at the embassy

today was hell. well, not really. i'm quite sure that hell is a horribly rotten place that cannot possibly be compared with today. but sometimes people use the term "hell" to describe an unpleasant experience. and today was unpleasant.

i got a horrible feeling in my gut last night that something was wrong. and something was wrong indeed, turns out, i can only get a three week to thirty day visa at the airport in addis ababa, so i needed to get my visa before i left. i came to this realization at 11am. the embassy closed at 2pm. i couldn't find my extra passport photo, i had to drive to the awaa office to pick up my application and other necessary documents, and i had to do all this in less than 3 hours.

now, i'm not one for long stories when my back hurts, it's hot, i still haven't finished packing, and i have a bloody blister on the back of my heel. but without trying to extend the story too much, i have to say i was terrified. all the worst case scenarios in the book were racing through my head at three billion miles per hour and my stomach was twisted in knots (and i hadn't eaten anything all day and i hadn't had any coffee and i had bad dreams all night)

usually when stuff like this happens two things happen. i cry like a baby, and i pray. but to be honest, i was so sick to my stomach i couldn't do either. the only prayer i could muscle out was, "oh, jesus, please... jesus.... don't let me hurl." so i called in the backup, texted "help!" to a bunch of my sisters and bros in christ. they came through for me for real, and peace immediately started to flow through my heart at least, making its way slowly to my stomach.

then i found my passport photo. hurrah!

kristen hansen (my wonderful angel) was waiting for me at the awaa office with all my paperwork ready to go, so i grabbed it and followed her directions to the ethiopian embassy over on "every embassy in the world" street.

ok.... this story is getting too long. i didn't get the visa, but everything worked out. it just means that i have to get my visa there, it might be more complicated, but that's just another reason to trust God. oh! and i met a lovely ethiopian lady named lula, who gave me her number and told me to call her. and there was this beautiful little girl with a poof-ball on her head who kept smiling at me and giving me high fives and fist bumps and i was totally in love with her.

basically, my wonderful trip to embassy land really accomplished one thing: it gave me a peace of mind about my trip again. i am still nervous, but i am no longer freaking out. i know it's thanks to your prayers.... so thanks guys. like, really, thank you so much. and i would like to take this moment to say:

God, you are awesome. but not like, you put on sunglasses awesome. like, you own the whole world awesome.