She Got Her Green Card!

We have had a very important week. For one, our friends, Bryan and Dana Dill, got to spend most of the week with us at our house. We used to hang with them when they were at Harding. Now Bryan preaches for the Holly Hill congregation in Frankfort, KY where he's been for about a year. He was in town preaching a gospel meeting at the Pangburn Church of Christ. We got to go hear him on Tuesday, and he did a great job.
We had to leave them at our house along last night, because this morning in Memphis we had a very important appointment. You may remember a post from a couple of months ago where we were featured in a story on the 10:00 news about legal immigration. This morning was our big appointment. We've been waiting two years for this. We got out every legal document that we own, with lots of personal pictures (you have to prove to the government that you actually love each other and have a relationship to help prevent mail-order brides). We prayed a lot, and asked our friends to pray a lot.
We spent the night with our friends Robert and Angela at their new apartment in Memphis, which was about 10 minutes away from the National Security office. We got there at 7:30am, got in line, and they took us shortly thereafter. We went into the room, were greeted by a couple of friendly people, and led to an office. He just asked to see our proof of identification, asked us how we met each other, asked for some proof that we shared assets and some pictures of us, and that was it. He said, "Since you've been married for two years, you'll be in great shape. You should get your green card in the mail in about two weeks. It will be good for ten years. You can work, travel, and do whatever you want. After three years, you'll be elligible for citizenship. Good luck!" We were thrilled to death. We got out of there at about 7:50am (our appointment had been scheduled for 8:00). Carolina called a lot of our relatives and friends to tell them the good news. After that, we went shopping around Memphis with Robert and Angela.
They took us to a place called World Market where I spotted these. Every year Alpha Tau (my social club at Harding) has a Toga mixer to meet potential new members. Everyone comes dressed in a sheet, prepared to guzzle lots and lots of IBC rootbeer and cream soda. I found this luxurious Virgil's brand rootbeer in one-gallon kegs, so I got two of them. I plan to get a couple of more, which I believe ought to be plenty for our mixer. These are just really well-decorated, not to mention the rootbeer is of the highest quality. Carolina posed for a rock 'n roll shot above. I just think these are so cool. I have to give credit to T Burns who introduced me for the first time to Virgils.
This was a day of cool surprises, but most importantly, answered prayers. For two years, we've been hoping that everything would work out for Carolina to get her green card. We finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!