The Foreigners

So I've spent the whole afternoon today becoming completely confused by government website information regarding all kinds of things from auto insurance to work permits and my conclusion is...? Canada is a foreign country. It might not sound profound (and to some, it is probably downright intellectually offensive), but it is an inescapable fact.

I would imagine that most of you reading this post are not Canadians and that the majority are American citizens. This is both a blessing, internationally/diplomatically speaking, and somewhat of a handicap. Why? Because we are neighbors along the largest undefended international border in the world, and yet, because we are so neighborly with Canada, we tend to blend the U.S. and Canada together in one general category. Yes, there are things that wiggle their way into our common-knowledge humor regarding the differences, but how different could they really be? Way different, that's how.

We used to joke about the bureaucracy in the Hungarian system when we lived in Hungary and were pursuing our permanent residence there. In fact, there was a staff member at the castle whose entire ministry to staff and students was to help them obtain their visas and navigate the issues, medical exams, consulate visits, etc. Boy, I sure wish we had her with us right now as we face our move!

Canadian immigration is no straight-forward walk in the park. Yes, we're going as missionaries, visitors (hopefully I will be able to get part-time work teaching Kindermusik), but that means we have a host of other sticky legal issues facing us. We are foreigners, and the Canadian government, as much as they are interested in populating their nation carefully and ensuring the best for all inhabitants, has put a proverbial wall around the nation to seemingly keep foreigners keenly aware of their outsider status.

To all of this, I would like to apply a truth that was shared with us by someone in our prayer team during our last monthly meeting, which puts it into perspective:

Understanding will not bring you peace.

God is able. Nothing is impossible with Him. Rahab, Ruth, Mary, Moses. Nehemiah, Daniel, Joseph. The LORD is on the side of the foreigner, the unlikely, the unresourced, the outsider. And He is our God. He is for us. Even though we don't understand all the technicalities so eloquently and verbosely layed out in the government immigration and legal websites, HE does, and He opens doors that no man can shut. He's got the inside on everything. He gives favor with rulers, and is the Lord of lords, all who are in authority.

I wish I could get my brain around all the information about what we need for our move, but the bottom line is that we need to trust the Lord. He will take care of that which concerns us. Praise Him for that!!

Video Greetings From Canada

We recently visited Alberta, staying in Calgary to fellowship with Rocky Mountain Calvary Chapel, in addition to meeting with some brothers from Edmonton. During our visit we asked one of the pastors to share about Edmonton and our vision to church-plant there. This is it!

God's gentle leading

Recently I've been thinking about how the LORD has been fulfilling a promise I started clinging to the day we found out we were expecting Sara:

"He shall feed His flock like a shepherd:

He shall gather the lambs with His arm,

and carry them in His bosom, and shall

gently lead those that are with young."

-Isaiah 40:11

Several times I have been reminded of that last portion, that He, Jesus, will "gently lead those that are with young." I'm with young! I have little children. LORD, lead us gently. That has often been my prayer as a mother concerning the things that lay ahead of us in God's will.

We have been praying about going to Edmonton for what seems to us such a long time, and even in that I see how God is looking out for us and our children, that it be a gentle transition. But beyond that, in a greater picture, I recently realized how the Lord moving us out of Serbia in 2007 was part of what He's doing with us today.

You see, the laws in Serbia have changed during the past year in such a way that, even if we had returned to live in Serbia in 2008 as we initially thought we would when we left, we would've had to leave last year anyway. A couple we know who are also a Serbian husband-American wife pair were unable to live together in Serbia since last fall. The wife was living in Hungary, unable to re-enter Serbia, and in December she flew home to the U.S. They are currently waiting for her husband to receive his green card so he can join her and they can continue their married life here in the States.

I am amazed that, though it didn't make sense, and though we had to leave Serbia so quickly in 2007 (we departed 6 weeks after the decision was made), I am so thankful that the LORD directed us to leave then, when it was just the two of us, instead of last year, in haste, when we had a toddler and I was pregnant with our second!

He has settled us here as a family, given us a vision and hearts for church planting in Edmonton, and we have been so blessed to be part of the fellowship of Calvary Chapel Pocatello. Though we didn't see it at the time, GOD saw these legal developments, and He transitioned us to North America in His perfect timing, not ours. That is His gentle leading!

We're headed North tomorrow for a week or so, and I'm curious to see how He will continue to bring things together in His gentle way. More to come...