Well, today did not go as well as it did in my dreams and it has been a rough day for us. We did not pass our visa interview. We arrived at 7am and waited in the very long, rainy line outside the Embassy. Around 8:15 we finally got inside and waited to present our documents. We left around 10:00am without the magic "blue ticket" to return for the visa. The lady that interviewed us said that we had all of the proper documentation and proof, but that in order for her to process her visa she wanted to interview the birth mother. We could not have provided her more paper proof than we did, she was set on a face to face interview. We don't really know what she wants to ask her, but we are assuming that the Embassy will make sure that the birth mother knew what she was doing when she relinquished rights and that she fully understands the significance of that. We are already legally Emmanuella's parents so that cannot change, the Embassy just wants to make sure that everything at the relinquishment is legit and there was no coercion. (we thought the proof we brought in should have been enough!) It's hard to understand the "why's" of it all, but we realize they are just doing their job. We know of many cases that made it past their interview with the same documentation we had ... it just wasn't our day. Our agency contacted the Dept Of Social Welfare in Ghana right away and they believe they have located her birth mother and she may be able to come to Accra yet this week for the interview. (they would see her on any Monday, Tuesday or Thursday) But, after weighing the odds of that happening plus the visa actually being printed anytime soon we decided that we will travel home as planned tomorrow evening. Well, not "as planned", we planned to have Emmanuella with us when we booked it all.
We stopped over at Andy & Katie's again after our interview because they are staying only a few blocks away from the Embassy. We enjoyed lunch with them and it was nice to be able to discuss it all with them. We got to also share in their joy when their email arrived that their daughter's visa had finally printed. (and it was handy that our driver was there and could quickly get him over to the Embassy to pick it up!) They have been in the country for 2 weeks now and have 2 boys back in Montana so it has been really hard for them to be stuck here waiting for the computer program to be fixed. While we were devastated (and frankly a little shocked) that we didn't pass we could still experience great joy for them. They are on a plane home tonight and will be reunited with their family tomorrow.
Emmanuella had a hard day all around. She was tired from getting up early so was already not very happy even before the interview. You are not allowed to bring food, water, or electronics into the Embassy so even though she had a little breakfast in the car she got hungry inside the Embassy and this girl's mood changes considerably when she is hungry or tired. Then, after we explained to her that the Embassy did not say "yes", they said "not yet", she shut down even more. She perked up slightly with some lunch but then shut down for quite awhile again this afternoon. Tonight was nice though, she played and was happy all night. (we watched "Frozen" tonight - she liked it but the concept of cold and a snowman to a Ghanaian child is missed!)
While we surely do not understand the reasons behind us not passing the visa interview, we are trusting in God's timing. We will still go to her school tomorrow morning and drop off all of the gifts we brought but then we will have to leave her at her foster mom's again. Hopefully I will return to get her in just a few days, but it could also take a while, we have no idea. In the meantime, we will try to place all of our trust for the timing in Him.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Monday, July 28, 2014
Monday in Ghana
A big hello from Ghana!
Today, for the most part, we had a low-key day hanging out at the hotel and just bonding with Emmanuella. (we were only gone for about 2 hours this morning as we went to the Bethany offices to get all of our original documents and go over everything for our interview tomorrow) Emmanuella is always with us on this trip so it's a bit more exhausting - we are always "on" with intentional parenting. That's something we haven't really experienced in many years! Plus, it's so hard to know how to parent her right now when we are away from home and really have no sort of "normal". Do we correct certain behaviors or just let them slide for awhile, etc.? For the most part, we let them slide and just try to correct big things, but I can see she is already testing us. If I say "no" to something or say "please don't do that", she will sometimes do it again purposefully. She is a smart little girl so I am sure she is testing the waters to see what we will do. I don't think it will take too long before she figures out that we are pretty consistent and our no means no. She is so fiercely independant and I am a mom that pretty much has done most things for my kids so it is hard to decipher her good independence vs. letting us help her as a type of bonding & attachment. In so many ways I love that she wants to do so many things on her own, but she also needs to learn that we will provide for her needs and she can trust that we will help her. It's hard to know what is right but we'll figure it out as we learn more about each other. We definitely saw again today that when she is tired she completely shuts down. Luckily, we could get her to take a nap today - she didn't wake up any happier but it only took 15 minutes or so and she was talking to us again. We had a small glimpse today of how hard this is going to be for all of us, just getting used to a new child in the house that does nearly everything differently than we do. (this will not be easy for our other 3 kids either who are pretty set in their ways!)
