We had been waiting for Christabel's passport since our court date back in August. It takes some time for Bethany to receive the adoption order [all court proceedings are hand written...then they go to someone to be typed and finally back to the judge to be signed...oh how spoiled we are to have the technology we have...but oh how impatient it makes us when dealing with a system that does not have said technology]. Once they had the order in hand they could request a new birth certificate with her new last name ♥ And then they could apply for her passport. Then there was a darn passport book shortage...but finally on November 6th her passport was issued.
*she appears to be as excited about the passport process as we were*
Well, on Monday, I arrived home to find the approval in the mailbox!!
This is a "Provisional" approval which means based on the documentation and evidence that we provided, the US considers Christabel a legitimate orphan in need of a forever family. Essentially, they acknowledge that she is not a victim of child trafficking and can ethically become a part of our family.
The provisional part, however, means that we still have two more steps to pass before they will actually print Christabel's visa and allow us to bring her into the US.
1. Medical Examination: they want proof that she does not have any mystery illnesses when she enters the US.
2. Visa interview: this is sort of a last-chance review of all the documentation, where we [or our POA (power of attorney)], take Christabel into the US Embassy in Accra Ghana for an interview.
So...right now we are waiting for this approval to reach the US Embassy in Ghana. Once we receive notification that the Embassy has our files, we will request a day for our visa packet pick-up. [This always happens on Wednesdays] Once this is picked up, the Bethany team in Ghana can schedule and take Christabel for her medical exam...and then we can schedule our visa interview. These take place on Mondays & Tuesdays and IF we pass, Christabel's visa should print on Friday of the same week.
We are so.very.close.
We are now met with a tough decision.
To go to Ghana for our visa appointment.
To go to Ghana for our visa appointment.
~or~
To let our POA go to this interview and travel once the visa is approved and printed.
We had been told earlier in this process that Bethany was no longer giving parents a choice in this matter. They felt it was best for parents to be present for the visa interview. But...we are now being told that we can choose to have our POA go for us.
The issue is, sometimes cases are placed in "administrative review". It is possible that her visa would not be approved at the interview. The Embassy may choose to take more time to review our case, contact/interview family members, and just plain make sure everything is on the up & up. This process can take a few days...or a few months...and there is no way to know how long it will actually be.
If we travel for the visa appointment, and the visa is not approved we would have to come home without our daughter to wait for the review to be completed & we would travel back to bring her home once her visa printed.
I don't think this momma's heart would be able to leave Christabel again! While we have no reason to think that they would not approve her visa...there seems to be no rhyme or reason to who gets reviewed and who does not.
It was much easier when we did not have a choice.
Now we do not know what to do.
It comes down to finances. It makes no sense to pay for an extra trip unnecessarily.
But...if we do NOT go and we do NOT pass, we will wonder if our presence would have made a difference.
Speaking of finances. We are excited to have paid for almost our entire first tirp [minus a couple hundred dollars]. We are now faced with the cost of trip #2. We have a few grant applications that we are still waiting to hear back about. There are a few that were mailed long ago, so we are not thinking we will hear anything from those organizations [but it is possible]. And there is one that we know we will hear yes or no between now & December 15th [prayers for a yes]. We did find out last week that we have been approved for an adoption loan...so that will help when it comes time to travel. [and we will have 18 months to pay this back with 0% interest]
I have been keeping a close eye on airline fares for January...the good news is they are the lowest we have ever seen. That helps to bring the cost of the trip down A LOT! [tickets are about $900 less per person than our first trip] so IF the prices hold, we are looking at about $6000 for the trip. [and that is IF we pass and Christabel travels home with us].
Things to cover in prayer:
**If you are participating in Giving Tuesday or if you would like to make an end of the year donation to help us bring Christabel HOME...we have set up a donation page HERE.
To let our POA go to this interview and travel once the visa is approved and printed.
We had been told earlier in this process that Bethany was no longer giving parents a choice in this matter. They felt it was best for parents to be present for the visa interview. But...we are now being told that we can choose to have our POA go for us.
The issue is, sometimes cases are placed in "administrative review". It is possible that her visa would not be approved at the interview. The Embassy may choose to take more time to review our case, contact/interview family members, and just plain make sure everything is on the up & up. This process can take a few days...or a few months...and there is no way to know how long it will actually be.
If we travel for the visa appointment, and the visa is not approved we would have to come home without our daughter to wait for the review to be completed & we would travel back to bring her home once her visa printed.
I don't think this momma's heart would be able to leave Christabel again! While we have no reason to think that they would not approve her visa...there seems to be no rhyme or reason to who gets reviewed and who does not.
It was much easier when we did not have a choice.
Now we do not know what to do.
It comes down to finances. It makes no sense to pay for an extra trip unnecessarily.
But...if we do NOT go and we do NOT pass, we will wonder if our presence would have made a difference.
Speaking of finances. We are excited to have paid for almost our entire first tirp [minus a couple hundred dollars]. We are now faced with the cost of trip #2. We have a few grant applications that we are still waiting to hear back about. There are a few that were mailed long ago, so we are not thinking we will hear anything from those organizations [but it is possible]. And there is one that we know we will hear yes or no between now & December 15th [prayers for a yes]. We did find out last week that we have been approved for an adoption loan...so that will help when it comes time to travel. [and we will have 18 months to pay this back with 0% interest]
I have been keeping a close eye on airline fares for January...the good news is they are the lowest we have ever seen. That helps to bring the cost of the trip down A LOT! [tickets are about $900 less per person than our first trip] so IF the prices hold, we are looking at about $6000 for the trip. [and that is IF we pass and Christabel travels home with us].
Things to cover in prayer:
- That our approval paperwork will make it to Ghana by early next week so we can request our visa packet.
- That once our packet is picked up, the Bethany team in Ghana is able to get a medical appointment for Christabel quickly & that she is found to be healthy enough to enter the US.
- That God will give us a clear answer to the question "to travel or not to travel?"
- For air fares to remain the same [or to go down]
- That the visa appointment will go well & that we pass & the visa is printed quickly without error or issue!!
- That God will provide the finances needed for this final trip.
- Also please pray for all the other families who are waiting to bring their children home & and for all the children in Ghana who are waiting for a forever family. It is a long, difficult, beautiful journey.
Please join us in prayer, but also in praise that God has carried us through to this point. He has shown up in huge ways during this journey...and we know that He will continue to provide.
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