If you’ve been following our blog for any length of time you know that are very good friends Dustin and Jen are also adopting from Ethiopia. They started the process about 7 months before we did and I have to say were probably part of the big kick in the pants that God was giving us.
We have dreamed of traveling together but it never seemed likely. First, because they were waiting for a referral and we had kids from a waiting children list, we assumed that we would be done much quicker. We honestly thought (way back when) that we’d have the kids home by July. Then there was all the paperwork issues and we got stuck in the court closure.
While courts were closed Dustin and Jen received their referral for a beautiful baby boy and then, about a month ago received a tenative travel date of Nov 30 – Dec. 6 A few weeks later we got our court date of Nov. 28th so it seemed obvious that we wouldn’t be going together.
If we pass court, normally our embassy appt (the part you have to be there for) would be on Dec. 24th. But that’s Christmas Eve so we’re not even sure if the embassy is open. I emailed our program coordinator and asked if she thought they would push us up a week (there’s several other families with Dec. 17th embassy dates) or back (but then that’s New Years Eve so same problem). She said they’d probably push us back to Dec. 31st. I was thinking, no problem. I can last another week.
Well, as sad and disappointing as it was, it looks like the fact that Dustin and Jen did not pass court the first time might just make this dream come true. They have a court date of Dec. 2nd. If they pass their embassy date would be December. 17th.
So this weekend I emailed our program coordinator again and begged and pleaded a little to see if she thought there was ANY chance we could move our date to the 17th so that we could travel w/ our friends. While she didn’t confirm it 100%, it seems that maybe we can make it happen.
There is a chance that our paperwork might not get from courts to the embassy in 3 weeks – it has to visit 3 government offices in between to get birth certificates, visas etc. If that happens we would basically have to stay longer – perhaps a few days, perhaps an additional week.
I think we’re willing to risk it for the privilege of traveling with Dustin and Jen. It’s not just sharing the time of being with our kids, but we will be sharing in ministry with them as we go to visit Hope for the Hopeless and perhaps a couple other orphanages. Plus sightseeing in Addis will be way fun with them.
So we are praying earnestly that both of us pass court on our dates and we can be traveling buddies.
I honestly can’t remember how I found out about the Riggs familly – I think a link from another adoption blog. They are a beautiful family with seven kids, 3 of whom are adopted (2 from Guatemala, 1 from Ethiopia). Four year old Abby was diagnosed with Leukema in July and this family has been such a blessing to watch as they struggle through this illness and rely on God. They are an incredible witness.
