The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. Ps 29:11
This is our testimony tonight and we thank you all for lifting us to the Father in this time of huge uncertainty here!
On Monday evening we were in touch with a lawyer that has a lot of experience with problems such as ours. She also has connections with the right people at immigration that makes a difference for us. We clearly see God's hand in leading us to her. She contacted the im officials to see what they planned to do and what could be done. She let us know that it is a serious problem and things were not looking good.
Yesterday then she called and explained what was happening. The initial plan was to close the home here, ask some to leave voluntarily, and some would be imprisoned and later deported. She explained the situation to them and 'somehow' had them agree to give us 6 mo. to legalize everything. Quite clearly that 'somehow' was God's hand working in the minds of these people! She called around 5:00 pm last eve and said she wants us all to come to her office in Tijuana yet last night so that she can prepare us for today's hearing. So we quickly collected those involved and away we went an hr and a half away. It was well worth the trip though because she did an excellent job explaining everything and giving us a good idea of what to expect.
So, this morning we left around 7:30 with very mixed emotions yet a sense of peace. Our family was the first appointment at 10:00. Lorne was taken back first and was interrogated for 1 1/2 hr.s. That seemed SO long for us in the waiting room. Then they asked for Gina and I but I had no chance to ask Lorne anything. By faith we went in! They were very friendly, asked me a lot of questions, Gina a few, and recorded everything we said. Then it was Nevin's turn to come in. A few questions for him and then the 2 youngest. They also were only asked a few questions then we were dismissed.
They said they will review our case and on May 21st we will have another appointment to hear what the resolution is. So what we thought was to be a completion today was only another step in the process. We do have our lawyer very actively involved and she is doing a great job of being aggressive and working all that she can for us. She feels it can be resolved, but time will tell. We expect to hear before the 21st what she finds is happening but nothing final until then.
We didn't get back home until 5:30 tonight and are very weary! We feel at peace with committing this totally to the Lord knowing that whatever happens will only be what He has allowed. At the same time our hearts long to keep these children here, to stay here to care for them and continue God's work here. So many 'what ifs'. But perfect love casteth out fear and God's love is perfect so what have we to fear? It helps so much to just go to The Word and be filled with the precious reassurances there!
We really need your prayers for our protection, physically and spiritually, and for the officials involved. Thanks for your many emails, texts, and calls to let us know of your prayers and support. It makes a huge difference in our spirits as we face this mountain!!