Where is My Long Arm?
Many of you know that we redid a room in our basement in order to get it ready to make into a longarm room. We finished that in early February.
This is September.
So…
Where is my longarm?
What’s up with the room?
Let me answer the questions in order.
I do not have a longarm at present.
The room is completely finished and waiting. At the moment it is full of quilt bundles waiting for a new home, but that could be rectified in one day with some young legs and enough energy. We are making room at the church so we can move the remaining quilts there as we give them away. In the summer it was so hot - actually just three weeks ago - that we didn’t want to go in and out of the house any more than we had to. So we opted to use the one empty room in the house to store quilt bundles. That one.
I told you before that I did not want to get a longarm until I had my next temporary residency card.
We filled out the paperwork and had our appointment for last November 3, 2021. They were supposed to let us know by the end of January, 2022.
I still do not have it.
To say that it has caused me a little stress this year is a serious understatement.
On April 13, while Mike and another man, Tim, were on a trip to Ukraine, I got a notice for a registered letter. I went and picked it up. It was not what I was expecting which was another form for customs - for quilts for Ukraine. I had been getting quite a few of them.
Instead, it was a letter saying that my request for a temporary residency card was refused. When I opened, it I sat at the table in shock. Sorta. While I was in the post office holding that unopened letter, I felt my face grow pale and I just knew in my heart that it was a denial letter. I don’t know why - but I just did. I think it was the Lord preparing me for when I opened it.
They said I lacked a couple of things - things that we actually did provide - but apparently they thought them not sufficient. We have been here since 1994 and for the last almost 20 years we’ve been using the same proof and it’s always been enough. Not this time.
I wanted to just come upstairs and go to bed and cry. I didn’t know what to do.
I told Mike when he got home from Ukraine many hours later.
To make a long, long story short, we contacted an immigration lawyer and paid for some of her time. She talked with us and we ended up hiring her to take my case.
We had to resubmit paperwork and documents and everything - do it all over plus some things they didn’t even ask for. Another round of fingerprints. Another round of running to various offices.
The new decision date was September 5.
Some of you thought that I should not work so hard when it came to finishing those quilts that we got - all 110 boxes of them - but I just “had to” finish them up before the end of August. At least I told myself I had to. I don’t consider myself a pessimist - but I do like to be a realist. Prepared is what I prefer to be.
I did finish the quilts up in August - such a huge relief. Most of the money you all gave me to spend on Ukraine is spent - well spent, IMO - I have done the best I could. So, should they tell me “goodbye”, at least I can go knowing I took care of that. (As of this writing, I still have quite a bit of money from our churches to spend - but by comparison, it’s not nearly as much as I had.)
ANYWAY, that’s the worst case scenario.
We are hoping and trusting that the lawyer can work us through this (with the Lord’s finger doing the guiding, of course). Since we still haven’t heard from the gov’t yet this time - the lawyer has asked us for a few more things and they will submit a letter asking them to speed things along, I believe.
So how has this affected me? Far worse than I had thought it would.
Without being melodramatic, let me just use the word “difficult” to describe these past few months.
I think in many ways the uncertainty I’ve felt about my future must be just a mere taste of what the Ukrainian refugees are feeling - esp. the ones who have left a home and are not sure if there will be anything to go back to. My situation is not like that - but the feelings of not knowing what is going on are similar, I’m sure. It has given me an even more tender heart towards these people - and my desire to help has not waned. The only thing that has lessened is my energy level as this has had a direct effect on it.
So…the answer to your question about my longarm is, “I don’t have one yet BUT I am very much hoping to get one.” I hope that it is soon.
Let me assure you, the day that I get my decision letter as positive I will let you all know!
The next day I will start making phone calls to companies about their long-arms. I’ve done preliminary research so I am not totally ignorant, but I cannot in good conscience string along a dealer for an unknown period of time.
I know I’ve not shared with you all this information. There have been various reasons for this - mostly I’ve not known what to say. I’ve felt so responsible with all the Ukraine efforts while at the same time carrying the burden of uncertainty about my own residency that at times well, I’ve spilled a few tears. I know I’ve gained a few (!) gray hairs this year over the issue.
One day, early on, while we had a guest here from the USA, he told me that Elizabeth Elliott, a missionary from the jungles of South America whose husband was killed by the people he was trying to reach, said that when the days are darkest, just
“Do the Next Thing.”
Maybe this is profound and maybe it’s not, but it was a good reminder to me to just keep “Doing the next thing”.
I may not know what to do in the long haul, but I can do the next thing.
So, that is what I’ve been doing.
The next thing.
And now you know.
Thanks so much for coming along with me on my journey. I appreciate you more than you will know.
If you are a praying person, I would appreciate your prayers for this issue.
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