Finally, our packet 4 arrived. We were scheduled for our U.S. immigrant visa
interview last Monday, Sept. 16, 2013.
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| RN - New York State |
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I applied for an EB-3 Visa way back in 1996 after I passed
the NCLEX exam. My husband and I thought
then that it was the best for us. Oh Yes, there was a time when our plans were anchored
to that great American dream. We prayed
for it for a long time and in between prayers, were frustrated cries. During
this time, we were in our deepest valley .
Our bills were piling up, we were not able to pay our bank loans and
credit cards. We had nothing. We thought the visa was the answer to our problems. I
asked the Lord why it was taking a long time for us to leave but He was silent
and I know He was asking me to trust Him.
John Piper said that great songs are born out of sufferings. Mine was
born out of our valleys, in the midst of frustration.
One of our pastors said that during trials, God wants us to
PREPARE, PRAY and PRESS ON. And so we did and we started by obeying God's call
to make disciples. By God's grace, my husband and I were able to start a
couples group. I also started praying for God's will, not mine. If It is not
His will for us to migrate then I asked the Lord to close the doors. As we grew
in our walk, my fear changed from not being able to migrate to leaving
everything and finding out too late that it is not God's will for us. I believe that the best place for my family
is where God puts us.
Unanswered prayers are blessings in disguise. During our time of waiting (7 years), God worked in my
heart, aligning my desires with His. My
priorities have changed also as God called us to homeschool our kids so we can
train them to be God-fearing and guide and encourage them to reach their
fullest potentials. My 2 boys are
growing up fast and I don't want to miss any single moment. I want to be with them, to homeschool them (
I cannot do that if I work). I want to
impact their lives in such a way that our kids, their future kids --- the next
generation after them would follow God.
Seeing all that God is doing in our lives, I was worried
about what I will do once the visa arrives. I cried at the thought of leaving
everything -- our dgroup, our homeschool coop, our church, our ministry ... I
was already in my comfort zone. As our priority date moved nearer, I struggled
with God and said, "What will happen to our dgroup, Lord, we are growing,
we cannot leave them...." and God said, "They are not your Dgroup,
they are mine. You are just My steward. It will grow even if I remove you from it." And I argued one more time, "Lord, if it is your will for us to
homeschool, how can I teach if I'm working? How can you ask us to leave all
this?” My husband said if it is in God's
best plan for us to stop homeschooling then we have no choice but to obey
knowing that it is best for us. This
freaked me out because I thought homeschooling was one of our
"non-negotiables". It caused a
bitter argument but again God said, "Anak, as a wife, didn't I ask you to
submit and respect your husband?" .... and that silenced me. I never
brought up the issue again. God made me realize that my fear was all about my
wants and not His. I just sought my Lord
until my heart was calm. The moment I finally surrendered all my desires to
Him, that was when I felt peace knowing that He is faithful. I trust Him completely.
Until the day came when the very thing that caused me stress
was right before my eyes.
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| our visa interview schedule - just had to delete some info |
We received our packet 4 one month before the scheduled
interview.
Should we go or not?
I talked to Alvin and asked him what we will do. His answer totally surprised me. He said our priorities have changed and God
has called us to homeschool! I wanted to kiss and hug him right there and then. He said he has been waiting for the right time to tell me what he felt, God provided the right timing.
I praised God for the blessing of submission.
I need not contend with my husband when my desires seem different from
his. Instead, I just need to lift it up to our Lord. Sa kanya ako nagsusumbong, umiiyak,
nagsusumamo. What I cannot do, He will
do. I praise Him for completely changing
Alvin's heart about this visa and about homeschooling. God also gave me the courage to write to my
Mama and Tita Angie about our choice to stay. I know their hearts were broken but I know they
understand.
Should we go or not? At the back of my mind, I signed a contract, and as a Christian, I have a duty to see that everything is in order.
I wrote to NVC and explained about our change in priorities but
received their reply just today, 3 days after the scheduled interview. I also have not been in touch with my employer for years already. They have
not contacted me also. So I thought there
may be a glimmer of hope here for me. I
texted and emailed my agency ( I lost their landline number when we changed
phones) but did not receive any reply (I was actually praying for that, too.lol )
I asked the Lord to give us wisdom on what to do. On that same day, he led me to different
nursing blogs. I registered in one and found out that before you can be given a
visa, you would need to have an updated job offer. They said it would be useless attending the
exit interview because the visa will be "pending due to unavailability of
job offer".
Should we go or not? I did my part. God did His. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord
wants us to stay. We did not attend the
interview anymore. Not that we don't
want to migrate but now, we rely on God to lead us. We are not closing any door but one thing I know, it would not be under
the present circumstances.
Everything ... every
decision ... all priorities become
simple in the light of eternity. Thank
you for Your goodness, Lord, You have been so good ... so good ... so good...You have been so good to me!
Psalm 37:3-6
Trust in the
Lord and do good.
Dwell in the
land, cultivate faithfulness,
Delight
yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your
way to the Lord.
Trust also
in Him and He will do it...
“Any any choice that takes us away from God
is, in the long run, the wrong way.”-Woodrow Kroll
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| An entry from my journal - finally ALIGNED with GOD, ALIGNED with my husband |
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andrea gold template 902
Laitha's design
papers bykathryn estry |
Our Dgroup
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Scrapangie spicy 1/2012 dd
I do by franb
brandy murry cluster
J - art for scrapbooking |
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Bouquet DES MÈRES Maria designs
Wa by WA world
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With our homeschool coop
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Trixie scrap template
jenn ck designs empowerment mini
wa world |
