Today I’m celebrating and rightly so! 7 months after leaving Canberra my visa has been approved! It has been a painful wait but I am now praising God and the power of prayer to move mountains!

When the Lord asked me to leave Canberra last October I knew I was taking another big leap of faith, with no money, not even a bank account, knowing nobody in Sydney and leaving my previous visa sponsor…lets just say I had a lot on my mind! According to immigration laws, I had 28 days to sort myself out or to leave the country!

Here is how the Lord has looked after me! I’m sharing this as a testimony to faith, to trusting in Jesus and am giving him all the glory and praise.

On my second day in Sydney I was asked to share my testimony at a men’s group and the next day I found out that somebody anonymously donated $1500 to help with my expenses! Thank you Lord! Two days later (a Saturday) I prayed a very simple prayer to the Lord after mass

– Jesus, I know nobody here, all sorts of depressing thoughts are coming into my head, please get somebody to invite my for lunch

While some of the older ladies at mass were quite friendly, they were not going to shout me lunch! However, as I stood at the end of the street, a strange car pulled up, the passenger window rolled down and a man shouts

– Hey Michael, do you want to come for lunch?

I was already in the car before there was even time to reply! Later I found out that he had no intention of driving past that way but that God had put it so strongly on his heart that he couldn’t but obey, and that despite having a busy day once he say me the Lord once again said to him “invite him to lunch”!

So as we talked I explained that I needed to get a mobile phone, and again the Lord answered that prayer super-quick with my new friend giving me his old one (who by the way somebody recently said was ancient…you know who you are lol!!). Since then we have become great friends and I have been blessed in more ways than once by this wonderful family!

Then came the laborious process of applying for a new visa sponsor. And so after filling out enough papers that could destroy a rain forest

and playing a prolonged game of e-mail tag….3 months later it was refused!! O Lord help me! People casually said that I could just go back “home”. I guess they meant Ireland, a country that I no longer consider home and a place where I’m not flavour of the month.

So with all this weighing on my mind just a a few months ago I was feeling quite stressed and so the Lord had a solution! He sent me to villawood for a day with a friend!! Villawood is the place where illegal people from overseas are kept! And so off I went to visit the detainees, praying that I would be let out again!! As I heart some other people’s stories, I began to thank God for all I had and I got a new surge of faith!

At this stage I was once again out of money and so I approached the catholic church for help. I was well received, listened to and encouraged in the ministry that I’m doing but they were unable to give me any practical help. I was most disappointed and felt much rejected but took force from meditating on the cross.

And so God sent a good Samaritan to help me…

but….when I looked up to reapply for the visa, the forms were no longer there! The visa had been cancelled! My faith was really being tested at this stage and I had everybody I knew praying for me! After more rounds of phone-tennis, we got the new forms and I lodged a new application!

In the mean time I had accepted a job to teach scripture to school kids every Wednesday and was getting progressively more involved with the Living Waters healing ministry. In faith God was telling me that it would work out and he sent a few angels to bless me a little financially at times when I had almost reached zero (again!!!).

And so here comes the happy ending! Today, 7 months later my visa application has been

There is a song I believe with the lyrics “I’m a legal alien”! Well I feel a bit like one of those at times, but hey, I’m also a child of God!

In all this saga, I am particularly grateful to all those who have prayed for me, and most especially to the Living Waters ministry and to Ron the director and his family, without whom I’d be who knows where at this stage!!

So guys, prayer works! Don’t let anybody let you think that you are wasting your time by praying, and speaking of which, please continue to keep me in yours!!