Visa Update

This past week we received a letter in the mail from the US Department of Homeland Security.  The letter informed us that our application for an extension to our current visa is being processed.  There were no dates given or estimated times for processing, so now all we do is wait!  We have heard that it can take quite a while to hear back, and we think it took about 6 weeks to hear back when we applied for the extension in 2009.  Right now our passports are stamped until January 18, 2012, but since our visas are part of a current review we can stay in the country until we hear back about the extension.  For this reason, as well as the stressful nature of our previous dealings with immigration, we decided that we won't be traveling back to Canada for Christmas as we had initially planned last summer.  It will be difficult to be away from family over the holidays, but right now we cannot risk leaving the country, as we will likely be denied re-entry.  If our application is rejected we will likely only have about 3 days to leave the country.  However, we are praying and believing for an answer in the affirmative.

In the meantime, it's business as usual here!  Ryan finished his last teaching for this quarter and now is buried in a mountain of grading!  Actually, he's keeping up just fine, but I am happy to have him around more soon as the campus takes a three week long Christmas break.  We are also eager to figure out how the next quarter will look.  Right now he is unsure if he will be working with Mobile Word, teaching in the other SBS class, or even doing some teaching with the April 2012 SBS school that we recently heard will be held in Honolulu rather than Kona.  There are many possibilities, but first we need to know we can stay in the country!  We are so thankful for God's provision and the history of His faithfulness that has been so evident in our life over the past 2 and a half years.  We trust Him with this visa extension as well as how the next few months will turn out.  Thank you so much for your prayers.

We'll keep you posted!