Update from DC

This morning we got up early to get all our documents federally authenticated. We were extremely nervous. They only process the documents the same day if you have less than 15 documents. We learned this last night and therefore decided to split up our documents- Isaac with 11 and myself with 12. By the grace of God, we, along with several other Rwandan adoption families, had no problems.

We then took a cab to the Rwanda embassy with our new Rwanda adoption friend, Jonathan Harper, who is from Dallas as well. We arrived right as the embassy was opening their doors. I wish you could have seen the face on the guy who opened the door. I said, "are you scared of us?" and he basically didn't reply. We just tried to be super nice and casual- we were being so careful to not overwhelm them. When we arrived we were the only two families there requesting help. Throughout the morning additional families or representatives of families showed up, probably 6 or 7 families total while we were there.

At first we were told we might get processed before tomorrow. That one word "might" was not good to hear. It was apparent they are super overwhelmed with the dossiers they need to process. The stack on the desk is a foot or two tall- and that was before the crew starting coming this morning.

I don't think they aren't processing these documents carefully- just checking through them to make sure they are legit. They won't fully process them until they are in Rwanda and it's our turn in line (which still can be 1-3 years, but who knows!).

There have been a few families that turned in their dossiers last Thursday and Friday and they are at the embassy today hoping to pick up their processed dossier.

All this to say that this is still unpredictable. But, we did just hear word from our friends who were waiting at the embassy while we grabbed lunch that the Rwanda Consular just announced to those waiting in the lobby that the dossiers that have been turned in by August 31st WILL be counted as received by the deadline and processed; however, they aren't sure when they will be able to give them back. Our hope is that we will get it back tomorrow so that we can make copies and mail it to Rwanda. But, we will come up with a plan B today.

It has been really neat meeting several other Rwanda adoption families on this journey with us. We can't thank our friends, family and strangers for praying over this situation. It's been really stressful but God has been showing up in amazing ways.

Please continue to pray- particularly for Carol, the lady at the embassy with the huge stack of dossiers to deal with. We aren't at the Embassy right now as we want to let them do their work in peace. We will continue to check in with them periodically to hear additional updates.

Friday's Whirlwind

I had another rough day on Thursday with lots of tears; However, by the end of the night Isaac and I were feeling at peace with the fact that God had closed the door to the Rwanda adoption for the time being because he had another plan- a better plan.   

Well, on Friday morning we found out that the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion in Rwanda announced that the deadline for dossiers was still August 31st, but it now would be accepted at any Rwandan embassy, not just at the Ministry in Rwanda. 

We also spoke with a family who was turning their Dossier in without the 171H approval and encouraged us to do the same.  This news changed everything for us!  We were now in the ball game again if we wanted to risk turning in our Dossier incomplete without the 171H form.

We were reluctant at first.  This had already been such an emotional journey that it was difficult wanting to jump back in this crazy adventure.  But we decided that in the end we wanted to do everything we could and not wish we would have- better safe than sorry! 

We jumped in the car with our Dossier documents (minus the 171H form) and went to Austin's Secretary of State office where we had all our documents certified.  It was an emotional journey, but by 2:00 we had everything certified and all went smoothly. 

And then, as you know from my prior blog post, in the few minutes we were home in Dallas between our Austin and Tulsa trip our 171H form was in the mail!  This was the form that we've waited on for three months and we were sure it was lost at the USCIS.  Missy asked me that morning what the chances were that the form would come in the mail and I told her less than 1% chance for all these reasons.  I mean, a total miracle this form arrived! 

So now, with the 171H form, we are still planning on flying to DC on Sunday afternoon.  On Monday morning we plan to have our documents federally certified in the morning and then deliver our completed dossier in the afternoon. 

What a day!  I'm just so amazed by God's grace and provision! 

The quickest, but best blog post ever...

We just returned from Austin where we got all our documents certified (minus the I-171H form itself, but we did get the cover sheet notarized and signed) and when we got home (which we've had 5 minutes to pack and get in the car for Tulsa for my HS reunion this weekend) we stinkin' got our I-171H form in the mail!  We're still in shock!  Off on the road again....

Rwandan Adoption Closed

We learned yesterday that the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion in Rwanda is no longer accepting new dossiers at this time for the purpose of focusing on becoming part of the Hague Convention and to focus on the  dossiers they currently have in their possession.

We were so close to turning in our dossier!  I'm a flood of emotions and in no state to blog.  I think we're needing to step back for a time and seek the Lord and His direction.

I've been reciting Matthew 11:28-30 over and over hoping that I will be able to let God take this burden so that I can rest in Him.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."    

And I've been playing my favorite song over and over, which is hitting home right now as I'm in this valley:

Nursery Progress

Well, we sadly have had no progress on the adoption front, but we have made a little progress on the nursery.  Last week we had bamboo floors installed along with the zebra floor carpet tiles.  I'm really happy with the way it's coming together.  The light fixture for the room will go in next, then the rocker and ottoman, and then the crib.

  

We're pacing ourselves since our Rwanda adoption looks like it's going to be forever from now!  It looks like it could easily be 2 to 3 years until we bring our baby home.  In the meantime we're exploring other options to pursue while waiting on our Rwandan baby.  

Isaac has been calling consistently to the USCIS checking in on our I-600A (the form that we submit) and the I-171H (which is the form that we are waiting on in return).  He's left a number of messages to our assigned lady, but we've never received a call back.  He's also spoken with a handful of different customer service people and not one has been able to find our I-600A!  They just put in a request to find it and that's that.  This week Isaac finally requested that a supervisor call him and basically she told him that she didn't know where our paperwork was and to not call back.  Our information isn't in the computer system and therefore it's in one of the many boxes sitting in the file room that have come from all over the US.  Once they find it, they said it would only take 5 minutes to approve it, but the key is in trying to find it.  We know of at least two couples who have been lucky and gotten their I-171H form back in 11 days- incredible!

It sounds like it's going to be an act of God if we ever get this form so that we can move on with our adoption and get in line at the Rwandan embassy behind a hundred or so dossiers that are taking a long, long time to process!    

I'm struggling with not pitying our situation, but God has been so faithful.  One way he's been showing up is in the people he's been putting in our lives.  Even just having lunch with two of my great girlfriends, Vanessa and Brooke, was so refreshing.  Then, in the gym a girl named Lauren, who recognized me from an adoption class at our church, was such an encouragement to me!  Also, our adoption friends Marc and Kayan from Austin came and stayed with us last night- that was, of course, so fun and refreshing! 

Until we hear anything further, we'll be praying for the USCIS, they seem so overwhelmed with the new centralized processing implementation.