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