Last week, Joey was on spring break from Cairn University,
which meant it was time to catch up on house projects and to have more time to
spend with our kids. We made some good
progress the first few days of the week, though because of the all of the work,
our house was a complete disaster.
Then on Wednesday morning, we were removing wallpaper from our master
bathroom, when a +256 number (which of course by now we know means an adoption
update from Uganda) came up on Joey’s phone.
We answered it, and our friend Mark from GSF gave us the news we have
been waiting on for 2 1/2 years. We had a court date. And, not only do we have a court date, but it is in six days on March 18, and we need to be in
country by Sunday night. Yes, we only
had three days to work out arrangements for Zoe, Micah, and Caleb (thanks
Sarah’s parents for looking after them on such very short notice), put our
house back in relative order, purchase airline tickets, pack our bags, buy last
minute things for our children and the missionaries at GSF, and leave.
We said our goodbyes on Saturday afternoon, and headed to
the Newark airport. We flew to
Amsterdam, Nairobi, and then arrived in Entebbe (Uganda) on early Monday
morning around 1:00am. Other than a
delay in our flight from Nairobi to Entebbe, our trip was very smooth, and all
of our bags made it. We had no problems
with immigration and customs, and we were so happy to see Mark and Amy. They took us to a guest house about ten minutes away, and we crashed for the night.
Our first impressions on our arrival into Uganda and even
since then, is that this country reminds us so much of Indonesia – the airport,
the traffic and lack of rules for driving including motorcyclists who drive
wherever they please, the roadside stalls, younger people who approach stopped
cars in traffic to sell snacks and drinks, children in their school uniforms, the
weather (around 80 each day), the beauty – tea fields, banana trees, cassava
plants, sugar cane fields, some rice paddies, and of course the wildlife and
bugs.
Quick FYI – we are not yet able to share our children’s
names or pictures yet on social media, but the day that we can is coming soon…also, the internet is pretty slow, so we cannot upload pictures yet. :(
Monday, March 17:
We spent most of the morning and afternoon with Mark and Amy
– breakfast at the hotel and catching up on the latest at GSF and our new children,
finding a wifi hotspot, grocery shopping, getting our local phones set up,
going to the ATM, eating a great western-style lunch, and spending lots of time
in traffic. We arrived at GSF around
4:00pm, and we were welcomed by over 400 people. This is a tradition they do for all guests,
whereby the orphanage children, the students at the GSF school (who do not live
here), the missionaries, and staff, all welcome you with song, dance, and lots
of greetings when you arrive. It was
overwhelming for sure, especially as at the front of the group at the gate were
our children. After gaining our
composure, we exited the van and said hi to everyone, being careful not to
cause a scene with our children and ignoring everyone else – wow, was that
difficult! We then unpacked and got a
quick orientation to GSF and then ate dinner with Mark and Amy’s family. Before crashing for the night, we got a quick
update from Claudia on what to expect with our court date, who is the primary
point of contact at GSF for our adoption process.
Tuesday, March 18:
We woke up to no power in the pitch black dark, and we left
GSF at 7:00am to head to Kampala for court.
We were able to ride in a car with our children, and this was our first “alone”
time with them. They were so sweet and
so well-behaved the entire day (which would not end until we returned to GSF around
6:00pm). Our son was noticeably nervous
and scared. He clutched our hands
tightly as we were in the car and walked to court. This was their first car ride, and a day of
eventual other firsts. Riding in an elevator
to get to the courtroom, and later eating french fries and ketchup at
lunch. The court proceedings lasted
around 2 ½ hours. Claudia testified
first, and then the judge wanted to hear from the family and local
officials. Our children’s birth mom was
present as well as the children’s grandfather and uncle. It was so sad to hear about the drama and
problems within their family, and specifically their inability to care for our
children and even themselves. Hence the
reason that our children were brought to GSF over two years ago and have never
left. Three others testified, and then
it was our turn. We were able to tell
the judge about our desire to adopt, our connections to GSF, our desire and ability
to provide a caring forever family for these children. The judge told us that she would make her
ruling on Friday, March 28, and the only thing that was needed after our
hearing was for the mom to undergo another medical/psychiatric evaluation. This occurred yesterday afternoon, and again,
it was found that she is not in a position to provide proper care for her
children. According to our lawyer and
others present representing GSF at the court, they believe things went very
well for us. We now eagerly await the
ruling, when Lord-willing, we can officially become their parents.
Do be praying especially for our son with his transition to
our family. It was clear that he was uncomfortable
seeing his biological family, and who knows the kinds of trauma he was forced
to endure in his first two years of life before coming to GSF. Our daughter was only a week old when she was
brought to GSF, so thankfully she has only know a loving, Christian
environment. Our children warmed up
amazingly well to us throughout the day, and they do not appear to know yet
what is going on. Once the ruling is
made by the courts on March 28, they will then be informed of the situation.
Wednesday, March 19
Today was our first day to relax a bit; we spent the morning
catching up on life. We also were able to
tour the babies house, where our daughter lives, and then the toddler house,
where our son lives. It was a joy to see
them in their comfortable element, specifically their personalities, and to
also meet the house moms who have provided amazing care for them over the past
two years. We were able to see where
they eat, their beds, where they play, where our son goes to preschool,
etc. We were then invited to stay for
lunch at the toddler house, so it was fun to eat with our son and his
friends. Later in the afternoon, our son
has a short study time before he goes down for a rest, so we were able to go
back and read some books to him and two of his friends. We will continue to be able to spend time
with each of our children in group-type settings between now and our second
court date on March 28.
Thank you so much for your prayers for our family. Please continue to pray for the following:
- Zoe, Micah, and Caleb as we are away from them. We were able to talk with them on the phone earlier today. Many thanks again for Sarah’s parents as they look after them.
- Continued favor with the courts and that the judge would rule in our favor on March 28.
- Time this week for us to be able to see our new children and continue to get to know them.
Love you all,
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