The ways of God are more than mysterious sometimes...they are frustrating and confusing. You commit. You sacrifice. And you wait and wait. To me, our desire to go to India was God-given. The circumstances surrounding our decision to go there came together so nicely. Why would God want us to "waste" time here in Virginia when we could be helping orphans?

When we were in D.C. on Monday, I scrounged up a smidgen of hope when the lady behind the desk said, "Oh, I'm sure your visa will come back by this evening." As we walked around the zoo, biding our time, I couldn't help but envision the awe I would feel toward God's power when our visas finally appeared after two failed applications. What a testimony!

We arrived back at the Travisa office around 4 pm and waited there until 7 pm. At first, the delay was invigorating. All around us were people in the same position. There were the retired threesome who were planning to attend a wedding in Chennai. There was the Indian business man travelling to Gujarat. There was a new mother who had come to D.C. to visit her parents. While here, a local doctor advised her not to travel so late in her pregnancy. Now an American citizen, the baby had to get a visa in order to go back home. The hours ticked by, and with each bicycle courier from the embassy, we would all look at each other and smile. Maybe this was the moment.  Eventually it became the moment for everyone in that room except us. We were thankful that our new compatriots didn't get to see us dissapointedly standing at the counter.

Now, here we are again...waiting for the embassy to make a decision. I'm trying to remind myself that God must have something better planned for us; thus, I should rejoice. Or maybe it's an attack from Satan. Still I should rejoice to make his evil work of none effect and give God room to work His creativity. This mode of rejoicing is hard to maintain. We have so many questions. But what else can we do but embrace the mystery?