Progress...

Update today.

Technically we are out of MOI, 'sort of'.

Apparently our dossier was returned to Immigration but Immigration sent it back for a correction.

Thankfully only one specific area needs to be redone not the whole thing.

The agency continues to check every other day to see if this has been done.

After the correction is done the next step will be the passport application.

No word on refreshing my fingerprints.

No word yet either about the needed corrections of the misspelling of my and F's names.

Looking forward to be able to travel with Fritz in 2018.

Thank you for the prayers.

Prayers...

Not much to report for the month of October that we know for sure.

If things happened as anticipated on Friday, a staff person should have been able to pick up our Act of Adoption following legalization.

Due to official visits to our adoption agency this week to renew their re-accreditation, we do not anticipate hearing anything.

We continue to wait to hear if Kris' fingerprints have been refreshed..the request was made back in May before they expired in June.

Another concern about our most recent paperwork is the misspelling of Kristi's name.

On our exit paperwork from IBESR it was 'Kristy'.

So we pointed it out to our agency...but the next couple official papers returned with the spelling 'Krysty'.

Praying this does not delay us further, and can be rapidly removed.

F continues to do very well in school and life.

He celebrated turning 7 recently, enjoying spaghetti and chocolate cake with a triceratops on it.

Gifts included a small plastic horse, lots of Legos and a spider-man motorcycle.

Prayers:
-Act of Adoption
-Kris' fingerprints refreshed
-Agency re-accreditation
-Corrections of mis-spelling of Kris' name
-Visa progress
-political stability

'Miracles in motion..'

Still waiting for word about the final judgement and letter for IBESR. The count now at six weeks.

Yesterday while visiting friends we watched a sermon from the Radiant Church... on the 5th chapter of Mark, the Essential Gospel: Part 5 Miracle in Motion

'

After a bit I just had to jot down a few notes...

• Many miracles do not happen all at once...
• Delays = Divine Direction
• invatations to trust
• greatest oppotunies can come from interruptions
• 'It is possible' is always accompanied with 'why bother' 
• truth does not always equal fact
• ignore the doubters
• Truth..with God..All things are possible
• 'Do not fear, only believe'
• Hard = just a chapter in your story...not the whole story
• No way....Yaweh! Believe it.
• Its NOT the end
• King has one more move...chess game is not over.

Very encouraging for us.

We did recieve good news that our expiring I-600 visa fingerprints can be 'refreshed' or updated without our having to travel for an appointment. Cory's are in process and Kris' will be soon [they couldn't find her under Thede..due to the hyphenated last name!]

Just received our 2 month update on F. He is doing well in the new foster home. Finshed up the school year and transitioning to a summer schedule. Continues to pray about the paperwork and being able to come home.

Balancing act...prayer praises and request

At times life, parenting, and adoptions all require balancing, hard balancing.

When to ask or when to continue to wait quietly??

Tuesday we sent out a couple of different e-mails. One requesting information about our fingerprint renewal [as we heard nothing in the 2 week time line and the prints were set to expire in three weeks].

In the second we asked what the guys learned back in March when they went again to IBESR to ask about the I600 paperwork and if a "Plan B" existed if the paper kept getting misplaced.

Just received word that our fingerprints were renewed on March 30 !! Very happy not to travel to the USA, Dominican Republic or even Port-au-Prince for this step. Thank you Lord.

Equally exciting news arrived by email on Tuesday that our referral is printed and ready to be signed out! Hoping and praying that it can be picked up this week. Praise the Lord!!!

Thank you for praying the I-600 paperwork into the right spot!

The person who needs to sign it doesn't work every day so praying they already worked this week and signed so when the agency staff go to check, everything is ready to be picked up.

Prayers:

• Signature and dossier / chart pick up this week.
• Protection and safe travels for the paperwork to the North, in a timely fashion
• That the judge and court officials will have time in their schedules to rapidly process our case.
• Praising the Lord for the good news on both requests. 

A third piece of good news-for other families still under the I-600 visa. Everyone thought that if an official referral had not been signed by April 1st, that these transition families would need to redo their paperwork and resubmit it all for a I800 visa [Hauge treaty].

But an announcement from the US State Department makes things sound very good-that they will continue to work with IBESR on these cases and they may be able to continue as I600 cases. Another answer to prayer.

They plan to meet next week to work on details...another reason it would be great to exit this week so that the meetings do not delay our exit any further. 

Also received a two month update on F. He's doing well. Lost a tooth, enjoyed a morning at a pool, learning more manners and letters! He already politely used 'please' and 'thank-you' when we met him 11 months ago but adding 'excuse me'

All these answers to prayer have my hopes flying and increased my e-mail checking frequency a lot!

The Lord is working. Keep praying!

While I'm waiting..answered prayer!

