Week 5 In Uganda

The next step in our adoption process was working with the embassy to obtain D's visa. This was our last step, but we needed our written ruling from our judge to make an appointment at the embassy. The embassy only accepts paperwork for adoption on Monday/Wednesday mornings and they only give visas Wednesday/Fridays. We were told our judge would have our written ruling ready Monday morning so we had hoped and planned to go to the embassy Wednesday morning, have an interview that afternoon and hopefully get his visa Friday in time to fly out that night on our rescheduled flights.

We waited so anxiously by the phone Monday morning to hear that the judge had given our attorney our written ruling, but the call was not so good. The judge was not in court and the next day was a Ugandan holiday, so it would be Wednesday before we could possibly get the written ruling. As soon as L hung up the phone and told me the news, I began crying like a big baby. I lost it. For that "brief" hour, L and I sat on the couch watching D play with a friend right outside our guesthouse, and had a pity party. We also found out the embassy was closed on Friday for an in service, so that meant we would spend at least another week in Uganda. At least another week of process and paperwork and uncertainty. Another week without our families, friends, dogs, jobs, and home.

Here is an excerpt from the update we sent our family and friends that week: "We do not know why this is happening, why delays keep coming up. Right now we do not know the purpose in this delay. But when we started this journey God was leading us on, He did not promise it would be fun or easy. He does promise us that He will never leave us to walk it alone. He promises He has a plan for us and that He works all things for good for those called according to His purpose. Today is a hard day, but after a few hours of sulking and crying, it is time to pick up the pieces, continue loving on our boy, and trust in His plan."

And that is exactly what we did. And He was ever so faithful as He always is and He did have a purpose. We did try to go to the embassy Wednesday afternoon while our written ruling was being driven to the main city, but it did not make it in time. We rescheduled our flights once again for the next Thursday, trusting that we would get our visa on Wednesday.

That Sunday we were able to visit the local zoo and a nice resort pool. D loved the zoo and seeing all the animals, which for L and I, was a tad bit anticlimactic compared to seeing these animals on a safari, however, the low fences and wild roaming animals kept us a bit alert.

zoo entrance

rhinos

chimps

camels roaming the playground? why yes.

nice resort pool relaxation

We did get to spend Cinco de Mayo in Uganda and our favorite Mexican food restaurant was having a party, complete with margaritas and churros, oh how I miss those churros!! They even had a live donkey for the kids.

The rest of our time that week was mostly spent at the American Recreation Association for swimming. We also became closer with a little boy we met in Uganda and were able to provide some new clothes and shoes for him as a surprise - he was very excited. This little boy will always hold a special place in our hearts and I think about him often. I am certain that the Lord used our extra time in country to develop this bond and I am so grateful for that. 

D also played with twins at our guesthouse who were also being adopted, that was such a blessing and he asks to see their pictures often. We attended a local church with them that week which was amazing.

This week D began asking for me to pat his back when I would lay him down for nap and bed times. I had been patting his back but when I would stop he would pick up my hand, place it on his chest and pick it up, then drop it to show me he wanted me to keep patting. It was oh so precious and you can bet it sure got him what he wanted.

It was a hard week but God continued to teach us so much in patience and trusting Him. Our bond with D and his with ours only become stronger day by day. God's purpose was greater than all of our plans.