The day contained a whole lot of coloring, puzzles, doing the Barbie's hair, drawing/sketching, some iPad games, more coloring and a bath that gets the whole bathroom wet. :) We ended our day Facetiming with the kids back in Oostburg and Emmanuella seemed to understand it better tonight and she was excited to see them again.
We ate our meals at the hotel today and for supper she finally ordered Banku and Okra Stew ... one of her supposed favorites but she never ordered it before on our first trip. I gave it a try. I cannot imagine having a whole softball sized helping of it like she had - it is just like eating sweet bread dough, it must sit like a rock! She polished it off though and ate nearly all of the stew with it. (you dip the banku in the stew to eat it and then she ate the meat out of the stew) Her mood greatly improved after having some food in her belly also!
Our bodies have not yet adjusted to the time change and we are having trouble falling asleep at night. (Greg fell asleep with E around 9:00 but woke up by 10:00 and we couldn't get back to sleep until after 1am - it doesn't help that we are sharing our queen bed with a 6 year old - I don't know how cosleeping families do that!) We need to get up very early tomorrow morning to make it to the Embassy in time for our 7:30am interview. From what we have heard, we have permission to come at 7:30am, but that just gets us in the doors and you wait to be called up to the desk for your interview. We should be out of there by 11:00am or so and then we plan to head over to Andy & Katie's since they are very close to the Embassy and we will have lunch together with them. At least we'll have one piece of the puzzle answered tomorrow, whether or not we pass our interview will determine if we are heading home on Wednesday night or rescheduling flights and waiting for a visa! Please say a prayer that our answers and documents will be sufficient and we will pass this interview tomorrow - whether or not we bring our little girl home on this trip will be determined at it.
For those who are wondering about how Greg's foot is doing - it was pretty swollen & sore after the flight since he couldn't elevate it at all for nearly 36 hours, but it has returned back to just the swelling it had before and has remained stable since then. (it hasn't gotten worse so that is fine by us!) It's still not back to normal, but he's a trooper ... even though he forgot to pack his sandals and only has his tennis shoes along. :) Now he's coming down with a cold though. :(
So, prayers are appreciated and if you wake up between 2:30am & 7:00am say a prayer because we are probably at the Embassy trying to pass our interview! Thanks!
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Wonderful day!
This morning Greg & I arose to a big crashing sound in the hallway around 6:45am (it sounded like they dropped someone's breakfast room service delivery in the tile hall right near us). We decided to fall back asleep thinking there was no way they would bring Emmanuella to us until near lunch time - we remember how "Ghana Time" works, it hasn't even been 2 months since we were here the last time. At 8:40am we awoke to a quiet knock on our door and guess who it was?? There was a gorgeous little gal at our door! What a wonderful wake up call to see that face in the morning. :)
She jumped right into looking for the iPad and going through the suitcases to see what we brought for her to play with. Unfortunately, since we hadn't been up yet, I hadn't hid any of the things away for surprises for her down the road. She pretty much either saw or played with nearly everything I brought for this whole trip today! That's ok, she seems to love some repetition.
