Where do I start? Before the pandemic I was working at the world famous Bellagio Hotel and Casino. I was a Bellman on the late shift. I had an Airbnb business. I was living separate from a wife I would soon divorce. It was her choice to move and my choice to divorce. I was in serving in my church and taking my 2 kids with me. My Dad who was ill, was supposed to move with me that March of 2020.
I am a guy who is use to handling a lot of things. In the process after 10 years of a bad marriage, and 25 years of bad relationships with 2 women, I needed more satisfaction in life. To make a long story short, my Dad’s health took a turn for the worst and he died on February 13th, 2020 at 69 years of age. We buried my Dad February 22nd, 2020 in Carthage, Tennessee. I had a trip to meet a girl in Colombia February 27th. I returned March 4th. My divorce took a long time, and because I started a new relationship, my church family was made aware. My ex wanted to reconcile and my faith is one that is serious about marriage and reconciliation, but I said, “no”. They kicked me out that week, because I couldn’t be in a relationship when my divorce hadn’t ended. I will discuss it more each in detail in other blogs. My job laid me off March 19th, 2020 because of Covid.
When I went to Colombia at first things were good with the new relationship, but the borders closed for 7 months because of Covid. I was using my time wisely to learn Spanish and work. It was hard to have a relationship this far away. It was in October before I would visit Colombia and it was not the same with the girl. I had found out about online flirting and things, but I loved the country and the experience. I tried to get through it, but eventually this ended. After a divorce you don’t have the patience you once had for games and immaturity. My divorce became official October 7th, 2021, 15 months after I filed it. It may have seemed like I jumped from one thing to another, but being in a marriage, where the other person was living in an another house for almost 2 years, added to that feeling of being alone.
I gave online dating a chance. I spoke to a few women. There was one woman I met online a week after the others. Her photo didn’t show a lot of skin or body and her eyes were so beautiful. I wrote her saying, “Your eyes are so beautiful, so I had to tell you, but I am not interested in Colombia even if you write me back.” We had this button we could push if we liked each other, and she happened to like my profile too. She said something about Jesus, and I was impressed, but I had a bad experience in Colombia in the previous relationship and it’s too much travelling, money, and time from my job. She writes back and says, “she has a way to get what she wants through prayer.” Again I was impressed, but I had already booked a flight to visit the girl in Sacramento.
After talking to the girl in Colombia a week, it was the day before my flight to Sacramento. I had to make a decision. If I visited this girl in Sacramento, the girl in Colombia would probably not want me anymore. I was being honest and told her about the trip. I figured, I was a bachelor and would make a decision, but it came down to who was showing me they follow the same faith as I do. This other girl in Sacramento seemed bored with a new life in Sacramento. What did I know of her secrets? Eventually when I decided to cancel the flight to Sacramento, the girl tells me, “I married this guy to come live in the USA, but I’m not happy. He got me here, so if I leave I will need to pay 10k.” She wanted help. I was a pawn in the game. Thank God I cancelled the ticket. I ended up booking another flight, but to Colombia where I landed May 2nd, 2021.
At the time of my trip in Colombia, I was working remote for a mortgage company. I had good internet service and was able to handle my job without problems. I was able to fly back and forth without issue with my job. I didn’t read the rules about remote work as far as working out of the country. I didn’t want to find out if it was illegal, because I found the love of my life. We decided to get married and I applied for immigration to return to USA with my wife. We have been in the process since September of 2021. Still to this date, I have no real information.
It was March 1rst, 2022 when I got the call from human resources. “We did an audit and it shows you are working from Colombia.” I knew this was possible, but after 10 months, I was hoping it wasn’t a problem. The option was to get back in the USA in 2 weeks or I would be fired. I spoke with my manager who I had some kind of confidence in. After that, hr called again after I spoke to him saying , I can resign because it didn’t sound like I would return. In the end, I was fired for not returning, and for not resigning. It was a tough decision to make, but I had a little money saved.
I started a Gofundme campaign with no success. If it’s in your heart to help, we will be forever grateful as the cost of immigration is costly and our funds are low. Here is the link to the Gofundme page.
Take care and God Bless.