A little bit of progress!

Don't fall out of your chair with that title. I know the word 'progress' is shocking, but we knew it would come sooner or later.

George was oh so proud to use my saying of "Guess what?!" yesterday and told me that the Immigrant fee bill letter has arrived in Ho! This is great, but George is on the other side of the country....you had to know it couldn't be that simple! :) So, next week George will travel 7 hours across Ghana to get the letter in Ho and then 3-4 hours back to Accra to get me at the airport (YAY!!!!) and then we'll both trek another 2-3 hours to Cape Coast. Simple enough, right?

I'm excited, any movement at all is good in my book, we'll figure out what to do next once I'm there. More importantly, I leave in 8 days, I'm SO HAPPY!

I'm learning...

I'm learning that love is so much more than I ever thought it would be. It's bigger, deeper, more wonderful than I could have imagined and grows everyday...even long distance.

I'm learning to get involved when things don't work well for me, instead of just trying to find something else.

I'm learning to be optimistic even when it's easier to be a pessimist, funnier too. Why is it that optimism isn't funny?

I'm learning that Christians make Christianity complicated...and I think that's silly.

I'm learning that I'm not like other people my age and that I'd rather be lonely than a sell out.

I'm learning that following God is so easy and so hard.

I'm learning to be happy about really small things- if the weather is nice enough not to have to wear a sweater or a jacket, I'm a happy girl!

I'm learning to be content with where I am; even though I fondly dream of the days when I woke up under a net and walked through orange dirt in flip flops to get work, passing a dozen people I could call friends. I wonder if that will ever be my life again.

I'm learning to be still and know that He is God. Some days it's harder than it sounds.

I'm learning that if I walk 6-8 miles a day I can eat chocolate and not feel guilty....I like that.

...we rise and stand upright!

I'm in a defiant mood. Those of you who know me well probably think I'm in a defiant mood most of the time, but I'm not. There's is still no word from immigration. By the time it's been long enough to do something about it, I'll be thousands of miles away, so we'll probably not know anything for a while. We are still waiting-this is a common theme in our lives if you haven't noticed....it actually feels pretty normal. Even though this is a huge deal and there are times that being away from George is enough to just crush me; I don't want to allow immigration to lord over me. God is my strength and hope, no one else. I refuse to be toyed with by a silly government! I will 'rise and stand upright' and I will remember God's faithfulness and promises.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. Psalm 20:7

Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. Psalm 37:3-5

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told. Psalm 40:5

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10

No title

I'm still waiting for the letter. Apparently the NVC/CIS doesn't use the Pony Express...they use something slower. Maybe a Longhorn? I'm not talking a pissed off, pent up Bevo before a game (besides, that sprint totally takes it out of him). I'm talking those huge lazy things who chill in the field and hardly move 10yards all day- they are completely surrounded by their own dung and won't even move away from it! On second thought.....a Longhorn would be too cool. I bet they use a duck. Ducks are ugly, SLOW, and sassy- they make you stop your car so they can cross the road (well, I stop, because what if the duck's posse came after me?). Makes perfect sense to me.

I'll move on to a slightly more serious and slightly more random note now. There is an insanely popular song out (I think it's new, but not sure) by The Fray and I think about it a lot, maybe even too much. Here are some of the lyrics:

I found God

On the corner of First and Amistad

Where the west

Was all but won

All alone

Smoking his last cigarette

I said, “Where you been?”

He said, “Ask anything.”

Where were you

When everything was falling apart?

All my days

Were spent by the telephone

That never rang

And all I needed was a call

It never came

To the corner of

First and Amistad

Lost and insecure

You found me, you found me

Lying on the floor

Surrounded, surrounded

Why’d you have to wait?

Where were you, where were you?

Just a little late

You found me, You found me

First, I love this song, and I love hearing what people think of God. It makes me kind of sad though, I feel for the guy who wrote it and I remember times in my life where I have felt like God was not hearing me and finally showed up too late. But most importantly I like this song because it gives me hope and makes me thankful. I am so thankful that I don't feel this way. I know where my God is and He isn't ignoring me. With that being said, He's not exactly telling me what he's doing. However, I know He is there and at work and that he most definitely will not show up too late. Also, I think there is a reason why we can't know everything.

Waiting.

So immigration has reunited me with my good ol' pal Patience (his middle names are Suffer, Perpetually and Friedrich but that's just btw). Yep, that's the one constant with immigration- we wait, a LOT. I still haven't received the letter detailing the ramifications of my dorkhood and what else they want (the deed to my right arm?). So we shall see. I'll update when I know.

Isn't it funny how most things can be mailed anywhere in the US and arrive in a day or two? Not with immigration. I think they still use the Pony Express...

I stopped the freight train...

So the last time I called the NVC they told me they received my packet of information (the affidavit of support stuff) and that something is missing or incomplete. Poop. I should receive a letter this week with further details/instructions. Poop.

Let the confusion ensue...

I just finished my morning ritual of calling the nice 24 hour man at the NVC- I had to call twice because I hung up and realized I had no clue what was going on. And that's where the fun stopped. Even though he's a nice man, with a nice voice and he's short and wear glasses, cuffed and pleated khaki pants and Hush Puppies; he told me something that I'm a little confused about. He said that the Immigrant fee bill letter had been prepared and would be sent to the agent in the next few weeks. First off, I didn't think they were going to be able to squeeze more money out of this. Second, George is his own agent, so God only knows when that letter will get to him! Which means this process could be drawn out longer, as usual. Hopefully I'll get a copy too and can do something about it quickly. Money has to be sent to St. Louis, surely they realize that can't happen from Ghana. Seriously people, they act like they've never dealt with people from other countries.

So I think I finally have this whole Immigrant Visa game figured out. Obviously they start with making sure we're dealing with the person you want to be with the most. Then, they make you wait and wait and wait so that you are so tense and anxious about everything that simply the thought of a letter or call from CIS is enough to throw you in the nut house. Yes, that's exactly where they want you. Then, when you've grown accustomed to waiting so long you're five minutes from booking a one way ticket out of here....they give you hope. So now that you're high on optimism they bombard you with more paperwork and more fees so that you feel like you're running a marathon of amazingness and that you're actually getting somewhere. Yep, still exactly where they want you. Then things subside a bit and you get to actually think about everything that just happened. You realize that the light of this horribly long and painful tunnel is growing nearer! You know exactly what's going on now and exactly what will happen next, you can dare to think about your future, and yes, it's a happy thought. Then, BOOM! That wasn't the light at the end of the tunnel, that was an NVC lightning bug.....it's dead now. You are not finished, you do not know what's going on, you should not think about good things and you are most definitely NOT in charge. Please wait for a letter, if you don't get it in about 6 weeks or so....good luck. That's how the game goes, that's how they like it. But I think I have decided I'm not going to play. Yes, I'm not going to play this game. I don't like that they can toy with my life and emotions this way. No sir, Mr. nice 24 hour NVC man, you do not win. My hope is not in you or your Hush Puppy clad self, nor any of your less cheery minions. Things aren't as bad or confusing as they look right now, my hope is in someone else (and no, Barack Obama doesn't own the word hope and I am not talking about him).

Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. Psalm 20:7-8

Waiting, waiting, waiting....

Nothing new is happening. January was a blur of progress and now it's time to wait again. The National Visa Center has a 24 hour automated phone system to check on the status of things. I call it everyday. They still haven't "received" my affidavit of support, so I keep calling. The guy who does the announcements sounds so nice, so I don't mind. I feel like we're friends. I think he's probably short and wear glasses, and I bet he truly is a nice guy.