We ordered some breakfast (which E said she already ate at home) to be brought to our room. Guess what? She ate most of ours like usual. She definitely liked Greg's omelet with all of the veggies in it over my plain scrambled eggs. She also wanted tea but I had only ordered coffee for Greg so she tried that instead. I have never seen a person add that much sugar to coffee ... needless to say, she only had a few spoonfuls! (yes, spoonfuls, she ate it like soup) Then, we flew a kite in the parking lot ... because it wasn't hidden away and she had it in her head that we needed to. We were grateful we were able to keep it away from the power lines in the strong winds today! A little bit of swimming happened - the weather was very comfortable today ... not really that warm and the pool was cold. (we think they must have drained it and started over since the last time we were here because it's actually clean and the water is much cooler) Then we headed back to our room to finally shower up and do some nail painting and coloring. This kiddo can color for a LONG time ... that may come in handy on the airplane! At 3:00 we had a taxi arranged to pick us up and bring us over to where Andy & Katie (the other Bethany family that is here stuck waiting for their daughter's visa to print) are staying. They are in a very nice home of a US couple and there were several restaurants we could choose from to eat at tonight near there. We chose to go to "ChurCheese" - it is the Chuck E Cheese of Ghana. (the lettering on the outside was a complete knock off of Chuck E Cheese too - funny) Don't really think Chuck E Cheese in your mind though ... this was a tiny room with a few games (most of which were not even in working order), a small carousel (like the ones in the old indoor playlands when we were kids) and a trampoline. Emmanuella thought it was fabulous! We shared a pizza with Andy & Katie and bought our girls some chicken and fried rice. The food was really good - even the pizza was pretty normal by my standards. It was another nice night getting to know them better, they are a wonderful couple with a sweet new little girl to join their family.
We came back to the hotel tonight and we were able to Facetime with the kids back home. They could finally see and talk with Emmanuella! She had a hard time figuring it out - at first they would ask her a question and she would ask it right back. I think she thought the computer was prompting her to ask the questions. ?? She was pretty shy but it was great for us to see their faces and for them to finally see her. (and Grandma & Grandpa D too!)
We had a few "firsts" today for Emmanuella that showed just how many things are going to be new to her. For instance, we brought along a bottle of liquid handsoap for the bathroom. We had to teach her how to pump it order to get the soap out. That's one of the many, many things that will be so new to her. Can you imagine? I just can't fathom being taken away from all I ever knew as home to a whole different world where everything smells different, tastes different, IS different! She is very excited to come to the US and told us she is ready to leave with us, but really, how long until the newness and excitement wears off and she realizes that everything is different and it's the new normal. Now you get a little idea of why we need to hang at home alone for awhile when we return with her - there is so much to teach and do and her immediate family needs to be the ones to teach her so she learns to trust us and learns that we will provide for all of her needs. Honestly, I can't wait to show her!
Tomorrow we get picked up around 9:00 and will just head to the Bethany office to make sure we have all of the correct paperwork, etc. for our interview on Tuesday. Then, we expect the rest of the day we'll just hang out at the hotel.
She jumped right into looking for the iPad and going through the suitcases to see what we brought for her to play with. Unfortunately, since we hadn't been up yet, I hadn't hid any of the things away for surprises for her down the road. She pretty much either saw or played with nearly everything I brought for this whole trip today! That's ok, she seems to love some repetition.
