The World is Just Awesome

I saw this commercial on my friend Traci's blog and I fell in love with it! Not only is it musical, but it also makes me think about all of the things this planet has to offer. Isn't God just awesome for making the world so awesome? :)

Approved!

Well, if you can't tell from the title.. Rod's visa was approved yesterday! Now all we have to do is wait for his passport with the visa to arrive in the mail.

For those of your interested, I'll tell the story, for those not interested, feel free to skip down to the pictures!

The interview wasn't difficult at all, but I sure was nervous! We got to the embassy about an hour early, but we couldn't go in until 30 minutes before our interview time. It's a good thing we got there early though, because we were number 2 in line for our interview! When we were called, we went to a window where a lady took all of the forms we brought in, and the supporting evidence we brought. She told us that we had forgotten to fill out two copies of one form and my heart started pounding! However, she just gave us the form to fill out right there. So, Rod started writing and the lady started handing me back all of the evidence we had collected.. without even looking at it! Oh well, better safe than sorry I suppose. After Rod had filled out everything the lady told us to take our seats and they would call our names again. So, we waited a few minutes and then we were called to a different window. When we got to the new window, this time there was a man, and he asked us a few questions. First he asked Rod if he wanted to do the interview in English or Spanish and Rod told him Spanish. So, the guy starts to asking ME questions in Spanish. Then he asked me (in Spanish), "How long were you traveling in Chile?" This made me really confused because... I LIVE in Chile. So, I think I asked him to repeat himself but he asked the same question. By this time I was so nervous that I wasn't able to speak Spanish, except, I asked him (in Spanish) if he could speak to me in English. He kind of laughed at me and repeated the exact same question.. which I didn't understand in English either, because I've been living in Chile, not traveling. So, I had to explain my complete history of when I first came to Chile in 2001 with AFC, then I came back in 2003 for two months.. yadda yadda yadda. I'm sure he got more than he asked for, but he seemed happy with my response by the time I got to present day. I think he was just happy that I had finished talking. Then he said to Rod, "So, you've never been to the U.S." And Rod told him that he had, in fact, been to the U.S. last year. The guy looked surprised and started pulling something up on his computer and he was like, "Oooh. Ok. You're approved." When he said it like that, my mouth dropped open! I couldn't believe after all that we've been through to try to get the visa that it was THAT easy. I was so excited that I seriously wanted to hand him the wedding invitation that we brought as evidence and invite him to the wedding! But, I figured it probably wasn't the best idea. Then he gave us a slip to fill out so that Rod could have the visa mailed to him and we were on our merry way! I still can't believe it!

You aren't allowed to take pictures (or even take a camera) inside the embassy, but I wanted to capture some part of this experience so I could post it on the blog.

Here is Rod outside the embassy after being approved.

Here's me with Rod. Sorry, we had to do the self-portrait thing, but I wanted a picture with both of us. Do we look excited??
We decided it would be appropriate to celebrate by going out for some good ole' American food! Applebees is the best American restaurant that you can find in Chile (in my opinion) so we went there and celebrated with lunch and brownies for dessert! Woo hoo! Can't wait to really celebrate on August 2nd though!
THANK YOU to everyone for your prayers! And Save-The-Date for August 2nd, 2008, OFFICIALLY!

The Final Stretch...

Hello! Well, it's almost here! Rod has his visa interview this Monday, May 5th at 1:30pm (12:30pm Texas time)! This week we've been double checking all of the forms and organizing everything. Today we're going to print some pictures as further "proof" of our relationship, and then we should be good to go! We're both so nervous about the interview, so please pray for us and be thinking about us on Monday! Rod and I realized yesterday that it was exactly 3 months until the wedding! Unbelievable!! We're so excited, and definitely ready to have this interview out of the way!


Last Saturday, two of our friends, Christian and Diana got married! It was my second wedding to go to in Chile and the first where both bride and groom are Chilean! I had a lot of fun. I don't have many pictures, but I wanted to post some so this post wouldn't be so boring!

Here we are before the wedding. We don't have many opportunites to get dressed-up, so of course we had to get a picture of it!! (And, I know, my hair is SUPER long. I don't really think about it until I see it in pictures! I'm planning a drastic cut for after the wedding!)

Here is Rod, with his brother Cristian. We are hoping and praying that Cristian, and his girlfriend, Perla, can come to the wedding in August!


