We have some big updates! We finally got our USCIS appt. a month ago and had our fingerprints taken 4 weeks ago today. However, about a week ago, after extensive prayer and discussion, we decided to change course and go to Zambia with our good friends, the Jeantets, from church. We're so excited! They have been planning to adopt from Zambia for a year or so and hope to leave in about 3 weeks, and we're hoping to go with them. So instead of traveling in Dec. to Ethiopia we're traveling in Apr. to Zambia!
Some changes have to be made to our home study which our social worker is hopefully finishing as we speak. Then we will overnight the amended home study to USCIS so they can approve us to adopt from Zambia. This is what we're waiting on in order to be able to travel. We're really hoping for everything to be fast because we don't want to hold the Jeantets up since they're waiting for us and they're ready to travel. So for their sake also we hope USCIS hurries!
We will be staying for anywhere from 1-3 months depending on how long the adoption takes, so we've decided to bring the kids with us. They're so excited! As are we! I think it will be a life changing experience for them to live in Africa for a few months. Our 5 hour visit to the health dept. yesterday for immunizations was good practice for us to be out of our comfort zone! It was quite the experience!
There is much to do to pack for 5 of us not knowing for sure how long we'll be staying, etc., but we cannot wait to go and play with orphans and help where we can and find baby Zoe!! Nona is on stand by waiting to fly out to Zambia if we have to stay longer than 2 months since Luke will have to come home and go back to work. So we're extremely thankful for that. I wouldn't even want to think about flying home from Zambia with 4 children and just me. The Jeantets would love to help me but that's too much to ask of anyone except your mother!
We'll be blogging while we're there and updating about the trip. Thank you so much for your prayers for travel safety and travel hurry! And most of all, for the adoption to go smoothly and for Luke when he goes before the judge to plead our case, etc., etc.
"Zoe from Zambia" has a nice ring to it!!
