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My dear friends, followers, and family in Christ. I'm writing a sort of 'update blog that is riddled with prayer requests.
As you know, my time in China seems to have come to an end and my time on a new continent is to begin. I firmly believe that God has called me to Germany, "for such a time as this". I have received many promises and prophecies concerning the work that our amazing King has already begun, in Europe (as well as the rest of the world). Such unrest on this planet and in the hearts and souls of so many of this planet's inhabitants can only point to a Divine appointment approaching rapidly!
I am confident that the Lord is not finished with this green (or blue, depending on the documentary you watch) planet and I cannot contain my excitement, so when I say I am just so, SO excited about this move and all that He is doing here and in Germany, please know that it doesn't even hold a candle to how excited I really am. :P
Today my roommate and I will move to our "summer place", as it has been affectionately deemed. This being an adorable little apartment with a full sea view (and a nice little pool), that some Canadian friends have so graciously offered us to stay in for the 3 weeks we will remain in China post-lease for us. So today I sit on my bed and look out at the construction being done on the Exhibition center that has been my "back yard" for the last year and think how "normal" and "fine" that center was before they started adding to it and changing the layout so many months ago. I've had to endure weeks of little to no sleep due to the banging and pounding and sawing and hammering that has gone on in those months. But why? What's the point. It looked fine already and the Center seemed to be in full use and capacity.
But isn't that the attitude we Christians often take to this world? Sure there are problems that only Jesus can fix, but as long as we stay in our bubble (which has become scarily accepted in most cultures I observe), why do anything to shake things up or change the appearance?
My dear, dear friend. Don't you know that God has so much planned for us, His little nation, His Bride? We have been placed here as ambassadors for Christ, and if we are 100% honest with ourselves, we have not been about His business. We've been on a vacation, and He's shaking the very tectonic plates of this world to get our attention! It's time to go to work, it's time to speak the truth in love to EVERY PERSON you come into contact with! Find a way to share His message however you can, this is our calling.
And for this reason, I go to Germany. I'm not sure what my work will look like once I get there, but I know that God has promised the way will be made straight. So I walk forward, once again, trusting Him for the details. (And I thought I knew what that meant the first time I encountered such a decision!)
+Upon arrival in Germany I will jump right into language school. 14-25 weeks of intense German study. Now, language school is not inexpensive, so I would ask that you join me in prayer that God will provide the amount needed. It's looking like $3-5,000 for 14-25 weeks of schooling. I firmly believe that I need to have a good grasp of German as I will be working closely with German students and workers.
If you feel so lead to help with this need, please email me at joball1307@aim.com (yes, I still use my aim account, it's one of the few that's not blocked yet over here! :P) Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated. The school I have worked in for the last two years in China was not for the paycheck, but the work that I've been a part of there has a much higher reward than a monthly paycheck.
+Once I'm in language school, I need to get a residence permit and work permit. Students must obtain this work permit in order to work more than 40 hours a year. Yes, a year! Please pray that I find favor with the officials that this will not be a problem. My goal is to enter an apprenticeship in a kitchen to be trained more professionally in cooking. This will be both my means of supporting myself while in school, as well as an avenue that will allow me to travel into venues I may not have otherwise had access.
+After language school (the high semester or possibly waiting until the commencing of the new fall school year next year), I will apply to University of Freiburg to undergo a 5-year language and culture program. It is my goal to learn to speak as many languages as I can to be able to speak truth and love to as many nations as I come into contact with.
I do believe this is the course that has been set before me, so I do trust that our Lord will work the details out as I walk, step-by-step with Him. It doesn't mean that it will always be easy, but He has promised never to leave me, so I think I'm pretty safe in that. :) These three bullet points are the most glaring requests that I have for you to remember to our Father, but I would also ask that you join me in asking for divine appointments, both in transit and upon arrival. I'm asking Father for a friend who will come along-side my roommate and I as we start this new journey, to help ease into a new and VERY different culture, to help us with documents and details, and to help us find "family" there we can jump right into.
Thank you all for your help and support these past 3 1/2 years. I had no idea when I started this blog that this would be in my future, but here we are. I look forward to keeping you updated as I start a new chapter in a new country on a new continent. I can only imagine what lies in store!
Grace and Peace to you all,
Jo <3
