The process to obtain a work visa
in China is very extensive and requires state, federal and Chinese
notarization. This process started a
couple months ago but we were worried it still wasn’t going to be enough time. In every step we paid the extra money to have
it expedited and rushed hoping to not have a “last minute experience.” We came down to a week before leaving and
still hadn’t received our visas so we began to get a little nervous. We couldn’t afford too much mental energy on
the matter because of what the rest of our preparations required. 3 days before leaving we got word that they
had finally been completed and the Chinese Embassy would overnight them, which
would have them arriving at our home on Friday, July 15th at 8:30
am, which was the day before we were scheduled to get on the plane. We thought this was way too close for comfort
but felt fine about it because we were confident they would arrive on time. There was absolutely no room for error and we
were down to the wire. Friday morning
came and as we were busily going about our morning I realized it was already 10
am and no visas. I told myself not to
worry. I’ve never had an issue with
Fedex before and I didn’t plan on having one this day either. As the day carried on without any sign of our
Visas I started to panic a little. The
Chinese Embassy had sent me the tracking number for the package so I jumped on
line to see if I could get some information of where the passports were only to
see the latest update having the passports listed still in Virginia. I hurriedly called Fedex who moved me around
from person to person telling me what I already knew which was that the package
appeared to still be in Virginia. I was
really starting to get upset because every time they placed me on hold to “look
into it” or transfer me to management it was a 20 minute wait. One time I actually made it to a person who
seemed like they might actually be able to give me some information and somehow
we got disconnected. I felt my anxiety
escalating with every minute that was passing by. I had called the tracking department twice
and the automated service told me the package was in the area and on it’s way
to the station closest to me. When I
finally got a hold of someone they informed me that wasn’t true and it was
still somehow in Virginia. My heart
dropped and I was sick to my stomach.
The planning and preparations (both physical and emotional) leading up
to this day were so extensive and the thought of having to change all our
flights and wait even longer made me absolutely heart sick.
The Fedex guy told me he would
begin working on it immediately and I would have a phone call from them within
the hour with possible options. I had
very little confidence in the process but what other options did I have then to
just hang up and hope for the best. The
hour came and went with out any phone call (shocker) so I called back again and
got someone different who told me that the previous guy had gone home and there
were no notes on the account that showed anything had been done. MADDENING!
It was now past 5 pm and I feared we were going to be out of luck
because everyone would start going home.
The next person I talked to was a
manager. He also tried to convince me
they were doing everything they could but the station in Virginia was now
closed so his options were limited. He
told me the same line that they would call me back but that he was getting off
shift as well. So I got the name and direct line of the person that was
supposed to be calling me back. I called
them every 20 minutes. They told me it
was possible but very slim that the package would actually make it. They blamed it on “transportation issues”,
well duh!!! Their business in based on transportation. That’s like a shortage of chocolate and Hershey’s
coming out and saying “uhh, due to a shortage in chocolate we wont produce
candy bars”. It was absurd but my hands
were tied. The final person I talked to
told me there was nothing more they could do that night. I would just have to call first thing in the
morning. They open at 6 am, which was 5
am my time.
Well, now what. Do we continue to stay up late trying to
finish packing? Do we concede and call
and cancel our flights (which was going to cost thousands of dollars)? I did the absolutely only thing I could
do….Pray! I prayed for peace, I prayed
for understanding. I prayed for my wife
and I to be on the same page of how to deal with this emotional gut punch. In the end, somehow Kati and I were actually
ok and decided to move forward with our final packing preparations and leave it
in the Lords hands. We were up until 2
am before we finally got in bed. We were
in no way prepared in the way we wanted to be prepared because te passport
issue had zapped hours out of my final planning and preparations.
