Week 11...Delayed :(
Hi All,
I am not really in the mood to blog this week, but I wanted to at least update you on what's going on. We can't thank you all enough for the outpouring of love, prayers, encouragement and financial support. In the midst of uncertainty we have felt so uplifted by your kindness, and we appreciate you more than we can say.
At this time we are still in a bit of limbo. Here's the information we have so far:
- One of L's relatives found out her national ID was ready for pick-up, however her first name is spelled wrong. So we have e-mailed the Embassy to see if this will still be a valid ID, but we have not heard back yet. If this isn't a viable option, we will plan to apply for her passport. All of this is hear-say as we have not physically seen her ID, but we are praying the Embassy will be flexible on this.
- L's other relative applied last December but still doesn't have his ID. J's relative doesn't have a birth certificate or ID. We have already gotten the short birth certificate for J's relative, and are planning to apply for passports for both of them. We were told there is a legit expedite fee through the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control that could get passports in 2 days. We don't know if this timeline is true or not, but it's worth a shot. We have already given our orphanage the money for the expedite fee and the Embassy confirmed that this was not a bribe. So at this time we are planning to move forward. Prayerfully, the applications will be submitted on Monday and then the wait begins. To give you some perspective, we paid a different legal expedite fee for the boys' passports and it still took over 2 weeks. We're praying it will be faster than this!
- We have also asked the Embassy about DNA testing. If the passports are taking too long, we may go this route to confirm relative status. The Embassy told us that this would have to be done through their approved medical clinic, and could still take "several weeks." We're going to keep this on the back burner.
We're praying God will guide our every step as we navigate this situation. We don't know what the next few weeks hold, but we are remaining hopeful and expectant despite the heartbreak we're feeling in not going home this week. We had only paid for rent through Sunday, November 1, but thankfully our land-lady doesn't have another renter lined up, so we will plan to stay where we are. We still need to figure our supplies and a few other things, but that's minor in comparison to figuring out how to get home!
Jon and Becca have been here this week which has been such an emotional help. At a time when we're feeling tired, weary and desperate for home, having your best friends here makes it a bit better. We are super sad to know they will be flying home without us on Tuesday, but we are trusting God to do the impossible, and we're believing to be home before Thanksgiving!
We love you all and we ask you to continue standing by us during this time. This has been a very trying and difficult journey, but we know God is fighting for us and we have faith that He will see us through.
Love to you,
I am not really in the mood to blog this week, but I wanted to at least update you on what's going on. We can't thank you all enough for the outpouring of love, prayers, encouragement and financial support. In the midst of uncertainty we have felt so uplifted by your kindness, and we appreciate you more than we can say.
At this time we are still in a bit of limbo. Here's the information we have so far:
- One of L's relatives found out her national ID was ready for pick-up, however her first name is spelled wrong. So we have e-mailed the Embassy to see if this will still be a valid ID, but we have not heard back yet. If this isn't a viable option, we will plan to apply for her passport. All of this is hear-say as we have not physically seen her ID, but we are praying the Embassy will be flexible on this.
- L's other relative applied last December but still doesn't have his ID. J's relative doesn't have a birth certificate or ID. We have already gotten the short birth certificate for J's relative, and are planning to apply for passports for both of them. We were told there is a legit expedite fee through the Directorate of Citizenship and Immigration Control that could get passports in 2 days. We don't know if this timeline is true or not, but it's worth a shot. We have already given our orphanage the money for the expedite fee and the Embassy confirmed that this was not a bribe. So at this time we are planning to move forward. Prayerfully, the applications will be submitted on Monday and then the wait begins. To give you some perspective, we paid a different legal expedite fee for the boys' passports and it still took over 2 weeks. We're praying it will be faster than this!
- We have also asked the Embassy about DNA testing. If the passports are taking too long, we may go this route to confirm relative status. The Embassy told us that this would have to be done through their approved medical clinic, and could still take "several weeks." We're going to keep this on the back burner.
We're praying God will guide our every step as we navigate this situation. We don't know what the next few weeks hold, but we are remaining hopeful and expectant despite the heartbreak we're feeling in not going home this week. We had only paid for rent through Sunday, November 1, but thankfully our land-lady doesn't have another renter lined up, so we will plan to stay where we are. We still need to figure our supplies and a few other things, but that's minor in comparison to figuring out how to get home!
Jon and Becca have been here this week which has been such an emotional help. At a time when we're feeling tired, weary and desperate for home, having your best friends here makes it a bit better. We are super sad to know they will be flying home without us on Tuesday, but we are trusting God to do the impossible, and we're believing to be home before Thanksgiving!
We love you all and we ask you to continue standing by us during this time. This has been a very trying and difficult journey, but we know God is fighting for us and we have faith that He will see us through.
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| L praying for a miracle. This is right after we told him we wouldn't be going home to America this week. I told him we needed to pray for a miracle, and to ask God to get us home soon! The next time I came in the kitchen this is what he was doing. Bless. |
Love to you,