Tomorrow, or One

Yippee!  Tomorrow.

Carol will be arriving on Virgin Atlantic Flight VS24.  I couldn't be more excited.  After more than 6 months of her being away, we will finally be reunited.

To celebrate, here are some things I think are appropriate. :)

• Definition of tomorrow
• Tomorrow (1972) with Robert Duvall
• Tomorrow by Graham Swift
• Again, who knew?  Tomorrow (band)

Here are some songs entitled "Tomorrow:"

Or if I want to celebrate the number one:

• One (Number)
• In the NHL, the number 1 is the lowest number.  00, or 0 being banned. Official Rule 9:  Uniforms
• The magnitude of a unit vector is 1.

The number one in different languages:

• Arabic – واحد
• Bulgarian – Един
• Chinese – 之一
• Croatian – Jedan
• Czech – Jedna
• Danish – Én
• Dutch – Een
• Finnish – Yksi
• French – I'un
• German – Ein
• Greek – Ένας
• Hindi – एक
• Italian – Uno
• Japanese - 1 つ
• Korean – 한
• Norwegian – En
• Polish – Jeden
• Portuguese – Um
• Romanian – O
• Russian – Один
• Spanish – Uno
• Swedish - En

Two Days

Whoopie!  Carol will be home in two more days.  Two.  More.  Days.

To celebrate, here are some things about the number two (2).

Of course, can't forget the introductory School House Rock video.

  

Now onto the number two:

The number two in the Bible:

• The second day God created..the firmament.  Genesis 1: 6-8
• Two angels were sent to Sodom to save Lot.  Genesis 19: 1
• Joshua sent two spies into Jericho.  Joshua 2: 1
• Jesus sent out the twelve disciples out in pairs.  Mark 6: 7-13 

General:

• The number two (2)
• The famous No. 2 Pencil
• Who knew.  There was a band called "No. 2"
• The geek in me:  Number Two (Battlestar Galactica)
• My second favorite number (e) starts with the number 2.

My anticipation is starting to kill me.  :P  Can't wait.

Three Days

Three days before my wife is back in the United Kingdom.  To celebrate, here are some things regarding the number three, but first, how about a little (and awesome) diddly about the number three.

Now on to other things about the number three:

• The number 3
• God is three in one - Father, Son & Holy Spirit
• Christ was dead for three days, but then rose again.   Matthew 28: 1-10, Mark 16: 1-8, Luke 24: 1-12, and John 20: 1-10
• How about a phone company?  3
• A television channel?  BBC Three
• Mathematics - The Rule of Three
• My favorite number (Pi) starts with the number 3.

Three more days.  Can't wait.

Bitterness Becomes a Homecoming...Soon

Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:35:22 -0400

Dear Applicant,

Your appeal against your UK visa refusal has been reviewed by an Entry Clearance Manager.

The ECM has overturned the original decision and is satisfied you meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules. Your visa will now be issued.

If you submitted your passport at the time of appeal, your entry clearance will shortly be issued. You will receive an email notifying you of this and providing you with a return UPS tracking number.

If you did not submit your passport at the time of appeal please send it back to us as soon as possible in order for your entry clearance to be issued. The envelope should be clearly marked for the attention of the Appeals Officer. You should also enclose a money order for $12, payable to the British Consulate General, in order for your passport and visa to be returned to you via overnight delivery by UPS.

Kind Regards,

New York Visa Team
UK Border Agency
British Consulate-General
_____________________________________________________________

That was an email my wife received yesterday evening (morning for her).  After almost 6 months of being separated, my wife is finally close to being home.  Since we did not include her passport with the appeal, she will need to send the passport back to the embassy for them to process the actual visa.

5 months, 21 days.    174 total days.  4,176 hours.  250,560 minutes.

A long time.   Even though it isn't quite over, we know that it will be sooner rather than later.  Me, my wife and my kids along with all the friends and family who stated as such on facebook are very happy and excited with this wonderful news.

Almost 6 months of being separated is a very long time.  The world would look at this specific situation and put blame on the system.  But I know better.  The reason this ordeal was long and arduous was because of my heart.

You see, I've been harboring bitterness and hatred in my heart for a very long time.  This bitterness was revealed to me about 3 weeks ago.  I was talking with a friend at my church.  I was explaining to him the frustration I was feeling because of the delay with the appeal.  I mentioned to him how I was thinking about calling the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB), probe my Member of Parliament, contact a lawyer that deals with immigration & visa, and even contact the media.  I was so fed up with the situation that I was desperate to do anything.

