VICTORY!

If you could see the smile on my face today, you might have a small idea of how good my G-d his.  Today, HE MOVED MOUNTAINS—we're feeling His goodness and love and preservation and faithfulness in an extremely tangible way right now. 

Here's what went down: 

Yesterday at about 3pm, as we were preparing activities for our 4pm English Club, we received a phone call from our office manager.  She had taken our passports on Monday to the immigration office to get our visas renewed because they expired on the 28^th.  But yesterday, they called her and told her she could come pick up our passports because they were not granting a visa renewal and we would need to leave the country.  They told her that on February 19—just a few days ago—KZ passed a law saying that in order to extend a work/living visa, Americans would need to leave the country for the period of time that it would take to process a new application and letter of invitation, usually at least 3 weeks.  When our office manager told us this, at about 3pm yesterday, the scramble began.  Due to the fact that our visas expired on the 28^th—this Sunday—and the fact that staying in a country beyond the end of your visa date results in large fines and legal trouble, we immediately lifted this very sudden, very heavy burden before the Almighty.  We mobalized pr-yer circles in our families and friends and began researching flights to places like Bangkok, Istanbul, and Kiev, where we could fly cheaply and had friends willing to host us. 

We did laundry, packed, and went to bed (and both had a restless night) anxious about what we would hear tomorrow…our Administrator and Director would be meeting with the top dog in the immigration office the next day, and we would know by noon whether or not we had to head out. I spent much of the night on my knees and nothing felt good about the situation—we didn't have the money, we were 12 hours away from the nearest international airport, we needed a Sunday flight—but it seemed there was not chance for anything else.  We were trusting that G-d had a reason for asking us to leave, but we were struggling to figure it out. 

The next morning, at about noon, we received a text from our Director saying "still in heavy negotiation, but things are looking hopeful.  Keep pr-ying."  And so we did, and so did you.  In KZ, it's all about who you know.  Well, our administrator had a friend who knew someone in the immigration office, who knew the top dog, who knew the head guy up in Astana (the capital) who worked on our behalf to work things out.  At about 1pm, we finally got the AMAZING news that we had been given a 90-day extension!  Nobody expected this, and once again our Father showed himself CLEARLY to our national friends—they were AMAZED!  And, so were we!  This cuts our contract a bit short, but is better than the alternative!  As it stands now, we have to head back to the states on May 29.

Friends, the were HUNDREDS pr-ying around the world for the outcome we didn't think possible.  How often do we doubt the power of prayer?  HE worked a miracle here today!  THANKS FOR PR-YING! 

HE kept us encouraged and positive through this, and reminded us over and over of his promises:  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers and authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the sp1r1tual forces in the heavenly realms."  And this one: "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds."  And this one: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your f@!th develops perseverance."

How good is my G-d?  So good.  So good. SO SO good.  How powerful is my G-d?  He moves mountains!

So, where does this leave us now?  All packed up and nowhere to go…and that's just fine with us..