Greetings in the name of the most High God who sent His only Son Jesus to save you and me. As I write this praise report I am humbled and stand in awe of the mighty God that we serve.
On Saturday, upon our return from Holland our team came back rejoicing and ready to take on the challenge to share the gospel with every person we met. However my 'high' spirits were lowered immediately as soon as I was held by the immigration officer interrogating me over the counter that I no longer had permission to enter Ireland! I was shocked and produced every piece of evidence that I had trying to explain to them that I have completed all the formalities required to live in Ireland. She highlighted to me that I had a 'single entry' and as a Pakistani passport holder I needed multiple entry visa stamped on my passport. As more officers started to gather around me, for a moment I felt like a criminal and thought that in a few moments I will be arrested. However God is faithful and I clearly explained to them that I was not informed by the GARDA (who issues permission to reside in the country). I knew my team mates were praying for me from a distance, so as I continued to probe them for alternative options since I was misguided, one of the officers suggested that they can let me enter with a "warning" and I should sort out the visa within a week. I thanked them and praised God for letting me out of the situation. I must confess I was scared and all shaken approached my team mates who were very concerned by this time. We all thanked God for timely help and proceeded to collect our baggage only to discover that the container containing our luggage never arrived so we had to leave the airport without our bags and the airline will deliver it us when it arrives. By this time I just wanted to get out of the airport and run to a corner and hide somewhere. And did I mention that I also had a cold which I got on the last day of the conference. Scared, sick and without baggage Mary ( my room-mate) and I arrived home safely.
I was delighted to come home and even more thrilled when saw the new dressing table in my room gifted by our sweet Landlord, John. I went to bed quite disturbed but grateful that things could have been worse. I picked up my diary and began to read since 2006 and as I read through the pages one after the other I felt my burden lifted and a strange peace engulf me. I slept very peacefully.
Hallelujah, that Sunday morning God woke me with a beautiful message from Genesis 40:15 that Joseph was in the dungeon however he did not complain and as a result of his attitude the Lord gave him prosperity in whatever he did. I decided that I will not be anxious and just praise Jesus. I did not want to let the enemy take away my joy. After all it is not about me, the central hero of this story is Jesus! So the focus is really on Him not me or my petty problems. He is able and more than able to accomplish all that concerns me. I also thank God for Mary since she prayed with me and really encouraged me. That evening our luggage arrived :-)
The next day we spent the day cleaning our house and had a productive day of just settling down, Tuesday was our first day at work so we were very excited. During the morning devotions Mike shared about loving one another so that other will know that we are Jesus' disciples. Very relevant yet requires perseverance. That evening we received the residence card and I was informed to go to Dublin to get the passport stamped. To cut a long story short there were lots of logistics required to travel to Dublin since it is 2 hours away from where we live. Well I thank the Lord for Alastair who got me the forms and prayed with me for the next day's challenges. As I left Roscommon, an elderly gentleman accompanied me to the train. I had a wonderful conversation with him. The highlight of today is that half way through the journey the rainbow came out and it was out all the way till I arrived in Dublin. People of God, I was reassured of my Lord's awesome promise that He is with me and I felt I had angels surrounding me. A couple escorted me to find a taxi to go to the immigration office and the visa was stamped within one hour. I can not thank God enough for His divine provision and protection through the day.
The story does not end here, today for the first time in my life I had the opportunity to share the gospel on the street with Sam and Mickey. Praise the Lord. Street preaching is cool guys! I know that seeds were sown and I got to share the salvation message with an atheist and (get this) a Pakistani muslin from Islamabad and gave them the gospel of John. How cool is that! I am excited even more to see 'my hero' Jesus glorified. I am jumping for joy and want to encourage you my beloved "come, taste and see that the Lord is good". This walk of faith is fun........HALLELUJAH.
Please pray for my short visit to Dubai as I travel tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. & arrive in Dubai 7:30 am. It is my Dad's 69th birthday on Saturday 6th September so lift him up in your prayers as well.
Blessings & you are in my prayers.
