WAITING

In just 4 days I hope to be on my way to China with my wife and son for a visit with our granddaughter and her parents. By God's grace we hope to spend 4 days in Beijing sightseeing and then travel to Kunming to spend time with David and Marianne and Sarah in their apartment. We are full of anticipation.

If you have been following our preparation you know that we have had our share of challenges in preparing for this trip. The details of our efforts to get Barb's new Canadian passport and our Chinese visas have been detailed in previous blog posts. As you can see from the pictures, we all have our current passports and visas.

We have begun our packing and are busy making final purchases of requested items we will take with us to China. I spent much of yesterday making certain all our medications were on hand in sufficient quantities to cover us until our return on April 22nd. We learned this week that our son Shawn's high school principal will be on the same flight to China as she travels with a delegation to visit the Windsor Locks High School's sister school in China. Shawn wasn't sure what to think about that development.

When I wasn't checking on perscriptions yesterday, I was continuing to work on the final challenge facing us for the trip. We are still awaiting some confirmation about Barb's attempt to renew her green card. The online application has been completed and the fees paid. We have received both email and snail mail confirmation that the application and fee have been received. What we have not received yet is someone's assurance that Barb can travel and be readmitted to the United States without being in possession of her new green card (Permanent Resident Card). Our greatest frustration has been our inability to speak with anyone in the US Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) Office about Barb's case. Every attempt to speak with someone, and their have been over 50, have been met with frustration as we navigate the endless options given on the other end of the phone. Despite assurances that customer service representatives are on duty daily from 8:00am until 6:00pm, we have not once been able to speak to a living person.

Finally, in desperation, yesterday afternoon I called Senator Joseph Liberman's office and pleaded our case with one of his aides. After faxing them the relevant documents, we are now awaiting word on what we should do next. If you read this we would welcome your prayers for a satisfactory resolution to our situation. Barb has lived in the United States legally since 1977 (longer than she lived in Canada) and her green card that she had for 10 years expired on March 9, 2009. We are praying that somehow she will be given permission to travel to China and be re-admitted to the United States while we are waiting to have her green card renewed.

So, we are waiting.....and wondering out loud!