Bad News, Phone Calls and Trust

You just know it’s bad news when the phone rings at 2:30 AM. I suppose people actually have good things happen to them at that time, but if they do, they don’t usually call someone else to tell them about it until at least the sun comes up!

First, you don’t want to wake up- you think you must be dreaming (I know my brain refuses to be jostled out of it’s dream state)! You roll over, reach for the phone and knock the alarm clock to the floor. Still fumbling, you finally pull the receiver off the hook, all the while clearing your voice so you don’t sound like you’re a frog when you grumble, “Fwhewo?”

Last night it was Jenn calling. She and Josh were traveling by bus on the red-eye from London to Boston to visit Mom & Dad and then participate in the Old Orchard Beach Pier Ministry coming up this weekend. Here’s the story:

They were stopped at the border and their bus had already left them behind. Apparently the “border patrol” did not believe they were telling the truth. Instead, they believed Josh & Jenn were leaving Canada forever to take up illegal residence in the USA. When Jenn tried to show them her Canadian residency paperwork, the guy refused to look at it or even listen to her attempt to explain. Their one-way tickets were all the proof he was willing to consider. Waving the bus on after gathering their luggage, he directed them to a pay phone. They called us, Mom & Dad Ivany and Elaine Gillingham (the pier ministry team leader, from London).

Have you ever been in a situation where you are incensed at an injustice, but you can do absolutely nothing about it? There was absolutely nothing we could do. We couldn’t call anyone. We couldn’t go anywhere. When Jenn hung up, we just laid there praying for over an hour before we could get anywhere near falling back to sleep.

Shortly after we did get back to sleep, the phone rang again. I again went through the 2:30 AM phone routine. When I woke up (about 2 minutes into the conversation I realized it was Jenn), she told us they had both been detained in a small room behind a large glass window where everyone passing through could see them sitting and (Jenn) crying. They felt like criminals- in fact, they even mug-shot and finger-printed Josh!

Then they were sent back across the bridge to the Canadian border. There they were met with much nicer guards who were very gracious to them and explained to Jenn that if she had left the country this way, she would have lost her status on her request for Canadian residency and would have had to start all the process over again (including over $1,000 in fees)! Whew! She’s been working (and paying) on that for months!

Now every time we contacted someone about whether Jenn could leave the country or not (before receiving her residency), we got a different answer! It appears to me that her status issue is all up to the guard who meets her at the border. If he’s in a good mood, she’s okay. If he’s in a bad mood . . . “do-over!”

So 2 hours later, Mom Ivany came to pick them up and take them to Toronto. Who knows what their next couple of weeks will look like, but it’s definitely NOT including time in Old Orchard Beach or the USA. {sniff}

Sounds to me like God had his hand in this- even though it gave us all a late night scare. I believe that and trust him no matter what the outcome is. Even if I’m not happy about it.