This friend of mine prayed with me.  However, not only did he pray that the Lord would overcome the hurdles the process put up, but he also prayed that the Lord would take away the bitterness from my heart.  He laid hands on my chest and urged the Lord to soften my heart.

I was dumbstruck.

That Monday, I tried to contact the CAB without any success.  I then tried to contact a lawyer via email, only to have them respond that the solicitor who handled immigration issues was on maternity leave and wouldn't be back until April next year.

I was prepared to start an email to two major news outlets here in Britain, with me CCing my MP in the email, when the prayer from that past Sunday popped into my mind.  I realized at that moment that I didn't need to do anything.  All the things I was trying to do was out of bitterness.  Instead of making a mess of things by contacting the media, or other means that might cost me a fortune, the Lord reminded me that I just need to release everything to Him.  Which I did.

I prayed that the Lord would just give me a peace about this, and help soften my heart.  After that quick prayer, I truly did feel at peace.

Later that evening, a letter from HM Courts & Tribunal Service was on my door step when I got home from work.  It was a letter stating that the Respondent  (the British Embassy from NY) had reversed their decision and withdrew the appeal.  My heart jumped.

When I called the hotline on the letter, I was informed that officially the only thing they could say was that the appeal was withdrawn.  However, the girl did say that 90% of the time in a situation like this was because the embassy was going to issue the visa.  She told me to expect something from the embassy soon.

So we waited.

Days became a week.  A week became two.   I could feel the frustration building.  What was taking so long?

On Tuesday, during lunch, I prayed again.  Lord, take this bitterness from me.  Soften my heart.  Give me peace again regarding this situation.

Wednesday, after I got home from work, I get a facebook chat message from Carol that she received the above email. 

Too many coincidences for this just to be by chance.  I can't believe that.  This truly has to be the Lord's work.

I know that I have a long way to go before I'm at the point where the Lord truly wants me.  But one thing I do know.  This separation was not only because of a bureaucratic process.  It was also due to the Lord dealing with a bitter man.  This bitter man.

For that, I thank Him.

Bitterness in the Heart

As many of you are aware, my wife, Carol, is currently in the United States awaiting her settlement visa from the British government.

The initial application was refused because there was no evidence supplied that I was a British citizen.  What happened was I thought I sent Carol along with my birth certificate, but I didn't, and it wasn't known until after the refusal when I was able to account for all the copies of my birth certificate here with me in England.

So we submitted an appeal, and since they requested only copies of supporting documentation, I provided my wife with scanned copies of my birth certificate and UK passport.

Weeks turned into a month, and then it was two months.  The frustration of the wait, and not knowing what was going on was building.  I was getting desperate.  

I was prepared to contact the media (the Guardian and the Independent).  I was also prepared to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau.  

I was talking with a wonderful man at church (Rob).  I was explaining to him everything I was prepared to do, and about the mounting frustration I was feeling.  He asked to pray for me.  Not only did he pray that the Lord would overcome the hurdles put in place by bureaucracy but he also prayed that the Lord would prevent bitterness from building up in my heart.

Then it struck me.  That is exactly what I was allowing to happen.  The frustration from the process caused me to become bitter towards the British government. 

On Monday, as I was still contemplating sending emails to the Guardian and the Independent, and lawyers, and probing my MP (member of Parliament), etc.  I stopped.  I prayed that the Lord would just give me a peace about this entire situation and not allow the bitterness to creep into my heart.

That evening when I got home, there was a letter from HM Courts & Tribunal Service saying that the Respondent (UK Embassy in NYC) had reversed the original decision and that the Tribunal was satisfied that the appeal had been withdrawn.  Of course, in excitement, I called the hotline the very next day.  Unfortunately, the person was not able to provide me with any official status outside the fact that the appeal was withdrawn by the respondent.  However, she did say that 90% of the time this was because they planned on providing a visa.

I received the Appeal Withdrawal notice on the 10th of September.  It has now been two weeks since, again with no further details.  Again the frustration is starting to creep in.  And with the frustration, the bitterness as well.

So, I am appealing to all my brothers and sisters in Christ that they will pray for me.  Pray that the Lord will help me stave off this bitterness and to again give me the peace regarding this situation.  Bitterness only leads to darkness and I can't afford to fall into darkness again.  For my children's sake, my wife's sake and for my marriage sake, pray for me.

