This is what I'm counting on....
Let me let you in on the last two weeks of our lives...
As you may recall, we've been waiting since June on a document for our adoption that was estimated to arrive in three weeks or less. THREE WEEKS. (In case you aren't counting the days like I am, it is now September 4th... a mere 3 months and 1 week later...) Well, two weeks ago (when I wrote THIS) I had just received news that the person in charge of filing this paper realized why we didn't have it yet. HE FORGOT. THREE MONTHS OF WAITING. THREE MONTHS OF OUR AGENCY CONTACTING HIM ON OUR BEHALF, WHILE HE REPEATEDLY SAID, "SHOULD BE SOON." "ANY DAY NOW!" and then... a QUARTER OF A YEAR LATER...he realized, "OH! I don't think I ever even filed that paper!"
Ladies and gentlemen, the neighbors may never recover from the things they heard coming out of my mouth that afternoon.
ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.
For the next 5 hours Sean and I went through crates of paperwork and reevaluated all of our expiration dates. Three months of lost time is a huge deal for a number of reasons. #1 We lost 90 days with our precious Abiella. #2 Our homestudy, and fingerprints, and 1-600A's, etc. etc. etc. all have upcoming expiration dates and must be dealt with soon. So for the entire afternoon we called coordinators, and home study agencies, and USCIS, and a million other people trying to begin the process of updating all of our paperwork.
We also realized that afternoon that we would need to take a trip back to Africa to file our 1-600 when the time came.
Did I mention someone forgot to file our paper work?
Oh, I did?
Okay.
Sooo, by 8:00 that night, Sean and I were at FedEx overnighting a request for re-fingerprinting and by 8:30 we were sitting at dinner staring at each other like we had just walked out of a storm. We were okay, but we had a lot to do to pick up the pieces.
So what's happened since that night? Well, we've miraculously got our fingerprints redone... and now we wait on that form to come in... We confirmed that we still have 2 months until we have to update the remaining paperwork (Praise God)... and we've begun planning the trip back to file our I-600.
Sean will not be able to go this time. Three trips to Africa in 8 months is a lot of work to take off and he has numerous obligations in the next few weeks that need to be fulfilled.
Soo... we prayed.
And guess what? My mom is going to go with me!!
Woohoo!!!
The dates are still unknown, but sometime in the next few weeks my mom and I will board a plane to Africa!
We'll land, go to the hotel, file the papers and visit Abiella!!
Moral of the story: I do not understand God' plan. But we keep moving, we keep praying, and we keep fighting.
"Don't be afraid, for I am with you.
Don't be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand."
Isaiah 41:10
