Friday morning we woke early to call the embassy in the DRC. It took a few tries to get through, but when I finally did, I got some of the best news we’d had in a long time: our kids were at the embassy at that very moment for their interview appointment. In fact the embassy employee I spoke to was actually laughing when she answered the phone. When I told her who I was, she laughed some more and said that she had just been with our kids and they had her laughing. Apparently, Rose was cracking everyone up because she wouldn’t stop talking. I guess she’s not shy!

We’ve had a few friends go to the DRC over the last few months, and interact with our kids.  I’m so thankful for these friends who have sought our children out to check on them, to give them messages, and to take pictures. We got our first picture of Rose giggling, and one of Emmanuel smiling.   There was a point in time when their location and condition was very much in question, and these friends have made sure that our kids are okay. One dear friend even talked to Rose in French, and had the chance to tell her that we were going to be coming for her soon. Rose wanted to tell me, “Hi mommy.” By all accounts, our kids are very sweet, and know that we are coming for them soon.

So when is soon? We’re back to being in an unpredictable stage (as if they haven’t all been). Right now, we’re waiting for the embassy to do an investigation into how they came into care (which we don’t know much about) and if they qualify to enter the United States. There is really no way to predict how long it will take. Some people have already been waiting months. Some people only wait a couple of weeks. Of course, we hope for the latter.

Once they get visas, we’ll apply for ours, and when we receive them, we’ll get to the DRC as quickly as possible. So it could be as soon as 3 weeks, or as long as 3 months. Most cases are taking more time than less, but only time will tell.

Would you pray for the embassy workers? I know they have a lot on their plate, and have a very important job. Would you pray for joy and blessings in their life? Would you pray that they would find great reward in their work? Would you pray that everything they need to make a decision would be found quickly and in order?

For now, we’re greatly relieved to know that our kids are safe, and that after 3 months of being stuck in the process, we’re finally moving forward again!

But for now, you can watch this “gotcha day video”:

Check out their blog and their ministry.

In spite of a hefty amount of begging, our embassy appointments have not been changed. We still have several more weeks to wait for the make-up appointments, and a longer wait for visas for the kids after that. Knowing that we should have been preparing for travel by now makes the wait harder. We miss the children we have never met more with each passing day.

After our embassy debacle, in which our representative in the Congo failed to drop off our paperwork, we were hopeful that our agency would remedy the situation with a heavy dose of apologies and persistence.

I was told more than once that our paperwork had indeed been dropped off, only to find out later that it hadn’t been.

Finally, I believe that the paperwork was dropped off. Truthfully, I’m not even positive when because I heard several different stories, but it has been done.

Ordinarily, interview appointments are scheduled 4 days after the paperwork dropoff. Once the interview appointments are complete, the final investigation into whether the children qualify for visas takes place, and then visas are issued. Then we get our visas to travel, which takes about a week, and go!

Unfortunately, our interview appointment (which was missed on June 18) was not rescheduled for 4 DAYS after our paperwork dropoff. It was scheduled 4 WEEKS after the paperwork dropoff — the LATE paperwork dropoff. This was after waiting for 7 weeks for the first set of appointments. We were sent to the back of the line again due to no fault of our own.

And now, rather than visas taking 1-2 weeks to be issued, they are now taking much longer. It’s hard to even give an estimate because many have not been processed in the last month, but it’s looking like it’s going to be at least 6 weeks after the embassy interview appointment. 

So, 3 weeks ago, we were planning on travelling the second week of July. Now it’s looking like we’ll be lucky to travel by September. Maybe even October.

Our agency is trying to get our appointments moved up, as well as the appointments of some others that are in exact same shoes. We’ve all been waiting nearly a year to get our children home. We’re tired of them being in an orphanage. We’re tired of paying hundreds of dollars in monthly fees for them to get substandard care. We’re tired of reaching every stage and being told that it’s going to take longer than expected. Would you pray for all of us and our children? We need divine intervention, probably more than you know.

After seven weeks of waiting, the day of our first of our embassy appointments arrived this week. Given all of the chaos going on surrounding adoptions from the Congo, I had a sense of dread rather than excitement. I called or emailed our agency to make sure everything was ready to go, and that the appointments would be met, both the week before our appointments and the day before.

I was assured each time that everything was ready to go.

The day after our appointment, I received an email that our representative in the Congo did not have one of the necessary documents, and did not go to the appointment — the one that took seven weeks to get.

Then in an even more cruel twist, I have found out from several different sources that the document he was missing wasn’t even necessary for our appointment to begin with. There was no legitimate reason for missing our appointment.

We have no idea when we’ll get another.

We are frustrated and frankly, feel betrayed by those who are representing us.

Our kids will spend an entire year in an orphanage before we can go get them. This delay means our son doesn’t get to start kindergarten on time. It means we will now have to pay to have our home study redone, spending money that should be going to buying a swing set, for Christian school tuition, or even a trip to Disney. And every month we pay hundreds of dollars to support the incompetence that keeps them there.

Picture in your mind the children in your life who are most important to you. Maybe your own kids, nieces or nephews, grandkids, or kids that you babysit.