Here is Cristian Rebolledo (hopeful bestman in our wedding), Christian Moore (the groom), Scott Emery (missionary & future groomsman for Rod) and my fiancé!

And here we are with the happy couple, Diana and Christian. It was such a great wedding! I loved it.. but, I love weddings!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!! I'm hoping to have some more after our interview! Again, please pray for us!

Visa Update!

Sorry for the long absence from blogworld! I was waiting so that I could post some pictures with my blog of Rod and me at Easter. Unfortunately, we looked horrible and I refuse to post them on here for all the world to see! Ha. As you might have guessed, I'm back in Santiago now, working away and spending time with Rod! But, I have absolutely wonderful news about the visa! We received our 2nd "Notice of Action" back on March 4th, which meant that our case was being forwarded to the United States Embassy in Santiago. And recently, we received a letter giving us an interview date of May 5, 2008 at 1:30pm (Santiago time)! At the interview they will give us an official yes or no (hopefully a yes)! So, things have moved a lot faster than we ever expected! Which is an answered prayer! Another great thing about things moving so quickly is that I will be able to go to the interview with Rod, because I'm not leaving Santiago until the end of May! Yea! What an experience!

Just to help you understand a little more about the visa process, here is what Rod has to do before the interview:

• Gather papers proving he will have sponsors in the U.S. that will make sure he doesn't go on welfare.
• Fill out visa application.
• Gather evidence proving we have an actual relationship and he's not just doing this to get a visa.
• Medical Appointment, including a physical, chest x-ray, shots, and an AIDS test.
• Get a print out of a Criminal Background Check.
• Get a copy of his birth certificate and have it translated.
• Pay for the interview.

Whew! That's a lot of stuff, at least he has about a month to do it. Please keep praying for us!

Sorry it took me so long to update you all on this! And again, sorry for no pictures... but.. if you want to see pictures of the CUTEST little girl in the world, you can go here: http://theworleys.blogspot.com. (There are also some pictures of me and my bridesmaids too.) Hope you are all having a wonderful day! Thanks for your prayers, and keep praying, especially around May 5th!

Photo Survey

I saw this on a friend-of-a-friend's blog and thought it would be fun! Here are the rules: Answer each question. Take each answer and type it into Photobucket (http://www.photobucket.com/).
Take any picture from the first page of results and post. (click on the picture and copy the HTML code) Don't explain, it's funnier that way!

My age on my next birthday:


Place you would like to travel:


Favorite Place:


One of my favorite things to do:


Favorite Food:


Favorite Candy:


Favorite Color:


Town you were born in:


The Town in which you live:


Name of Pet:


Name of past/present boyfriend:


My nickname:


My middle name:


A Bad Habit:


Your First Job:


Your Grandmother's Name:


Favorite Song:


Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about me!

Sneezing Panda

Just thought I'd share a funny video! Hope you're having a good day!

Engagement Pics

Well, wedding plans are in full swing! We are making plans to have the wedding August 2nd, 2008 at good ole Airport Freeway CoC. Why, you might ask, do I say ''making plans" and not just "getting married" on August 2nd? Well, if you notice my ticker up above, you'll see we've started the looooong process of getting a fiancé visa. Today I mailed in a big packet full of applications and information about me and Rod in order to be approved for Rod to apply for the visa at the U.S. embassy in Santiago. Now, it's almost guaranteed that we'll get the visa, however, there is no guarantee on how long it will take. So, if you're reading this please add us to your prayer list and cross your fingers! The first step will take the longest (i.e. you can't even call to ask why it's taking so long unless it's been six months), I'm hoping for 4 months at the most. But once our application gets sent to the embassy in Santiago (the second step), I think things will go a little faster. I'll be sure to keep you posted!

And now....

Engagement Pictures! A friend of ours has a really nice camera and was kind enough to take some pictures of me and Rod before I left Santiago for Christmas. We went to the municipality building a few blocks from my apartment. It was a beautiful background, but unfortunately my favorites were the close up pics, so you don't really get to see much of the scenery. Oh well, enjoy!

Miss Ava

I just couldn't resist putting this picture up. Isn't my niece beautiful?!? I thought this was a cute picture. I actually took the picture, so she was smiling at me! :) What a sweetums!