Holding Our Breath with Hope in Our Hearts

At about 10am today (Monday, August 30, 2010) I received a phone call from our adoption agency. Our case worker proposed long-shot way for us to get our dossier into the Rwanda Embassy in D.C. before tomorrow's deadline! The plan is/was for us to try and get our 2 medical forms authenticated in California and the rest of our completed dossier FedEx'ed overnight to a courier in DC. The courier would then take the documents to the State Department to get all of it authenticated at the Federal level. Then the courier would take it over to the Rwandan Embassy to be marked received August 31, 2010 (the deadline!). She said it's a long shot, everything needs to happen as planned along the way and it would cost us a pretty penny. I immediately said let's do it!

Today's long shot activities went like this:
I immediately took a quick shower and called friends to see if I could get someone to watch my son all day (with no notice). A few phone calls later - DONE!  Next, finding directions to the county clerk/recorder office to authenticate the medical papers- amazingly - the local branch right off the freeway can do it, (I know the way) - DONE! Get directions to the state department in Los Angeles, check traffic (amazingly there is no traffic) and print directions - DONE! Look up the couriers on the websites that the agency gave me (the agency's courier couldn't do it). I write down their phone numbers (I'll call on the way.) Pack my son's gear (bike, swimsuit, munchies), get my paperwork in order, stop by the bank to get cash (I have no idea what the cost of authentication and parking is nor the form of payment allowed). Drop my son off, we sing and talk all the way as I "play" happy mom, not freaking-out-pumped-full-of-adrenaline-can't-believe-this-is-happening-mom. - DONE! On the way to the county clerk's office I call (on my new cell phone, I barely know how to work), the courier numbers. No answers, left messages. Call back- someone picks up- YES! I tell him my situation, he says he can't do it (because he is max'ed out doing the same thing tomorrow!) but can give me the contact information for someone he thinks can. This man was awesome, he said if the contact couldn't do it he would help me find someone that would- what a God send! I called the referral- no answer, left a message. Got to the county clerk, short wait, maybe 5 minutes (seriously!) - DONE!. Headed up to Los Angeles. Called the guy again- he answered. Short conversation- he said YES he would give it a try. I told him to email me all the info to send the FedEx stuff to - DONE - got a courier! Got to the the state department- no traffic (never had that happen driving on the 5 North to Los Angeles). Took a number and waited about an hour. Got the forms authenticated at the state level. In the meantime my hubbie had looked up the nearest FedEx. I drove over there, made copies for my records and sent it off - DONE!!

The lady we hired was able to do all the stuff she had to do to send the rest of our entire dossier, money orders for the state department and Rwanda Embassy and for the courier and anything else necessary. I'm sure her story is equally amazing. She is 3 hours later than us so she had to hustle! DONE!

What's Next:
The paperwork is on it's way to DC! Today's battle is won! We are praying and fasting for tomorrow's battle. Please join us in urgent, constant prayer. What I understand needs to happen:

1. Our courier, Jeff D, to get the paperwork early and take it to the State Department for final, federal authentication. We have 20 documents. This is over the limit so please pray that like other families before us... the department does it anyway- quickly on the same day (in time to take it to the Rwandan Embassy).
2. He takes it over to the Rwanda Embassy. That they accept it and each document is stamped received August 31, 2010.

If this all happens, we are very hopeful we will join the other families with our dossier in before the deadline and will be approved to adopt. And because we will have made the deadline and thereby "grandfathered" in, our non-hague approval will be ok.

It's been a wild day. I didn't even want to post this but my husband encouraged me so others can be praying. So if your reading this please start praying! I am also praying for the other families that may be doing the same. Please pray too for Rwanda's Hague transition to be swift, I know there are many families who are not as far along in the process to adopt from Rwanda and are mourning this uncertain time (my heart is with you). Thank you!