Nomadic Samuels

We are so beyond thrilled to FINALLY announce that after over 2 years (838 days to be exact!) of waiting, waiting and more waiting, Richard’s Canadian Permanent Residency is finally approved and complete!  That’s right, folks!  The wait is over!  Hallelujah!

While there were definitely days over the past 2 years that we questioned God’s plans for us, the reasons we were ‘stuck’ here and wondered why the process had to take so long, we always came back to God and His goodness.  We know that ultimately, God’s timing is perfect – even when He doesn’t offer us understanding as to why He does what He does.

While the wait these 2 years has been long for us at times, we would love to share with you some of ways we have been blessed during our time here in Canada:

1.  We got to be home to spend time with dad before he passed away.  We also were able to grieve with family after dad left us.

2.  We connected with many friends and family (many of whom didn’t really know Richard that well since everyone only met him at the wedding!).  This was wonderful for us – to really spend some quality time with people we love.  We also made some great new friends while in Canada as well!

3.  We had a beautiful baby boy!

4.  We were blessed beyond all blessings to be in a country that offered such incredible FREE health care for Elijah when he was born prematurely at 33 weeks.  Truly a blessing.

5.  We are blessed to have been able to keep working for our organization via email and Skype. As a result, we coordinated several teams to volunteer in Delhi, India on behalf of YWAM Ireland and YWAM Hawaii. The Indian ministries and the teams were all blessed through those experiences.

6.  Heather and Elijah both have legal standing in India as ‘Persons of Indian Origin’ (PIO).  This basically means that we can live, work, study in India without needing a visa.  Horray for no more visa issues in India!

7.  Richard has his Canadian permanent residency!  Yahoo!

Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for tracking with us these past 838 days while we’ve waited for the PR to come through.  We were always touched when people asked us about the immigration process because it meant that people were still thinking of us, praying for us and hoping for a positive result.

To close, I thought I’d post a couple of photos for you.  The first is a photo of us the first time Richard was legally allowed into Canada (for our wedding and he almost didn’t make it due to visa problems!).  Praise God for getting him here then!  The second is our first Christmas in Canada after I (Heather) had to leave India due to visa problems.  This photo was in December 2009.  Little did we know then that we would be here so long.  And finally, a photo from TODAY – the day the PR came through!

If you didn’t already know, C.S. Lewis was born in our beloved Northern Ireland.  My favourite quote of his, of course is, “That part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough is my idea of Narnia. ”  Rostrevor, of course, is where we are moving to this summer.  I thought I might share this little blog post that shares a bit about Lewis, his love of Narnia and some lovely photographs of Northern Ireland. Enjoy!

My sincere apologies for not updating the blog more while I was away for a month! I had very limited internet in India for 3 weeks and therefore wasn’t able to upload anything to the blog. I am, however, working on a nice email update for you so be sure to check your inboxes on Monday for a great read on all the great things that took place in India!

Just a quick note on Elijah – he is truly a great world traveller – a true nomadic Samuel! Not even 6 months old and he’s been to 3 continents. He was a gem on all the flights – slept when he should, ate when he should, and adjusted to the time changes well for a baby his age. I am so proud of him! While on the last leg of the journey home (which was a bit harder for him after a 6 hour layover at Heathrow where he didn’t sleep at all!), I was thanking God for him. God certainly knew the type of child Elijah needed to be in our family with all our nomadic travelling. While the trip overall was incredible on many fronts, I am most proud of my son for doing such a fabulous job in Ireland and India and sleeping in so many strange places. Way to go, Eli!

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Its great to be back in Delhi!

We’ve been here since Sunday morning and its been just fabulous on many fronts. First and foremost, it was wonderful to see family at the airport to greet us and meet Elijah for the first time. His grandparents are just in love with him and it shows in the photo below!

The team is also doing great – they have jumped into Indian style living and are just going with the flow. They’ve learned pretty quickly that Indians don’t plan anything in advance, how to bargain for auto rickshaws/clothing/basically anything you want and how to order a pizza for delivery (quite an adventure if you’ve never done it before!). I introduced them to the street children we used to work with in their local community centre and they’ve all become fast friends. Now, whenever the team heads over to the community centre for meals/internet/odds and ends, they are bombarded by children who want to play, be tossed around, picked up and hugged. Its lovely to see the team engaging with them so much. Its clear both the children and the team are benefitting from their new friendships.

For myself, its been wonderful to see the children again after 2 years away. The last time we were here, we had to leave India quite suddenly due to the visa issues I faced.  While its sad to see that they are still begging for a living instead of being in school and playing like children should be doing, its a huge blessing to be back and reconnecting with them all. A few of the children are in Catalyst’s Diversion House for girls rescued from slums so I am really looking forward to seeing them later on this trip and seeing their progress after a year of counselling, education and home care. I expect to see big changes in them!

Tomorrow the team is going on a scavenger hunt around Delhi to help them get acquainted with the city and its various people groups and religions. It will be a huge eye opener for many of them and I’m anxious to hear everything they learn tomorrow.

I’ll update again soon on what’s going on and their progress here in Delhi. Please remember to keep them in your prayers! Thanks!