Leena :-)
If you die today, will you be with Jesus?
On Saturday, upon our return from Holland our team came back rejoicing and ready to take on the challenge to share the gospel with every person we met. However my 'high' spirits were lowered immediately as soon as I was held by the immigration officer interrogating me over the counter that I no longer had permission to enter Ireland! I was shocked and produced every piece of evidence that I had trying to explain to them that I have completed all the formalities required to live in Ireland. She highlighted to me that I had a 'single entry' and as a Pakistani passport holder I needed multiple entry visa stamped on my passport. As more officers started to gather around me, for a moment I felt like a criminal and thought that in a few moments I will be arrested. However God is faithful and I clearly explained to them that I was not informed by the GARDA (who issues permission to reside in the country). I knew my team mates were praying for me from a distance, so as I continued to probe them for alternative options since I was misguided, one of the officers suggested that they can let me enter with a "warning" and I should sort out the visa within a week. I thanked them and praised God for letting me out of the situation. I must confess I was scared and all shaken approached my team mates who were very concerned by this time. We all thanked God for timely help and proceeded to collect our baggage only to discover that the container containing our luggage never arrived so we had to leave the airport without our bags and the airline will deliver it us when it arrives. By this time I just wanted to get out of the airport and run to a corner and hide somewhere. And did I mention that I also had a cold which I got on the last day of the conference. Scared, sick and without baggage Mary ( my room-mate) and I arrived home safely.
I was delighted to come home and even more thrilled when saw the new dressing table in my room gifted by our sweet Landlord, John. I went to bed quite disturbed but grateful that things could have been worse. I picked up my diary and began to read since 2006 and as I read through the pages one after the other I felt my burden lifted and a strange peace engulf me. I slept very peacefully.
Hallelujah, that Sunday morning God woke me with a beautiful message from Genesis 40:15 that Joseph was in the dungeon however he did not complain and as a result of his attitude the Lord gave him prosperity in whatever he did. I decided that I will not be anxious and just praise Jesus. I did not want to let the enemy take away my joy. After all it is not about me, the central hero of this story is Jesus! So the focus is really on Him not me or my petty problems. He is able and more than able to accomplish all that concerns me. I also thank God for Mary since she prayed with me and really encouraged me. That evening our luggage arrived :-)
The next day we spent the day cleaning our house and had a productive day of just settling down, Tuesday was our first day at work so we were very excited. During the morning devotions Mike shared about loving one another so that other will know that we are Jesus' disciples. Very relevant yet requires perseverance. That evening we received the residence card and I was informed to go to Dublin to get the passport stamped. To cut a long story short there were lots of logistics required to travel to Dublin since it is 2 hours away from where we live. Well I thank the Lord for Alastair who got me the forms and prayed with me for the next day's challenges. As I left Roscommon, an elderly gentleman accompanied me to the train. I had a wonderful conversation with him. The highlight of today is that half way through the journey the rainbow came out and it was out all the way till I arrived in Dublin. People of God, I was reassured of my Lord's awesome promise that He is with me and I felt I had angels surrounding me. A couple escorted me to find a taxi to go to the immigration office and the visa was stamped within one hour. I can not thank God enough for His divine provision and protection through the day.
The story does not end here, today for the first time in my life I had the opportunity to share the gospel on the street with Sam and Mickey. Praise the Lord. Street preaching is cool guys! I know that seeds were sown and I got to share the salvation message with an atheist and (get this) a Pakistani muslin from Islamabad and gave them the gospel of John. How cool is that! I am excited even more to see 'my hero' Jesus glorified. I am jumping for joy and want to encourage you my beloved "come, taste and see that the Lord is good". This walk of faith is fun........HALLELUJAH.
Please pray for my short visit to Dubai as I travel tomorrow at 9:30 p.m. & arrive in Dubai 7:30 am. It is my Dad's 69th birthday on Saturday 6th September so lift him up in your prayers as well.
Blessings & you are in my prayers.
Leena :-)
If you die today, will you be with Jesus?
No comments:
Post a Comment