We ordered some breakfast (which E said she already ate at home) to be brought to our room. Guess what? She ate most of ours like usual. She definitely liked Greg's omelet with all of the veggies in it over my plain scrambled eggs. She also wanted tea but I had only ordered coffee for Greg so she tried that instead. I have never seen a person add that much sugar to coffee ... needless to say, she only had a few spoonfuls! (yes, spoonfuls, she ate it like soup) Then, we flew a kite in the parking lot ... because it wasn't hidden away and she had it in her head that we needed to. We were grateful we were able to keep it away from the power lines in the strong winds today! A little bit of swimming happened - the weather was very comfortable today ... not really that warm and the pool was cold. (we think they must have drained it and started over since the last time we were here because it's actually clean and the water is much cooler) Then we headed back to our room to finally shower up and do some nail painting and coloring. This kiddo can color for a LONG time ... that may come in handy on the airplane! At 3:00 we had a taxi arranged to pick us up and bring us over to where Andy & Katie (the other Bethany family that is here stuck waiting for their daughter's visa to print) are staying. They are in a very nice home of a US couple and there were several restaurants we could choose from to eat at tonight near there. We chose to go to "ChurCheese" - it is the Chuck E Cheese of Ghana. (the lettering on the outside was a complete knock off of Chuck E Cheese too - funny) Don't really think Chuck E Cheese in your mind though ... this was a tiny room with a few games (most of which were not even in working order), a small carousel (like the ones in the old indoor playlands when we were kids) and a trampoline. Emmanuella thought it was fabulous! We shared a pizza with Andy & Katie and bought our girls some chicken and fried rice. The food was really good - even the pizza was pretty normal by my standards. It was another nice night getting to know them better, they are a wonderful couple with a sweet new little girl to join their family.
We came back to the hotel tonight and we were able to Facetime with the kids back home. They could finally see and talk with Emmanuella! She had a hard time figuring it out - at first they would ask her a question and she would ask it right back. I think she thought the computer was prompting her to ask the questions. ?? She was pretty shy but it was great for us to see their faces and for them to finally see her. (and Grandma & Grandpa D too!)
We had a few "firsts" today for Emmanuella that showed just how many things are going to be new to her. For instance, we brought along a bottle of liquid handsoap for the bathroom. We had to teach her how to pump it order to get the soap out. That's one of the many, many things that will be so new to her. Can you imagine? I just can't fathom being taken away from all I ever knew as home to a whole different world where everything smells different, tastes different, IS different! She is very excited to come to the US and told us she is ready to leave with us, but really, how long until the newness and excitement wears off and she realizes that everything is different and it's the new normal. Now you get a little idea of why we need to hang at home alone for awhile when we return with her - there is so much to teach and do and her immediate family needs to be the ones to teach her so she learns to trust us and learns that we will provide for all of her needs. Honestly, I can't wait to show her!
Tomorrow we get picked up around 9:00 and will just head to the Bethany office to make sure we have all of the correct paperwork, etc. for our interview on Tuesday. Then, we expect the rest of the day we'll just hang out at the hotel.
Saturday, July 26, 2014
Back in Africa
Hi Everyone,
Well, after our overnight flight last night we made it to Ghana this afternoon tired but all in one piece. We got to our hotel around 3:30 local time and settled in to the exact same room we had in May. It's a nice large room but the a/c is leaking all over tonight and making weird noises so hopefully that can get fixed tomorrow and we don't have to change rooms. We have a/c, water, internet and electricity tonight so I am NOT complaining! We also have a bonus light bulb in the little chandelier this trip, 3 out of 5 work now, so there is an ever-so-slight increase of light in here at night. :)
Emmanuella is going to be brought to our hotel tomorrow so we have a chance to get some good rest tonight before we have her inbetween us for the rest of the trip. :) We were able to meet up for supper with another family that has adopted a little girl through Bethany, passed their interview on July 21st and is stuck in country while the US Embassy computer system is down and visas cannot print. It was great to have dinner with them and get to know them. They moved out of the hotel today (they've already been here 9 nights so they made arrangements for some free lodging with an American couple who lives here in Ghana right near the US Embassy) We made plans to see them again tomorrow night. I like having plans of something to do each day so that is great! We will swim (the pool is blue this time and not green - hip hip horay!) and play here at the hotel for awhile and then we will head over there by mid afternoon. On Monday we will meet with the Bethany workers and get more info on how the interview day will go on Tuesday. Wednesday we hope to bring all of the gifts to Emmanuella's school and visit with her foster mother. After that it is all up in the air depending on what happens at the interview on Tuesday. If we don't pass we will fly home Wed. night ... if we do pass we are stuck here until the visas start printing again.
