We got our Visas!

This morning I was brushing my teeth, watching out for the Fed-Ex truck, when he pulled into the driveway.  Well, if anyone has been greeted by our dogs when the doorbell rings, you probably know that it's better if I greet our guest before they have a chance to ring the doorbell.  So, I ran out with a mouth full of toothpaste and my toothbrush still in my hand.   He got a kick out of it, and told us to have a good trip.

I picked up our updated apostilled FBI prints at Lutheran Social Services office today and talked with our Social worker who was full of news today.  We had heard that their could be a Judicial strike in Colombia last week, but when we asked our social worker to look into it, she said there was no indication of strike.  Well, she got the call this morning from Cecilia confirming that yes, the strike started yesterday.  There is no way to know how long it will last, but it will not change our plans to meet Manny on Monday.  It will just prolong our stay in Colombia.  Sometimes strikes last a few days and sometimes they could last a few weeks, so we'll pray that it doesn't last too long. 

Our social worker also told us that she is no longer going to be working at Lutheran Social Services as of September 11th.  I'm not sure how much this could affect us while we are in Bogota, since we have a representative (Cecilia) that will take care of us while we are there.  Our social worker would have done our post placement visits, but that just means that the new person will do that when we are back in the states.  They do not have a replacement for her yet, but have told us we can contact the director if we need anything.  

So, not the most settling news today, but it won't get us down, because we still get to hold our baby in our arms in less than 4 days!!!

Good news regarding our Visas

Just wanted to give a quick update.  I received an email from the Colombian Consulate in Chicago, this morning and they have approved our Visa's and are being sent fed-ex to us, today!  So, we should have them in our hands by Thursday.  

That is such a load off : )

Dulcie and Johnny

Gotcha Day will be Monday the 8th!

Hi everyone,

Last Thursday we received word that we could travel on September 7th. This means we have a LOT to do in 10 days! Thursday night we completed our special visitors visa application packet and then Friday morning a quick trip to the secretary of states office for apostilles. We were able to get the packet overnighted to the Colombian Consulate in Chicago. They typically approve the applications within 2-3 business days and with the short labor day work week, we are really cutting it close.

If we do not have our visa's by Saturday, we will need to postpone our trip until they are received. Lot's of prayers are needed : ) We included a pre-paid fed-ex (Saturday Delivery) envelope with our applications, so if they send them back to us on Friday, we will still have them in time for our flight on Sunday.

We received a note from our social worker on Saturday, saying that we will meet Manny on Monday, September 8th. Somebody pinch us! From that point on, he will be with us, his forever family. Our social worker also indicated that we will be staying at Zuetana. She didn't indicate which one. I think there are four Zuetana locations in the Bogota area. Hopefully, we'll find out which one we're staying at, and then we can get feedback from any families who've stayed there.

We've finished up all of our shopping for the trip, and I think we are pretty well set. Now the fun part. . . . Packing!

Thanks to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Love, Dulcie and Johnny