There are times when we have gone through a hardship and realized that we have learned a lesson the hard way. Sometimes it was because of a poor choice but sometimes it was because we just didn’t know some important bit of information. Today the later was certainly the case. I don’t know how many details to write so here goes.
On Monday this week Daniel and I drove the van that we were borrowing down to Dallas, Oregon, finished packing, got a bunch of last minute items sorted out and then on Tuesday we dropped off the van. My parents then dropped us off at a hotel near the Portland airport. At the same time Judith was up in Abbotsford with Timothy.
Wednesday morning around 2:30 AM Judith and Timothy were driven to the airport in Vancouver and checked in. About 3:30 AM Daniel and I took an airport shuttle to the airport and checked in. Our check in went smoothly and before long we were sitting at the gate eating a breakfast sandwich and drinking a strong cup of black coffee. That was when our day took an unfortunate turn.
Judith and I had been texting back and forth from 2:30 AM onward so I knew that she was checked in, through security and getting to the gate. At the gate there were US CBP folk doing the pre-screening process. Now I’m sure by now you know where this is going.
Before I go forward let me say that during the last couple of times that I had been driving across the border, including the Monday 2 days prior, I had asked the border guys about our travel plans and they thought that it should be fine to transit through the US; though they were careful to not guarantee it.
About 15 minutes before Daniel and I were to board our flight we got the text from Judith that she was denied entry to the US. And here is the lesson learned. If you can’t enter the US then you also cannot transit through the US. This is not true for every other country that we have traveled through; but now we know.
I had to go up to the counter at the gate and request that our bags be taken off of the plane, email our travel agent, texted back and forth with Judith as she was dealing with an unrelenting border agent, and try to figure out where to go next. Long story short, we were able to book a flight from Portland to Vancouver later this morning where Judith and Timothy were at and eventually get back to the same flat where we had been staying.
By the time Daniel and I were back in Vancouver our travel agent had canceled our first flight, gotten back some of the money and then booked us new tickets for this Saturday (at greater expense). So we do have a way forward though we are understandably physically and emotionally exhausted, and still trying to process through the last 12 hours, or 3 months to be honest.
We know that there have been a LOT of people praying for us and we are very thankful for that. Please do not stop. We still have many hurdles ahead.
In Him,
Eric and Judith, Stephen, Daniel and Timothy
Caption for upper image: On Judith’s birthday we stopped by and said goodby to Judith’s Uncle Hardy.
Prayer and Praise
- Praise that our citizenship is in heaven with our Savior Jesus as the border guard. Our residency is set and we aren’t looking to transit thru.
- Pray for us as we process through this. It would be nice to think that we will smile about this in years to come. I have had enough experiences over the years to know that this won’t happen. Learn, grow and leave it in the past. Do you think that Job smiled reminiscing about the days he sat on the ash heap scraping his sores? Not that I’m comparing myself to Job but you get the point.
- Pray for our trip back on Saturday, and for us as we get settled in again.
- Praise that Daniel was able to get his PNG visa.
- Pray for Timothy as he does online school.
- Pray for the financial ramifications of this change in plans.
- Pray for Stephen. He had an appointment with a specialist concerning his diagnosis of ADHD when he was a kid. This appointment went well but there are still some areas to trust the Lord with.
- Pray for God to be glorified; in our lives and in the world.