Still waiting...

On Wednesday, January 12 our appointment was scheduled for 7:15 am. It was for our final interview to determine whether or not we would get the visa. It took a long time and we found out around 11am that our visa was not approved for support reasons. We were a little short on the income that they feel we require to maintain our family. They told us that we had a week to bring in more information that would make up the difference between what we make and what they want us to make times three. We could either find a joint sponsor, which they prefer, or proof of assets. We went on Friday to drop off the paperwork only to find out that we could only bring it on Mon-Thurs. at 2pm and that they were closed on Monday for a holiday. If we couldn't get it in within 7 days we had to get it to them through DHL(a mail/shipping service) which would take longer. On Tuesday we went to drop it off, we left an hour early, we sat and prayed in the car beforehand, and when we were getting out with a half hour to spare, I realized that I had the wrong paperwork. I had everything that we had needed for the interview but not the new documents that were evidence of assets.

We hopped back into the car and rushed home praying all the way that God would get us back there in time and that he would work everything out, and reassuring ourselves that everything happens for a reason and that all things work together for good to those that love God. We got back to the consulate around 2:05 and rushed in to drop off the papers. As we were on our way in we saw the woman that had told us no and what we would need to bring in, Luis wanted to stop and talk to her but I assured him that wasn't the best idea, she saw us and said, "Hey, how are you guys doing?" but kept looking straight ahead and walked on. We figure it was God's plan for us to be late and see her on the way in so that we would be on her mind and she might look at our case faster and maybe even feel more simpathetic.

Anyway, we went in and dropped off the paperwork and were given the blue sheet to go to DHL across the street to pay for them to either deliver the answer to our house or have it there for us to pic up. We filled out the forms and were given a receipt with a phone number and a confirmation code so we could call and find out if we had an answer yet. We called on Friday but there was nothing for us, so we plan to call again tomorrow.

The first few days were rough. We stuggled with tears, frustration, pain. We cannot understand why God would bring us together, why we have made it through so much, why He would make the way for us to get married, only for us to be apart. When we met, Luis was the only one in his family that was a Christian. Since then all of his family have become believers and been baptized, I have graduated from college, we have Jaden, we felt sure that God would be ready for us to be together. Yet the answer was still no, not yet. Luis struggled with anger and I struggled with feelings that I can't even discribe. I didn't doubt God, I wasn't angry at Him, I know that HE has a plan and will work it out. I took comfort in the song, "I will praise you in this storm" by Casting Crowns, but I felt that awful suffocating feeling that I associate with loss, with saying goodbye to my husband. I have this horrible picture that keeps going through my head of us all in tears saying goodbye once again at the airport. I picture Jaden crying too as we walk away from his father, he has become so attached and even follows Luis to the door, in his walker, crying as luis leaves for work. I begin to feel as if I can't breathe. Every goodbye is even harder than the last and we have spent so much time imagining peoples reactions when they get to see Luis in the U.S. at last, what we will do, where we will go, how he will react to different things, what God will do with us there. We were so confident that all we needed was to get to the interview, that it had not even occured to us that they could say no until just before the interview. We were crushed when they said no. Since then we have spent a lot of time in prayer and in the Word, listening to the sermons at church hearing promises that God never forgets, or that even though things don't come out the way we want God has not lost control, that he loves us and wants what is best for all of us, that two are better than one, that a man must leave his mother and be one with his wife. There are so many things to encourage, but we still struggle with confidence in God's willingness to let us be together. We don't know if He will make it happen this time around either. Not knowing His will and not understanding why He says no is so difficult.

We have a year to fix it, but we don't know how, we can't find anyone willing to be a joint-sponsor, we understand that it is a serious commitment that most are not able to make. We are at a loss of what to do next. If more than a year passes we must start all over again.We are at what seems to be our last stop in the process before we have to give up and hope that I can find a way to get out of debt with my school loans and move to Ecuador.

We could really use your prayers and any ideas that you might have. We knew this would be a difficult path when we commited to it, we prayed a great deal beforehand and tried to go our separate ways a couple times, but God always brought us back together and made us stronger than before. We are commited to sticking to the path God has for us, but we don't claim that it is easy. Please pray that He will have mercy on us and that He will let us be together at last, that He will let us know soon, before I leave so that we know without having to change my ticket again, and that we will be able to get Luis a ticket to fly with us, once we get his visa. Luis has never traveled and it would be very difficult for him to do on his own.