The family we met with tonight has had good contact with the Embassy (they went several times this week to try and get the visa) and they feel confident that the workers there are prioritzing the adoption cases and these will get processed quickly once they are functional again. The embassy workers plan to work a lot of OT to make up for the backlog - we just have no idea when that will be. It has already been 2 weeks that the US Embassy system worldwide has had this "glitch" and they claim they are working to fix it with high priority. It's hard to believe that there is no "plan B" or another way to print (or handprint!) visas in situations like this. Feel free to contact the US Department of State (http://www.state.gov and click on the small red "contact" button to send a message) to urge them to get this fixed or develop a "plan B" immediately! There are US citizens worldwide that are stuck out of country because of it - it's already been 2 weeks and they still don't have a fix or backup plan in place. If we pass Emmanuella's interview on Tuesday, we will be one of those families!
We are looking forward to seeing Emmanuella again tomorrow. Her smile, her laughs & her energy will be uplifting to us. She is so fun! God has already ordained our days here in Ghana and we will trust in Him for our strength, energy, and provision. Please pray that God moves mountains at the Embassy so that all of us in this adoption process can get our families all together on the same continent!
Hoping the internet is working again tomorrow so I can keep updating.
Robin
Well, after our overnight flight last night we made it to Ghana this afternoon tired but all in one piece. We got to our hotel around 3:30 local time and settled in to the exact same room we had in May. It's a nice large room but the a/c is leaking all over tonight and making weird noises so hopefully that can get fixed tomorrow and we don't have to change rooms. We have a/c, water, internet and electricity tonight so I am NOT complaining! We also have a bonus light bulb in the little chandelier this trip, 3 out of 5 work now, so there is an ever-so-slight increase of light in here at night. :)
Emmanuella is going to be brought to our hotel tomorrow so we have a chance to get some good rest tonight before we have her inbetween us for the rest of the trip. :) We were able to meet up for supper with another family that has adopted a little girl through Bethany, passed their interview on July 21st and is stuck in country while the US Embassy computer system is down and visas cannot print. It was great to have dinner with them and get to know them. They moved out of the hotel today (they've already been here 9 nights so they made arrangements for some free lodging with an American couple who lives here in Ghana right near the US Embassy) We made plans to see them again tomorrow night. I like having plans of something to do each day so that is great! We will swim (the pool is blue this time and not green - hip hip horay!) and play here at the hotel for awhile and then we will head over there by mid afternoon. On Monday we will meet with the Bethany workers and get more info on how the interview day will go on Tuesday. Wednesday we hope to bring all of the gifts to Emmanuella's school and visit with her foster mother. After that it is all up in the air depending on what happens at the interview on Tuesday. If we don't pass we will fly home Wed. night ... if we do pass we are stuck here until the visas start printing again.
The family we met with tonight has had good contact with the Embassy (they went several times this week to try and get the visa) and they feel confident that the workers there are prioritzing the adoption cases and these will get processed quickly once they are functional again. The embassy workers plan to work a lot of OT to make up for the backlog - we just have no idea when that will be. It has already been 2 weeks that the US Embassy system worldwide has had this "glitch" and they claim they are working to fix it with high priority. It's hard to believe that there is no "plan B" or another way to print (or handprint!) visas in situations like this. Feel free to contact the US Department of State (http://www.state.gov and click on the small red "contact" button to send a message) to urge them to get this fixed or develop a "plan B" immediately! There are US citizens worldwide that are stuck out of country because of it - it's already been 2 weeks and they still don't have a fix or backup plan in place. If we pass Emmanuella's interview on Tuesday, we will be one of those families!
We are looking forward to seeing Emmanuella again tomorrow. Her smile, her laughs & her energy will be uplifting to us. She is so fun! God has already ordained our days here in Ghana and we will trust in Him for our strength, energy, and provision. Please pray that God moves mountains at the Embassy so that all of us in this adoption process can get our families all together on the same continent!
