This is one of those moments.

After a really long road, and more doors slammed in our faces than I care to count, Sameika has decided she wants to pursue an F-1 student visa and try to attend college here in Connecticut. Her dream is to become a nurse, with the hope of eventually going into anesthesiology.

She has a dream. And if you know me, you know I will fight for her dreams until my very last breath. I think the last decade has proven that pretty well.

Many of you have been on this road with us for years. You have prayed when things looked impossible, given financially, asked about my girl, celebrated with us, cried with us, and believed with us when we didn’t know what was next. Some of you have been praying for Sameika since she was a little girl. There really aren’t words for what that has meant to me.

And now we’re here. Asking again. Believing again. Trying another door.

In order to pursue the F-1 student visa, we need to show that there are financial resources available for her education. Our first goal is $20,000. Once that money is secured, she can begin the application process.

And then, there is the bigger number.

Over the course of the next four years, we anticipate needing somewhere around $100,000 for her education.

$100,000 is a mountain. There really isn’t another way to say it.

I don’t have $100,000. And if I’m being really transparent, I still carry debt from our failed adoption. So here I am, standing at the bottom of another mountain connected to my girl I love so much, asking God to make a way again.

But I have also lived enough life with Jesus to know that mountains don’t scare Him.

He tells us faith can move them.

So there it is. Our mountain has a number: $100,000.

And we believe.

Not in some weird way where I pretend that isn’t an enormous amount of money. It is. I don’t know where $100,000 comes from. I don’t even know yet where the first $20,000 comes from.

But I learned a long time ago that God is not going to be held back by dollars.

I’ve watched Him do too much. I’ve watched Him provide in ways I couldn’t have planned and open doors I couldn’t have opened myself. I’ve also watched Him close doors that I begged Him to open, and then somehow, eventually, I learned to trust His kindness there too.

So we start with $20,000.

And then we see what God does with the mountain.

To be honest, the money somehow feels like the easier part of all of this to me.
The harder part is hoping again.

Doors slammed shut make new doors scary to open.

There is a cost to letting yourself believe again after disappointment. I know that better now than I did ten years ago. But I also know God better than I did ten years ago.

So we are reaching for another door handle.

And I want to be really clear about something as we do.

We trust that God, in His kindness, gives us His best. Always.

That means we are going to pursue this with everything we have. We’re going to raise the money. We’re going to submit the application. We’re going to pray ridiculously big prayers and believe that God can bring Sameika here to Connecticut and give her the opportunity to pursue this dream.

But our faith is not dependent on getting the answer we want.

If her visa is approved, I may actually lose my mind. There will be tears and screaming and probably a testimony post approximately seventeen pages long.
We will run through that open door.

But if her visa isn’t approved, the story isn’t over.

And the money isn’t wasted.

Sameika has dreams beyond America. She has dreams for her education, her career and the woman she wants to become. If God, in His kindness, has a different road for her and she is meant to stay in Jamaica, these funds will help launch her education and career there.

Because the dream was never just America.

The dream is her.

It is seeing this girl have the opportunity to use the gifts God put inside of her. It is watching her become educated and independent and build a career she is proud of. It is watching her become the woman I have known was inside of her since she was a little girl.

Connecticut is the door we’re knocking on right now. We really, really want it to open.

But Jesus is our hope. Not a visa.

So we’re going to ask boldly and hold the answer with open hands.

If you’ve ever wondered how you could tangibly be part of Sameika’s story, this is one of those moments.

We need $20,000 to take the first step.

Give $10. Give $50. Give $1,000. Give whatever God puts on your heart. I really mean that. There isn’t a gift too small to be part of moving this mountain.

And if you can’t give financially, it is still a gift to pray for us. Please pray. Pray for favor. Pray for wisdom. Pray for the right school and the right people. Pray over every piece of paperwork and every person who will eventually make a decision about her application. Pray for Sameika. Pray for me. Pray that we would have enough faith to keep walking without trying to control where the road ends.

I don’t know exactly how God is going to do this.

But I know who He is.

And I know what He has said about His love for me and my Sami girl.

Stepping out of the boat requires a whole lot of faith. But thankfully, we’ve spent the better part of the last decade building a pretty good history with God in deep water.

So, here we go again.

WAYS TO GIVE

If you feel led to financially support Sameika, you can give through Venmo @Victoria-Fortuna.

You can also message me directly and I can provide Sameika’s bank account information for a direct transfer. Because the F-1 process requires proof that the necessary funding is secured and available for her education, having funds directly in her account will help us establish the financial documentation needed to move forward.

Our first mountain is $20,000. Once we have it secured, she can apply.

Thank you for giving. Thank you for sharing this. Thank you for praying. And to those of you who have been walking this road with us for years, thank you for still being here.

Let’s see what God does with a mountain.

With gratitude,

Victoria

Leave a comment

Link for Venmo here!

Read more

He said… “it doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these thing…

Read more

Read more