Saturday morning, February 3, 2018, our family boarded a plane for Washington D.C. Will this be our last trip to the South Africa Embassy? Sunday morning, I awoke with excitement and anxiousness. One question lingered on my mind, “What does it mean to hope in God?” I read hope in the Lord will not be put to shame, and we experience His peace. However, the practical steps of hoping in the Lord weren’t clear to me, and I don’t know if I can face this disappointment again. Will we be returning to South Africa?
During the Super Bowl halftime performance, I chased Elle up a staircase at a friend’s house, I noticed the verse “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Heb 11:1” I asked myself, what am I hoping for? From past experiences, I knew that it could not be in the SA embassy offices. What is the evidence; better yet, who is the evidence? I realized God was the answer. God was calling me to put my hope in His trustworthy character, faithfulness, sovereignty, love, joy, peace, grace and so much more.
Sunshine announced Monday. My family prepared to enter the embassy offices, and I was ready to trust God to comfort me regardless of the outcome. The consultant reviewed our documents and requested two more documents: verifying housing and income. Questions arose in my heart again; will this be another disappointment? Before we left the office that day, a friend wanted me to take a picture of our family’s feet to share with her Bible study class to remind her listeners of this verse: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” Romans 10:15b
What a sweet reminder of how God sees our family.
Tuesday came, and we received the last two documents in time for us to submit our application for approval. Before leaving the office, one of the employees who had seen us on every visit looked at me and shared that God was going to do it. I inquired about the processing time, the official explained our wait would be four more weeks. We fly back to Texas hopeful.
As you see in the picture, we were rejoicing that our documents were submitted and in time, God’s time, they would be processed. We praised God.
Wednesday, February 7, while sitting in a doctor’s office for my husband’s appointment, I received a message to contact the South African embassy. I thought, “More documents?!” On the phone was the SA official who encouraged me on Monday. She asked if we were still in DC. She desired to celebrate with us, because to her surprise our permits were completed by her supervisor and they were in her hand. I shouted and praised God in the doctor’s office! God had reduced our wait time from 4 weeks to less than 24 hours. Once again proving to us that he is powerful and sovereign. He is the Lord our God!
The envelope we had received was the Evidence that our God is Amazing.
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