We've been going through this immigration junk for 10 months now, and it's become extremely draining, to say the least. We mailed our application in February 2010, and we were supposed to get notification a few weeks later, with our case number, etc....well it's been 10 months and we haven't heard one piece of communication with USCIS! They hadn't even cashed our cheque yet!! I have never been so wanting to get rid of money before!! We had contacted Luke's local congresswoman's office, back in August, to try and get some help if we could. There was a really nice lady there who did her best to get us some info, and the only reason we had any information at all was through her - she was great. However we just continued to get the run around - no one was able to give us any solid information as to where our application was, why it was taking so long, what had happened, how the ball had been dropped so dramatically....nothing at all! The US went through an election and unfortunately the congresswoman wasn't re-elected, so at that point her office didn't seem too interested in helping us anymore. I'm not sure why, but they too dropped the ball.
So we made a really difficult decision - we've canceled our application for the US, and are now pursuing Canadian PR for Luke. It's a huge change, and one that we didn't take lightly, because we felt we were already so invested in this process, but at some point you just have to look at the signs and see where God is pointing you (and sometimes shoving you!). It's not going to be an instantaneous thing to get PR for Luke - we still have to go through a lengthy application process, but we're hoping that it will be an easier thing to go through when we actually see SOME progress, some light at the end of the tunnel....something!!!
It's been a really hard thing for us to deal with - we love Colorado and the life we had there, and we love our house. But when we look back on the signs that God was showing us, we really feel that this is the best decision that we can make. Luke's job that was once really great, that he really enjoyed, has slowly gone very much downhill since the spring. He's being persecuted for keeping the Holy days, and the situation is extremely ugly. Some things that should have happened for us throughout these past few months haven't - and now looking back on them, I think God was showing us for sure that He didn't want us in the US. If some of these things had worked out like WE wanted, it would have messed us up for Canada Immigration. So it's pretty neat when you look back and see where God is directing your life.
I feel kind of dumb sometimes, that we didn't come to this conclusion earlier. We gave all of this immigration stuff a TON of thought before we did anything - we prayed about it constantly and really wanted to make the right decision. When we applied for the US we really couldn't see any reason why we shouldn't be in the US - everything seemed great and it was all looking positive. So I think God really needed us to see how bad it could be, and we needed to see just how much He is directing our lives before we let go of what WE wanted and really put every ounce of trust in Him instead.
Anyway, as you are all my friends and family, I wanted to update you all on this. We have a long road ahead of us still, but I really have faith that this is how it was supposed to be from the beginning. When we came to this conclusion we both really felt a sense of calm and relief wash over us - I think that really made us feel more confident. We appreciate any and all prayers you can throw our way - we know God has a lot in store for us, and we know this still isn't going to be an easy journey. We're still looking at months of being apart unfortunately. But we hope that with God's help we can once again be back together, and finally live as husband and wife again! Oh, how I miss that!!
Thanks to all of you for your support and prayers - it means a lot to us :) And feel free to email me anytime if you want more details or whatever. We have quite the story!!
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