Upon receiving the news about Buddha’s Birthday Celebration, we knew that we wanted to attend, but in order to cross the great divide between Africa and Europe, there was one grave hurdle: a visa!

Armed with good courage and fervent prayer, we first called the travel agent the next day - Monday. “Flights are available, but a visa takes time,” the travel agent said! A call to the embassy confirmed that a visa application took three weeks to process! And the embassy is only open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:00-12:00 noon. Monday has come and gone and Friday is a public holiday. The only day available in which to do this is Wednesday! Our hearts virtually sank into our boots. How are we likely to do this? We have to apply for (and receive!) a visa, arrange a suitable house sitter, dog sitter, pack and go by Thursday. However, the young lady at the embassy said that she would approach the senior staff member to see if she would perhaps issue the visa within a day provided all our documentation is in order. She said that we could call her back at 8:30 the next day. A glimmer of hope shone through, but, amongst a plethora of other information, we needed a formal written invitation plus proof of residence of our host in Europe! What now?

Needless to say, the Divine prayer hotline was burning red-hot! Communication with our host centre in Europe also worked overtime. We retired that evening thinking that there was no hope at all of success. The next morning we were completely accepting of the fact that we would not be able to go. In our minds we had bade farewell to this trip until we opened our e-mails. There in our inbox was a written invitation with very encouraging hints and tips too. More documentation would follow later in that day. The call to the embassy also proved positive in that the senior staff member had agreed to issue our visa within a day provided we had all the necessary documentation. Our appointment was scheduled for 9:30 on Wednesday at the embassy. “Master, if it is meant to be, let our application be successful,” we prayed.

In the wee hours of the night we received the last crucial documents from our host. A little apprehensively, we set off for the embassy in the morning. Lo and behold, after paying the relevant fee, the lady told us that she would call us by lunchtime that day. Without further ado, we left and waited patiently for the telephone to ring. By 15:30 that day our visa was safely in our pockets and we were able to go! Our excitement new no boundaries! Furthermore, after a quick call to a fellow initiate in another part of our country, we had found a very suitable house- and dog sitter. He was willing and able ‘to fly’ to our rescue immediately.

What initially seemed hopelessly impossible, suddenly became possible, and all within one day! What more can we say except, “Thank You, Dear Master for making this all possible.”

At the Celebration we learnt that Master had also encountered hurdles on Her way. Our minor little hurdles paled into insignificance once we heard all that Master had to endure in order to be with us. Upon hearing this, we felt infinitely more privileged and blessed to be able to be there, simply to enjoy communing with God along with fellow brothers and sisters and basking in our Master’s Boundless Love and Grace. Thank You again!

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