So saan tayo magsisimula? 🥹
It started with New Zealand (hihi! ok kinilig) I prayed and applied for a job in Wellington. It went well naman until sinabi ni Lord na not for me. I prayed and tried Planit both in NZ and AU pero syempre sinabi ni Lord na not for me. Honestly, I prayed and tried for a lot of stuff and i'm so confused back then pero yung direction was really NO, stay in PH and prepare.
Then pandemic happened 😷 (talagang stay-put) sabi ko kay Lord, di ko muna iisipin yung gusto ko kasi baka selfish desires yun pero talagang kasama sya sa prayer items ko since 2020. Unfair sa God's best kasi sya yung nawala sa prayer item (hahahaha!) pero again, I prayed and tried pero talagang NO yung response. I clearly know yung ibig sabihin nung NO and I continuously praise Him for that. Kaya naman I moved on and talagang all out ako sa work, sa ministry and family (aka being extra all the time!)
And then 2021 came, kasama sa personal P&F ko talaga yung "next steps" Sabi ko "Lord, i'm ready for the next challenge whatever it is" minsan talaga you need to be ready when you prayed something like this kasi talagang macha-challenge ka (hahaha!)
So yung first step talaga is saan? Ang selfish target ko talaga is NSW, ACT, QLD and VIC (minimal lang sa WA and TAS, no sa NT) kaya I researched skilled migration requirements muna. Isa isa akong nag cross out ng states depending sa need nila kasi pandemic pa din kaya nawala sa list ang TAS/ACT kasi low employability, sa QLD naman need ng proof of funds (haha!) and WA naman need ng job offer. So natira sa list VIC, NSW and SA. Sabi ko Lord, gusto ko sa NSW or VIC kasi andun majority ng connections ko 😭 I never considered SA talaga pero alam ko na may leading talaga si Lord for me to check it (ewan ko ba!) that's when I started watching Adelaide walking vlogs (hahaha!).
Anyway, sa lahat ng states for skilled migration, dalawa lang ang need English and Assessment (pfffft!!) So May 2021 nag english test tayo sa Makati ng naka faceshield and facemask (imagine the struggle) I got Proficient 🙌🏼 not the result that I prayed for pero I have peace knowing na natapos ko sya and alam ni Lord na I gave it my all. Now the exciting part, skills assessment 🫣 grabe yung requirements lalo na pandemic pero talagang test of patience. Imagine lodging ng May and getting the results ng July with appeals pa! (tsk tsk!) pero it still ended with a favorable result grabe ang galing ni Lord!
In the zone na ko nito actually kaso may ibang plans pa pala si Lord sa akin. I lodged my expression of interest ng July 2021 pero di pa sila open for offshore applicants so ang wait time ko guess what? 1 year 😅 I officially lodged it after a year pa talaga (imagine my english and assessments di nagamit for a year!!) Sabay sabay ko nilodge for NSW, SA and VIC ng August 2022. As usual, di ako pinapansin ng NSW and VIC kasi andaming high pointer pero I kept on praying and being extra sa work, sa bahay and sa ministry. Honestly, di na ko super eager sa journey na to kasi tanggap ko na talaga na baka di ito yung direction ni Lord sa akin (full surrender na din) then September 1, 2022 came (also my 14th sa work) I received a pre invite from SA HAHAHA! (sa state na hindi ko pa kinoconsider at all). Di ako mapakali but sabi ko kay Lord "let's do this!"
So I submitted my application tapos after a week may congratulations na agad! ⬇️
Yung crucial part was receiving an invitation from home affairs feeling ko nun there's no turning back na talaga kasi may visa fee na hahaha! 🫣 plus imagine having 60 days to accomplish everything? plus training for runs! halo halo yung emotions ko nito hahaha! But if you know me, of course...procrastination 😐 it took me 55 days to accomplish yung visa application (nag vietnam pa ko hahaha!) eto yung Lord "let's do this!" pero parang wait lang po please?
After submitting I have to do biometrics and medicals. Mas short ang deadline ng biometrics so I low-key went to Makati. 1000 pesos lang dala ko dito buti less than that amount yung fee 😅 reality also hit me here na andaming pinoy na gusto mag abroad.
I scheduled my medicals after a week sa St Lukes BGC and guess what? hahaha! I'm flu-ish that day 🤒 kabado ako kasi mahigpit sa x-ray ang Australia - sabi ko Lord talaga namang of all the days haha! But kidding aside, it went through smoothly naman bukod sa mahal na food sa loob ng hospital haha!
then, THE WAITING GAME BEGINS...
Ang nasa isip ko lang nito - may work ako, may ministry, I need to be present sa family (always!) and run trainings. Yung waiting ko became as normal as it can get kasi pinrep na ko ni Lord sa waiting.
February 22, 2023, lunch time - I randomly checked my personal email before mag lunch. I noticed na it's from home affairs pero ang subject may "ceased" and syempre as a kamote without reading the whole email nag assume na ko na di approved sabi ko talaga "Lord, di approved pero thank you kasi kasama kita sa journey na to sayang lang yung visa fee pang-car na yun eh hahaha!" then I took lunch.
Si kamote nanood ng showtime, nag lunch and then nag resume sa work. Ready na ko basahin ng buo yung email kasi para may closure then I noticed may isa pang email tapos may attachment 🥹
Yung puso ko nito daig yung nag half marathon kasi either granted or refused yung result. Sabi ko "Lord, this is it!"
DUDE andun pa lang ako sa we have granted sumigaw na ako! I called peeps agad, family - di na ko nakapag work hahaha! Nag shutdown na ako then natulala ako sabi ko "Lord, thank you pero ano gagawin ko now?" di pala ako nag ready sa road to goodbyes 😭