The next morning came so fast and I
was so out of it when my alarm started going off at 4:45 am. I finally drug myself out of bed and woke up
enough o place the phone call. I had
very little hope at this point. The
person I spoke with was a little more helpful then the myriad of people the
night before. He told me that through
the night the package had actually
shipped and was scanned in at the Salt Lake Airport at 4:39 am. The passports were in the state! Now, originally we had planned to leave the
house at 7:30 am to be able to make our 11:40 am flight. We knew we were going to need ample time to
get our 18 bags and 6 members of our family checked in and through security. Fedex told me they had no way of knowing if
the package was still at the airport or if it had been picked up and taken down
to the Orem station. They wouldn’t know
until the package was actually scanned again and the station wouldn’t open
until 8:30 to find out. We were down to
the wire. This could not be any
closer.
We were yet again left hanging, not
knowing if we should cancel our flights and we wouldn’t know until 8:30. At this point I tried to wake Kati out of her
coma so we could make a decision of how to proceed this morning. Do we get up and get everyone dressed in the
one outfit we had left out of our suitcases?
Do make Kati’s sister and brother-in-law come over and load all our
suitcases in their truck only to have the passports not arrive. It they don’t arrive we would have a long day
ahead of us changing flights and waiting in a holding pattern. We knelt down together and prayed to know
what to do. We both reluctantly felt we
should just push forward like we were still leaving then if we don’t end up
getting he passports in time we would have faith the Lord had a hand in it and
we would just trust that the delay was in our best interest. We kicked it into high gear and woke the kids, grandparents and Kati’s
sister up.
I decided to physically go down to the Fedex station at 8 am just in case I could catch an employee going in a little early and plead my case to see if they could help us at all. Well, as I pulled up all the drivers were arriving and one guy told me it would take until 9 am to unload the truck and know if our passports were there. The Fedex truck pulled in right behind me and they started unloading. I was out front of the station pacing back and forth when I got a call from the Fedex office back East to update me on the situation. This was the first call back in this entire situation and I so appreciated it because the lady told me she had just spoken with the manager of the Orem station, who told her the truck had arrived in Orem. I told her “Ya, I know, I am here outside the station and I just watched it pull up.” She said the manager will be sifting through the items that come off the truck as fast as she could to try and find our package. At this point I actually got a glimmer of hope thinking “Holy cow, after the crazy roller coaster of the previous 24 hours we might actually make our flight”. I hung up the phone with Fedex and called kati to update her on the situation. Just then the front door opens and the lady said “are you Shad?” I excitedly replied “yes, yes”. She said “I have your package, come on in and lets get you checked out so you can make your flight.” I ran inside the station happy as a little schoolgirl. As I rushed away from the station I looked at my clock and it said 8:20 am. We didn’t have any time to spare.
I rushed home, loaded everyone and took off for the airport.
I could not believe the passports made it. Fedex had made a HUGE mistake in not getting them there the day before but we didn’t give up and we pushed forward hoping the Lord would handle the situation and he did.
The stress wasn’t over yet because I knew what was ahead of us at the airport. We were going to have to do everything being rushed, not the best way to start a massive travel experience. I couldn’t help but imagine our family running through the airport like Home Alone. I was scarred to death we were going to leave one of our ducklings or something else behind. It did take us a long time to get all our bags checked (after having to open many of the bags to move items around due to the weight restrictions) and make it through security but the TSA agents were so helpful as they saw our little hurd coming with lots of carry ons, backpacks and a massive double stroller.
Luckily we didn’t have to do any running and we didn’t lose anything or anyone. When we made it to our gate I couldn’t help but laugh with giddiness. We had done it! We actually made it! We were heading to China. We trusted the Lord would manage the situation and whether we made the flight or not we knew he was in charge. This experience was an unexpected gift at the beginning of this massive journey we were embarking on because I have a feeling that we are going to have to learn to trust him through out this whole experience the way we did this day and the same way when we lost our son Ty. We know he is aware of us and if we will but allow it, he will lead us down paths that will not only bless our own lives but bless the lives of many people who are to be found along that path.
