Bella came to us and we knew from the moment she arrived, that this girl had big things in store for her!
GOD SIZED DREAMS
Seven years ago God placed a God sized dream in her heart and when it happened, she ran to me and said, “Mom, I had a dream! In my dream, I was on a plane and in my hand, I was holding an I.D. card and across the top of the card, read “ASEAN”. The plane didn’t go very far before it stopped. When the plane stopped, I got up and as I was walking off the plane, I saw a huge crowd of people as far as my eyes could go! Then the crowd split into two groups and above the heads of one group read “Those that know Me” and above the other groups heads read “Those that don’t know Me“! Then Jesus took my hand and lead me to those that didn’t know Him.”
Then she asked, “Could God be calling me to be a missionary to Southeast Asia?”
You see, what’s incredible about that vision is that at that time, we had no idea about ASEAN. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, is a union that consist of 13 different nations that has only been in effect for a few years now. The ASEAN highway that is set to connect all 13 nations, actually runs right past our land! And those with an ASEAN I.D. card will be able to travel within all those nations and the central language will be English!
Along with her initial vision, God put another seemingly “impossible” dream in Bella’s heart. She dreamt that she would go and study English in America.
Bella’s dream was truly remarkable! Many of our rescued children are “stateless” which means they have no official documented nationality. Not having a nationality makes it nearly impossible to obtain an official I.D. card, let alone an actual passport. Our kids aren’t even supposed to leave the small border town we live in, much less travel overseas. And if you don’t have a passport you can’t apply for visa, which allows you to enter into another country to study! And if all of that didn’t seem insurmountable enough, we had no idea what school she could get into!
MIRACLE AFTER MIRACLE
About 4 years ago Pastor Diego Mesa, of Abundant Living Family Church, one of our dear friends and faithful supporters, met with me. In that meeting, he told me that they also have a Christian school that takes in exchange students and they wanted to give our children the opportunity to study there! We were completely blown away! God was already working on Bella’s behalf! And although we could see His hand at work, we still had no idea how we could get her there because she had no nationality.
As we are talking about this opportunity, our Child Protection Officer told us that he had heard through some attorneys that there was a loop hole in the law for stateless children and that they actually can get a passport and visa. All it would take was for us to complete the required paperwork! It took almost a year and a half to complete everything and get approval… Bella had to be cleared though our town, then our province, and then through Bangkok but finally after waiting and trusting God, it happened!
Even though Bella was cleared, the approval process to get her to America was not over yet. Next, she had to apply for a passport. Typically it takes two-three weeks to receive a passport, but she was approved and received her passport in the very same day! And if that wasn’t evidence enough that God was fighting for her, we learned that Bella was the 2nd stateless person in all of Thailand to receive a passport! There has only ever been one other to receive the same special provision!
After that, Bella had to apply for a student visa and go through an interview! She prayed that the woman conducting the interview would ask the same questions that she had prepared for and the woman did! The woman conducting the interview was so excited for Bella that she said, “I can’t help but help you!”
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
In all of that, Bella continued to trust God and He truly made miracles happen and opened doors that no man could open! Since that time, Bella has been studying at the very Christian school that was offered to her and she has loved every moment of it! Her English has improved remarkably and she is doing incredible! Things have been a little different for her finishing out her high school career with all the changes from COVID-19, but she did it! Bella made it to the end and today, she is graduating!
We couldn’t be more proud of Bella or more grateful to God because He gave her an impossible dream and then made it happen! And what is truly beautiful, is that Bella never gave up on her dream! Time and time again, it looked impossible, people doubted her faith, and we didn’t know how it would all come to pass but she stayed strong and always reminded us that “Nothing is impossible with God!” And now she’s seen over and over again this scripture come to life for her!
GOD’S NOT FINISHED YET
Although this piece of her dream may be coming to an end, God is not finished with her yet! Bella still very much believes the plan God has for her future to reach those who don’t know Him. And so, she is taking the next step in attending Bible school in the fall! In and through this, God has worked yet another miracle as she was given a full scholarship by our long-time friends and ministry partners, Caleb & Sarah Wehrli, to attend Victory Bible College! We are convinced now more than ever, that God has His hand on Bella’s life and that the best is yet to come!
Please join with us in congratulating this incredible young woman in her accomplishments so far! And please be praying for her as she takes the next step in God’s great adventure for her life!
Love,
