4 Weeks...........

Well, 4 weeks ago today I was originally planning on being back in Northern Ireland. I would have never thought it was going to take this long to get the VISA. Every day I wake up hoping and praying that it will be the day that my VISA comes in the mail. The hardest part about waiting and being patient is that I have no clue what's going on with it. I just continue to hope that it will come, and come soon!

I continue to ask for your prayers. Pray that God would not only grant me favor in the eyes of the British Consulate, but also that He would expedite the process so that I will be able to return to Northern Ireland soon and continue the ministry that He has tremendously blessed me with.

Yearning for Christ and Longing to return to Northern Ireland,
Jason

Hope...

"Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever...

...But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may tell of all your works."

Psalm 73:23-26,28

Yearning for Christ,

Jason

Nothing yet.....

Just wanted to give you a quick update and let you know that I am still awaiting word from the British Consulate pertaining to my VISA. It has been about a week and a half since I sent in my appeals information, so hopefully they will be coming to a decision soon. I am hoping that I will hear something towards the beginning of next week. I ask that you would continue to pray. Pray that I would find favor in the eyes of the Consulate and that they will issue a VISA...soon :-)! Also pray that I would continue to have patience to trust in God's timing. It has now been a little over 3 weeks since I was originially supposed to go back...so if I wasn't antsy before, I definitely getting to that point now. I thank you for your continued prayers and support!!!

Yearning for Christ and to return to the ministry He has blessed me with in Northern Ireland,

Jason

Still Waiting....Still Trusting

Well earlier this week I finally was able to send in my appeal application along with further supporting documents from both Mourne and Bethlehem. So now I am waiting again for a response from the British Consulate in Chicago. I am hoping and praying that they will look at the new evidence and decide to overturn their decision and thus issue me a VISA.

So as I continue to wait, I ask that you would continue to pray for the situation. It has now been two weeks since I was supposed to go back over to Kilkeel. In it all, I continue to trust in my King knowing that it will be in His timing that I will go back. Thank you all for your prayers and support during this craziness! As soon as I find out anything I will let you know.

Yearning for Christ,
Jason

Continue to Pray....

My trip down to the British Consulate wasn't tremendously helpful. As I somewhat expected, there was no way getting past the security officer. The security guys said that pretty much no one is allowed to make visits to the consulate without having an appointment and being accompanied by a US Marshall....and he said the last time that happened was in 07.

This means that I will have to go through the appeals process and mail everything back to them. So what I am doing is getting TONS of supporting documents to show what I am doing over there and to convince them that my goal isn't to go over there to make money. My hope is to mail in everything at the beginning of this coming business week and then hope and pray they overturn their decision based on the supporting documents. Once they take a look at it again, there is two things that can happen. The first is the best thing.....that is that they look at the new evidence and feel that they can overturn their decision, Thus issuing me a VISA. The second option (which would be not good) is that they look at the evidence and feel that they made the correct decision. At this point, they then mail my appeal back to mainland UK for an official appeal, which can take up to 3 months!!! So if the first case happens, I could have a VISA within a couple weeks, but if the second happens........oh dear!

So I ask that you would be praying over this situation. Especially pray that I would find favor in the eyes of those looking at my application. Also pray that I would be patient and content knowing that "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it!" I thank you for your continued prayers and support.....I continue to be tremendously grateful!!

Yearning for Christ and Trusting in His Sovereignty,

Jason

The Unexpected....please PRAY

There is never a dull moment when living for the King of Kings. Today I finally heard back about my VISA....the crazy thing is that I was totally caught off guard. I opened up the envelop that was from the British Consulate all to find out that I was denied a VISA. This is something I didn't see coming at all. It definitely was a complete bummer and has added to the frustration that has been the past couple of days.

I would ask for your prayers! Tomorrow morning I am going to take a trip down to the British Consulate to see what steps I need to take in order to appeal the decision. Pray that I would have favor in thier eyes and that they would be willing to talk and guide me in the right direction. Pray that it would be a quick process. Pray that I would have the patience and the ability to Trust in God knowing that "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it..." And finally, pray that I would GET the VISA.

I will keep you posted as I find information out. Thanks in advance for your prayers in this crazy and confusing situation.

Yearning to continue to Serve Christ in Northern Ireland,
Jason

Groundhog Day......the irony...

Last night as I was eagerly looking forward to today, hoping that I would hear news on getting my VISA, I was flipping through the channels on TV and came across the movie Groundhogs Day. It's an older film with Bill Murray who wakes up every morning with it still being Groundhogs Day - no matter what he does, he still wakes up to it being Groundhog's Day.

As I was lying in bed last night thinking and asking God to give me the patience to wait on His timing, I began to think about that movie and how my current situation is somewhat like that. Rather than waking up and be faced with the challenge of the same day, I wake up every morning hoping that it will be the day that I will get my VISA and go back to Northern Ireland. The more that I am away, the more that my heart aches to go back. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the extra opportunity to spend time with family and friends here in the states, but you always get to that point in your vacation where you just want to get back to normal and back into the regular flow of life. I must say, I am eagerly looking forward to jumping back into ministry in Northern Ireland...I definitely miss it and miss all the guys that I am working with and I CANNOT WAIT to get my VISA and head back over there :-)!

So as I continue to wait for my VISA to come, I continue to seek the Lord and ask Him for patience and understanding. The reality and truth is that "The earth is the Lord's and EVERYTHING in it..." and I need to trust in my Sovereign God who will, in His timing, allow me to go back and continue the ministry that He has blessed me with in Kilkeel. But until then, I need to trust in Him and be content where He has me right now....and that is chillin in Brookfield, Illinois. So please be praying that my VISA will come and that I will have the patience and understanding to be content in my Sovereign God.

Yearning for Christ,

Jason