求他按着他丰盛的荣耀，藉着他的灵，叫你们心里的力量刚强起来，
Eph 3:16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
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Emma申请签证的时间是4月初，刚刚生下David，我们开始准备材料。一切齐备以后就递交了，心里没有什么挂念的地方。
When Emma began to apply F1 visa, it was the beginning of April, when we just had our baby David. We began to collect all the paper works. After that, she submitted her application, without any worry.
很快3个月过去了，我们每天查询网站，状态都是初始审核阶段，没有变化。到了8月，CIU开始通知Emma将visa拿去复印，准备注册，还是没有消息。我们毫无办法，只能等待。
But 3 months passed. We checked the website daily, everytime the status would be “initial”, no change. August coming, CIU informed Emma to take a copy of her visa to enroll, but we were still waiting. Nothing we could do, except waited.
有一天，我们的朋友Debbie来家里玩，说到这个事情。这位曾经在南美宣教25年的宣教士说，不要着急，神的时间正好，而且祂常常回应你们的祷告，这次也不会有例外。
One day, our friend Debbie came to visit us, and we told her about this. Debbie, an missionary veteran working in South american told us, don’t worry, for the time of God is just perfect, and He always answers our prayer, there would be no exception this time.
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还有一周开学的时候，Emma开始办理各种手续。她很高兴买到了学生保险，比她作为家属买保险要便宜一大半，对于我们的经济状况来说很好。我们也乐观地想，即使签证不能下来，Emma还能修一门课，那么学生保险至少没有问题。
One week before new semester, Emma began to enroll. She was so happy to buy the student insurance, much cheaper than last time’s dependent insurance, which was very good for our financial status. We thought even the visa would not come, at least Emma could study one class, and kept her student insurance.
不过很快就知道，国际学生若没有F1签证，一门课也不能修，她需要放弃所有的课，退掉学生保险，退掉所有奖学金。
But soon we knew that if she could not get f1 visa, as an international student, she could not learn even one class, and had to drop all of them with her insurance and scholarships.
那时我们已经为了这事祷告很久了。我们的朋友Dong告诉我们，可以打电话申请加急办理。我试着打了一次电话，但是太复杂，所以找不到加急的地方。第二天，我告诉Emma，签证的问题交给神好了，但是我们自己需要尽力做一切可能的事情。所以我们继续打电话，终于找到一个接听的人，申请了加急办理。
By that time, we had prayed for this for a long time. Our friend Dong told us we might apply an emergence application through a phone call. I did it once, and too complex to find out the route. So the next day I told Emma, we need to do our best, and left everything to God. So Emma kept calling, and finally she found somebody to pick the phone.
网上说超过2.5个月的申请都可以加急，我们已经等待超过4个月，而且离开学的时间仅仅一个工作日了，离开我们可以注册的时限仅仅一周另2天。
It says that any application after 2.5 months could apply emergency. Our case is more than 4 months, and only one day from the beginning of new school year, 7 workdays from the deadline of drop everything.
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周日的时候，Nicole告诉我们，我们的朋友Joshua在开学前一天拿到签证了，她让我们问问是否有什么特别的方法。
Sunday, Nicole told us that our friend Joshua got his visa just before the new semester, and she wanted us to ask Joshua was there some magic method to do so?
Joshua从2月开始申请，经过了很多坎坷。不过我们问问，实在没有什么特别的地方，美国没有后门可走，走后门的结果就是还要回到前门去排队。
Joshua’s application could back-trace to February, and through many difficulties. Anyway we asked him, and he said nothing special. No backdoor to go, or went into the backdoor and found himself needing to stand at he back of the line again.
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周一没有拿到签证，Emma纠结在参加开学典礼还是参加女人团契上。Nicole说她不用参加开学典礼，那么去了也很尴尬吧。所以她去了女人团契，和她的朋友们一起祷告分享去了。
Monday, no visa. Emma was thinking about going to orientation or just going to her women’s fellowship. Nicole said she did not need to come to the orientation, so maybe not a good idea. She went to the women’s fellowship, and prayed with her friends.
周二开始上课，我们在想如果没有签证，是否要将我选的课换一两门。因为现在的选课是根据Emma的时间和我的时间交错开可以照顾David而定的，有些课并不是我一定要这学期选的。不过我好好祷告了，还是决定不要换。我想神一定听见我的祷告了，他一定会按照对我们最好的方式给我们结果的。顺便说一下，祷告的结果是三种：神马上应允；神马上否决；神让我们等待。
Tuesday, classes began. We were thinking about if we could switch some classes, for she may need to drop every one of them, and let me to study. But after pray, we decided to keep this way. For we were pretty sure that Lord had heard our prayer, and He would give us answer: Approve, reject, or delay, according to which was the best.
周三Emma上另外一门课，签证还是没有结果，网页也没有变化。Emma下课了，回来说，她很喜欢上课，这些课都非常有意思。到了中午礼拜的时间，我就推着David去教室外接她，每次她都和不同的新结识的同学愉快地聊着天。我们去找Nicole，告诉她我们已经申请了加急。但是如果实在拿不到签证，我们愿意愉快地顺服神的安排，这学期emma就不学习了。
Wednesday, Emma had another class. No visa, no change on the website. Emma came back and told me that she really loved the classes, all of them. Before the chapel time, I would bring David to her outside the classroom, and she talked with her new classmates everytime. We went to Nicole, telling her we had done our best. If God did not give us visa, we would happily accept the result.
周四Emma继续上课，也许就是最后一堂课了。这周结束，我们就要取消所有的课。我还是在11点的时候推着David去CIU等Emma。我们一起去参加Chapel。到了礼拜堂坐好，Emma突然说，我想我拿到签证了。页面变了，不再是初始审核，而是approved了。Thursday Emma had another class, maybe the last one. After this week, we were going to drop them all. David and I met Emma before the chapel, and we sit there. Suddenly Emma told me, I thought I got the visa. The website changed, not “initial”, but “approved” now!
我太高兴了，上网查了一下结果，看到Nicole在前排，赶紧过去告诉她。 Nicole也很高兴，就跑来和Emma拥抱祝贺她。我问Nicole，文件还有一个月才寄回来，现在Emma可以上课了吗？她说可以，回来的时候拿来复印就好了。I was so happy, and checked it again. Nicole was just there, and I told her. she was more than happy, too, running to us and hugged Emma. I asked her if Emma could take the classes now, even we needed one more month to get the paper works coming back. She said fine.
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到底神有多爱Emma，我真的不知道。我的学生Z.H说，他在我的博客上看到太多神奇的事情。怀孕8个月去签证，孕妇允许乘机的最后一天上飞机到美国，考托福刚好79分，生孩子的保险……还要加上仅仅差3天就到期的签证。How God loves Emma, I really don’t know. One of my students Z.H. said, he had seen so many miracles from our website. Get a visa when she was pregnant over 8 months, took the last aircraft that a pregnant woman could get a permit, got 79 points at her TOEFL test, the insurance of our baby David’s deliverance … And this f1 visa 3 days before deadline.
我们很愚笨，所以神一次一次地证明给我们，他实在地存在着，爱着我们，听见我们的祷告，也回应我们的祷告。不是我们两人的祷告，而是很多人为了我们祷告的结果。We are dumb people, so God proves Himself to us again and again. Thanks be to God, and please pray for Emma’s new semester.
如果你还不认识耶稣，或者我们可以交流一下，这些发生在我们身上的真实的事情，彰显着他的全能的存在。
请大家为了Emma的学习生活祷告。