G’day y’all!
A couple weeks ago I applied for my Australian Student Visa and when I did so, I was informed that the visa would take 49-65 days to be processed. Then, a few days later the processing time was increased to 65-85 days. Since my plan was to leave in the first week of March, I was disappointed that it would now take much longer to go to Australia. Still, I planned to be packed and ready to leave on March 5th and trust God to sort out the rest.
I found out that there is a visitor visa that could get me to Australia, and then I would just wait for the other one to be granted out there, but I wasn’t sure if that was the right way to go. So, last week I was talking with a friend from Perth and we both asked God if He wanted me to come to Australia as planned, in the beginning of March, or if I should just stay here, in Texas, and wait for my Student Visa to be approved. God showed me
Nehemiah 1:9: “return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.”
Nehemiah 2:6 “Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, ‘How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?’ It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.”
I really could see that God was telling me that He would bring me to Perth at the time that I had planned, that “it pleased the King to send me”. My friend and I both felt like God would take care of the visa and I wouldn’t need to apply for another one. Later that same afternoon, I received an email from the Australian government informing me that my Student Visa had been granted…. 65 days earlier than scheduled! It’s been incredible to see how much God is doing while being in this process of returning to full time mission work. My flights are booked for the 7th of March. I am flying from Austin, TX to LA, California to Sydney, Australia to Perth, Western Australia. After, 24 hours of travel and 14 time zone changes, I will arrive in Perth on the 9th. I am so excited!
When I arrive in Perth I will spend a week working in the kitchen on the YWAM base, because the ministry that I am joining is currently on outreach in the aboriginal communities. After that first week in the kitchen, however, I will start my staff training and will be able to join Revive Ministry which focuses on reaching marginalized youth who have been pushed to the edges of society. I love that this ministry helps people in such practical, basic ways, but also brings the hope, restoration, and significance that can only come from knowing Jesus. Joining this ministry is very exciting for me and it focuses on the passion that God has already put in my heart to help those who are overlooked. I am also looking forward to staffing a Discipleship Training School in the near future. That would include being able to help raise up the next group of missionaries and helping to disciple young people who are learning to grow closer in their relationship with God.
Thank you so much to those of you who are supporting me and praying for me! It is unbelievable how God has been so clearly moving and how He has brought us together to go on this adventure with Him. I have enough finances to get to Perth and to get settled in but I am still trusting for some more support on a monthly basis. Please pray about possibly supporting this mission financially! Also, keep a watch out for my next blog post about settling down in Perth, within 2 weeks or so.
God Bless
-Nicci
I hope you had a safe and uneventful flight! The adventure begins!
Thank you! Yes I did, safe flight and great layover in Sydney which I spent on the beach!