One More Checked Off the List!

What a miracle it's been to get these medical appointments in the time frame that we have.  Once again you can not deny the hand of the Lord in this process.  As we told you before, we were able to get Tracy in for her first appt. on Saturday (after saying they couldn't get her in until early this next week).  Saturday's appt. went well and we had the 2nd appt. today.  It went really well and she passed all of her tests.  She was given a clean bill of health for everything the US Embassy will require - YEAH!!!  Now that we can check that off the list, we move on to the next items.  For a recap, here are the things we need to have taken care of this week.  1) Tracy's passport.  This is huge.  We honestly don't know how they're going to pull this one off, but we continue to trust the Lord for his provision.  2) Judges ruling on Thursday. 3) Complete filling out all appropriate forms that the embassy will require (most of which are coming via DHL this week thanks to Tessa and Pastor Damian's help in sending them to us).  Pray for these to arrive in a timely manner.  4) One of our suitcases has not yet arrived and it has some papers that we will need - not to mention things I want.  :)  We believe all of these things will be accomplished by the end of this next week.  Believing for that, tomorrow we will make an appt. with the US Embassy for Monday, Dec. 8th in the early a.m.  At that appt. we will hand in all of our paperwork.  We believe that if we've got everything in order, they should issue her visa by Wednesday or Thursday, and then we turn around to leave on Friday.  So, there you have it.  That's the time frame we're on - we're praying that it falls in line with God's time frame!  We continue to trust God's perfect timing, although I have to tell you that our hearts would completely break if we have to leave here without Tracy.  The bond and connection that we've shared over the past 4 days with her have been so special, I can't imagine having to take a break from it or from her.  She is so ready to go home to three beautiful sisters who are anxiously waiting to share their lives with her.  It would be the most memorable Christmas our family has yet to, or probably ever will, experience. We continue to lift this up to Him and praise Him for the peace that passes all understanding.  I can tell you this, His peace definitely is with us.  I truly believe that Tracy will be with us on that plane when we leave here Dec. 12th...it's all in His hands.  Thank you for playing such a special role in this journey.  We're so privileged to have the love and support of so many family and friends.  We feel so blessed.  Tanya   P.S.  With the lack of activity the early part of this next week, we are taking a few days to regroup and prepare for the next round.  We may not update the blog until we've been to court on Thursday, so please recognize that no news is good news!  

Quick Correction

"The Surgery" is the only approved clinic for Tracy to get her visa qualifying exams.  It is not the only clinic in the country...I'm tired.  Good night.  I caught that after I 'posted' as well as some typos...oops.  But for the mistake, I'll post another photo as my sin offering.  :) 

Jim

"The Surgery"? Is that any way to talk to a kid?

As you can tell this isn't Tanya!  Yep, it's Jim.  I'm taking over for tonight.  Tanya and Tracy are long asleep.  I've been working on her blog and some other communication for the last hour only to lose it all when the internet went down momentarily.  So, nothing like starting over at going on midnight.  But you are all worth it (plus my wife told me I had to do it).  So, here goes my twisted view of another amazing day in Uganda.  

First off, why would you ever name a medical clinic (the only approved one in the country) for children "The Surgery".  Like they aren't scared enough already!  "It'll be okay honey, it's just a little exam...no big deal."  Then you show up and the place is called, "The SURGERY"!  Well, Tracy was a good sport and she was proud to find out that she was 134 1/2 centimeters tall.  Exciting stuff, huh?  Don't ask me how many kilograms she weighed, they lost me at the centimeters.  

Secondly, there are two exams that Tracy needs before we can go before the U.S. Embassy for her visa.  Today was the first.  Half way there, huh?  Not so quick.  After Tracy courageously didn't cry getting her blood drawn (I told her she didn't have to watch) Tanya about cried when we found out that there wasn't an available appointment that worked with our schedule for another week!  That wasn't going to work and jeopardized everything.  I think the look on Tanya's face would've drove any woman (there were three receptionists) to take a harder look at the appointment book.  Thank the Lord they did again and again until they 'created' an appointment for us tomorrow before they open.   Can I just say, "Thank you for praying."  Because that is huge for us.  Now with that last appointment being tomorrow Tracy can go back to school for the week and we can everything lined up waiting for the Judge's ruling on Thursday (my birthday!).   So, as you know, the timing for all of this, is so crucial and that allowed us to stay on track.  It will also give Tanya and I a couple of days off at the beginning of the week which we've really needed and are now looking forward to.  

