I was waiting. I’d been waiting all day. What was I waiting for? An email... And when it finally came my eyes tore through the words and when they reached the important part it felt like someone punched me in the stomach. I let out a long drawn out sigh and shook my head. The email was from my mother, and it was about my passport application, they needed more documentation to give me a passport.
But before I continue, let me give you a little history.
Growing up I’d always wanted to be a missionary. There were a number of things that influenced that desire. Young Disciple Camp, Faithcamp, and reading mission story books to name a few. I’ve watched numerous friends go to the mission field and come back inspired and changed.
When I was about 10 I remember very clearly a missionary couple coming to do a presentation at our church. And when the day was almost over I remember them asking each member of our youth group what they wanted to do with their lives. And the one thing I remember about that conversation is that I heard a lot of “I don’t know” answers. And I’m not the type of person who can just wander about without a purpose in mind. (Unless I have my camera in hand!) So by the time I was 16 I had a plan for my immediate future. If people asked me what I was going to do, I had an answer. That’s changed numerous times, and that's fine! I just needed to have a plan. I didn’t know about this quote at the time but it fits. “Success in any line demands a definite aim. He who would achieve true success in life must keep steadily in view the aim worthy of his endeavor. Such an aim is set before the youth of today.” Education pg. 262
If you had asked me on June 29th what my plan for the future was, I would have told you I was going to YD camp, working the rest of the summer until January, going to AFCOE and then overseas for a year. If you had asked the same question on June 30th you would have gotten a very different response! You see the evening of June 29th my brother Daniel called. He’s been in Kenya setting up a TV station called Second Coming Broadcasting Network. ( www.2cbn.org )
Daniel had told my mom several months earlier that I should go to the mission field before going to AFCOE. I shrugged it off and almost forgot about it. But then when Daniel called I decided to ask him why he had said that. Long story short, the answer was that he thought I could probably gain a lot more from AFCOE if I had experienced being in a foreign country. And then he said something that shocked me. He asked me to go over there and help him from August until January. I started shaking with excitement almost immediately. We talked about it and I agreed to pray about it and move forward with getting my passport.
That phone call resulted in my “plans” getting thrown in a blender on high! I was excited and went ahead with the passport process. I sent it in and went off to YD camp. Then on July 26th I got the first email from my mom. It simply said that there was a letter from the State Dept. addressed to me. And she asked if I wanted her to open it. I responded and asked her to open it. Then I waited, all through the next day I wondered what it was about. And then the email came. And that's where I started this post...
We sent them more documents with the hope that they would grant me a passport. But this Monday I got another letter saying they needed still more documents! So we sent those off on Tuesday. And started waiting again. One thing that is a positive from them sending me a second letter requesting more documents, is that in the first letter they said that if the documents I sent weren’t sufficient then my application would be rejected. They weren’t enough. But they didn’t reject them they asked for more. Praise the Lord for that!
One of the things that's so amazing to me about this whole passport situation is that I’m not overly worried about it. I know that God has it all under control and regardless of what happens with my passport, its still going to be okay! I don’t understand why God’s letting it be delayed, but that's okay, because God can see what I can’t. And He knows exactly if/when I am to go to Africa this fall. I’m so thankful to God for giving me peace about it all. Its so wonderful to not have to worry about it!
So at this point I’m waiting for my passport. My plan at this point is to buy tickets for the soonest possible date after I get my passport back. And I’ll be coming back to the states in early January, and hopefully going through AFCOE.
I know this has been a long post, and I’ll do my best to keep them shorter in the future. But I’d just like to ask that you pray for me in this situation, that God would make it clear whether I am to go to Africa and provide the resources needed. I also ask that you pray for His will do be done in my life.
Waiting,
Jonathan