Hoping the internet is working again tomorrow so I can keep updating.
Robin
Thursday, July 24, 2014
So much uncertainty ... so much blind faith!
Sooooooo, yesterday we found out that the US Embassy was going to be closed on Monday for a Muslim holiday. ??? (they had given us a visa interview appointment for Monday!) I emailed them and we heard back early this morning that they are indeed closed and our visa interview appointment will now be Tuesday, July 29th @ 7:30am instead. We looked into changing our flights but it was way too expensive so we are just going to leave tomorrow as planned. If we pass, there is no way our visa would print already on Wednesday so we know we'd have to change that part of the trip, but we will wait to see if we pass. If we don't pass, we will fly home without her on Wednesday night as booked - if we do pass, we will head to the airport after our interview on Tuesday and try to make the changes to our flights directly at the ticket counter to fly home Friday night. (if that's when they tell us the visa should print) We heard by going to the ticket counter and doing it that way we may be able to get the change fees waived. So, you'll have to stay posted to know when we are returning - it's a mystery to even us!
Greg's foot is doing better each day. (for those of you who don't know, Greg got a sliver in his foot on Friday at ski camp and it got infected BAD) The orthopedic surgeon we saw yesterday extended his antibiotics to cover the whole time we will be in Ghana and said he will see him after the trip to open him up if it's still bothering him. He reassured us that new infection would not set in or get worse while we are away, the amoxicillin is doing it's job. He made us both feel better about Greg going along.
So, continue to pray - there is so much uncertainty about this trip that we are truly going on faith at this point. Yesterday we also heard that there is a "glitch" in the US computer system right now that has taken down the ability to print visas and passports. It's worldwide and is affecting Ghana also. (there is a Bethany family stuck there right now waiting for their daughter's visa to print, they were supposed to have flown home last night and the embassy told them to just stop back everyday to see if it was fixed and the visa could print) There's another thing to add to the list! Either way, we get to see Emmanuella again soon ... but hopefully we won't have to leave her again.
Much to do today to be ready to head out in the morning!
Robin
Friday, July 18, 2014
Gifts for Africa
Here is a snapshot of the supplies we were able to purchase with the proceeds from our t-shirt sales. Thanks to my wonderful teacher friend, Kim Brill, who helped me pick these things out! We will bring them along next week and bring them as a gift to Emmanuella's school. These things will be AMAZING to them as they do not have much in their classrooms! I can only imagine how the teachers will feel to have some new supplies and teaching tools for the kids. We tried to get items that span most age groups at her school - some things for preschool on up to 3rd graders. It is so helpful that they speak and teach English at her school!
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Thanks again for your support!
Greg & Robin
Thanks again for your support!
Greg & Robin
Flights are booked!
Good Morning! I have had a busy morning scheduling flights and filing more forms because we have been granted our visa interview for Monday, July 28th! Many things fell into place this week so Greg & I will be traveling back to Accra, Ghana on Friday July 25th and we will hopefully return with Emmanuella on Thursday morning, July 31st. We absolutely cannot wait to be reunited with our daughter and hear her giggles again.
Please join us in prayer that we will pass the visa interview on the 28th - there is a very real chance that they will want to check into her case further and they will not grant her visa. (it happens quite often) If we are not granted her visa we will have to leave her again and wait while they investigate her case. It could be weeks or months more before we go back again to get her.
Thanks again for your prayers - we appreciate each and every one of them said on behalf of our growing family!
Robin
Please join us in prayer that we will pass the visa interview on the 28th - there is a very real chance that they will want to check into her case further and they will not grant her visa. (it happens quite often) If we are not granted her visa we will have to leave her again and wait while they investigate her case. It could be weeks or months more before we go back again to get her.
Thanks again for your prayers - we appreciate each and every one of them said on behalf of our growing family!
Robin
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Another Hurdle - check!
