Last week, I was finally able to travel to Miami to apply for my visa. I took a briefcase full of forms and photocopies and pictures, all the while literally praying that everything was in order. During these last weeks I tried many times to call the embassy to make sure I wasn’t making the
trip in vain. In my calls I was never able to make it further than leaving voice messages (which, of course, no one ever responded to), so I’ll admit, I was not without some apprehension on the way.
But praise the Lord, everything was in order, and I had all the necessary paperwork with me, so my application was accepted and forwarded to “an office in Madrid.” The people I spoke to told me that I should be contacted within a month or two with a notice to come back to Miami and pick up my approved visa. I cannot describe how relieved I was that everything went smoothly.
It is almost unbelievable to me how long this whole process has taken. When I left my church in Irun last August, I told people I hoped to return by Christmas of that year. God obviously had other plans though. He’s taught me a whole lot during this waiting period, and I’m grateful.
Now, if you could simply pray that the visa be approved soon, I would be very thankful. I’m glad to wait as long as God wants, but as soon as He allows it, I will return to Spain to serve in the church at Irun. I’m praying as well that God will continue to provide financially. He always has in the past, and I’m confident He will keep doing so.
I am now fully approved as a missionary with World Wide New Testament Baptist Missions (www.wwntbm.com). That is the mission board of my parents and grandparents, and it’s a privilege to be working with them as well.
One last thing I wanted to mention. For quite a while I’ve been considering the idea of using my website to share more than strictly ministry updates. That will still be its main purpose, but I plan to start using it as a blog to share other thoughts as well. As I study the Bible I like to try to put into words some of the things I learn from time to time, and I’ll be sharing some of those thoughts online. I certainly don’t claim any special insight, but I do love sharing the things God teaches me. Here are some thoughts on a passage I studied today in Hebrews.
If you are signed up to receive email updates, you will still receive only ministry updates like before. But if you would like to get other updates, there’s a link at the bottom of my emails that says “update subscription preferences.” There you can choose what you’d like to have emailed to you.
As always, thank you for your prayers. God is good, as always.
David
Ps. 34:3
