visa submitted !

Over the next few weeks, please be praying for my visa to be granted favorably and quickly. I only have a month and a week until I begin my travel, so delays with the visa would complicate my plans considerably!

To complete my visa application, I was required to attend a biometric scanning appointment- the only locations made available for this service were New York or Honolulu... I chose the latter, for obvious reasons! However, travel to Honolulu still requires flying, so my friend Jennifer volunteered to come along to make a fun day trip of my errand; we booked the tickets and hopped on a plane a couple days later.

We used the commuter terminal for a cheaper fare, which put us on this prop plane for the forty minute hop over to the neighboring island of Oahu.

We headed to my appointment with plenty of time- or so it seemed- but the bus took longer than estimated and we found ourselves running (literally sprinting) around the outside of various unmarked administrative buildings trying to find the correct suite. I was praying and running...and praying some more... when just minutes out from the end of my appointment slot Jennifer spotted the right building entrance. 

I barely made it. I was sweaty and disheveled, but I made it- praise the Lord!

The biometric scanning was quick and efficient; I received the stamp I needed for my visa application and went out for a celebratory meal with Jennifer nearby in Waikiki before catching another late bus and running to catch our flight home. The trip was short and rushed and a little tense- but ultimately a success!

I mailed my visa application and today received postal confirmation that the package has been received by the consulate in New York. This is the last major hurdle in my journey toward Oxford. Please be lifting this visa application in your prayers- that it would be granted without hindrance or delay. 

Thank you!

the momentum has begun in a serious way

A glance at my countdown calendar has just informed me that I leave in 54 days!!!

The summer is flying by.

summer reading & more

Its July now, and preparations for school this fall are picking up serious momentum! I received my college reading list and am several chapters into the first few books; meanwhile my visa process has been initiated and will soon require more of my attention. In fact, from what I can find out at this point, my visa application will require me to fly to the neighboring island of Oahu for biometric data services in about two weeks! And I already  have a doctor appointment there this week as well. Multiple trips to Oahu are just the beginning of the items I am slotting into my calendar - it is filling up with reading assignments, ministry commitments, all kinds of errands. 

Iced coffee- my favorite way to start these hot July mornings

A couple of my exciting reads! My dad jokes that he gets bored just reading the titles;) I've really enjoyed the content so far ... makes me even more excited to study this fall!