Well, I have exceeded my liberties on "Tanya's" blog, so if you'd like a few more sordid stories of our day you'll have to bounce over to my blog.  The link should be at the bottom of the page.  Love you all.  

Jim

Our Day in Court

Our day was very productive today.  We were told to be at the courthouse at 9:30, so, due to heavy traffic we left very early (7:30) and made good time.  We arrived at the courthouse at 8:45 and waited for our attorney and magistrate.  Just before 10:00 we made our way to the hall outside of the Chief Justice's office.  She decided to not hear cases until around 11:00 and it was discovered that our file had been misplaced by the clerk.  While the justice was still willing to hear our case, she would need to review it a little.  At noon we were told she was taking a tea break.  We continued to wait.  At 1:00 we were told that she was not going to hear any other cases until 2:00.  We went for a quick lunch and returned to the courthouse just before 2:00.  The justice opened the afternoon session with our case (around 2:15).  We had been prepped all day on how to answer questions the justice may want to ask us.  Tracy and her grandma were being prepped as well.  While we all sat in the justice's chambers, our atty went over our case with her.  She asked questions of him and he was able to answer.  The amazing part of this was that she did not ask questions of anybody else!  I can not explain to you in this format what a gift from God this was!  The atty and magistrate were surprised and we all believe that's a very good sign of how the justice will rule.  Now, until we arrived here, we thought we would receive our final ruling during this court appearance.  We were wrong.  Now the justice will decide how she'll rule and give us those results next Thursday, Dec. 4th at 2:00.  So, we will need to go to court again on Thursday, which just happens to be Jim's birthday!  We are very optimistic about her ruling and we are moving forward with everything else we need to do.  Since we've been here we've got a very good understanding of what else will happen.  There is  another adoptive mom staying here at the guest house and she has given us so much helpful information.  Tomorrow we start the process of a medical exam that is required by the US Embassy in order to obtain Tracy's visa.  She has to have 2 appts and tomorrow will be the first.  We also need Tracy's passport.  This is an area that we need prayer.  While Tracy has a passport, it's currently in the possession of the school and there is some concern about them releasing it.  We are needing to look for an alternate solution for getting her a passport and we don't have much time.  Also, Tracy was supposed to take her final exams these past few days and her grandma had to pull her out before she could take them.  She has to go back and take them this week.  This also poses some challenges for all of the appts needed next week.  I wish I could give you an extremely detailed account of how all of these challenges fit together and where the timing of them fits in, but I'm sorry, it's very difficult to convey in this format.  Please pray for Tracy's passport, the medical exam (which consists of 2 different appts.), the justice's ruling and the visa.  Very importantly, our time is so crunched, that all of our documents MUST be complete without any errors when we turn them in so that we don't lose any time in refiling or correcting any papers.  As of right now, the goal is to take everything in to the US Embassy on Monday Dec. 8th to apply for her visa.  If everything is in order, it should only take 2 - 3 days to finalize, which leaves very little time before our Dec. 12th departure.  Even though there is much left to do, we are seeing God's grace in every area.  This other mom that is here at the guest house has been more helpful than I can convey.  I can honestly tell you that without her, there is no way we would have had a chance to leave here with Tracy.  The information she has given us is more than our atty knew.  She truly has been a gift to us.  I feel bad everytime I ask her as she has been in the country for nearly 12 weeks waiting to finalize her adoption (her case has had some unique problems, most of which we don't anticipate for us, although we continue to cover all aspects of this in prayer).  Having said all that, we have had the privilege of having Tracy with us last night and again tonight.  All of the workers and guests here at the guest house love her.  She brings smiles to everyone.  She's dancing and singing and a true joy to all who see her.  Any fear we may have had about her taking time to bond are non-existent.  Thursday afternoon when she came home with us, I asked her what name she wanted to call Jim (pastor Jim, uncle Jim, Jim) she responded by saying "The other girls in the home call him Dad, so I would like to call him Dad.  I want him to be my Father".  So, right away we are mom and dad, without hesitation.  She speaks to the girls and addresses them by saying "Hi sister".  Her acceptance of us has been very moving and touching.  I find myself at the brink of tears on a constant bases. The Lord just continues to confirm for us how right it is for us to bring her home and to be a part of our family.  For those of you who have not met her, we can't wait to introduce you.  She will touch your heart and be a source of joy!  We continue to thank the Lord for this opportunity and His amazing grace.  Thank you so much for your prayers.  They are so needed!  Tanya

Jim's Blog may prove of interest as well.

