It has been an amazing week. We’ve had a few “scares” this week thinking things are not like we were told, but we’ve been reassured by our lawyer that all is well. Our papers arrived on March 1st in country to be translated. We’re told this “should” be done within 2 weeks. Then everything needs to go to the government to be submitted and in about “2 months” we will get a referral, if all goes well. After referral, and we accept, we hope to travel within a month. There are no guarantees of this time frame, but this is the “norm.” (which we know none of this has been normal) So, we keep praying for His timing as we have seen him move the mountains in a moment last week.
We are still “in shock” we are so much closer. We are beginning to think about what we need to start getting together so if we get word, that we can go soon, so we are ready. He is so very ready to come home! We have not figured out completely what we’ll do with the kids here for the whole time. Much depends on if we have to stay 2 weeks or 4 in country. We have no control over that. BUT it really does not matter – whatever we need to do to bring him home. So, the lists are beginning. We can use his bedroom as a staging area so it’s not so empty looking.
We have been talking to him everyday a lot on Skype. On Friday he told us he’d be grounded soon. That’s what happens when you don’t do your school work….. So this a.m. just before church he sent a Skype message saying he was grounded now and logged off before I saw it. Cellphones are very cheap there and he has had one for several years. Even though he has no minutes to call out, calls in are free, so we called him after church. No computer for a week, but we can call his cellphone and he can watch TV. So, maybe the time will go fast for him. AND maybe he will do some school work.
We have gotten spoiled being able to talk to him pretty much anytime via Skype for several months now. It’s going to be hard not being able to just type him a short not saying hi or I miss you…
The kids here are doing well. Elijah just earned his First Class in Boyscouts. It took him just at a year to get to this rank. We are very proud of him! Noah just got his Bear badge in Cubscouts. Victoria has joined a puppet team at a local church many of her friends go to. It’s not our church, but actually closer to our home than ours. Victoria is thinking she may want to go to Public school next year. We are praying about it. She will be in 9th grade and if there was a “good” time to enroll, 9th grade would be it vs. 8th grade. We are waiting to hear from the Lord on this one. She has never been. So it would be a big change not only for her, but the whole families schedule would be changing to accommodate her if we do this. We feel very blessed to have been able to home school our children for all their lives.
We are going to have a very busy April. We are involved in a car wash on April 2nd, a yard sale April 7,8,9 at my sisters in Snellville, a fundraiser dinner on April 15th and our home school book sale on April 25th. This is on top of our normal everyday activities!! Hopefully it will make the month of April go fast and be that much closer to him coming home.
We are praying that all will fall into place that needs to be accomplished before our first trip. We have one family we know in country now, and two going this month to get their boys. We are learning so much we will need to know and about what will happen there from talking to them. We are excited that soon it will be our turn.
Time to correct the end of last weeks school work and plan for this week. Then science experiments!!
Blessings.