Good Morning,
Well, we are one step closer and yet still feel so far away. This morning we received notification that Emmanuella's visa packet can be picked up at the US Embassy in Ghana next week Wednesday. This is wonderful news and her case continues to be moving quickly through the immigration process - what an answer to prayer! BUT (there's always a "but", right?) we have been unable to get a passport for her and we cannot go any further in this process without her passport. There is a passport booklet shortage in Ghana right now so they haven't been able to print any new passports. Can you please join us praying that they will be able to replenish their passport booklet supply so that they can again issue passports? Once she has a passport and that visa packet gets picked up next Wednesday I can request a date for her visa interview ... which is what Greg & I will fly back for and bring her home if we pass!
We are so close to bringing her home! Thanks for all of your support and prayers!
Robin
Well, we are one step closer and yet still feel so far away. This morning we received notification that Emmanuella's visa packet can be picked up at the US Embassy in Ghana next week Wednesday. This is wonderful news and her case continues to be moving quickly through the immigration process - what an answer to prayer! BUT (there's always a "but", right?) we have been unable to get a passport for her and we cannot go any further in this process without her passport. There is a passport booklet shortage in Ghana right now so they haven't been able to print any new passports. Can you please join us praying that they will be able to replenish their passport booklet supply so that they can again issue passports? Once she has a passport and that visa packet gets picked up next Wednesday I can request a date for her visa interview ... which is what Greg & I will fly back for and bring her home if we pass!
We are so close to bringing her home! Thanks for all of your support and prayers!
Robin
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
One Step Closer ...
Hi Everyone,
We just wanted to update you as to where we are in the process of getting Emmanuella home as of right now. We received our provisional visa application approval in Saturday's mail! That was a huge step to have done and it was processed only 2 weeks after we submitted it. There was a spelling error on our adoption order so we weren't sure they would accept it - amazingly, they did and they did not request any other evidence of our case at this point! Now we wait for them (the US Citizenship & Immigration Service) to notify us that they have forwarded our case information to the US Embassy in Ghana. Once we receive that notification I can email the US Embassy in Ghana and request that the Bethany workers in Ghana pick up her "visa packet". When the US Embassy replies back saying it can be picked up they will go and pick up that paperwork. After it is picked up, Emmanuella will need to have a physical to make sure she is healthy and can be admitted to the US. I can also then request our visa interview date. Once they give me the visa interview date we will book tickets to go back! If we pass the visa interview we can bring her home a few days later when her visa prints. There is a possibility that we would not pass interview and we would have to leave her there while the US Embassy wants to check into her case further. (they would be confirming her orphan status)
Some of the families have only waited a week for their notification and we know there is another family that has been waiting almost 2 weeks already. Please join us in flooding the heavens with prayers for the quick processing of Emmanuella's paperwork. We would just LOVE to get this special girl home with us yet this summer while it is still warm and the kids are off of school! We are so ready for her to join our family but really feel like it will still take an act of God to make it happen quickly.
This is suddenly becoming very real to us and my mind is constantly racing with both random thoughts and thoughts of what I need to do to get things prepared for another child. (another chair at the table, another dresser for the girl's room, clothes for her, hair supplies and products that are completely foreign to me, what will she eat here?, she'll need a backpack, and a bike! what will I pack in her cold lunch? will I go to school with her at first?, socks ... she'll need socks because she is going to be cold here, I need to get gifts and things for E to do for our next trip since it could be soon, etc. - I feel like I can't even put a thought together sometimes!) I spoke with the principal at school today and they are just amazing there. She already had several things in place and just reassured me that the resources will be there if we need them. We are so blessed to have such a great public school system in our community!
With the money raised from our t-shirt sales we plan to bring along supplies for the school that Emmanuella is attending. I have 2 wonderful Kindergarten teacher friends (one who will be Emmanuella's teacher!) who have volunteered to bring me to the popular "teacher stores" to help pick things out. While we will for sure bring pencils, erasers & sharpeners (that was about all we saw in the rooms in her school!) they will help me pick out other learning tools that they can hopefully use there. They really have close to nothing at her school so it will be fun to bring things for them that could be useful teaching tools.
