I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
- Philippians 1:3-11
Dear friends,
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.
On this very day a year ago, I embarked on my last first day of school for what I hoped to be the last time (at least for a long while) and, over the course of the year, wrestled with this idea of the journey to Auckland.
And here we are now, a year later. I was hoping to at least have my flights to Auckland booked by now, but as it turns out, things don't always turn out the way we hope. The visa application process has been made more complicated because they are requiring extra documentation from the States side since I have lived there for more than five years. So now we are still waiting for all the extra documents to be processed.
But waiting is not a fun game, especially while I'm in between places and countries. The feeling of displacement is unsettling, but that is the reality for now. Your thoughts and prayers for patience and for the rest of this process to go smoother than it has so far would be greatly appreciated.
In the meantime, I have enjoyed spending time with family and old friends. I have also been coaching a student from Thailand who is preparing for an English placement test to get into the public schools here. Because I grew up speaking two languages fluently, it never crossed my mind how challenging English grammar can be. And try getting someone whose first language doesn't differentiate the R and L sounds and have a hard time with the S sounds to say, "close to the coast" and you get variations like "crose to the clothes" and "clothes to the coats."
As I write, I recall the words of Paul, so well-narrated by Todd Faulkner, campus pastor at Anderson University, who spoke at Park Place two Sundays before I left. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. I long to be in so many places -- Anderson, which became home for the last seven years; Germany, a place with so many dear friends and fond memories; Auckland, the place that I have wrestled with landing in for the past year; and Singapore where so much of me still finds its roots here -- each of these places because of you. But regardless of where you are, and regardless of how frustrating the journey has been, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.
"For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart ... you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus."
Thank you for your encouragement along this journey. I apologise if I haven't written back to you personally; time has not always been on my side. And thank you especially to each one of you who have asked, prayed and been so supportive of this journey.
I carry your heart
- Philippians 1:3-11
Dear friends,
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.
On this very day a year ago, I embarked on my last first day of school for what I hoped to be the last time (at least for a long while) and, over the course of the year, wrestled with this idea of the journey to Auckland.
And here we are now, a year later. I was hoping to at least have my flights to Auckland booked by now, but as it turns out, things don't always turn out the way we hope. The visa application process has been made more complicated because they are requiring extra documentation from the States side since I have lived there for more than five years. So now we are still waiting for all the extra documents to be processed.
But waiting is not a fun game, especially while I'm in between places and countries. The feeling of displacement is unsettling, but that is the reality for now. Your thoughts and prayers for patience and for the rest of this process to go smoother than it has so far would be greatly appreciated.
In the meantime, I have enjoyed spending time with family and old friends. I have also been coaching a student from Thailand who is preparing for an English placement test to get into the public schools here. Because I grew up speaking two languages fluently, it never crossed my mind how challenging English grammar can be. And try getting someone whose first language doesn't differentiate the R and L sounds and have a hard time with the S sounds to say, "close to the coast" and you get variations like "crose to the clothes" and "clothes to the coats."
As I write, I recall the words of Paul, so well-narrated by Todd Faulkner, campus pastor at Anderson University, who spoke at Park Place two Sundays before I left. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you. I long to be in so many places -- Anderson, which became home for the last seven years; Germany, a place with so many dear friends and fond memories; Auckland, the place that I have wrestled with landing in for the past year; and Singapore where so much of me still finds its roots here -- each of these places because of you. But regardless of where you are, and regardless of how frustrating the journey has been, I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.
"For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart ... you all are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus."
Thank you for your encouragement along this journey. I apologise if I haven't written back to you personally; time has not always been on my side. And thank you especially to each one of you who have asked, prayed and been so supportive of this journey.
I carry your heart
Jael, in writing this you have unknowingly blessed what has been a very stressful week so far. You are a joy my friend. Hang in there and I will make sure Jonah says an extra prayer for your time in transition!
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