The last few months have been tough. My wife and I got married in Japan on October 4, 2009 and spent that month together, then I returned to the US with plans of returning to school and maybe getting into some teaching here since I was an ESL teacher in China for a year and I love that field and want to continue in this direction. We were under the assumption that my wife would come some months later and get a green card once I got established with a job and a house and all that is needed to support a small family. We already had all of this taken care of; I had a small job waiting for me when I returned and a home with some of my friends in Raleigh. Soon after moving to Raleigh, I met with an immigration officer and asked all kinds of questions about what is required for my wife to come into the country, get a green card, and start working. The officer was very polite and helpful (something I didn’t expect from a government agency) and gently let me know that it would be a 6-month process and cost a lot of money. I was ready to hear this, so I wasn’t too surprised.
In fact, in any normal situation, I would have been fairly accepting of this. But my wife is pregnant and due in July. Somehow during the month of October we spent together in Japan, she got knocked up and it turns out I’m the father. By the time my wife gets a green card to live in the US, the baby will be nearly due and she won’t be able to make the trip. This is not acceptable. That is my wife and my child over there and I need to be with them and I’m willing to sacrifice whatever I must to.
My plans of life in the US have been dashed against the rocks.
In a strange way, however, this is working out. After living here for four months, I’ve realized I can’t make enough money to support a wife and kid, much less working part-time while attending college. I would have felt worse bringing my family here only to go bankrupt and realize it was all a mistake. I can be a much better provider in Asia where I can make a lot more money and care for my family.
So I have a few teaching positions lined up for me in China. My wife has always wanted to live in another Asian country and I’m able to make the income needed to provide for a family there, so to China we shall go! Of course, this is how our plans are now. God has every right to change our direction as he sees fit and we shall oblige.
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Ever since returning to the US, I have been dealt one problem after another. Family, relationships, finances, job situations, living situations, schooling, everything has hit roadblocks, not met expectations, or has crumbled apart completely. Not everything has been hell for me -- a lot of good has come to me while being here, but the hardships seem to speak more sharply in my ear. I'm wondering now if this is God leading me. I'm not sure about that, but I am going where the going isn't so tough. Who would have thought it would be in a communist country?
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