Good Grief!

Late Thursday afternoon, Eric finally received the phone call  informing him the Frankfurt immigration office has issued him a work permit.  An appointment was quickly made for Friday morning in Hofheim to complete his permit.

Eric met a representative handling the permit along with the government employee. About 15 minutes later,  he was handed his completed work permit and told he was all set to start on March 1st. Startled since he was supposed to be able to start immediately, Eric pointed out the date was incorrect. Phone calls were quickly exchanged between the relocation office and the government offices and yet after a bit more waiting, the matter was cleared up. The Frankfurt office now had to issue a temporary working permit for the last few weeks in February. 

While waiting, he learned the one Frankfurt employee who processes the permits for the US is probably the worst government employees in Frankfurt as other country's permits are turned around in a few days, if not a few hours. 

An hour later, the fax arrived from the Frankfurt office to the Hofheim office for a temporary permit. The Hofheim office processed it quickly and Eric could officially now be employed.

Knowing the German government could possibly alter our future plans this past month was quite unsettling. With communication being so slim and the process taking longer than anyone anticipated, the   situation seemed to keep getting worse before it got better. Even though it was trying at times to be patient, we knew God would provide and protect us throughout this ordeal. We praise God for watching over us this entire time.

Looking back now, yes we would have done things different to minimize the waiting, but then again maybe it was God's plan for Eric to be home with us to partake in our daily routine and bond with more than just the dog. We are grateful it is over with and can move forward, but we will miss his presence during the week.