Rev 11:27 "But there shall by no means enter in ..., but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life."
This time of year, we hear songs about Santa making a list. He’s not the only one!
A number of years ago, my wife taught Spanish on the college level while I taught Biology. Occasionally she would organize study tours to Spain, sometimes including one or two other European countries along the way. One year we had gone to France for several days before heading down to Madrid for about eight days. One of the students we had along was from Brazil and was in the US on a student visa. His family was originally from Italy, and, prior
to the Second World War, was of minor nobility in Italy. We'll call him Dino.
After our first day in France, Dino asked permission of my wife to travel overnight to Italy to see if he could regain some of his family's earlier rights and holdings. After going over our schedule carefully with him and making sure he understood that he was to be in Madrid to meet us several days before we were to leave for home, she let him go. Once into Europe, it is very easy to move from country to country (the whole of the continent is s
maller than the contiguous US, and the area is, essentially, border-free). The rest of us continued on to study the culture and see the sights.
The day came for Dino to meet us at the hotel in Madrid, and, as my wife had feared, he was nowhere to be found. He’d given her a contact person in Italy. When she checked with them, they’d not seen or heard from him. We had no idea where he might be.
The morning we were preparing to load the bus for our trip to the airport, Dino pulls up in a taxi. I’m not sure we ever got the complete story as to where he’d been for a week, but at least he was back with us. While not able to regain the title of Duke, and unable to regain title to any land, he had at least obtained assurances from the government that he would receive a full scholarship for the rest of his college career. So the trip had not been a complete waste.
After a brief discussion, we headed for the airport for our return flight. With groups like this, my wife always made sure we had plenty of time before boarding, so we were there to check in several hours earlier than required. As she gathered everyone's travel documents and tickets prior to checking the group in, it was discovered that Dino did not have his I-20, which is the written student visa.
Any time a student in the US on a student visa leaves the country but is planning on re-entering, the written I-20 must be with them. And Dino remembered leaving his on his bed back in the dorm in Massachusetts. Without that paper, Dino would not be able to re-enter the US. In fact, without it, he couldn't even get on the plane.
Knowing she had about two hours for the Lord to work miracles, my wife checked the rest of the group in, and then phoned the US Embassy in downtown Madrid. The first hurdle to cross was to deal with the fact that it was a national holiday in Spain, and the Embassy was closed. Fortunately, someone 'happened" to answer the phone, and agreed to let her through the gate to see what could be done. The next question was how to give credence to her claim that she represented a college from the US. She never traveled abroad without letterhead stationery from the school. So she promptly wrote a letter on a sheet of the paper, signed it, and headed downtown in a taxi, Dino in tow.
At the Embassy, step one was convincing the Marines at the gate that someone was expecting her on a holiday. Finally a phone call was made from the guard post, and the door was opened. Inside, after a brief conversation, a temporary travel document was provided for Dino, and it was back to the airport. Our plane was about to start the boarding process when they returned. Dino quickly checked in, and we all made it home safely.
Having claim to an I-20 wasn't sufficient. Dino was supposed to keep it with him. Having my name written some time ago in the Lamb's Book of Life is only the beginning. I've got to keep it there (keep the Lamb with me). There are a number of warnings in the scriptures about "not losing your crown" or “falling away”, or "losing my first love." Retaining our passports into heaven requires constant attention; it is a continual process.
Don’t leave home without it.
Dr. G
This time of year, we hear songs about Santa making a list. He’s not the only one!
A number of years ago, my wife taught Spanish on the college level while I taught Biology. Occasionally she would organize study tours to Spain, sometimes including one or two other European countries along the way. One year we had gone to France for several days before heading down to Madrid for about eight days. One of the students we had along was from Brazil and was in the US on a student visa. His family was originally from Italy, and, prior
to the Second World War, was of minor nobility in Italy. We'll call him Dino.After our first day in France, Dino asked permission of my wife to travel overnight to Italy to see if he could regain some of his family's earlier rights and holdings. After going over our schedule carefully with him and making sure he understood that he was to be in Madrid to meet us several days before we were to leave for home, she let him go. Once into Europe, it is very easy to move from country to country (the whole of the continent is s
maller than the contiguous US, and the area is, essentially, border-free). The rest of us continued on to study the culture and see the sights.The day came for Dino to meet us at the hotel in Madrid, and, as my wife had feared, he was nowhere to be found. He’d given her a contact person in Italy. When she checked with them, they’d not seen or heard from him. We had no idea where he might be.
The morning we were preparing to load the bus for our trip to the airport, Dino pulls up in a taxi. I’m not sure we ever got the complete story as to where he’d been for a week, but at least he was back with us. While not able to regain the title of Duke, and unable to regain title to any land, he had at least obtained assurances from the government that he would receive a full scholarship for the rest of his college career. So the trip had not been a complete waste.
After a brief discussion, we headed for the airport for our return flight. With groups like this, my wife always made sure we had plenty of time before boarding, so we were there to check in several hours earlier than required. As she gathered everyone's travel documents and tickets prior to checking the group in, it was discovered that Dino did not have his I-20, which is the written student visa.
Any time a student in the US on a student visa leaves the country but is planning on re-entering, the written I-20 must be with them. And Dino remembered leaving his on his bed back in the dorm in Massachusetts. Without that paper, Dino would not be able to re-enter the US. In fact, without it, he couldn't even get on the plane.
Knowing she had about two hours for the Lord to work miracles, my wife checked the rest of the group in, and then phoned the US Embassy in downtown Madrid. The first hurdle to cross was to deal with the fact that it was a national holiday in Spain, and the Embassy was closed. Fortunately, someone 'happened" to answer the phone, and agreed to let her through the gate to see what could be done. The next question was how to give credence to her claim that she represented a college from the US. She never traveled abroad without letterhead stationery from the school. So she promptly wrote a letter on a sheet of the paper, signed it, and headed downtown in a taxi, Dino in tow.
At the Embassy, step one was convincing the Marines at the gate that someone was expecting her on a holiday. Finally a phone call was made from the guard post, and the door was opened. Inside, after a brief conversation, a temporary travel document was provided for Dino, and it was back to the airport. Our plane was about to start the boarding process when they returned. Dino quickly checked in, and we all made it home safely.
Having claim to an I-20 wasn't sufficient. Dino was supposed to keep it with him. Having my name written some time ago in the Lamb's Book of Life is only the beginning. I've got to keep it there (keep the Lamb with me). There are a number of warnings in the scriptures about "not losing your crown" or “falling away”, or "losing my first love." Retaining our passports into heaven requires constant attention; it is a continual process.
Don’t leave home without it.
Dr. G
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