Josh Renaud

New photos from my trip

I wasn't the only one who took photos while I was in Bolivia... Yoli took many with her camera as well. Here are a few that she sent to me recently.

This photo was taken by a Canadian friend who volunteers at El Jordán. She gave it to Yoli as a birthday gift. This is a photo of Yoli and I near a river when our group stopped to eat during our return from Samaipata.

This is a photo of Yoli and I at a park somewhat near her home. We were walking with Lucy, Juan, and Alcides to Los Cabañas near the Pirai River.

And here we are next to the Pirai.

I propose to Yoli in Spanish while her family watches. On the left you can see Papicho; in the top right corner is Doña Lucila; at the bottom right is Lucy holding her sister Noemi's baby, Abigaíl.

Yoli and I at a restaurant in Viru Viru Airport before I returned to the U.S.

The interminable wait

I'm learning lots about patience these days, far more than I ever wanted to know.

You see, to bring Yoli here to the U.S. so we can marry is not a simple task. It involves forms and interviews and evidence and other stuff.

Our first order of business is to get her a "Fiancee Visa" which will allow her to come here and marry me. We applied for this visa at the end of March. The tough part is that our application was sent to the slowest of all the visa processing centers in the U.S.

Yes, Nebraska (or the "NSC" as it is known on various immigration websites and newsgroups) is called "the prison" because applications sent there seemed to be locked up forever. If I lived on the east coast near the Vermont Service Center, we'd probably already have our visa (and be married!) by now.

But I live in Missouri, and I don't believe in accidents. So I'm trusting that there is a reason for all this waiting...

NSC is just now beginning to process early February visa apps. So we probably have 1-2 more months before our visa is approved.

We are hoping and praying for an October wedding, but we're being realistic. Our wedding plans are not terribly complex and can easily be changed if the dates don't work out. Hotel and plane tickets on the other hand are not quite so easily changed, so I haven't purchased any yet.