Catching up... May

The first weekend in May brought on Leslie's brother's wedding. Derek and Megan were married May 2, 2009 in Oklahoma City. It was a beautiful wedding and a lovely reception. It was wonderful time to spend with family.

We enjoyed a trip to Colorado to visit Tristan's Mom. It was great to be out there again. Tristan especially looks forward to seeing his beloved Rocky Mountains.

Mid May brought Leslie's sister Callie's graduation from High School. We were glad to be witnesses to that momentous occasion in her life. Congrats Callie!

May also brought a very sad and heartbreaking time for Leslie's family. Nick Prindle, Leslie's uncle passed away on May 22nd. We will never forget Nick and all of the joy he brought to our family. Please keep his family in your prayers.

We were also fortunate to attend Family Camp, a Northside Church of Christ tradition out at Rock Springs 4-H Camp near Junction City. It was an encouraging time of fellowship and great lessons. One of our favorite parts of family camp is the talent show. Tristan participated in the show by being a "contestant" on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" It was great!


Now here's the story of why we are still here in the States as of July 15th...
A week after we first got here in May we sent away for our new visas that we would need to continue working in the U.K. for the next year, since our original 2 year visa had expired. We applied for the visa that we thought we would need and really thought nothing more of it because we thought the process would be fairly easy and we would get our visas back plenty of time to get on the plane on May 27th. Well... we didn't get anything in the mail until after that date (which was okay, since we had already postponed our flight because of Leslie's uncle's funeral). When we did receive word in the mail, the word was DENIED. Our visas had been denied! We couldn't believe it! We were very upset and worried by this news. We would have to apply for a complete different type of visa.
At the beginning of this year, the UK government completely revamped their visa application process to include new rules and regulations regarding how people came into the country to live. In order to apply for our new visa, the church in Stirling has to go through a "sponsorship" process so that they can get clearance for us to come over. Once they all of the paperwork organized and turned in, the evaluation takes at least 4 weeks. We are now in week 4. So, beginning at the end of this week is when the church in Stirling should be hearing about their sponsorship. When they receive sponsorship, they will send us a number to put on our new application for the visa that we need. Our visa process should take 1-2 weeks, no more than 3.
So there you have it... the reason we are still on U.S. soil. This has been a difficult thing for us, but we know that through this whole process God has been with us. He's given us many opportunities to support others during this "waiting time". Although we are very very tired of living out of our suitcases, we are thankful for having this extra time with family and friends. If you are reading this and you have supported us in any way this summer (feeding us, housing us, encouraging us with a word or smile, entertaining us, or just plain loving us) we thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! It's hard to say where we'd be with out you!