FINALLY SUBMITTED TO EMBASSY!!

Received this e-mail today!

"HI Donna -Jerry confirmed that your case was successfully intaken at the embassy on Tuesday. Thanks, susan

Yesterday i have submited Abreham Hebert Case successfully on Tuesday."

Here's praying for smooth sailing from here on out! It could be less than a month before Abraham is home!!!!

Made our annual Jib Jab Christmas card, now featuring Abraham with all the Kiddos!

Just when you think nothing else could go wrong.....

We thought for sure that Dec 14th was going to be such a good day, then we got hit with this e-mail:

"Abraham Hebert had a spelling difference in the passport. I am very sorry to have missed that.

JEFFREY was spelled JEFEREY in the passport. I argued this but the embassy would not accept it. Because changing the passport is near impossible and time consuming (immigration does not like to do that) we are sending the birth certificate to be changed and I will resubmit the file tomorrow morning.

Jeferey on the adoption contract and court decision are easy enough to correct as the Amharic is all the same."

So we thought ok......get the documents changed to reveal the misspelling and we should be good to go....right?  WRONG! This morning we received this sad e-mail:


"In the past we have had to change the birth certificate a few times because of mistakes in the passport that the immigration office has not wanted to correct. Because the embassy employee wrote on the form "correct the birth certificate" we made the decision to do that. However this morning the embassy c onfirmed that in this case it cannot be accepted as it is Jeffrey's name which must match his passport and I-600 form. If it was the child's first name then it can be changed throughout without question as it can be translated in different ways.

So this morning we took the old birth certificate back and Abraham has gone back to immigration to get the passport corrected."

According to our agency it is next to impossible to get immigration to issue a new passport and we are talking WEEKS if not MONTHS delays!

This is breaking our hearts..something so minor, an E that should have been an F??  
Our U.S. embassy couldn't just use white out? I mean come on embassy! A child's welfare is at stake here! He NEEDS his family! He does not need to be living in an orphanage, he has had a family since April!!

So here we sit, frustrated, sad, grieving immensely....pray for us..please.

To help pass the time I decided to make another video of him...this helps me smile. The video is on the side.

Dec 14th..embassy intake!

Our agency informed us that they now have the medical papers in hand finally, and so that means our file is 100% complete and ready for being submitted to the US Embassy tomorrow, Dec 14th.

If all goes well Abraham could be home in less than a month! Please pray we pass quickly! Will update when we hear more! In the mean time here's a new picture that a wonderful family took of Abraham opening up another package we sent him....

Another delay....will it end?

With heavy hearts I write this...after rejoicing in the news that our medical was cleared and Abraham's case was finally being submitted to embassy on Dec 7th..we received this news instead on Dec 7th..while we were waiting to hear good news we get sad news: "intake did not happen as medicals were not yet cleared because CDC needed to be contacted for review regarding chicken pox"

We were devastated as Abraham's chicken pox was already gone and other children who had chicken pox also at the same time have already cleared and gone home!

I sat and cried.....what else could I do. I KNOW God is sovereign....but honestly with so many delays and expectations and the let downs, excitement then sadness...I just needed to cry. I know people mean well when they tell me that God's timing is best, but honestly right now that doesn't help me.  Just let me cry for now and wait to hear good news.

Wish this was a better post, but this is reality right now and where we are at.  Please pray that we are submitted Dec 14th.  There is NO CHANCE he will be home for Christmas afte rall...such a disappointment...wanted him here so bad for all the beautiful festivities going on etc...this let down is hard.

For now I am looking to my Father and asking why, and please move us forward..I guess it's OK to ask "how long Oh Lord"  But I also remember the words of the psalmist in Psalm 4:1 "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!"

Thank you for praying and thank you for letting me cry for now...for I know in time, He will turn my mourning into dancing...I will wait..for I know He is good.

I love you Abraham..someday when you read this you will know how hard the wait was for me too. I know it's hard for you as well as you watch your friends leaving the compound, but you still remain there..we are coming my sweet son. We are coming....

Recent picture of Abraham receiving another package from us.