Depressing...

As many of you know, last May, I left my wife and kids in Virginia and left for England.  During the 5 months of us being separated, I applied for my National Insurance Number, my UK passport, applied for Job Seekers (unemployment for you US readers), updated my CV (resume), submitted that CV to hundreds of job adverts, found a job, and found a place to live.

My wife and my children arrived in the UK in early October of 2011.  Also during those 5 months, I've contacted the UK Border Agency numerous times about how to apply for a visa for my wife (my kids are British by decent).  After almost 8 months of calling and receiving different answers, my wife and I finally found the answer regarding my wife's visa.  She would have to go back to the United States in order to apply for the visa.

So, on the 6th of April, 2012, my wife left for California.

My wife submitted her application for her visa in either late April or early May (I can't remember, exactly).  Then started the waiting...without knowing.  You see, according to the website, you aren't able to call and receiving a status until after the 90 day processing time.  So for 90 days we can only wait, and pray.

On the 25th of June, my wife received a Refusal of Entry Clearance letter from the British Embassy in New York City.  Apparently they didn't have substantial evidence of my British nationality.  My birth certificate was not among the documentation that was sent back to my wife.  We don't know what happened.  Somehow my birth certificate was not part of the supporting documentation, and thus the embassy didn't have substantial evidence of my nationality.  So the refused the visa.

Part of the refusal was a form for an appeal, which we filled out.  They asked for copies of any supporting documentation to be sent with the appeal form.  So I scanned my British passport and my British birth certificate and emailed them to my wife so she can send them along with the appeal form.


On the 2nd of August, my wife received the Notice of Pending Appeal, which states that the Tribunal has received our notice of appeal against the refusal and that they will send the appeal to the embassy in New York to prepare for the appeal. This process is expected to take 19 weeks; the letter stated that they will contact us after 13 December, 2012.  19 WEEKS!  However, this is only the preparation period.  During this period, if the Embassy decides to cancel the appeal and grant the visa, then the process is finished.  My wife can come home.  If they feel we still don't have adequate proof of my nationality, then an appeal hearing will be scheduled and an appeal will start.  The typical processing time for an appeal is 6 to 12 months.  MONTHS!

This might be the first time in 18 years of marriage where we will be separated for Christmas.

We do have options.  We could cancel the appeal, gather up all current supporting documentation and reapply for a visa.  The only downside to this, is that the visa will cost us another £810, which I have, but will hurt us financially.  Or we can wait out the appeal process.

I have never been more and more frustrated.

I've contacted my local member of parliament regarding this situation.  So far, the only response I've received was " I have emailed the MP’s Liaison Unit at the UK Border Agency to ask for an update on your case."  That was on the 16th of August.   So of course, I have to wait again.  Without knowing what is going on.

Friend from work mentioned that I contact either the Guardian or the Independent, two major newspapers in the UK.  I'm not sure I want to do that.  The last thing I want to do is burn any bridges.

Tomorrow I am going to call the Citizens Advice Bureau to see what, if any, legal means I can go through.


Granted, even though the frustration level is very high at the moment and I feel like I need to do something, I do know that God is in control and there is a reason for this.  Maybe all he wants for me to just wait.  I don't know.  I wished I did.  All I want is my wife to be back at my side and I am continually praying that my wife will be allowed to be there soon.

Penn State punishment not harsh enough...

The NCAA has handed out their punishment of Penn State University for the Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.  Post after post is appearing on my facebook newsfeed and Penn State is starting to trend on twitter.

Here are key points of the punishment with my comment for each.

1.  A four-year postseason ban. - Really?  A 4 year ban on bowls?  That man sexually abused children, and the school knew and allowed it to continue for OVER a decade and they ban the school for 4 years?  Personally it should have been one year for each of the years they allowed Sandusky to freely continue abusing children.

2.  $60 million fine, which will be used to create a foundation for abused children. - This seems fair to me.

3.  Penn State will be forced to cut 10 scholarships for this season and 20 scholarships for the following four years. - I personally HATE sports scholarships.  Universities should be about academics, not sports.  I only wished they would cut them all.

4.  Penn State will be forced to vacate all wins from 1998 to 2011. - This just doesn't make any sense to me.  The games were played, despite the horrendous activities occurring in the background.  Why remove them?

I personally feel sorry for the students because they will probably feel the brunt of this with hikes to their tuition to make up for the revenue loss from Penn State losing all the TV money from not being in the bowls for the next four years.