Ten months ago we sat with the social worker for our second meeting during our socialization. Hopes ran high following the 15 month wait for our referral.

I would never have guessed that ten months later we would still be waiting for word that our case entered courts...sigh. More than double the average of other families.

Do not want to be facing a longer wait. Do not want to be in the middle of struggling how to get our I600 fingerprints renewed with the office in Port-au-Prince not responding to our email or phone message.

After a few months of peace or maybe indifference when I found my expectations muted and my hyper-vigilence of checking our emails frequently gone I find my hopes rising again with the spring breezes.

I know the Lord will move our chart in His timing...I also know that the next two weeks the IBESR staff has said they will be working to get referrals out to the I600 families. If these families do not get a referral by April 1st they will need to redo their paperwork for a I800 [Hauge convention] visa.

I'll admit to hoping that maybe our chart is in a pile of I600 charts and will be found [completed] and moved to the pick-up desk. 

While watching a video yesterday I found a new song of encouragement, John Waller's 'While I'm waiting'.

So while you pray for our fingerprint appointment, for our case to move from IBESR to courts would you also pray that we wait well...that we will continue to serve the Lord and worship Him wholeheartedly while we wait.

Edited to add: Just minutes after posting this we heard that we do NOT need a fingerprint appointment at the Embassy as they can resubmit our fingerprint data electronically. Praying that they know the truth and what we heard earlier about needing to have them redone was wrong. We should hear about our clearance in a couple weeks.

Prayers please. Fingerprints

I ignored it as long as I could hoping we would have heard by now that we've completed one step and moved into courts.

However the time has come to face the fact that we need to be looking into renewing our fingerprints once again for our I-600 visa paperwork.

You may remember how this was an issue the first time, since we live in Haiti...we ended up showing up at the USA Embassy and a lady did our prints.

When the time came to renew we asked again, were advised to go to the Embassy. When they didn't respond to our emails we showed up for a walk-in visit and were told that the prints could not be done.  Later our prints were 'refreshed'.

Sweet Potato

Our 'refreshed' fingerprints will expire the end of April, therefore we're to ask for an appointment 2 months in advance...which is now.

The actual expiration date of our approval is Nov. 21, 2016. If we do not have F and his visa before then we understand that we will need to start over again and file for a I-800 because Haiti is now a Hauge country. 

While I know the Lord is in charge and has a plan....I'll admit that dealing with governments and unknowns makes me nervous, a bit stressed.

Thank you for praying.

Philippians 4:6-7a "Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. If you do this you will experience God's peace."

Praying. Know God knows what we need better than we do. Thankful. Needing God's peace.

Finger print renewal and more paperwork

Received our updated I-600a provisional approval, I-171H in the mail this week with the new date for our fingerprint expiration now reading, April 27, 2016.

Confirmed that no Haitian social workers work in northern Haiti and contacted the closest ex-pat social worker than we know of living in Haiti.

Will try to work out a time for her to visit in the next couple months and if we cannot get a date that works we will start to contact other social workers in Port-au-Prince.

This week we started to fill out updated information for our agency. Thankfully not as much as the first time around but still we pray this will be the last time.


Have the medical part already completed during our visit to LaGonave, including the needed TB skin test.

With major transportation strikes the last few weeks closing down parts of the country and Carnival this week doubt that much business will get done.

The opposition party threatens to renew and strength the transportation strike after Carnival if the government does not make the changes that they want.

Please continue to pray for:

•  the Haitian government
• for political stability
• for referrals 
• for our referral to come soon
• we can find a social worker for our home study renewal
• completion of our update paperwork
• that our bonding trip would not conflict with other scheduled events
• that we wait well and learn the lessons we need to learn
• for the additional prayer request on the side bar
• and mostly that the Lord's plan for our lives and those of our child [children] will be done. 

Fingerprints refreshed!

One year ago we received the e-mail informing us that our dossier ended IBESR on January 14 with the file number 42.

Received e-mail notice today that our fingerprints are now 'refreshed' and the immigration officer was updating our approval and will be getting it in the mail to us!

Thank you Lord.

Sent that e-mail on to our agency and our social worker who did our home study.

Our home study needs to be renewed by May 21.

Still praying that we can receive our referral, accept the match and get our bonding trip in before that date.

Our social worker responded and let us know that we will need to get a social worker who can visit our house and confirm that nothing changed since her visit in June 2013.

Then she can write up an update and sent it to the USCIS office.

Next week we plan to nicely ask one of the doctors at the meetings on LaGonave to fill out our 1 page medical updates needed for both our agency and the home study update.  We will also try to have our TB skin tests done while on LaGonave.

Then all that remains other than paperwork will be to find a social worker who would be willing to come to the house for a visit and write a one page report.

