Adventurous Life

Loss. I lost a lot of things recently. Books. Decorations. Notes. Pictures. Clothes. Shoes. Things only with sentimental value. Loss of one thing that hit me hard was an external hard drive. I had spent weeks scanning binders full of class notes and assignments from my time at seminary. Instead of shipping close to 10 three-inch binders, I had all the files saved on that external hard drive. The one that didn't make it. The pages had long been thrown away, and there were no other backups. Five years of hard work and knowledge were gone. Poof. Tears were definitely shed, make no mistake, but it did cause me to reflect upon my time at seminary. What is the goal of seminary? Originally, I went to gain knowledge. I wasn't raised in the church and was thoroughly lacking in the biblical and theological understanding I felt was essential for a missionary. But if knowledge is all I gained, or is all to be gained, then my experience at seminary was incomplete and only a shadow. At...

Residence permits and visas. These are required to visit or live in another country depending on your citizenship, your destination, and your length of stay. Requirements to get them vary considerably and depend upon the political climate of the time. As a citizen of the United States, I can visit the European Union for 90 days until I either must leave or procure a residence permit or visa. Since I am planning to stay in Austria long-term, I need a residence permit. And so my saga begins. In May 2017, I began collecting documents so that I could apply for my residence permit. I needed my birth certificate, background check, proof of employment and health insurance in German and English, and a few months of paystubs. Most of these had to be apostilled, which is basically an internationally recognized notary. I also had to fill out an extensive application in German and set up an appointment with the consulate in Washington D.C. to deliver everything in person. At the consulate I woul...