Now imagine that they have been taken against their will and put in an orphanage in Africa. There is no air conditioning in the scorching equatorial heat. They get one meal a day and very limited access to water, and the water they do have access to is not clean. So they have intestinal parasites. And ringworm. And scabies. And lice.  Medical treatment for these? Nonexistent. Malaria is frequent. Baths are rare. They sleep several to a mattress, with no blankets or pillows, and their entire life exists between the high stone walls immediately surrounding the house with no grass, no playground. There are no toys. They are taught that they have no personal property and that the rule of life is survival of the fittest.  No significant learning opportunities. No one rocking them to sleep or reading to them before bed. They fall behind developmentally. They begin to fall off the growth charts.

Remember, these are the kids who are most important to you. How does that make you feel?

For us, this is reality. These are not imaginary children. They are, in fact, our children. And as good as it sounds to say, “It’s all in God’s perfect timing,” “I hope you have peace about what’s going on,” and “It will all be worth it,” it rings hollow in the face of the suffering that they (not us) are facing. This has never been about Ken and I. This isn’t wistfully thinking, “Gee, it would be nice to have some kids running around.” This is an all out battle against the gates of Hell for the souls of two children, now OUR children, because this is what the Bible tells us that true religion is all about, and God has called us to the front lines. But frankly, the enemy is having a heyday right now, and his fiery arrows are striking our children.

Forgive me for my rant, but I think if these were your kids, you’d share in the rant too. Forgive me for not wanting to talk about all of this in casual circles when asked, “So, when are you going to get your kids?” The ugliness of the situation runs far more deep than I can summarize in two sentences, and is certainly more than I can post on this blog.

Just pray. The power of prayer the only thing that can rescue this situation and get our kids out before things get worse.

Spring has run screaming and headlong into summer. May was especially busy with high school and college graduations, multiple weddings, several showers, countless open houses, Ken having church obligations 5 nights out of most weeks August through Memorial Day weekend, and thousands of things needed to be done before we go to get our kids. The end of May found us worn out.

And then I started my busy time of year May 26th when my work load nearly doubles.

In the midst of all that’s happening in our lives on the job front, there has been even more change on the adoption front in the last few weeks. There’s so much that I’m not at liberty to talk about. There have been significant changes in our agency, and changes in the embassy that have left us wondering when we’ll be able to travel. It could be that things straighten out and we still travel when we were expecting, but each week, the timeline for our travel looks like it is getting longer. We’re in pretty constant communication with our agency and with other parents right now, as things are changing rapidly.

Truthfully, I have seen more darkness and evil out of this process in the last few weeks than I’ve seen in the year since we started.

God has reminded me of the Scripture that I memorized as a child. I’m so grateful for all of the verses I memorized, for at the right time, God speaks them to my mind:

Ephesians 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

I can’t even talk about exactly what’s going on, but I can ask you: Would you pray?

• Pray that Satan would be bound as he tries to disrupt and corrupt.
• Pray for the safety of our kids — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
• Pray for those doing the paperwork for adoptions to work quickly and accurately and be blessed beyond measure as they’re doing it.
• Pray for those caring for our children.
• Pray for the safety and sanity of those travelling ahead of us, with us, and including us.
• Pray that God would give us the strength to endure the challenges that lie ahead.

This week and next are critical in our adoption process. Would you pray?

Our neighbor Katie, does fantastic wood carvings and paintings, and has her latest piece of work is up for auction on Ebay with proceeds going to help with our travel costs.

Check it out! More importantly, bid!

One of the most beautiful parts of our adoption journey has been seeing the faces of children transformed by the love of a family. There have been several families whose children’s faces I became familiar with while looking for the faces of my own in pictures and videos from the orphanage. Some of the families have gone to get their children and brought them home and posted new pictures.

It’s amazing to see the transformation, even while they are still in the Congo. The light in the childrens’ eyes. The smiles on their faces. Their arms thrown recklessly around their new parents’ necks, as if to say, “My heart is finally free!”

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song about this years ago, but I never realized the significance of the words until I went to his concert and watched this video, featuring one of his own adopted daughters.

Dear Rose,

I’m pretty sure you have no idea that today is a special day, but indeed, it is your fourth birthday. Your dad and I were hoping with all our hearts to have you home by now, but alas, we still wait. You’re still in an orphanage. We’re still here in Tennessee.

I want you to know that though we’ve never met, I have studied your picture, watched glimpses of you in videos, straining to know the littlest details about you. I know your sassy scowl that you pull off in most pictures, but I’ve had a glimpse of your perfect chubby-cheeked double-dimpled smile for just a half a second, and it melts my heart. That’s how I picture you: happy, eager, lively, beautiful. I know the hypopigmented spot on the left side of your chin. I know the texture of your hair, and already have a “hair whisperer” identified to teach me what in the world my pale hands will do with it. I know that you have spunk. I know that you love your brother. And I know that you now know what we look like too.

I know that your first four years have not been the happy years that many children have. But I promise that we’ll do everything we can to gain back the years of happy childhood that you’ve lost. The presents from today will have to be unwrapped later. We’ll have to save the hugs and kisses for now. Your friends will celebrate with you in a couple of months.

So for today, the only gift I can give you is prayers that your Heavenly Father will give you the gift of a wonderful day where you have plenty of food, all the water you want to drink, clothes to wear, and friends to laugh with.  And I hope He will grant you the gift of eager anticipation for the new life that waits for you here in our home.

Love,

Mom