Surprises

Saturday while instant messaging with my folks I just happened to look up and catch the short notices of in-coming e-mails in the upper right corner of my computer.

Shocked, I went immediately to the in-box where I confirmed the arrival of an e-mail from the USCIS office! Would never have guessed that they would send out an e-mail on the weekend.

Good news!! The officer who I planned on reminding this week that our I-600 a fingerprints were now expired wrote to let us know he'd requested the prints to be 'refreshed' !

Yeah!! This should not take very long as the gal at the Embassy said it should only be a couple of weeks during the holidays for this to occur....[she also said she would send in the request but didn't!]

Also heard of a non-prematched referral last week from a family who waited 15 months in IBESR.

My brain reminds me that with the uniqueness of each case comparisons cannot be made, should not be made.

But my heart does the math and whispers that if IBESR were working oldest cases to newer cases and we've waited almost 13 months then......

Trying to keep my hopes and prayers centered on His will and not skipping rapidly ahead of what ifs can be hard.

Today I asked our agency for some needed financial information for Eli's college financial aid applications.

Now trying not to read too much into the information we received...but my hopes have soared away like a kite in a strong wind and I'm having a hard time pulling them back down to ground level.

Then on the heels of the first e-mail [within 10 minutes] we get a general one from our agency sadly letting us know they will no longer be working in Haiti due to many factors. They will continue to work with us on our adoption if we want to stay with them.

Up and down; round and round the thoughts and feelings fly. But He remains faithful. He is the rock on which to build our faith. Confidence placed in God is never misplaced or a mistake.

God's timing. God's plan. God's will. God's power. God's way.

Expiration Date

Cory says that I worry too much, but I'm asking the Lord to increase my faith!

I'm not extremely stressed or obsessing over this, which shows my level of progress. I will admit to some butterflies in my stomach knowing that today our fingerprints expire for our I-600A, USA visa paperwork.

I know we did everything we could short of flying to the USA. I know that we possess the e-mail from the immigration officer saying that if they expire 'it's no big deal', 'no penalty' and 'can't run them to be refreshed until the others expire' but still.......

Plan to e-mail him back next week to see if they can refresh the prints.

No word about a referral. Next week will mark one year since we learned we entered IBESR and the last sign of any progress in our case.

Someone suggested this week in the Haiti adoption group that the charts should contain GPS markers so one could tell if the chart moved at all... while I understand the desire to see progress, I think it would end up being a big waste of time for me and depressing. Hope would soar every time someone moved the chart to clean or just to reshuffle their desk.

This week a neighbor shared a short devotional about doubting Thomas. Thomas heard about the miracle of the Lord's Resurrection but wanted physical proof. He prayed we would all have faith that God was working in our lives even when we don't see any evidence or when we cannot feel it.

I know that God called us to pursue adoption. I know I've changed in the last couple years through this process. I know God's plan; His timing remains the best plan for our lives. I'm thankful for those praying with us on this journey. I know He can open closed doors, move mountains and part the deep waters.

Lord, teach me to wait well. Lord, help me to increase my faith and confidence in You.

[Picture is a dead palm with a new tree growing on the top. Hoping the dead tree symbolizes our expired prints while the new young one represents our 'refreshed' prints.]

Prayer for prints.

No word on our adoption fingerprints being refreshed [will expire 2 weeks from tomorrow*].

First e-mails Nov. 10th, then Nov. 21, the visit to the Embassy Dec. 10th, another e-mail Dec. 29.

Time between e-mails because they generally sent an automated response that lets you know that it could take 7 or 10 business days to respond...so you wait.

The staff at the Embassy never did respond to our first two e-mails and when we asked why during our visit to the Embassy the reply 'because we could not do the prints here' did not make us happy...after the 6+ hour ride and an overnight so that we could be in line shortly after 6 a.m.

* Sent off another e-mail this afternoon.

The US Immigration officer wrote back:

"Why was the Embassy unable to take your prints?" We don't know.

"Did you try to have them done at the military base there too?" Not aware that the US has a military base in Haiti.

"I am inquiring into what we can do from here." Thank you! Praying they decide to refresh the prints!

"Does the Embassy need us to send you a request for the prints before they’ll take them?" They did not mention any requests. They said they would ask the USA office to refresh-but the US office did not receive any requests.


So looks like although we started the process 2 months before the prints were to expire that we're really not much further along the process than we were.

We'd rather not have to travel the 6+ hours to Port again, an overnight to visit the Embassy but will do what we need to. 

Not only does 6 hours on bumpy roads make one tired Port has been experiencing many days of political protests that we'd just as soon avoid. 

Waiting on one more piece of paper for our truck plates which means that if we would need to travel to Port in the next two weeks it would likely be without the new plates on the truck.

Keep praying. 