Hello everyone, this is Jim again.  Tanya wanted me to let you know that you could access my blog about our current events at the bottom of this page.  If you scroll all of the way down to the bottom of her blog you will see mine.  Africa, adoption and everything else...

We have a half an hour before we are off for court.  Have a great day or "night" as the case may be.  

Happy Thanksgiving

Tanya wanted to type something, but she is out like a light.  We just tucked Tracy in and prayed with her after an amazing day of African life.  I'll let Tanya fill you in on the day tomorrow, but suffice it to say that it was an amazing Thanksgiving.  We truly miss our family and girls, but I think that was one thing that made it special.  Everything important truly came into focus.  Everything we are truly thankful for.  We may never spend another Thanksgiving apart as a family, but we will never forget the one that we had to.  Tanya and Tracy are completely wiped from an exhausting day so I'll leave you with a photo and a hug from the three of us.  

Family, friends, and especially our girls, "Thank you for supporting us while we are gone and Happy Thanksgiving."  

We Arrived

It's 4:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in Uganda.  I can tell you I'm very, very sleepy.  I've already been taking a nap, which probably isn't the best idea, but my eyes are so heavy.  So this will be short and sweet today.  We arrived here safely this a.m. without any delays.  The flights were long, but uneventful.  It was a 9 hour flight from Seattle to London and a 7 1/2 hour flight from London to Entebbe (for some reason I thought this was only a 5 hour flight), with a 7 hour layover in between.  We have made contact with our atty. and he has said that our court appt. is at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.  We will meet with him and our power of atty tomorrow so we can prepare for the court proceedings.  Sorry I don't have more to give you right now...   Tanya

While We Are Gone

We hope to keep this blog updated while we are in Uganda. Check back frequently to see how our days unfold and how our lives are being changed. We hope to share pictures with you along the way. Stay tuned:)

Friday Update

FINALLY!!! We received a text message at 1:49 this a.m. letting us know that our court date has been confirmed for Friday Nov. 28th! We arrive in the country on Wed. the 26th, so this will give us a couple days to acquaint ourselves with the city and the locations we will need to get to. As you could expect, we are very excited to get to Uganda and continue our process. Please continue to pray for us. There are so many areas that we seek the Lord's blessing and hand upon. 1) Traveling safety for us (we fly out Nov. 24th and return Dec. 13th), as well as the others in Uganda who will need to be traveling while assisting us. 2) That our girls would adapt well while we are gone. They are all being well cared for, but nearly 3 weeks is a long time for our family to be separated. 3) Please pray for Tracy as she will need to say good-bye to her home and people she loves. There will be huge changes in her life, so pray as the Lord would lead you (including her emotional, physical, spiritual and mental health). 4) That our current family of 5 would transition well to the addition of our new family member. We have talked about this for nearly a year, but talking is almost over and being a family of 6 is very near. We know that this adoption is part of God's plan for our family and we can't tell you how exciting it is. We are expecting some transitional situations and our prayer is that we would keep God at the center of our family and seek His wisdom and guidance for the challenges that may occur. 5) Please continue to pray for all of our paperwork to be processed smoothly, quickly and without delay. Without this prayer being answered, there is a very good chance Tracy will not be able to come home with us. If her visa has not been processed in a timely fashion, one of us will need to return to Uganda after the first of the year to get her. Please pray that she will be on the plane with us Dec. 12th when we leave Kampala! Thank you for partnering with us on this amazing journey! Blessings, Tanya

Thursday Update

I seem to be the one who makes these phone calls and Jim is the one waiting, holding his breath to hear how I'm responding to what I'm being told. Today was no different and when I hung up I thought Jim might pass out. He knew the conversation didn't go as well as we wanted, but he couldn't tell to what length our discouragement should be. As much as we trust God's perfect timing, sometimes we wish it was different. This is what we learned today: The paper's that were filed in court were incomplete. They were missing an original document that was needed on their end. The papers did get filed, but the judge was not willing to set a final date until that document was received in the court. (They had a copy, but needed the original to satisfy the courts). The original was retrieved late Thursday and it is now in our attorney's possession. We are told that he will return to court tomorrow, first thing in the morning, to add this document and receive the date. It is VERY important that this be accomplished tomorrow, as it is the last Ugandan business day before we are scheduled to leave. We have the ability to reschedule our flights, but that must be done 24 hours before departure. Our power of attorney felt confident that we can get a court date for next week. We continue to pray for this. Once again, we'll keep you posted... Tanya

