Work Visa -- APPROVED!!!!!!

What a week!!! It started off to be such a calm week last week with a few little paperwork things to send off. One: application for a job that was intense! It was such a long thorough application just to apply. Two: Government Tax papers that I had done wrong to start with, so I was pleading my case hoping they would be kind. Not too tough to get those in on time. Well...of course as I thought that thought a little envelope comes in the mail.

Immigration NZ.

I knew it wasn't thick enough to have my passport which meant that my visa was not approved. I was right. They were holding my visa and needed 8-10 different things from us to prove that we were really married. It isn't so bad, but the fact that I had about one week to make sure I was legal, and I had already applied for jobs I was hoping to get interviews for made me almost lose it. I say "almost" because other than one moment on the phone with Amy where a few tears fell I made it through the day relatively stress free. I called people in NZ and in the States and asked them to stop their day and write a letter saying I was really married to Sam. Thank you to those of you that did that!!!! It meant so much that you were so quick to get that stuff to me. I was able to write all the things they wanted (a detailed chronological journey of our dating/married life, dates/reasons of travel since we met, short and long term goals and printed out emails back and forth....) It was quite a busy day but I managed to get it all in, print it all off and make it to the post office by 10am the next day so they would have it the next day.

Quite a stressful week, but I saw some growth in my stress levels. I let the tears come when they did and kept typing away knowing they were just tears and they would pass. This was one of those week that things felt like they were starting to come a little right. Sam worked all week with some friends, I nanny'd a few days and we both saw our goal to get out on our own within reach.

We still aren't there yet and yesterday we had a VERY long day with miscommunication and family which are never fun, but especially not when it's your new family. It will all work itself out, but even in the midst of it I again just love watching my husband and how his mind works. We have made the choice to be together and that means that we have a few things that are still being worked out...places to live, steady jobs, cars... In the 7 short months I have been married I can't imagine being married to anyone else. Getting married, moving countries, having a little emotional/relational conflict and having to get on our feet while living at my in-laws and trying to start our business has been something I think that we will look back and shake our head in wonder that we are even alive still, much less still in love with each other. But at the end of the day I married my best friend and we work hard at our friendship. We started out friends and figuring out how to make it work in Fiji and now it is fun to continue that friendship and make life work here. After all was said and done this week I was sitting on the couch next to Sam and couldn't think of anywhere else I would rather be. The details are hard, the pieces aren't always fitting together as quickly as we would like and I am so overwhelmed some days I can't even remember what day it is much less if I got anything accomplished, but we are figuring it out and we are seeing God more and more in our journey than I ever thought we would.

Now...on to getting a job that is steady and what we need. Pray with us that I find a job that is easy to get to with one or no car (depending on the day) and that Sam would have tons of work at the mechanic place he is picking up extra work at, and that we would have more and more clients. Lots to pray for, but Sam reminded me this week that we need to begin asking God and asking others to ask for God us in this season. I think I hit panic mode and am trying relentlessly to figure out how to get in our own place, get jobs, launch our business and still find money to get my gray colored!!! (by the way, thanks MOM for that little Vday gift so I can get it colored!!!) Sam was right though, we need to begin asking God again as we realize what He is doing in us and where He is leading us.

Here are some big prayers you can pray with us:

Money to get into our own place
Finding our own place
Jobs to sustain our own place :)
A car to go to our jobs that will help us sustain our own place :)
Photography work to open up for Sam in the advertising/marketing world
(Sam had an INCREDIBLE meeting with a top photographer in NZ who LOVED his works and thinks its some of the best out there right now and asked him to assist him in his upcoming projects!!!)

Thanks guys! Being far away is hard some weeks and this last week I was ready for a little old fashion "you can be what ever you want to be" & "you can achieve any dream you want" americanness. Kiwi culture doesn't give much room for chasing or following your dreams, or for the fact that they don't happen over night. Some days that part of the culture is a bit much for me to take. I talked to my mom and a couple of friends this week and was reminded that we can make it and we will make it. There is an overall "you can't make it" mentality here. That is until you do make it and then there is a new thing you can't do well. Kiwi's in general don't like to praise or allow you to think too highly of yourself. Which might not be such a bad thing sometimes, but some days I quite frankly just don't want to be "put in my place." I want to think that we will make it and believe that we will suceed far beyond what we could ever imgaine. I have to keep believing that. God created us for more than just this moment. Our dream one day would be to have the finances and "in" to get into places like Haiti and help bring the untold stories of people's lives to the world. Ond day we will do that and in the mean time we will fix cars, nanny other people's kids and work at McDonalds and even live at our in laws if we have to. I just don't want to stop believing!

I digress in passion...sorry back to Immigration and Work Visa's: I too will join the ranks of working people in NZ and start on the next portion of immigration....residency. Who would have thought??!?!

Thanks for praying with us and for the constant support in emails and messages and facebook updates and even real live letters in my mail box!!! It is so good for me to know that we have such a support system cheering for us. And if you haven't checked out Sam's site lately go take a look at his new stuff...

http://www.samuelackland.com/