We were able to Skype with Emmanuella for a few seconds on Tuesday morning. While our connection was awful, we could see she had gotten her hair braided and we could hear her say a few things. The kids were able to at least say "hi" to her before we lost her. We sent her a video message on Skype so hopefully she could at least view that from us. It was great to see her again, oh how we miss her.
Right now we can specifically be praying for the USCIS to forward her information to the US Embassy in Ghana and that Ghana will quickly process my requests for packet pickup and then the interview date. If all of those things come together it's even possible we could travel in August.
Thank you all for praying for and supporting us! We'll keep you posted as we find out more.
Robin
We just wanted to update you as to where we are in the process of getting Emmanuella home as of right now. We received our provisional visa application approval in Saturday's mail! That was a huge step to have done and it was processed only 2 weeks after we submitted it. There was a spelling error on our adoption order so we weren't sure they would accept it - amazingly, they did and they did not request any other evidence of our case at this point! Now we wait for them (the US Citizenship & Immigration Service) to notify us that they have forwarded our case information to the US Embassy in Ghana. Once we receive that notification I can email the US Embassy in Ghana and request that the Bethany workers in Ghana pick up her "visa packet". When the US Embassy replies back saying it can be picked up they will go and pick up that paperwork. After it is picked up, Emmanuella will need to have a physical to make sure she is healthy and can be admitted to the US. I can also then request our visa interview date. Once they give me the visa interview date we will book tickets to go back! If we pass the visa interview we can bring her home a few days later when her visa prints. There is a possibility that we would not pass interview and we would have to leave her there while the US Embassy wants to check into her case further. (they would be confirming her orphan status)
Some of the families have only waited a week for their notification and we know there is another family that has been waiting almost 2 weeks already. Please join us in flooding the heavens with prayers for the quick processing of Emmanuella's paperwork. We would just LOVE to get this special girl home with us yet this summer while it is still warm and the kids are off of school! We are so ready for her to join our family but really feel like it will still take an act of God to make it happen quickly.
This is suddenly becoming very real to us and my mind is constantly racing with both random thoughts and thoughts of what I need to do to get things prepared for another child. (another chair at the table, another dresser for the girl's room, clothes for her, hair supplies and products that are completely foreign to me, what will she eat here?, she'll need a backpack, and a bike! what will I pack in her cold lunch? will I go to school with her at first?, socks ... she'll need socks because she is going to be cold here, I need to get gifts and things for E to do for our next trip since it could be soon, etc. - I feel like I can't even put a thought together sometimes!) I spoke with the principal at school today and they are just amazing there. She already had several things in place and just reassured me that the resources will be there if we need them. We are so blessed to have such a great public school system in our community!
With the money raised from our t-shirt sales we plan to bring along supplies for the school that Emmanuella is attending. I have 2 wonderful Kindergarten teacher friends (one who will be Emmanuella's teacher!) who have volunteered to bring me to the popular "teacher stores" to help pick things out. While we will for sure bring pencils, erasers & sharpeners (that was about all we saw in the rooms in her school!) they will help me pick out other learning tools that they can hopefully use there. They really have close to nothing at her school so it will be fun to bring things for them that could be useful teaching tools.
We were able to Skype with Emmanuella for a few seconds on Tuesday morning. While our connection was awful, we could see she had gotten her hair braided and we could hear her say a few things. The kids were able to at least say "hi" to her before we lost her. We sent her a video message on Skype so hopefully she could at least view that from us. It was great to see her again, oh how we miss her.
Right now we can specifically be praying for the USCIS to forward her information to the US Embassy in Ghana and that Ghana will quickly process my requests for packet pickup and then the interview date. If all of those things come together it's even possible we could travel in August.
Thank you all for praying for and supporting us! We'll keep you posted as we find out more.
Robin
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