Stray Thoughts

We're still awaiting word that our paperwork is moving along and that there are some children out there who are waiting to meet us.

Maybe we're praying for the wrong thing... We have been praying for patience as we wait and wonder. This past Friday we went to see the movie, "Evan Almighty." Morgan Freeman delivers some pretty potent wisdom: “If a person prayed for patience, do you think God would just go “poof” and give her patience? Or do you think God would give her the circumstances in which to develop patience? And say a person had prayed that her family would draw closer together – do you think God would just magically make that happen or would He put that family in circumstances that gave them the opportunity to be closer?”

Ok, it's Hollywood, but it's right on the mark. We are definitely being given opportunity to become patient. And an opportunity for our family to come together when it is the right time.

Right now, we know that there are two children waiting for us to come. They don't know us, and we don't know them, but God knows. Pray for us that we have the opportunity to meet soon.

.....And Still Waiting Some More

It's now June 22nd and we're still waiting patiently. Although our coordinator has not confirmed that our paperwork has moved, it should now be en-route to the MOE.

This is an exciting but frustrating time for us as we're waiting for confirmation that our paperwork is moving and are still trying to figure out where in Kazakhstan we'll be heading once we get the long awaited Letter of Invitation (LOI). Our coordinator has some contacts in Petropovlosk (Petropavl, KZ) who are checking the regional registry of orphans. Although some "prospective candidates" may be found, there is still no guarantee since Kazakh law prohibits pre-selection.

Time lines are getting tough though... Knowing how long the "in country" portion of the process takes, it is unlikely that Cathe will be able to stay for the entire process and still make it back in time for the start of school. On to plan B...

This evening we watched a show on the History Channel called "Building the Future" which showed the new pyramid building in Astana. About 30 seconds after the segment started, our neighbor across the street called to see if we were watching. What a neat structure! Kazakhstan is really trying to build some world-class buildings to update their cities. http://www.hughpearman.com/articles5/pyramid.html

Thanks to everyone for the prayers and encouragement. We'll update the blog as soon as we know anything.

...And Still Waiting

And so the wait goes on... Due to its two weeks in the land of the unknown, our Dossier wasn't delivered to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA) until May 18th, we don't expect any update until June 18th.

From that point, we could be departing in as little as 3 weeks, hence my T-30 day guesstimate.

We we first started the adoption process, we were given the hope that we would be traveling by the Christmas holidays (2006). With the issues with our former agency, changing agencies, paperwork taking unscheduled vacations, and all that, we're eight months behind our original plan. We had originally hoped to have the children home with some summer time to work on language and social skills prior to the beginning of the school year. Now, we just hope to have them home in time for the school year.

Then again, life is what happens while we busy trying to make plans. At this rate, our return home with cargo will be almost 18 months since the time we started. Cathe's observation is that, since we're seeking to adopt two children, that 18 months is about right.

Keep us in your thoughs and prayers.