Glitch Removal God

This morning I checked email before heading out the door to church, and saw that there was a message from Ruth, our facilitator, who lives in Yako, Burkina Faso  (check out the links in the margins, click to see and support the amazing work that these awesome folks are doing!).

Ruth shared that a letter that we need, really, really, really badly.....in order for the judge to approve our adoption, has been written, and is ready!!!   Ruth will head out to pick this letter up tomorrow-- picking up the letter is a two hour drive over rugged roadways, to the capital city of Ouagadougou....for us.  For a letter.  For our boy.   

We've known that the absence of this letter could cause a delay, resulting in a later court date, as in farther from now than ever.  We know that the only one who could write this letter was out of the country.  This is the glitch we've been praying about, the one we're asking God to lift and fix.

 

So tomorrow, Ruth needs to read this letter, and then show it to our attorney there, to see if has the right content and signatures, and official stamps in all of the right places.

IF it does, then they will ask to have our court date moved up UP, UP, UP! As in closer to now than ever!  We are so excited about this possibility-- It means that we are likely to travel to Africa, to hold our new son by Christmas!

A woman at church prayed with me today.  We prayed for God to remove this glitch.  She prayed for God's plans for this child to come to pass, without further delay...."It is finished" she said.  She cast the enemy from our story, affirmed that he had no claim here, and commanded, in our God's name, that chaos and confusion disrupt all plans to delay our adoption any further.

Now if you are not a believer or a follower of our God, then I know it sounds crazy when you say it like this, when you pray like this........but if you walk in the place where you feel God walking with you, it is not crazy at all..... is it?

Please pray with us-- Our God is bigger than the obstacles in our paths.

Image from creativecommons.org,  StudioBeerhorst

A Court Date on the Horizon!

On Africa Time--

Waiting is so very hard.  It is amazing to miss someone you've never met.  To feel a strangely familiar longing for your child, as though the ache in your chest has always been there....  

 It has been 15 months since I saw his serious little face, with the too-big-glasses.

It has been 12 months since we signed our contract and paid our first "big chunk" of fees. 

  It's been 15 months since Joe said, "yes", but didn't yet love our boy, 

as he would when he gave it all to God

.....and 11 months since God whispered a son into Joe's heart.

The Good News:  We've just learned that our first court date has been set-- The Beginning of the End of our adoption process is certainly cause to celebrate!  Although it is months later than we'd hoped for, we are thrilled, and thankful to be moving forward.  On November 26th, in the capital city of Ouagadougou, our Burkinabe attorney will represent us, and petition the judge hearing our case on our behalf-- the judge will be given our dossier.....all of the papers that represent who we are, along with all the papers that tell who Sylvain is.  He will look at our photos, and know we are a family waiting for a little boy.  If our family is approved, then this sweet boy will be our son on this day!  I wonder if he will even know this

Our son  will then  wait 30 more days, until we have a second court date set, and he will meet his new family.

As with many things that are planned so tightly in our own minds, glitches remind us that we are not really in charge of anything.  In adoption, we learn to expect the unexpected, and we practice relying on God for peace, since we cannot find it on our own. 

The Glitch: The judge hearing our case requires one last document, which seems easy enough, especially given that we have 6 weeks......  But nothing is as easy as it seems, is it?  We need something that only one person can provide, and this person is out of the country until November 26th......ironic isn't it?  the same day as our court date.  We are praying, and people are working hard to get this letter, so that we can keep our court date.  

Please continue to pray with us-- for safety, protection, and continued favor, moving forward-- smoothly and glitch-free!

A Little Bit of News is a Lot of News, Sometimes

What the heck is an "Article 5" document?

Yesterday we heard  from Ruth, our facilitator living and working as a missionary in Burkina Faso-- this was the first update on our adoption process since July, so we were hungry for news, and for word of how our little boy was doing......Was he getting enough to eat?  Was he going to be re-starting school soon?  Was he healthy and safe?  Did he know that we were coming?

Ruth shared that she submitted paperwork to the US Consulate for our "Article 5" requirement.  She'll go back to pick up this important document on October 21st.  This is the last document needed, before an international adoption can be completed......which means that we are edging ever closer to a court date!!  I think too, that it means that our son's visa application has been prepared and submitted already.

I also learned, that for this program in Burkina Faso, our first court date, where our attorney represents our family in court is the actual "adoption hearing".  When the judge approves our petition, our son is OURS!!   From this date,  the court secretaries will have about 30 days to prepare the necessary documents-- the "Adoption Decree"** being one of these.   Our attorney will work to prepare our son's new birth certificate, which will be issued with his new name-- his FAMILY name.  And when we arrive in Burkina Faso, about a month after this court date, we'll  appear once more before the judge, and  finalize our adoption.

So an "Article 5" document is a symbol of hope and promise, and we thank God for his continued faithfulness-- showing us the path, lighting our way.

** If you are adopting internationally, be sure to check with your HR department or health care provider about adding your child as an eligible dependent on your insurance plan.  For some insurance companies, the Adoption Decree and birth certificate are required within 30 days of the "qualifying event".  In our case, and in many cases, the decree is not printed or available to families until 4-6 weeks from the qualifying event.  It pays to be proactive!