Wednesday Update

Patiently we wait... I was able to speak with Juliet (our power of atty.) this morning. She had been presiding in court today and had not heard from Richard (our atty.). I also tried Richard, but was not able to get through. Juliet continued to call him until she thought it was too late. So...we are still waiting. At this point, we will call tonight (Thursday a.m. in Uganda). We trust the Lord and His timing and we are oh so anxious! We feel we are so close... Thank you for your prayers, they are so appreciated. Tanya

Tuesday Update

We finally got through to Uganda this A.M., although we did not get the information we are seeking! Our atty. did go to court, but the registrar was not in, hence he did not receive the date we are waiting for. He asked for us to call him again tomorrow at the same time....one more day! Tanya

Monday Update

We have been trying to call Uganda all morning and of course - we can't get through! It is now too late to call and we will try again tonight (Tuesday morning Uganda time). Thanks for your prayers, we'll keep you posted! Tanya

Documents Arrived

The documents we sent have arrived in Kampala! This was everything our attorney (Richard) needed to file our petition in court. I spoke with him this a.m. and he will go to court on Monday and file them! (They were not delivered directly to him, but to another office. He'll be picking them up tomorrow). When he files them, they will give him the date that we need to be present. We arrive in Kampala on Wed. Nov. 26th, so that is the date he will work for and we will pray for. Here is how you can be praying for us: 1) That there would be nothing preventing Richard from obtaining the documents tomorrow. 2) That we can get into court immediately upon our arrival in Uganda. 3) That we will have favor with the courts and the U.S. Embassy and that our paperwork will be processed quickly and without delay (hence granting us legal guardianship of Tracy and securing her visa so she can come home with us). We appreciate your prayers! We'll update this Monday morning when our court date has been scheduled. Tanya

We've purchased our plane tickets!

Hello friends,  

This is Jim.  If you've come to appreciate my lovely wife's detailed explanations of where we are at in the adoption process.  You are not in for a real treat.  You get ME and my explanation of where we are at! 

We have been in regular contact with our attorney and Juliet our "power of attorney" over the past few days.  They have come to the conclusion that it is time for us to move ahead and purchase our tickets.  Tanya can add to this blog when she gets back from Canada with Emmy and make the needed corrections to what I'm about to say, but I'll do my best.  (Can any guys relate to me out there?  Love you honey.  :) 

We are anticipating an email affidavit in the morning that Tanya and I will sign first thing on Monday have notarized and sent back to Uganda via DHL Mail.  When they receive it they will go to court with the rest of our documentation to present to a judge.  At that time they will receive a court date for Tanya and I to appear before the judge and finalize the transfer of guardianship.  The interesting part of that appointment is that our attorney felt that it would be within a matter of days not weeks before Tanya and I would need to be there!  

Then we would need to go with Tracy "Esther" to our embassy in Kampala and secure an appointment to apply for her visa to come home with us.  We are not sure how long that process should take or what complications may come with that.  We are praying, none.  Then, we would be free to bring her home!  

So, long story short we are flying to Entebbe, Uganda on November 24th!  Thanks to my brother-in-law Brett we only paid for the taxes and fees on his "frequent flier miles". Thanks Brett! The taxes were still $2500, you can only imagine how expensive it would have been without his miles! We owe you bro.

We don't know where we are staying, exactly how we're paying for all of this.  (If anyone would like to buy a house in the next couple of weeks, that would be great!)  But God has met us at every point and his grace has been enough every time.  We aren't worried.  We're thrilled. We haven't been able to talk to Tracy for months, but the timing is perfect because she'll be out of school a few days after we arrive.  

Please be praying for many details that need to fall into place, our children as they eagerly await the adjustment, and for Tracy as she prepares for a pretty big change for a little kid living in an orphanage in downtown Kampala.  Lots of change, but God's heart has not changed.  Thanks for listening and caring.  

Jim and the girls.