Our littlest valentine

It's been a long time since I've talked about our little girl and the adoption.  Mostly because not a lot has happened; it's so frustrating; and it's just easier for me to deal with it by not dwelling on it. Don't get me wrong, I think and pray about our little gal everyday, and I don't mind people asking about her.  I just cant get caught up in the lack of progress, why their president isn't letting kids come home to their families, or the amount of money we send over there each month to a family that is raising our daughter for us until the suspension lifts.   If all went as "planned" she was supposed to be here last spring.   I often remind myself how in the Bible Sarah was promised a child, and if she can wait decades for God’s plan to unfold surely we can wait a couple years.  I am thankful she is being well cared for over there, but we are all ready for her to be with us!

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Melanie and I went there to visit.  I know before I said I wasn't going to publicly post pictures of her face till she came home, but who would have thought it would take so long for her to get here!  I know so many have been praying over her that I thought you should be able to see her sweet face.  I used to get picture of her every 4-6 weeks, but since the suspension (over 500 days ago) the pictures only come once every few months.  :(   I thought I'd share some of the sweet pictures Melanie took from a year ago.  I'll share some newer ones when I come back from my next trip. 

 

 

Her foster mom is on the left

Just a bit about our specific case.  It took us FOREVER to complete our court process.  Our previous judge kept requiring us to do more things before he would grant us legal custody.  We would do what he asked, but then he would require us to send in another document, etc. Finally in November our lawyer suggested we switch to a different court/judge since this one was being unreasonable, and no one else’s judge was doing this.  When I was there a year ago the judge was saying that he wanted us to follow the new laws -which still haven't passed.   Once we switched judges we got through court quickly.  We finally have all the court documents need to apply for her US visa with the US immigration office. Although before we can submit her documents we also have to renew some expired paperwork and our immigration officer is being so difficult!!  I tried emailing and calling him once each week for 3 weeks but never heard back from him!  So finally asked to talk to someone else so I could find out what we need to do to update our file.  I’m now kicking myself for not doing this sooner, but what can you do.

As I mentioned I'm taking another trip to DRC the beginning of March with my youngest sister...thank you tax return. Cant wait to spend time with our little A again!   I'm also going to file her immigration documents at the Embassy in DRC....especially after the ordeal I've dealt with the office on stateside the past month.   After A's documents are sent to immigration they complete an investigation to make sure she is an orphan which stateside can take several months.  Most people find that it is significantly faster to file her immigration papers at the Embassy in DRC...hopefully just a month.   We hired a third party investigator. It wasn’t much compared to the cost of everything else, and we are hoping that we can find out more information about her biological family. We did this for 3 reasons. One to validate the story we were told, two so she could know as much as we can tell her about her bio family when she asks, three so we can hand their investigation to the Embassy to make it easier/quicker for them.  

Their government has said all along that they would lift the suspension once the adoption laws were finished, but originally it was to be done within a year.  It's taken them forever to finish them especially since the government has been working to keep the president from governing past his term.  The new adoption laws are supposedly almost done, and will hopefully be finished soon after the court reconvenes in March.  We want to get everything done so when that happens we are ready to go!
There is a new petition going on asking Obama to personally contact their president Kabila about ending the suspension.  The department of state has made contact, but Obama hasn't.  Please sign the petition if you haven't (I posted it on facebook a few days ago).  https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/end-drc-exit-letter-suspension-children-legally-adopted-american-families/GF9Qrb5L

We would definitely appreciate your prayers. Particularly that the US immigration process will go smooth and that the government will quickly finish their adoption laws. We have learned through this process that our plans are not always the same as God’s, but we are hoping that she can come home by the end of summer.  I often read the following passages for encouragement.

"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:  He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him."  Psalms 37:3-7

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."  Proverbs 3:5,6