Great is Thy Faithfulness

I may be home from Brazil, but this business of trusting God is never-ending...and let's be honest, I am definitely going back to Brazil someday, so I can't stop my journey of waiting and praying and working towards that. And now, I am once again in a position of blind trust, as we are waiting to hear on Friday if Joaquim will be awarded a tourist visa to come visit for the month of April.

In thinking on that, I have been reminded a lot in the last few days all that God has done for us and for me in my Brazilian escapades already. I remembered when I was waiting for my visa, and today I actually read my blog from that time. I am feeling similarly, and worrying the same things, and God is telling me the same things. He has proven to me time and time and time again that He is making a way. Even, where there seems to be no way. It's not a cliche or an old song. It's true.

Remember when I renewed my visa in November, and I didn't have a document that I needed? I thought I threw it away. It was the entry slip that customs gives you and stamps, as well as stamping your passport. Well, I didn't have it, and it is required to do any sort of visa renewal. But, God provided a friend who did it anyway, trusting me. Then when I left the country, a woman asked me for tha tpiece of paper. I just said I didn't have it...then she took my passport and first flipped to my 2006 visa. She looked confused, and I directed her to the next page. She saw my 2007 visa. She nodded, then saw that it was issued in July and was for 90 days, and looked confused. I once again directed her to the next page, and then she nodded like "ooooook, good..." She stamped the passport and said thank you, and I was on my way. Legal, stamped, not in trouble and it was fine. I sat down at my gate and was looking for something in my laptop case...I found the jacket for my ticket from August. And inside of it was that silly entry slip. The moment before I left the country, after I'd gone through the exit process. I couldn't help but laugh. The Lord hid that from me just to show off and show me how He COULD maneuver me through everything that would come my way. He IS bigger than that. And He is big enough to get Joaquim a visa too.

So, that is Friday at 9am in Sao Paulo...6am Central time...he'll have an interview proving that he won't stay here forever illegaly, and hopefully it will result in a stamp at the end that says he can come visit. It would be an incredible answer to prayer, and hopefully the beginning of many more things...but it's always a test of trust and a lesson in faith. 2 of the most obnoxious things to learn. Patience is also constant company, and among all of those, I will either go crazy or become a saint. We'll see...