Leaning Which Way?

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways ackowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5&6 (ESV)


Today I was awake at 4:00am as I thought about the new visa applications I had completed last night after conferring with our son and daughter-in-law about how to correct the problems noted in our applications of yesterday. I was up at 4:30 and boarded the Amtrak train in Windsor Locks at 6:02, bound for the Chinese Consulate in NYC. On the way down I was reviewing the events of yesterday and trying to plan a strategy that might produce a different result. I made sure not to bring my jackknife but I did have our newly completed visa applications, a letter of invitation from our son and an itinerary I had put togther myself. I also had a copy of our plane reservations, our passports, our pictures, my wife's green card (a resident alien identification card) and a printed copy of all the instructions for visiting the consulate. I was as ready as I could be.

But during the 3 and 1/2 hour train ride back to New York, the verses listed above kept coming back to me over and over again. The LORD was clearly "speaking" to me through this very familiar passage. As I was leaning on my own understanding about how to get our visas, I was denying the truth of God's Word that clearly tells me to trust in the LORD with all my heart. I was clearly being disobedient. During the train ride, somewhere between New Haven and Stamford, I bowed my head and asked God to take care of the visas. I asked Him to take away my worry and my desire to develop a "foolproof" plan. I wanted to know that when the visas came, they would be coming from the LORD and not from my efforts. Then I left it with Him.
When I arrived at the embassy at 9:50am some amazing things happened; no, not amazing but some God things happened. Yesterday the line had been out the door when I arrived, today there was no line. Yesterday, when I had set off the metal detector and was searched, the jackknife was discovered and confiscated. Today, when the metal detector went off, no one seemed to notice and I was waved through. [I still don't know what set it off.] Once inside, there was no one waiting in line. I thought maybe they weren't open yet, but I was waved up to an open window, and my three visa applications were reviewed and accepted and I was on my way in 10 minutes. This even though the consulate officer discovered my wife's green card was expired and she shouldn't have been allowed back into the USA on Monday when we went to Canada to renew her passport. I was told the passports would be ready with the visas affixed if I returned after lunch.

Since it was just a little after 10:00am, I decided to take the subway down to ground zero and see the site of the World Trade Center. The place where the twin towers once stood is now a major construction site. Below is an artist's rendering of what will one day occupy the spot. You can actually go to that website and see what's happening now. I found it interesting that a Chinese company is the first one to sign a lease for space in the new tower when it is built. Progress is being made and new buildings are slowly beginning to emerge from the ground. After my walk around the sight I took the subway back up to where I got on and walked back to the Chinese Consulate to pay for and pick up the visas. While many other people were also there picking up their visas, I was able to get them in about 45 minutes and then make my way back to Pennsylvania Station where I was able to buy my return Amtrak ticket. One interesting bit of information to all of you world travelers, the Chinese are sticking it to us Americans. The cost of a single entry, 90 day visa for anyone with an American passport - $13o. The cost of a single entry, 90 day visa for anyone holding any other passport in the world - $30. That's right, it cost my son and I $130 each and it cost my wife $30 for our visas. And is case you are wondering, it cost an extra $30 per person to pick up our visas on the same day.

So, in summary...

the cost of one slice of pizza across the street from the world trade center - $6

the cost of 2 Amtrak roundtrips from Windsor Locks to NYC - $200

the cost of three visas with same day delivery - $380

the cost of getting to see and hold Sarah Grace - priceless!

Can I Really Believe It?

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."
James 1:2-4 (ESV)


Today was supposed to have been a day of finality for me and my wife and our youngest son. It was suppose to be the day we got our visas for China. That would mean we all had passports, visas and plane tickets to go see our son David and his family. That's what today was suppose to be. But that is not what today turned out to be.

I was up at 4:45am, at the train station in Windsor Locks, CT at 5:45am, on my way to NYC aboard an Amtrak train at 6:02am, and on my way walking to the Chinese consulate on 12th Avenue at 9:30am.

I arrived at the consulate 10:10am and found a line out the door. Here is the view looking down 42nd Street outside the Chinese consulate.


When I got inside I had to go through a screening not unlike an airport. That's when I found out the consuate didn't like me carrying a pocket knife (oops!). Following that little misunderstand-ing I got inside and found a long and winding line that led to the seats. They wouldn't let me take a picture to show you (they were really no fun in the consulate). I spent an hour waiting to see a consulate officer who would look over my three visa applications. When it was my turn she took one look at my visa application and told me I needed the names and numbers of the hotels I would be staying at. I tried to explain we didn't know those yet since we haven't made reservations yet (our son is taking care of that for us since he speaks Chinese and knows Beijing better than we do) but she didn't want to talk with me about it. The form asked for the information and no explanation would suffice. Never mind I had traveled 3 and 1/2 hours by train, walked for 40 minutes to get there, then stood and sat in line for another hour to speak with her. I was offically out the door and should return when I had the required information, then get back in the line all over again. I left and called my wife back in Windsor Locks. I asked her to call the kids in China and see if she could get the hotel information. After four attempts to reach them (it was about 11:30pm their time in China and we were calling on Skype on the computer) we decided I should return to Windsor Locks and try again tomorrow. While I was waiting I did walk over to the Hudson River, sight of the recent US Airways plane crash, and saw the USS Intrepid, shown below.

