10 days and counting...

Oh, the joys of all of this coming together! Really, I am excited - but as with all endeavors that require more than your breath to be accomplished, it takes some work. And that word in and of itself has become the epitome of my summer break thus far. Before I go on, I think it right to provide the background behind this amazing opportunity in my life.

June, 2006: About 2 years ago I graduated High School. With that, as all High School graduates know, come a ton of celebrations. One of these was at Church where each one of us in the youth group who were graduating were prayed for by Cris, our YP at the time, and Pastors Bryce & Dona. Well, two years ago Cris spoke that God was sending me down to San Diego to be an "ambassador to the nations"... And after that, Pastor Dona said that during my second year in college, God would open the doors for me to go abroad, and I would not even have to doubt if it were Him.
This has always been evident in my mind - and so here I am, 2 years later, at the end of my second year... Not only did God open "a" door, He opened multiple & it's amazing to see His word come to pass. My first experience abroad this year was in Yaroslavl, Russia. That one week I spent working in orphanages and women's hospitals abroad caused me to fall in love - not just with Russia but for the world. And it's not because there are so many amazing things to see, but it's because in the grander scope of life, there are people all around that can teach us something. All it takes is for us to be open to the differences in our cultures - bridging those gaps by embracing diversity. I know that God has called me around the world, and it's a calling that I am fully excited about.

So yes, here I am - ten days away from getting on a plane with about 6 months miraculously packed into a 50 pound suitcase. I'm stunned at how God can fully come through in all of it. There has come to exist many obstacles that have tried to keep me from this journey. Let's take for example, the epitome of all stress this week: my UK Visa. As of right now, I am currently without my passport. Long story short, I don't need a Visa for Greece or Italy, but I do need one for London. But, because I will be out of the US, I needed to get my Visa before I leave on the 30th. This meant having BU (My London Program) send me all the necessary documents early. Well, I didn't receive these documents until early this week. It took about 4 hours for me to finally finish the application, and not to mention that the only available appointment to get my biometrics done was on Friday. This meant that the Consulate would only have 5 days to receive, process, and send my Passport/Visa before I left. Well, God is definitely good. I walked into the biometrics office the next day just to see if they would let me get it done early, and they did - easily. I mailed out my application overnight and got an e-mail saying the Consulate had began to process it. To ease the stress that is having a non-existent telephone number to the mysterious office of the British Consulate, my Greece Program Adviser helped me out by having a contact there. OH THE ART OF NETWORKING! She was able to make sure that everything would be done by Wednesday. So it is all coming together.

I say all that because it goes to prove how SO EVIDENT God is throughout this whole journey. It seems as if there is so much opposition trying to stop me from going, but God is constantly showing me favor. Not to mention, I'm getting a little sick, but it's okay. Fears are starting to pick up a little, but I know that this will be the most amazing thing I've done in my life thus far. I am 10 days away from officially embarking on this journey, and although it has definitely had it's share of stressful moments, I know that God has some HUGE things in store. Although this is all for education purposes, I know without a doubt that God would not send me across the world just for school. He's got a bigger plan and I am without words to explain how excited I am so see it all unfold.

So this is me as of now.
With love from Marina, CA, USA.


Taken on 6/18/08 - Carmel Beach

Carla