The Funny Thing About Faith...

There is something to be said about faith.  That something is, once you claim to have it, it will immediately be tested, so watch your words!  :)  This entire process has been a lesson in faith that had changed me tremendously.  It began last November and continues to this very second.  It's easy to assume that in the process of the journey my part has always been done and that I'm on top of things.  Things have fallen through just as easily as they have come together.  However, if we base all our decisions on the things that have come together, they are likely to fall apart.  I'm not being a cynic, I'm just saying that if we always rely on those concrete, tangible things, are we really exercising a huge amount of faith? For me it was all about baby steps. I needed things to be worked out before, say, I quit my job. Seriously Steph, don't be such a chicken!  I know, right!?  So, I thought things were set and I quit my job and everything I thought was in place fell through.  Enter desperate FaceBook plea for a renter!!  Enter funding crisis...I have additional funding, I don't, I do, I don't....living off savings, gonna get a part time job....I have, have, have the funding T-minus one week and counting.  Needless to say, I didn't post during this time as it would have been a bunch of whimpering and blubbering about, well, faith.  OOPS!   Then there was a Visa delay. Apparently you need to be finger printed or something ridiculous like that, in order to verify your identity if you want to live in another country...Anywho!  After canceling tickets, rebooking, housing being set and then falling through, I left!  There were a few times I wondered if this was just me trying to push my agenda and make my plans happen; but I will say most definitely, that this is where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be doing.  

Leaving...And More On Prayer

I left the US with no accommodations awaiting me on the other side.  As I said before, things fell through last minute, however, I wasn't overly concerned (that may be the Prozac, just saying!).  Merilyn, the same Merilyn that has been praying with me and for me this entire process, as well as Johanna and Bryan saw me off at the airport.  Merilyn prayed that I would meet people to help me along the way.  She also prayed that I wouldn't talk to strange men?!  Apparently she's been talking to my parents about the time I befriended a wino at Lake Lowell when I was five.  Needless to say, I only encountered amazingly helpful and generous people.  
Let me break this down for you...can I get a beat!  Kidding! 
On the trip from Boise to San Francisco I sat beside the amazing Maryanne.  She was returning home after four years of living in Budapest.  She was stopping over in Boise to see friends and hadn't even made it home yet.  She has lived in Russia, India, Hungry and a few other places.  She is single and has moved all over the world by herself.  She works for the U.S. Embassy and had so much great advice to impart on my willing ears!  What a blessing!!  At this point I began to see Merilyn's prayers unfolding and the Lord's hand around me.  
I made my connecting flight with no trouble.  On the flight to Frankfurt I sat in the very last row of the plane.  There were four seats across and the middle two were empty; on the other end was Jim.  He is a flight attendant and was flying back to Cologne from California. He is originally from Seattle and he and his partner Toby now live in Cologne because they like the pace of life there.  Jim was so friendly and incredibly helpful.  It didn't hurt that he knew all the attendants on the plane.  He gave me drink vouchers, this incredible amenities kit that he swiped from First Class, as well as a few glasses of wine.  Oh, the Lord provides and I'm not just talking about the wine! :) Jim told me that when I got off the plane in London there would be a tourism booth that could help book a hotel.  He also gave me a standing invitation to visit Cologne, which I intend to do.  
My flight to London was uneventful, but was really a time for me to process everything.  I got off the plane and my bags were waiting... does this really happen, I changed planes three times!?!?!  Hand of God.  I then went to the tourism counter where I met Faith....yeah, I know right!?!  Faith booked my hotel, gave me directions from the Tube station to my hotel and sent me on my way.  She was kind, beautiful and very helpful.  
I was hesitant to take my enormous suitcases on the Tube, but Faith said it would be okay. For the most part it was.  At this point I'd like to tell you that my suitcases initially weighted 70 and 56 pounds.  I downsized at the airport, and with Bryan's help weighed and weighed and weighed my suitcases until they were the right poundage.  Lets just say that paying $600 for a second suitcase that's overweight will put things into perspective QUICKLY!!  
I got off at my stop and was feeling confident as I navigated the crowded Tube station.  Oh humility, I have missed you!  I turned the corner and was confronted by humility herself in the physical form of two flights of stairs.  I took one step and tried to drag my suitcases behind me and came out of my shoe and was pulled back to the bottom step immediately.  So I stood there sweating, yep, that's about it, I felt like Cinder"smelly".  I know, bad joke!   I was considering taking one up the stairs and going back for the other one, when a group of Portuguese Middle Schoolers came upon me and carried my bags up the stairs.  Yes, it took a literal herd of middle schoolers to get these suckers up the stairs.  Very humbling.  I was incredibly thankful, to say the least.  I got directions from the attendant in the Tube stations and was headed for my hotel.  At least I thought.  I turned and turned and found myself lost quicker than I realized.  I stopped to ask a woman and she had no idea what the Lancaster Hotel was.  Then Gemma, a Nurse, who was just getting off work, and happened to overhear, asked me the address to the place I was looking for.  I lost my shit and in response, Gemma whipped out her phone, took one of my bags and we were off to my hotel.  It took her a few calls and the stopping of a few strangers before the hotel was found.  I am eternally grateful for Gemma.  If I see her again, I will buy her a pint...or four.  
Needless to say, prayer is real and Merilyn can bring the rain!!! :)  I know she tells me that it isn't true, but I'm convinced she has God's direct line...on speed dial!  :)
I begin orientation tomorrow, but I feel that I have already been given more valuable information than words can express.