Change

One of the main things that keeps this baby blog of mine up and running is YOU. That's right, you the reader! I blog to be a help and encouragement to you in any way that I can. If I blogged for myself alone, I would have stopped long ago.

Perhaps that is the reason I sometimes hesitate to share too many personal details. In past years I didn’t share too many life updates, and you rarely see me on the other side of the camera.

This year I’ve tried to do better. I shared way too much info about myself on my birthday, I sometimes share monthly family recaps {except for lately when life has been too busy to recap...gotta get on that} and lately I’ve been trying to document our days a bit better as fun things happen.

Today I’m going to try to share my heart more - a current burden that I hope you’ll pray about with me. It is not necessarily easy for me to share this type of thing publicly, but I feel that writing this out will help me. And many, many people that know about this situation already have asked, so this is a good way to update everyone all at once. Thanks in advance for listening, understanding, and praying!


Next month marks the end of our 3rd year as residents of Canada. It is a pretty exciting milestone, but it also marks the end of our visitor’s visas.

Here is how our immigration to Canada works - in it’s basic form:

For us, we are classified as “clergy” {my dad is a pastor} so he was allowed to come in to “work” for our church. We all were allowed in as his dependents. They gave us a 3 year visitor’s visa.

When that visa runs out we either a) leave the country, or b) get permanent status, or “landed immigrancy.”

Which is all well and fine, and should be rather simple since the church has called Dad to be their pastor - but being over age 23 I’m kind of in a mess.

When we first came in the country, I was not yet 23 years old. Now, I’m a couple years past that mark, which means I can no longer qualify as a dependent under my dad.

So, I’m on my own. Which, in case you haven’t figured it out, is SCARY business!

I’ve been researching for months what my options are for staying in the county, and to be honest I’m still not sure what my best bet is. But for now, I had to do something or my visa would run out.

So I’ve applied for an extension of my current visa to give me time to apply for something permanent.

The paperwork has all been submitted, so now everything is in the governments hands, which would be scary, if I didn’t know that God controls governments. {Proverbs 21:1} I got everything in in plenty of time, so I should find out in the next month what the verdict is.

I’m really nervous about it.

I know that whatever happens, God has a plan for the next year of my life, and beyond. He has the perfect place and ministry waiting for me. And truth be told, either side of the border is special to me, so either way I know I’ll be ok. I love my ministry and the people here, and would hate to have to leave them, but at the same time, I have lots of family and friends in the States, and know of countless ministries there that I could be involved in as well. I sort of feel like I get a win-win situation either way!

So why am I nervous then?

I think it is because this decision means change. And I hate change. I always have. As a child I hated when my mom rearranged my bedroom furniture. Change has never been easy for me. And this visa is demanding change in my life on some account.

It has been easy to live here in Canada….I’m just one of the “preacher’s kids” doing church stuff most of the time. There is a slower pace of life here, which has been great - it has given me the time to develop a handmade shop which is what I love to do. I’ve made many friends here and have several different ministries I help out in. And for pete’s sake, we live on the ocean. Life here is easy and good.

But to stay here will require a change. It may require a more permanent job or studies or teaching. I’m not entirely sure yet. Leaving for the States will obviously require a change - and what awaits me on the other side is yet to be determined as well.

Change.

Whether I like it or not, its coming.

And I wish you’d pray with me about it.

That the Lord would accomplish His will for me through the hands of government officials.

That the Lord would give me wisdom to know which permanent visa to pursue if my current extension is accepted.

That I’ll claim the peace that passes all understanding in the next few weeks of waiting.

Thank you.