As for God, His way is Perfect...

3 ½ months have passed since I last posted. I don’t know how many times I posted in my mind but it never made it to the keyboard. God was walking with us through a dark, valley time and there were so many emotions with which we were grappling that I needed to first survive the night before I could write about the journey. Praise be to God, He never left us alone! So be warned, this will be lengthly and feel free to just praise God with us and skip the details, or join us and read to the end!

Why does it seem at times that God is so silent? “Why doesn’t He do something” was a question we faced, again and again. How could it be His will for our family to be separated? How could His plan be for half of us to face the changes of moving back home, changing cultures and starting new jobs while the other half stayed behind? Did He not see our little girl who is missing her Daddy, her only sister and her big hero brother so much that she’s twisting her hair into knots, or the boys who miss their Dad and big brother so much and they struggle to understand. And, why would He choose for me to be left without my husband, to continue on as my heart ached to be with him as he started a new business and dealt with the difficulties of the transition of cultures and the change from our life as we’d known it for the last 3 ½ years and I searched for answers to all of these questions and many more! Had we missed God’s leading in some way? But looking back, it seemed that the way had been clear, and still was, that this was the path we were to take. So, what did God want to teach us? Some things became very clear in my search for answers and the most sustaining one was to find how much God loves me! He wants to know if I trust Him. Do I really trust God with my family, my plans, and my life? Can I really let Him make my plans and trust that He will do what’s best for my loved ones and me? I found that I didn’t. This just didn’t seem best for us. But God loved me enough to wrestle with me for my trust. When Jacob wrestled with God he was left with a limp as a reminder of that encounter. I felt like I was limping thru those weeks, walking with God, waiting on His answers. And I came to fully trust Him with all the details. 2 weeks before our appointment week, God gave to me some precious promises from 2 Chronicles 20. “Be not afraid nor dismayed…for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still… fear not, nor be dismayed for the Lord will be with you.” When God gave this promise to the Israelites He also told them to be singing and praising the Lord for His mercy in the time of battle. So we went into the appointment week by faith that God had all the details in His hands and knowing that we were to praise Him. And we praise Him still!

I’ll give a general summary of the activities of the last months. Lorne came to visit us for 2 days 10 days after they had left. Then, on Feb. 9^th my Mom came and was there for 10 days. Regina came on the 13^th also, and then they were both there over Dustin’s birthday, the 18^th.  Lorne and Nevin came on the 22^nd  and  the project for the weekend was installing the solar panel system for SLCH. 

We had a beautiful weekend weather-wise and also a wonderful time together as a family. Lorne & Nevin were there until the 27^th when the boys and I came back with them to Indiana for a chance to spend more time together. Regina agreed to stay in MX with Tania and she was busy helping with things at the home there. She taught Greivin’s children their schoolwork to give Delores a break and did sewing projects as well. The boys and I returned to MX on Mar. 8^th and Sarah went back with us for the weekend.  Sarah and Regina returned to Indiana on the 12^th.

Here in Indiana, Regina was busy unpacking boxes and setting up the house again while Lorne and Nevin were getting the window manufacturing equipment ready for operation. Then, as production began Regina also joined the men and they all work together at the business.

The last weekend in March were the SLCH board meetings in MX so Lorne was there for a longer weekend which was great as it had been 2 full weeks since we last saw each other. On Easter weekend we were again all together as a family when Lorne and the children came for 4 days. We were by this time groaning for an appointment date so that we’d have something to look forward to and be able to better plan our upcoming weeks but again they all went home and we waited.

Then, the day after they left MX, the long awaited email arrived saying we had a date for the visa appointment! We thanked God and we praised Him! We had 2 ½ weeks until we would leave Tecate. The boys and I were kept busy packing everything in the house to be ready to load the trailer when loading day arrived. There were lots of details to see after in preparation for the upcoming trips. Airline tickets, hotels, medical & biometric appointments to schedule, paper bundles to prepare for appointments, and coordinate the move home as we went in different directions to get us all back home. Then finally, Friday, the 27^th of April, Lorne, Regina, Nevin and my parents arrived for moving weekend. It had been 3 months and 1 day since they left us to move to Indiana and they were back for the last time and wouldn’t have to leave us again! Thanks be to God! 

