Jehovah Jireh

I have had so many reasons to praise God for His provision as regards my internship. Of course, just having it in the first place is amazing. In a bureaucratic snafu (which I’ve now come to expect), I actually received a rejection email the same day I received a packet of information telling me I was going to Latvia. Anyway, it seems they had over 4,900 applicants for not even close to half that many internships. How did I end up with one of them? Beyond “the grace of God,” I have no idea.

But that is not my favorite bit of provision, really. That one was astounding in magnitude, my favorite is… ironic. Anyone who says God does not have a sense of humor is dead wrong :). Beyond providing me an internship, God has also had to provide a way for me to remain in it. You see, I am financially fairly well off, but I’m not, as I think you all know, independently wealthy :). I cannot afford to work overseas all summer and be paid nothing. I certainly can’t afford to do that and return to school next semester. So God’s solution was…?

It was funny, that’s what it was :). I have to smile every time I think of it. Remember my car – the one that got totaled at the beginning of last semester? Right… well… due to the grace of God, the unfortunate placement of our dear Nathan, and the generosity of USAA, my car turned into money :). In fact, my car turned into more money than I paid for it – definitely more than I could have sold it for. This money is, ostensibly, for the purchasing of another car. However, I currently don’t want another car (I’m not going to be able to take it to Latvia with me) and I do want money. Badly. So, there sits the money, happy in a bank account at home, easily sufficient for buying plane tickets and for living on over the summer.

God has been good to me in so many ways…

Inching Forward

One small step for me... and an even smaller one for mankind :).

I finally got word from the embassy today that I really can go ahead and get a ticket and that they'll have a place for me to stay this summer. Terribly reassuring news, that :).

Now I'm finally getting excited about the whole thing. Don't get me wrong - I was happy about it before, too. But now it seems more sure and immediate. Before I didn't know when I was leaving or where I'd be living. Now I've moved just that much closer to making the dream reality. I can now begin to make other plans (which, if you haven't figured out already, is something I love to do :)). Also, there were papers and exams in the immediate future before, which made thinking about a summer in Latvia rather a luxury. With most of those out of the way (who cares about finals anway, right?), I can devote more time to the planning.

' Course, now that I can think about the trip, one of the first things that comes to mind is: STUDY RUSSIAN. In the coming weeks I'll hopefully be able to dust off my Russian Bible, load up my Russian computer program, and burn the language more solidly into my synapses.

So I'm currently in a state of joyous and busy anticipation. I look forward to much exploration and many adventures this summer - both in and out of the embassy. My only regret in all this is that y'all won't be there to share it with me....