The Home Stretch

We have hopes to travel the second week of July but before we get the “go ahead” to get on that plane we have a few more hurdles to overcome …

…Eden will need to pass the Tuberculosis test that is required by the US Embassy for all children over 2. They first do a skin test and if that test is positive they will then do an x-ray. If the x-ray shows positive they will then do a culture. If the culture is positive (and it’s my understanding it takes 6 weeks to get those results back), she will need to stay in Ethiopia for six months to get treatment.

We are praying that she would test negative from the start — on the skin test. Any point where she needs to get further testing delays us from bringing our children home. Please pray with us that she shows no signs of TB at any step.

….The courts will issue birth certificates and an adoption decree. Right now they are rationing power in Ethiopia and we’ve been told it’s more like a 2 or 3 day work week for our agency’s coordinator given these limitations. We are praying that there are no errors on their paperwork and that these birth certificates come in over the next few days.

…Once the above two things come together, we will be assigned an embassy date. Our agency is assigned embassy dates every other Wednesday. Right now we have a possibility of a July 15th or a July 29th embassy date (or, of course, later if there is any hold up in the above two steps).

When the embassy date comes in, we get to make that glorious call to the travel agent and book our flights!

We would LOVE for all of this to come together this week or next but realize we may only have a few days notice before traveling. We’re packing as if we’ll be leaving July 6th and praying that there are no glitches that will prevent us from bringing these children home sooner than soon.

Bottom line: it ‘aint over ’til its over … and, yet again, now is no time for us to relent in prayer. Now more than ever I can struggle with getting lost in the tasks required to bring them home and forget that the real work is done in prayer. Top on my master “to do” list is to ask that He would give my little ones and their case favor. He has blessed us abundantly and I don’t doubt that the next few weeks are only opportunity for more revelation of His glory as we wait.

Lord, bring them home…