BIA Recognition and Accreditation

I have come to the understanding that God is never late, he is never early; he is always right on time.

A little over a year ago, I submitted an application to the Board of Immigration Appeals for their recognition of Elmbrook Church’s community center, James Place as an immigration counseling office and for my own accreditation as an immigration representative. The recognition and accreditation are necessary if a non-profit is to counsel people in matters related to immigration law. This was a direction that the leadership of James Place felt we needed to go because we were seeing a great need in the community for competent, legal, and inexpensive immigration counseling.

We were very optimistic and excited to begin this new way of serving some of the most vulnerable in our community. But, unfortunately, our first application was denied. So, I addressed their concerns and sent in another application… only to have that denied as well. Well, I figured we hadn’t struck out three times yet, so with the aid of an experienced Immigration attorney, we filed one last application.

Meanwhile, preparations for the office were in full swing and things were finally where they needed to be by the end of September… we were ready to take clients. A handful of volunteers had spent numerous hours in preparation of the office and procedures, and I thought it would be good to have a time of appreciation. So we got together on our normal Friday morning ready to pray yet again for God to move our application a bit further down the line. Just as we sat down to have some coffee and snacks, my telephone rang. I could not get to it in time, so I listened to the message. The timing could not have been more perfect: It was a call informing us that our application had been approved and that we would receive notification in the mail on Monday! So I set the phone on the table and hit ‘speaker’; you should have heard the excited laughter and exclaims of “How ‘ironic’ that God would choose to give us this news on our celebration day!”

Not only was the whole team together and the office finally fully prepared for clients, it was also the week before Harvest Fest, the mission conference at Elmbrook Church. God had everything planned out from the beginning… too early, and we would not have been ready (we have already been able to help almost 20 clients in the first 3 weeks), too late and we would have missed a great opportunity to present the ministry at Harvest Fest. Instead, it was precisely when God wanted it to happen – October 11th, a year to the exact week from when the original application was filed.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying with us concerning this. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ and it is exciting to be one of the ones God is using to do it.

Jason

Prayer for Quick and Favorable Response

I want to encourage everyone to be in prayer this week specifically for God to give us (James Place/Elmbrook) a favorable response from the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) regarding our application for James Place to be a recognized immigration counseling agency. And please pray that they would also grant me partial accreditation so that I can legally counsel clients. I received verification that the BIA is in the process of adjudicating the application THIS WEEK. Pray that there would be no hindrances, that all the information and documentation would be clear and understandable, that they would find no reason to deny the application, and that God would be honored in this process. In light of last weeks seminar at James Place, where 60+ immigrants came to receive information regarding an immigration benefit for their children, there is a huge need for this service in our community and an incredible opportunity for these people to experience the love of Christ (possibly for the first time) as they come to James Place. The main comment I heard last Monday was, "Thank you for giving us this information. It is so kind of you to care enough to help us in this way." With an approval from the BIA, we would be able to help each of these people with the next step: applying for and receiving this new benefit. Thank you all for you prayers regarding this matter. Dependent upon Him, Jason

Waiting

If you are like me, you sometimes wonder at God's time frame. I can get easily confused and frustrated when I try to make him fit into my schedule.
I haven't posted to this blog in a few months because I have been busy with establishing this Immigration Office at James Place. I had put in an application for accreditation to the Board of Immigration Appeals in January right before I wrote my last blog post. I have been patiently (or not so patiently) waiting since that time to receive their decision. I wanted to wait to post again until I had an acceptance letter in hand. In April, I found out that they had misplaced the file and they finally found it mysteriously under a pile on a desk. Then finally, I received their response on Monday. They denied our request.
So all that waiting and all that work believing that God wants us to open this immigration counseling office this spring, and we get a "no". (That is the second "no" by the way). I could say that I think it is all a conspiracy; and it would be correct - a giant conspiracy by Satan to thwart and destroy anything good and godly in this world. But I also know that God is sovereign, and I believe that with all my heart... he works through people who make bad decisions and use poor judgment. This process has shown me just how graciously patient God is with me, so I need to be patient with others and patient as I wait on Him. But it has also taught me to move beyond my culture and my personality. In America, we don't wait for anything... everything is instant gratification: from microwave ovens, to movies on demand, to credit card spending, to fast lane check out lines and fast food restaurants. It is hard to wait when our culture boasts "time is money" and every second that passes by we calculate just how much money or opportunity we just lost. To me, it is becoming a stressful way to live... and God doesn't always work within our "you can't buy back lost time" culture. He is so much bigger than that, so much wiser. I have been learning to understand his Kingdom culture more; which is comprised of a host of values and beliefs which are contrary to my birth culture.
So, I hope to have good news soon, but until then I will rest in the fact that God has it all under control and remember the truth that the best things in life come to those who wait... the best tasting food must be waited for - it can't be made in a microwave oven.
Will you pray with me that we can receive this accreditation in HIS timing? Thanks, Jason

News from Tobo

I know that many of you still pray for the church in Tobo and are interested in hearing updates as to how things are going back in Lengbati. I received this update from the Williamsons a few days ago and thought I would post it so that you could be in prayer, both for them and the believers in Tobo. God's ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts; but we can rest in His sovereign plan, convinced that his love never fails and that his kingdom will not end. The following 2 paragraphs are from Williamson's update:

"In December we met with our NTM leadership, church planting consultants, and teammates about the condition of the church and the concerns we have with its growth. Nisae and I have poured our hearts into the believers here and have given much effort into seeing them grow in maturity and adapt a Biblical Worldview that is lived out among their unbelieving community. What we have seen in response has not been what we have hoped and prayed for, but rather our efforts have been met with resistance and callousness. The believers have closed the door themselves on our family’s ministry among them and ultimately on what the Holy Spirit wants to do in their lives. At the conclusion of our meetings, we all decided that it would be best to take a step back from the Church here in Tobo and allow them some time to decide for themselves if they are going to follow after the Lord or not or continue to live in the shadow of their prideful community.

Nisae and I have done everything possible to spur on growth in the believers’ lives and to facilitate the possible reigniting of the church. We’ve built friendships, laughed, cried, admonished, preached the Word and modeled it, pursued, and encouraged each believer in hopes that God would use these efforts to produce fruit in their lives. However, the Lord has not chosen to bring about a harvest at this time and we think that leaving the Tobo church on their own is now what is best for them, and us. Therefore, with the support of our leadership, consultants & teammates, we have decided to move out of the tribe in February and live in Madang (the town where our support center lies). After we’ve put a stop to our teaching in Tobo and explained why we are moving out and the reasons we are all stepping back from the church, our co-workers, Chad & Janeene Mankins, will continue to live in Tobo to translate God’s Word and other materials in hopes that down the road the church will reignite and desire growth."

Please lift up this situation before the Lord. Thank you for your prayers, they make all the difference.

Peace,
Jason for the Knapps