Our agency has been working with us to push as hard as we possibly can to get through the process before the Chinese New Year holiday. If you aren't familiar with how the Chinese bring in the New Year, let's just start with the fact that all government offices close for an entire week! These people party! With adoptions, because there are so many things that have to be done in country and in order, this week shut down is putting everyone's adoptions behind by about two weeks. In other words, if we go before the New Year, we will literally have her in our arms a month before than if we have to wait for things to pick back up after the holiday.
With that being said, I have done everything humanly possible to get things done as quickly as possible. There was one day I literally drove all around the state of Alabama getting documents authenticated so we could save time on mailing. That is how hard we have pushed, friends.
Now that everything is done stateside, our China in country rep is dropping off some paperwork tomorrow to the US embassy. Then it is being mailed to the CCCWA (the governing body over adoptions in China.) Then they give us travel approval. Then we get a consulate appointment. This appointment finalizes her visa to come home. We have to have this to leave China and come home, so most people don't leave home without knowing they have that secured.
With the holiday coming up, the consulate appointments are filling up rapidly! Because of this, I took it upon myself to email them (I'm sure our agency loves us by now!) And they have agreed to something my agency says they've never done before. They have agreed to give us an appointment without our travel approval. This is getting the appointment about a week earlier than normal. My agency didn't believe me, and I had to forward the email for proof! Ha!
So now, these papers will be dropped off tomorrow, and if they hold to their word (I've actually had two seperate people there email me and say they would make an exception) we should know something Tuesday morning. If all goes through, we are leaving FRIDAY!
Here's the kicker. We are taking a risk. Our agency thinks all of this is going to work, but there is no guarantee. They will have to get the CCCWA to mail our official Travel Approval to us in China. If this doesn't make it to us in time, we can't get her passport or her visa. If it makes it in time, we will get her passport immediately. If her passport doesn't make it in time for us to leave her Province, they will then have to mail the passport to us so we can go to the consulate appointment. If we do not have all documents with us, we can not appear for the interview for her visa.
Our agency says they've done this sort of thing before, and it's not a shot in the dark. It is very likely all could happen like it's planned. There is a chance that something could go wrong. Any other time of year, it would be no big deal. It would probably only hold you up by a day or so. Well, being that it's Chinese New Year the next week, we would be stuck in China for a week longer. A 14 day trip would turn into a 23 day trip. My heart sinks as I write that.
We weighed the pros and cons, and finally decided it's worth the risk. Will it stink worse than a skunk if we're stuck? I can't even imagine, and I can promise you my eyes tear up at the thought. This entire process I have dreaded being away from the boys for two weeks, and if it has to be any longer it will be heartbreaking. The reason it is worth the risk is because if everything goes as it should, we will have her at the cardiologist a MONTH earlier than if we wait until after the holiday.
This is what our prayer has been. Lord, if this is your will, please get us this appointment so we can head out Friday and get our precious daughter the help she needs as soon as possible. If we are going to be stuck there and not able to do her any good, please stop the process before Friday. ;)
Because something like this doesn't "just happen," we are moving forward and trusting Him. Please pray with us. The silver lining in all of this is we have heard wonderful things about her orphanage. I have been in contact with someone who has been helping them for the last 9 years and she assured me that Faith is in good hands. Now, if we leave Friday, we are heading out on a trip that is already stressful and we are intensifying that stress! Please pray for the boys too. We have tried to prepare them for how long we will be gone, but I know it is going to be hard. 14 days is a long time. We can't wait to have her and all be home together. What a glorious day that will be!
No comments:
Post a Comment