When I found out Barb couldn't reach the kids, I walked back to Penn Station, which is located under Madison Square Garden in NYC, and bought a return ticket to Windsor Locks. The earliest train I could catch was a 3:30pm departure arriving back in Windsor Locks at 6:22pm.
I then went out and got some lunch and made some calls to family and friends (Goose, Barb and Josh).

Once lunch was over I returned to Penn Station and did some people watching and reading until it was time to get back on the train for home.

Tomorrow I will make the $100 commute all over again with new visa applications. I spoke with the kids on Skype and got the required information to fill out new Visa applications. But I am left wondering exactly what James and the Lord had in mind for me to learn today. It wasn't a fun lesson, I can tell you that. I sure hope I can use what I learned when I return tomorrow? Check back and find out!

A Six Week Old Princess

Someone has said, "A picture is worth a thousand words."

Enough said!

Traveling to Travel

Yesterday was a memorable one. It was filled with sadness, joy, anticipation, suspense and a great deal of fatigue. Do I have your interest yet? Oh yes, and a celebratory (is that even a word) conclusion. Now on to the details.

On Sunday we worshipped together in Windsor Locks and then ate lunch at home. I took Barb to work in the afternoon and she said goodbye to our recent house guest and unofficially adopted daughter Anne Shilpa Reddy Katangur. Anne is from India and has been staying with us the past week while looking for work. Since she hasn't found a job, she is off to the UK to visit family and continue her job search. We have known Anne for over a year now and have come to love her in the Lord. While Anne was with us, Barb gave her some Canadian/American cooking lessons, (in the picture below Barb is teaching her how to make pumpkin pie, one of Anne's favorites). Anne left from Hartford for London on Monday while we were on our adventure.

At 11:45 pm I picked up Barb at the hospital when she got off work and we were off to Montreal, Canada to renew Barb's passport. The passport was not yet expired but we found out China will not issue a visa on a passport with less than 6 months of validity left. Barb's expires in June. When we called, we learned that a mailed renewal takes 4 weeks and we have our tickets to fly to China on April 8th. So it was necessary for us to go in person to a passport office in Canada and the closest one was in Montreal.

I stopped a couple of times for short naps in upstate New York and we arrived at the passport office we had selected in Point Claire at 8:00 am. This office was located in the Fairview Mall just off the trans-Canada highway.

We were pleased that there were only a few people ahead of us and we were anxious to find out how quickly our request could be taken care of and we could be on our way home again. When we were called up Barb explained why we had come and how all of our documents were in order. She had her current passport, the renewal application and the 2 passport pictures. The woman behind the counter explained that this office did not do same day renewals and that Barb's passport photos were unacceptable (she was smiling and her teethe were showing and the photos were not stamped and dated by the photographer). If we wanted to try and get a same day renewal we could go to a busier office nearer central Montreal but we would definitely need proper passport photos which could be taken at a shop in the mall when they opened at 10:00 am. So, it was hurry up and wait for this shop to open at 10:00. Here's Barb sitting in the mall outside the photo shop.

Since Quebec is a french speaking province we were fascinated by all the signs that were in french, including the photo shop where Barb would get her replacement passport photos.
When the shop opened at 10:00 Barb was the first one to get her passport photos taken, others were also waiting, and in 10 minutes they were ready and we were off to the next passport office in Saint Laurent. [For all you ladies, you can imagine what Barb thought about having her picture taken after traveling all night and not getting to put on any make-up since we thought we already had the pictures she would need.] When we arrived there at about 10:30 am, we entered to find a much bigger and MUCH busier office that was full of people waiting to be served. We waited in line for about 15 minutes and were given a number that would determine when we were served. Assignments were given by letter (A-E) and number. Barb was D-848. They were currently serving D-830. We joined the crowd and waited about 45 minutes to be called to a window (for trivia buffs, window 8) and we met our passport officer at 11:30am. She examined Barb's material which was all in order, although Barb apologized profusely for the poor picture quality of her passport photos, and she told us the passport would be ready April 6th. Barb requested the expedited service (an additional $70 fee is added to the $87 passport renewal fee). She also told Barb an affidavit would need to be completed explaining why we needed the expedited service. That was done and our agent requested cell phone numbers for Barb's references since these people would need to be contacted before the passport could be issued. The calls were made and she said all was in order. She said we could come back at 2:00 pm and the passport would be ready. We had lunch at a nearby McDonald's and then napped in the car until 1:45 pm when we returned to the passport office and picked up Barb's new passport.
We left at 2:15 pm, thankful to God for His wonderful provision, and drove the 350 plus miles home, arriving back in Windsor Locks at 8:00 pm. On our way home we called Anne who was at the airport waiting to board her plane for Philadelphia and then London, and said goodbye to our dear friend from India. We were exhausted but oh so thankful to be closer to being able to travel to China to see our son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter on April 8th. The Lord willing, I will be heading to NYC on Wednesday to get our visas for the trip to China, so don't stop praying yet! I can't wait to tell you about that adventure, I wonder what that will be like.