Finally received medical clearance report. check.
Finally received State police background clearance. check.
Finally received expedited passport. cheee..... well, I received a letter that said I needed to explain exactly what happened to the mutilated passport that I sent in with my application for a new one. Please keep in mind that on my application I had to state that I am a teacher. Here is the notarized letter I sent to them:
I hope that at least one person in the passport office can find the humor in this. So, as soon as I get this back, I will have everything I need to send to my agency. Once they get my dossier, it will be translated into French and then sent to the Congo. I'm not sure how long the translation process takes. I hope that my dossier is on it's way to the Congo by the end of May! We shall see!
That's the number of pipeline families left waiting to receive visas. I can't believe it!!! And the best part? NOT ONE SINGLE CASE OF FRAUD WAS FOUND!!! I'll admit that I'm starting to get butterflies. In a good way. I don't know how to explain it, but when the suspension went into effect, I put myself in "neutral" idling away, just waiting to be able to shift back into "drive!" To think that I may be able to do that soon is very exciting! But I'm still hesitant to let my emotions get out of control. On the fun side, I'm starting to think that I might have to have my own The Amazing Race betting pool! Who will make it home first? Will it be Joaquín? Or will Sofía pull a fast one and end up making it home first after all? Let's just say that the rest of this year is going to be very, very interesting:))))
After my depressing, nightmare having, curve ball throwing week, God completely rained down blessings upon me. After I had the dream of my car spinning wildly out of control, I felt a release that things were going to happen when they were going to happen. It was freeing. I really felt peace and the verse I had read a few days before, "Be still and know that I am God" was resonating within me. First, because I'm not good at being still and secondly, I've been trying to make my head knowledge and my heart knowledge match up. I caught myself several times starting to calculate or plan and then I thought about that verse and told myself to just be still and not worry about it! God has it under control! So a couple of days later, I received several letters in the mail with notes of encouragement and financial support towards the adoption. I am still trying to process all of it. I am sincerely blown away by the generosity and the faithfulness of these people. Here is an update of the fundraising so far:
Ordinary Hero $137.10
Check donations $850.00
My goal is to raise $4,250, half of his country fee, which is $8500. That leaves $3,263. His entire adoption will cost $21,450. After I send in the dossier, I will have paid almost $7800. I also just applied for the only grant I could find that doesn't discriminate against singles. I won't find out if I am awarded the grant until the first week or so of June. I am super excited for summer and being able to pick up as many extra shifts as possible. I've seen how quickly every extra dollar can add up!
For those of you who have been wanting to get your super cool Ordinary Hero gear but the busyness of life has gotten in the way, NOW is the time to do it!!! They are having a huge sale this weekend and on top of that, whoever has the most sales through this SUNDAY will receive a $500 GRANT from Ordinary Hero!!! Can you please help me get this grant??!!! Don't forget to click on my name when checking out and remember, you are changing the world for one!!
I love this story. Praying you get another passport quickly. Becky
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