God is greater than Immigration!

Dear friends,
Overwhelming success!
The Immigration office told us over the phone on tuesday last week (12th) that our adoption approval would take much more time, maybe as much as several months. Obviously defeated, we prayed, as we know you have been doing as well. We left for the weekend, and when we came home we saw a letter from the Immigration department. We had been approved on the 14th for one child! On my birthday!

So now, we're looking at going to Nepal beginning of August for the first trip. Depending on what the Nepal authorities say, we can be cleared to go either the first or the second week of August. If it is the first week, Laurie will go as I will be in Sweden. If later, then I will go. Pray for discernment and wisdom as we decide what to do, as well as for patience in waiting for God's perfect timing.

Now for the sad news. Well, not sad but frustrating. Our adoption agency told us that the process time in Nepal, which starts when we get there on the first trip, is now four months! That means November/December... Hmmm. More patience needed. But we are learning to trust God. As always, believing in coincidences and chance/luck would require much more faith than we have.

Ending on an up note. Sammy is gaining weight and is back to 8 kilos, which is really good. We suspect that the infections made him lose some of his weight from before. More news on his health as we get them, as well as pictures.

Thank you for your support, love, and prayers. You know, prayers often seem like "ceiling talk" or fantasies. This process of adoption, as so many other examples, say otherwise, don't they?

We love you!

Immigration is (gasp) taking their time

Friends,
The most recent news is that immigration is taking their time processing our application. It seems that going over to Nepal in July for the first visit is becoming unlikely, and it might take as long as September for the first trip to happen. That would mean that Samuel wouldn't be home with us until October/November.
Obviously, this is frustrating. Still, it might be a lot sooner. We simply have to wait. However, we will try to write our senator asking for help. For those of you whose "higher powers" stop here, hope that he helps us. For those of you whose "higher powers" go higher, pray for patience, presence, and insight into God's perfect timing (that we certainly don't want to miss).
We love you. Praise God that Sammy is not very sick!

Good news!

Everybody,
Take a deep breath and a sigh of relief. The Lord has answered your prayers and thoughts and it seems as if Samuel is ok. Our pediatrician looked at the results this evening and her words were that "this is good".
Of course, since Samuel is an international adoption he's still considered special needs, but it looks as if he is doing ok, considering.
Mommy and Daddy are very, very relieved and happy, as you can imagine. Now, it's all about the wait. We are currently in a holding pattern for the Immigration approval, and then we'll be waiting for the Nepali government to ok us. We are still shooting for the first trip in July.
We also remember the tragedy of the London bombings today, along with all those who have suffered at the hands of evil. May it remind us all that our souls are hanging on a thin thread and that the battle to help or to hurt us is ongoing, ferocious, and largely invisible.

With love

Clarification

Hello,
I realized that my previous entry sounded a little gloomy, which is not necessarily the case. We've been told by an adoption pediatrician that what Samuel has is very, very common in children from Asia, and not to worry. Well, we trust our doctor more and still keep all possibilities open, thus he will have more tests done.
This weekend he is going back to the clinic for some check ups on his ear and stuff. We'll know more next week, but it seems as if I'll travel o Nepal in July!!
Happy Fourth of July to Everybody! Oh, say can you see...

News on Sammy

Dear friends,
Hope all is well with you. We just got the medical results back for Samuel, and it is good or bad. He's had an ear infection, a urniary trac infection, a minor burn (from hot water). Also, he's lost weight since last month, which is not good. Developmentally, he's at a five-month old's level, he is 9 1/2 months. He can't sit up, roll over, reach for things, etc...He's also been exposed to a CMV virus, which is the tricky part. It's tricky because all these things are failry minor things that can be, and are, taken care of. However, the CMV virus in combination with the low muscle tone, and other things can mean that something is seriously wrong, as in mental retardation, deaf, blind, and an early death. It could also mean that nothing is wrong at all, and that all he needs is food and love.
That last conclusion is the one of the clinic in Kathmandu (which seems to be a very good one), and also of an adoption doctor in New York that our agency contacted. However, our pediatrician is still concerned about the possibility that something could be up. She has been excellent and extremely helpful in leveling with us about the possiblities of Samuel's condition.
So, Samuel could be perfectly fine, or he could be very sick. Voices are raised that what he has is very normal for children in third world, Asian orphanages, but we don't want to risk anything, thus we are looking into having more tests done that will give us more information.
Needless to say, this is a very difficult position to be in, especially when you consider the fact that if he is very sick, then what? Can we handle adopting him only to see him waste away? But could we leave him there and chose another child knowing that Samuel was sick?
So, even though everything could be just fine, our hearts are heavy. For me, as a seminarian, this is where theology meets the road. For us, this is where love becomes a potential destroyer. Would you pray with us and for us.
Thanks