Looking Back to Look Ahead
Sitting alone in a rental car near Sweetgrass, Montana, on July 20, 2015, I reached for my phone to send a couple of texts sharing how God had answered prayers. After driving north from Great Falls to the Coutts border crossing earlier that morning, I had waited in suspense for a Canadian immigration officer to review my paperwork. Although my individual case did not perfectly fit the bureaucratic cubbyhole, the officer had granted me a three-year work permit allowing me to work in Alberta for a Christian nonprofit organization known as Hope Mission. By opening a door and leading me through it, God had once again demonstrated His faithfulness.
Looking back to that moment over seven years ago, I recall how God worked in so many surrounding details. Accepting the position with Hope Mission approximately two months before had set a chain of logistics into motion which included wrapping up my job in Chandler, Arizona, and packing my belongings to be moved to my parents’ home in Texas. Amidst moving preparations, I learned from the Hope Mission HR department that any work permit I might obtain would expire at the same time as my passport. With only a year left on my current passport, applying for a new one suddenly hit the top of my to-do list. Since passport renewals are generally processed faster than first time applications, I did not expedite the process.
Around the middle of June, a friend and I drove some of my belongings back to Texas in time for me to make a special art-related trip to Georgia with my parents. From there I flew to Utah to assist my friends at the Three Seven’s Ranch with a couple of their summer horsemanship camps. I hoped to reach Alberta by the middle of July and transition into running the horsemanship portion of a summer day camp.
My plans continued to fall into place until I reached Utah. As I had communicated with my new employers in Alberta, they had relayed the near impossibility of obtaining a work permit at the Edmonton airport. Although plans surrounding how I would get to a land crossing drastically changed almost up to the last minute, Hope Mission finally advised that I fly to Great Falls, drive to the border, drive back to Great Falls, and then fly to Edmonton.
I was willing to move forward with the plan, but I could not ignore one roadblock. My passport had still not arrived in Texas. Hoping to expedite it, I made several phone calls and eventually learned it had cleared the point of no return. In other words, rushing the document was impossible. I still hoped it would arrive a few days before my departure, but ultimately knew that if God wanted me in Alberta on the current schedule, He would provide.
On Wednesday, July 15, my sister-in-law met the mail carrier at the mailbox, received my passport, readdressed the package for Utah, and put my document back into the hands of the postal service. On Saturday morning I finally received my long-awaited passport!
Just a little over twenty four hours later, I flew out of Salt Lake City for Denver. After arriving, I navigated the terminal and found the gate scheduled for the Great Falls departure. In the middle of my rather solitary adventure, God had a surprise waiting. I found a friend, Gail, waiting for the same flight!
Later when we landed in Great Falls, I got to say hello to Gail’s husband and met the manager of the Bell Cross Ranch who had also come to pick up Gail. They graciously helped me with my luggage. Facing the unknowns of visiting the U.S.-Canadian border, I found myself especially thankful to the Lord for this unexpected meeting of friends.
Around 7:00 the next morning I headed my rental car north on Interstate 15 toward Sweetgrass. The traffic was light, the day was beautiful, and despite the unknowns, I thoroughly enjoyed the approximately one-and-a-half-hour drive. I had been praying that the Lord would give me a reasonable immigration officer, and although the first officer was rather intimidating, the man who handled my paperwork was professional yet willing to work with my individual case. As he wrapped up my paperwork, he printed out a three-year work permit and stapled it inside my passport. Three years ─ the amount of time I had hoped for! I was so thankful.
After sharing the good news with a few people, I headed back down the interstate toward Great Falls. With my rental car returned and airport security cleared, I sat down at my gate around 15 to 20 minutes before my flight boarded. When I walked onto the plane, the stewardess and I greeted each other with surprise. The same crew that had flown me into Great Falls the night before was flying me back to Denver.
My flight into Edmonton touched down so late that night that my passport was stamped July 21, 2020. I had entered Canada twice in less than twenty-four hours. Well past midnight I arrived at Jasper House, a Hope Mission property in downtown Edmonton, where I was scheduled to spend the night. Despite the late hour, a Hope Mission intern named Tiffany gave me a warm welcome at the door. Little did either of us guess at the time that she would become my friend and co-worker in the months ahead.
As I look back on how the Lord provided for me to begin my work in Alberta, I am reminded that although uncertainties often lie ahead of each of us, God will faithfully make His will clear and open the doors for His purposes to be accomplished.
One of my brother’s sermons a couple of years ago referenced the children of Israel and challenged me to imagine how they must have felt as they reached the shore of the Red Sea and glanced back to see the Egyptian army amassing behind them! As we face seasons where challenges press from every side, and uncertainties seem to stretch like an ocean before us, we can all benefit from taking a moment to remind ourselves how God has worked in the past. Exodus relates how God literally provided a path through the sea. Opening my journal reminds me how God directed and provided over seven years ago. Through His Word coupled with His prior leading in my life, God renews my confidence that He holds every detail of the future in His hands.
