Rooted and Built up in Christ

The end of the year is usually a reflective time for all of us. We would use different adjectives to try to qualify what the year has been, and as I scheme my mind to find an adjective to qualify mine, words fail me.  2019 started on a very rough note. I graduated with my masters in August of the previous year, and had received an offer to work for an organization I was so excited about. But my excitement was cut short by some of the challenges international students face in the U.S. The protocol here is that you apply for your work authorization document 90 days before graduation or 60 days after, and the normal processing time to receive the document after you turn in your application is usually no more than 90 days. I applied for mine well in advance of graduation, sometime in June. However, for whatever reason, I did not receive my work authorization card until sometime in February, 238 days/8 months later. Those 238 days were some of the hardest times of my life. I mean I had