So. We had skipped down to the postbox and sent the application to Regent. A lovely dinner and trip to the cinema followed to celebrate.
Later on, once back in our flat, we looked out of the window after hearing a lorry outside to see that it was not a lorry, but in fact a fire engine... And a fireman from the fire engine was using a hose large enough to put out a factory fire to damp down what appeared to be a pretty serious postbox fire (it was as serious as these things could be). We have never descended 2 flights so fast... The fireman helpfully gave us a phone number we could call and comforted us saying, "Yeah, it was really burning when we got here, I doubt anything wasn't damaged." Great.
We were dejected, I was angry. Who sets a postbox on fire? What are the chances that the postbox right outside our flat that has never been on fire in the 2 something years that Suzanne has lived there would go on fire the very evening we post one of the most important things we would ever post? Tirade of questions. We were consoled by both sets of parents and set about getting everything in order again, cutting our losses.
The next morning Suzanne had a text from my father-in-law, Ray, saying to remember the fiery furnace in Daniel, that the men came out without a single hair singed, or even the smell of smoke on them. So we held on to that.
We continued to get together the new application and informed referees and Regent's admissions department that they could expect some heavily burnt mail at best, or something fresh a bit later than intended at worst. The distinguishing feature between the old application and new was the presence of the application processing fee. We decided to hold out hope that it would arrive. I guess in some ways this is speculation, but I'm telling you the story as it happened in our lives, we couldn't follow the mail... All we know is that all the original mail arrived intact, this is having it been confirmed by Royal Mail that just about everything was destroyed in the fire and if not, very badly damaged. And yes, our mail was definitely in the postbox...
In a very short space of time I heard back from Regent, a yes! We believe that God has been confirming his call on our lives and this particular move through many things, many of them small. I'm just trying to share the big picture... I hope so far through this story that you have been amazed by God, by his love and goodness. Trust me, there is no reason why God should show me love and goodness, but he does and that is amazing. God is gracious.
Suzanne had her final placement for uni up in Inverness. We were going to be apart during the week as she would be staying in the nurse's accommodation there. This wasn't ideal, especially as placements can be a stressful time. But the placement turned out to be amazing, the girl really loved it! And this, Suzanne's placement supervisor was a lovely Christian lady, from Canada, recently returned from a year working as a physiotherapist in... VANCOUVER!! The whole placement really was a blessing, and has totally boosted Suzanne's confidence as far as her ability to practice as a physio in Canada goes. And she got a 1st for the placement, bonus.
So this pretty much brings us to where we've been the last few days, at the mercy of the Canadian High Commission. We missed one flight, which we've had to call a financial write-off, and have had to spend days that were supposed to be spent getting settled in to life in Vancouver pacing the streets of Milngavie. It's been frustrating. But in the midst of it all we have never lost that sense of God's peace or that this move is indeed a 'God-thing'. As we walked last night, we reflected on how time and time again during the whole process we have known God's favour. We have known that God is big and able to take care of the most ridiculous things. And maybe, just maybe, God knew that we were not going to get our visas in time. And maybe God knew that we are fragile souls who forget good things easily, but remember the bad, so maybe, just maybe he gave us an unforgettable path to walk, so that in the face of this trial, where the answer to our prayers was not necessarily what we wanted, we would know that we are in our Father's will, and we would know that he is more than able to get us to Vancouver. Praise God. God is love.
We've been in Vancouver for a bit over a week now, in fact this is the 10th full day since arriving. And all the drama, the stress, the difficulties, the emotional numbness... all of it seems a distant memory. Vancouver is a great city, there's so much to do, so much to see. We will probably only scratch the surface of it during our time here.
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