Things that make you go Hmmmmmm...

On Tuesday we drove (!) to Amsterdam for an apointment with the British Embassy and plans to make a day of it.. Before we left Australia we found out that instead of a Visa for the UK I (Phoebe) qualified for a Family Permit through the European Union. We checked it out on their website and discovered that because Tim is Dutch he qualifies, and can travel, work, live etc anywhere in UK. Great, we thought! We emailled to see if we could apply for it while in Holland as we would be here for about 2 months. Yes, they said. So I went in to pick it up (i thought) and got quite a shock. Aside from the drab surroundings and high security, the British Embassy is staffed by decendents of Nazi Germany. I was treated like a criminal and told I had to go back to Australia, and that there was nothing that could be done for me and that i fell through the cracks of each different kind of visa. What?!?!? Initially he said we dont qualify because Tim is not "employed" according to their terms, even though at Ellel he'd work a 40 hour week, but then he started a rant about me, and what was I doing there, trying to use my Dutch husband to get in the country, and even said he didnt recognise my marriage certificate, so doubted if i was even married! I drew the line there. He pointed at me and said, "YOU dont qualify for anything", even laughed when he said, "Look, i've ruined your life!...bet this isnt the news you were hoping for!" "umm...no. Not really." The only thing he said i could do was visit the UK, but not to study or live or work or anything else. Of course, all this is fine, IF they had made all this clear before hand when we asked about it specifically. He said he didnt recognise my course even though its registered on their website, didnt recognise that Tim was Dutch even though he was holding Tims Passport in his hand, didnt recognise that I was married to him, despite my certificate being there, declared i was 'without country' and had no relevance to him, no right to even be there, and how had i even gotten an appointment...
One sentence he made sure he said over and over was, "There is just NO way".
Hmmmm.
Before committing to this journey we had 2 words from God about it: "I see no obstacles" and, "He will make a way where there seems to be no way".

So instead of panicking (my first reaction), we drove out of Amsterdam (I couldn't see its beauty anymore), and i briefed Tim on what had happened. We pulled into IKEA to distract ourselves from all the inner turmoil and for 2 hours did some retail therapy. Except that we didnt buy anything but lunch. Love IKEA food. They have some cool stuff which i dont think is in Australia yet, so that was fun to see.

On Wednesday I received the official acceptance letter for the course at Ellel.
Its Friday today and i still cant find it in me to panic or get stressed (or maybe thats all on some unconcious level!) because over and over God has said He will perform a new thing with us.

So there you go. Thats where we are right now.