We were with SLCH for supper on Friday evening for the last time as a family there. Then on Saturday the men loaded the trailer while we finished filling the last boxes and soon after lunch we left for Tecate to take the load across the border. At 4:00 p.m. my parents and our 4 oldest children left Tecate with the van and trailer headed for Indiana. They had a good trip and arrived home on Monday around noon. 

Lorne, Tania & I were at the home with our dear people there for the song service on Sun. morning. Our hearts were torn as we said goodbye to the little church who was so much a part of our lives for 3 ½ years. They blessed us in so many ways! They were our people but now we must go.  And again, we thank God that we don’t go alone and neither do we leave them alone. He is with all of us and will be faithful!

We flew from Tijuana to Ciudad Juarez, MX on Sunday afternoon. It was Tania’s first flight and she really enjoyed it. We took a taxi to our hotel and were planning to take some time that evening to find the different places where we need to go that week. God had a different plan and it was so much better! On the way to the hotel the taxi driver asked if we were there for the American Consulate, which we said we were and so as we came past the medical clinic, the biometrics office and the consulate he pointed out each one and explained exactly where we’d need to go. Wow! We were so thankful for his help!

On Monday morning at 5:30 we were at the clinic for Tania’s physical. The guard at the door informed us that only one parent can enter and that no food or drink can be taken along in.  So I went in and Lorne waited outside with the snacks and milk I had for Tania since she didn’t eat breakfast that early, and also my cell phone which meant there was no communication to be had until I was finished. There was a lot of waiting but everything went well except for the fact that my little girl was getting very hungry and fussy. So, when we were finished there we went to the Wendy’s next door for some food and then back to the hotel for a much-needed nap. 

Tuesday we had no appointments so we hailed a taxi and took our laundry to a Laundromat. The lady told us when we started that “the water is dark today” and that the whites would get spotty. I asked her how bad it was and if the light colors were in danger as well but she assured me that it was only the whites. So, we washed everything and when it came out of the washers it all looked as if it had been drug through the mud. What a letdown! We now still didn’t have clean clothes and they were much worse than before. We loaded it up and asked the taxi driver to take us to Wal-Mart so that I could get some stain remover and then we went back to the hotel to hand wash our clothes. We soaked and scrubbed and the end result was nice clean laundry hanging around the room to dry. After that we did our laundry by hand each day there in our room.

On Wed. we had an appointment to return to the clinic at 11:00 to check Tania’s tb test result and then again at 2:00 to pick up the packet that was to go to her interview on Fri. Each day we would have breakfast at the hotel dining room then mid-afternoon we usually walked to a restaurant for our hot meal of the day.

Thursday’s appointment was at 1:40 for her biometrics and again only I was allowed to enter with Tania and Lorne waited outside. During that appointment, Lorne spoke with a man that was also waiting outside who was there with his wife for her visa appointment. He was from CA and his wife from Tijuana and they had come with the hopes of receiving her visa so that she could join him in CA but at her medical appointment they did a routine x-ray and discovered some spots on her lungs and she was told she’d need to go back home and check out those spots first before being able to proceed with her visa. It was a reminder again of the fact that our lives and plans are in God’s hands. We felt so blessed that Tania’s medical had been all clear and so far the way was opening before us! Now, we were all finished with the pre-appointment work and were ready for the long awaited day. As I prepared for the upcoming day and knew I had to do it alone I again claimed God’s word for me, “Be not afraid nor dismayed…for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still… fear not, nor be dismayed for the Lord will be with you.” It helped so much to know that there were many people praying and I really would not be going alone but that God would go before me and with me. Thanks for those prayers!

