Day Camp 2010

We just finished a week of camp with a team of Americans from east Slovakia. (Okay, their team leader is based in Kosice, but the three students who came were from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina.... a winning combination of southern accents if I have ever heard them!) Anyway, the camp was sort of like a backyard Bible club kind of concept- a few hours everyday, designed for children ages 8-16 with songs, games, crafts, and a biblical story each day. The theme for camp was Bible Heroes, or something along those lines, so the kids learned about Ruth, Esther, Zacchaeus, the little boy who gave the five loafs of bread and the two fish to Jesus, and Shadrack, Meshack and Abednigo. Despite the odd weather- one day sunny, the next cold, the third cold and rainy, the fourth cold and the fifth humid and warm- the kids who came had such a great time. I think they enjoyed someone spending time with them and loving them for a change, not smacking them around and yelling at them... but that could just be me.

I put together a video from pictures we took throughout the week (the song is "Falling Into You" by Big Daddy Weave, in case you were wondering), showed it on Sunday during announcements and the kids enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy it too!