aka It's Not Over Till it's Over and It's Not Over Till God Says It's Over."
From the day we shipped our container on March 6th nearly two months have passed. In that time we have prayed daily for God’s grace as a covering over our shipment because we knew once the container got to Italy, anything could happen. It could get held up without cause, inspected without cause, have items go missing, or completely disappear.
From the day we shipped our container on March 6th nearly two months have passed. In that time we have prayed daily for God’s grace as a covering over our shipment because we knew once the container got to Italy, anything could happen. It could get held up without cause, inspected without cause, have items go missing, or completely disappear.
On April 13th, the day before our container was due to arrive in Naples we received an URGENT email from the company in charge of clearing and transporting our container from customs in Naples to our house. The email told us that we must immediately furnish a variety of important documents to them which they needed to have on hand when the container arrived. One of these documents was an official declaration of residency that we needed to get printed in our local town hall AND notarized by the mayor. We received the email on Monday at 12:30 right when the town hall had closed for the day.
On Tuesday, April 14th we managed to get all the necessary papers in order (no small feat, it took the whole day) and contacted the clearing house in Naples right before closing and they told us that fax would not suffice, we had to send the original documents to them by certified mail. At that time the post office had JUST CLOSED so we had to wait till Wednesday morning to mail them.
On Wednesday, April 15th (day 2) we mailed the necessary paperwork to the clearing agent.
On Thursday, April 16th (day 3) we requested and received confirmation that our paperwork had arrived and was in order and the clearing agent would be presenting our papers on the Friday the 17th.
On Monday, April 20th (day 7) we called the clearing agent for news and they informed us that clearance of a container takes 3-5 business days from the time the paperwork is received by the port authority. While he affirmed that we were not given any notice to provide the necessary paperwork he said he gave us all the notice he had and there was nothing he could do about it and that we would be required to pay $200 CAD per day from day 6 forward that the container was held in port.
On Friday, April 24th (day 10) we called again and he said that he had gone that day to inquire and the port authorities told him it still had not been processed. This is 6 working days from when they received the paperwork. Saturday was a national holiday, Sundays the port is closed. At this point we knew they could hold our container for a month, enforce an inspection (at our expense) and allow the bill to mount to whatever amount they liked. We were utterly helpless.
God continued to challenge us through His word. Notes from my devotional journal these past two weeks include;
“It is good that I should learn to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lam 3:26
“You have taken up my cause, Oh Lord,” Lam 3:58
“You hear our cries for help and You deliver us out of our troubles. Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psa 34:4-9; 17,19
Welcome problems as opportunities to learn to grow in faith, trust, perseverance, patience and hope.
“Do not lose heart. Be renewed in our inmost being every single day. Our light and momentary afflictions are preparing us for leadership in glory. Be afflicted but not crushed, perplexed but not given to despair.” 2 Cor 4:16-18
“Take heart, in this world you will have troubles but Jesus has overcome. Do not grow weary in persevering.”
These are just a few samples, the pages of my journal are FILLED with promise after promise, exhortation after exhortation to wait confidently on the Lord, to persevere in trust and to make peace my breastplate. I read and re-read and prayed and pleaded with God for the power to live these verses out. I failed and succumbed to frustration and anxiety and anger numerous times but every time when I repented and returned to that place of trust I found a surer footing than I had previously known.
on Sunday, April 26th (Day 12) we attended a province wide church service at the villa where we were married 19 years ago. There we met up with a gentleman who is a colonel in the finance department of the state. When he heard our story he told us to let him handle it, that he would call his colleague in Naples and have our container released!
Monday, April 27th (Day 13) the colonel called us to let us know that he had talked to the port authorities in Naples who had said they were holding our container pending inspection for drugs. He vouched for us personally and told them we were full time missionaries and not to try to bleed poor innocents of money they didn’t have through unmerited inspection and detainment. The port authorities agreed to release our container and waive the fees!
Tuesday, April 28th (day 14) the clearing company in Naples contacted us and told us that our container would be released that day and that it would arrive at our house on Wednesday, April 29th at 8:30 am and that they would be sending us the bill shortly. Indeed we received a bill for $800 CAD, substantially less than the $200 per day we were told would be charged, but still not “waived fees” as the colonel had told us. We contacted the colonel who contacted the port authorities who basically said “we reduced it by 50%, end of story.”
We really felt that God wanted to do more than just reduce these charges by 50% so we did not feel the story was over (little did we know!) I went to our room and knelt on the floor and laid it all out before God and told Him that if He wanted us to pay this money, that was fine, it’s all His money, He can use it how and where He wants. But that if this was the enemy seeking to steal from God’s own that God would take care of business for us. I did in that moment say that if we had to pay I would do so cheerfully, because God gives and God takes, and does as He sees fit. We are just stewards. We then looked at our shipping contract and saw that in no uncertain terms we were not responsible for any port fees in our door to door service. At 11pm our time we received word from our shipping company assuring us that they had already told the clearing agent that they would pay the bill so they didn’t know why he was sending it to us. We slept easy, with smiles playing on our faces.
Wednesday, April 29th, 8:30 am the container shows up. The driver hands us a bill for $800. We tell him to call the clearing agent because our shipping company had emailed confirmation to him and us that they were liable for this bill. He said “who is this clearing agent and what do I care about him. I’m a driver only, pay me or I leave and the problem is yours.”
An hour later we manage to get a hold of the clearing agent who in turn tells us “yes, I got the email from U pack we ship, but who are they and what do I care? How do I know they will pay me? No, you must pay me or I will not release the container to you. I will send it back and you will incur more storage fees and fines.”
Helpless, and unable to talk to our shipping company because it was the middle of the night for them, we went to the bank and made a certified check, paid the driver and unloaded our container. We continued to commit the whole situation to God in prayer and 2 hours later, at 6:30 am north American time our shipping company wrote us a very sweet letter apologizing or all our stress and assuring us they will reimburse us the charges.
And that, my friends, is the rest of the story.
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