Appointment Day

Tania's mode of transportation
all week

Friday morning we were ready a bit early and walked on over to the first registration area at the consulate and already at 7:30 there was a long line of people, and the waiting began. The entrance where we were to go then was another block further so Lorne walked with us as far as he was allowed and then Tania and I went inside. We had to go through security first and then were given a number and sent to a waiting area in another building to wait for our number to be called.  It was close to 9:30 before our number was called, and that was to submit the paperwork for review and then we again sat to wait for our number. Tania did quite well considering the large amount of people that were there and the fact that the only thing to do was sit. Sitting still is not one of her strong points so I know God was answering the prayers that were covering us. It was close to 11:00 before our number again came up on the board and she had actually fallen asleep not long before. She soon awoke when I walked around but was refreshed and very calm for the interview. The man who conducted the interview was a very kind, soft-spoken gentleman who really seemed to care about our situation. He looked over the paperwork, asked a number of questions, typed up his notes, then folded his hands and said, “Tania, welcome to the United States. Your visa has been approved.” Those were very sweet words to my ears! He gave instructions for receiving her packet and we were free to go. We had to walk quite a ways to the outside but she was so happy to be able to go and I was crying tears of joy as we hurried to try to find Lorne, that the way seemed not as long as when we went in. We started down the sidewalk toward the waiting area at the registration building but almost right away Lorne walked up behind us and scooped up his little girl. He had been standing at the fence with all the other Mexicans waiting for us to exit. I think the wait was even longer for Lorne and the other children at home than for me because we were unable to communicate at all and they had no idea what was taking so long. Praise God! Thank you Jesus! We called home to rejoice together and wanted to shout to the heavens! Tania had no idea what was changing but she was hungry and was ready to play so we went to Wendy’s where there was a play area and had lunch while we made phone calls and sent emails.

The interviewing officer had told me that it could take up to a week for her visa packet to arrive so we returned to the hotel later and were quite content to relax and look forward to when we could travel. We had a website to watch the progress of her case and Fri evening there was already a tracking number for her packet which told us that it’s in transit. We knew the local DHL office was open on Sat. but didn’t know whether we could expect the package to travel over the weekend so on Saturday morning we planned to go for a later breakfast and just relax for the weekend and hoped for a Mon. delivery. We checked airline tickets to see what was available all weekend so that we would have an idea what to do once we could plan. I had checked the visa status around 8:00 but there was no change. About 8:20 I checked our email and there was a notice saying the package was ready for pickup! I quickly checked the tracking number and it said the same thing. Talk about changing gears, we did! We quickly got ready, went down and ate a little breakfast and got a taxi for the DHL office. We agreed to not make any calls until the visa was in our hands, but that was hard not to do. 

Rushing for the border!

As soon as we were back to the hotel we called the children and told them the change in plans and we packed suitcases in record time. In less than an hour we were ready to leave the hotel and went with a taxi for the border. On the way, again God directed through the taxi driver as we had in mind to go to the border crossing that was closest to the El Paso airport but the driver told us that we could wait up to 6 hrs at that crossing to be cleared and across but there was another crossing that is always faster. We told him definitely just go to the faster one.  He helped us into the office where we needed to take the packet, arranged a taxi for our ride to the airport and waited until the next driver was there before he left.

The border crossing went very well and within an hour we, with our precious little girl, were in the United States! 

In the USA!!

 As soon as we were in the taxi, I rescheduled our airline tickets for the next flight to Chicago, which was at 4:40pm, and we went to the airport. We checked in and then sat and ate a leisurely lunch as we tried to process the fact that we were actually on the way home.  We moved on to our gate then and waited for flight time. The agent at the gate enjoyed watching Tania and as we talked I told her that this was a very special day for our family, and explained why. We boarded the plane and the only row of seats together was all the way in the back so we settled in. When the steward at the front of the plane began his normal preflight announcements he began by asking where the Hershberger family was sitting and would we raise our hands. We were stunned and didn’t know what could be wrong but we did as requested, and then he proceeded to explain that we were on a very special flight, taking home our little girl, Tania, for the first time and would everyone join in celebration with us.  The whole planeload erupted in applause and we felt overwhelmed again with the joy of this journey! He later talked with us and he also had adopted and had made that special trip home 4 yrs ago.

Our arrival in Chicago!

Our first flight went to Las Vegas then on to arrive in Chicago at 11:40 p.m. We were exhausted by this time and so very ready to find the rest of the family and be at home! We had heard that there were more people coming to the airport but didn’t know who all would be there. When we arrived, most of the church was waiting to welcome us! 

What a joy to be reunited as a family, this time all together and going home to stay!

I cannot express how important your prayers were for us these long months and how much it meant to us to know that we were not alone but were being lifted to the Father by many of our friends and family! Thank you for your love and support through this time!!

And now together we go forward, adjusting to life in ‘Egypt’ again with a new culture, different jobs, learning to know our church family again and dealing with the many changes that 3½ years away have brought to our lives. But we go with God before us and trust Him fully to perfect His plan in our lives and pray that He may continue to be glorified by our lives! To God be the Glory! A Dios sea la Gloria!