Hopeful....

As I sit in the living room of our guest house, it is 6 in the morning. No one else is awake but me and the 3 million mosquitoes (seriously, with all of the brain power in the world...can someone not invent something to get rid of these insects?). But, more importantly I am rejoicing in some news we received yesterday. I hesitate to even put this down in writing, but even if it doesn't happen, we will praise the Lord (plus it's helpful to those who will follow down this road).

Our friends and I went to the US Embassy yesterday to turn in our paperwork. Now, we've already been several times to turn in birth certificates and social history reports. As you complete or receive paperwork, it is a good idea to go ahead and turn it in quickly. Plus, because of past fraud issues around the globe with adoption, it is important that the officials see your face often.

So, we went to turn in our papers...for our family, that includes 2 different sets of government paperwork (4 documents), copies of our passports, irrevocable releases for the adoptions, and passport photos. We still have the kids' passports and the court ruling to submit. The way the process has been working in Uganda is this...get in ALL of your paperwork, schedule an interview for an appropriate day (Mondays and Wednesdays only), have the interview, and then get the visa several days later. The process of scheduling and having an interview can be 3 days to 2 weeks later typically. So, our plan was to turn in all of our paperwork on Wednesday (the 16th) when we received our court ruling.

However, we did not know that the US Embassy would be closed on Friday the 18th for elections here in Uganda and on the 21st for Presidents' Day in the US. So, we knew that our best hope was an interview on Wednesday the 23rd and hopefully a visa on the 25th. That would put us coming home on the 27th or so.

When I talked to the US Embassy yesterday, the official asked me to bring the kids's passports by on Tuesday and the court ruling on Wednesday (we'll be booking it as our ruling is read at 10 and the embassy closes at 12 for submission of paperwork). However, she also told me that I could bring it to the interview if that doesn't work. Okay.... She scheduled our interview for THAT afternoon...the 16th! What? That is unheard of...an interview the same day as our documents are submitted? For future adoptive parents, this is highly unlikely but due to the closings that are on the horizon.

So, I asked hesitantly, "So, if our interview is on Wednesday, and you are closed Friday and Monday, when would we get our visas for the children?" She told me that they would push to get us the visas on Thursday, the 17th....are you serious? I saw God's hand at work in a way that I couldn't fathom. I'm hopeful but know that this is not guaranteed.

If all goes smoothly, then we will fly home on Friday the 18th (we leave a little after midnight on Thursday). We would arrive in Birmingham (sweet home Alabama) about 9:30 on Friday night.

Please pray that the process continues to work smoothly and for our sanity! We would love to come home this quickly to transition the new kiddos easier. Thank you all for your prayers...we are so grateful for the saints that surround us!