HOT Update. As I went to share this on Facebook this e-mail came in....

"Ok. I have inquired into refreshing them and I’m still awaiting word on that. I do know that we can’t run them to be refreshed until the others are expired. If they expire, it is not a big deal—there is no penalty for a break in their validity. I will update you once I’ve gotten more information on your case." 

Thanks for the prayers as we continue on this emotional journey!

New Year, new hope, more waiting..

Been thinking for a while about the first post of 2015. Considered focusing on our fingerprints 'refreshing' which no one has contacted us about since we visited the Embassy on Dec. 10.

Or reviewing that if we don't get a match before the end of February will need to seriously start exploring how we will renew our home study, which will expire on May 21.

A year ago we waited for news that our case entered into IBESR. Our case entered on January 14 as number 43. We received the information on January 29th, 2014 the day that my parents arrived in Haiti for a visit.

I prayed last year to receive our referral during my parents visit. So many major family events we've shared over the last 17 years by short phone calls or E-mails. I cherish the major family moments that we can share in person. They plan to leave Haiti on January 21st.

Since January 29th no news on our case. We pray that our children's charts moved through many steps last year. We pray for our referral to occur in His timing. We pray for the committee that will be matching children with family under the new process.

Knowing that little would be occurring over the holidays gave us a bit of a break from the normal 'Wonder if we will hear anything today?' thought that frequently crosses my mind during the work week.

During the last few days already thoughts about the start of a new year, a new week, a new day have started to increase in frequency. The 'what if's'....of 2015.

Pastor's sermon today hit the mark with me. Psalm 37:7-8. "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways..."

My notes: Confidence in God. Hope in God. Stay bound to Him. Sit quietly. Not for us to act, He will act. [Read sea parting] Calm and confident in all circumstances. God dominates all. Victory in Him.  Verse 25..'I have never seen the righteous forsaken' God never let's us go. He hears those who walk straight when they call for help and He will deliver you. Guarantied. When we don't have hope-God gives us hope. Don't get worried, worked up about your needs. Wait calmly before God. Answers, successes, healing, deliverance, victory, all in the Hand of God. 

Goals for the year.....waiting well. Confidence in Him. His plan. His timing. His will.

Embassy Visit

Trip: a 4 hour and 20 minute ride to the Ortlip Center the first day, followed by an early 1 1/2 hour ride to the US Embassy the second day put us in line about 15 minutes after 6 a.m.

A nice gentle man directed us to the second place in a short line to the side. Three other longer lines formed on the other side. We watched the sun rise over the mountains and admired the two health moringa trees growing in front of the Embassy.

A couple of times security folks asked us our reason to be at the embassy and we explained noting we did not have an appointment. They just nodded but around 7:30 a.m. when everyone else in our short line had appointments I asked Cory to confirm again we were in the correct line....nope.

So we moved to the end of the longish visa line. Waited less than 5 minutes and the staff person came to apologise noting he'd checked and the first line was correct. So we moved back.

In less than 15 minutes we were cleared through security and in the large, cold waiting room sitting before window 27. Same location we waited on Oct. 1st, 2013 when we did our fingerprints the first time.

We talked to a staff person at one point and then waited some more. Found it interesting she asked how we got our fingerprints done the first time... with paper and ink?!? A bit disconcerting.  Lots of time to pray for our littles, the staff, the process and for our fingerprint renewal.

Called up to the window we were told that the prints could not be done but they would contact the office in the USA to have them 'refreshed'.

Could we have something in writing? No they will E-mail us in 2-3 weeks when it's done.
Could we have proof that we'd visited the Embassy and tried. Nope.
How about a business card or her e-mail. Nope. Against policy.
She noted we already had the e-mail for the office.
       Yes, but that was the same e-mail we'd tried twice to get an appointment for the fingerprints for. Well, they didn't respond because they don't do them.
    She didn't respond when I asked her why they couldn't have e-mailed us that, saving us a 6 hour  
    [one way] trip.
She did end up giving us her name by signing one of our e-mails, assuring us that they would be contacting the USA office within the week.

So we'll wait to hear. With the holidays do not know if we'll hear soon or not. The prints expire on January 23 so would like to know before then!

I-600a Praise

As we noted in the last blog we needed to wait to hear about our I-600a application or after 1 month start trying to contact someone.

While on LaGonave we were able to check E-mails only a couple times. Sunday evening, after most of the visitors left we checked our e-mails and found one from an Immigration services officer of the orphans adoption unit of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security.

He was checking on how often we received our mail as our fingerprints needed to be received in 45 days or our application would be denied. His E-mail included an attachment of what we needed and stated that we could have this done at the embassy.

Monday morning Cory headed to Port-au-Prince with his first stop being the USA Embassy. One needs to have your USA passport to enter and we also needed it to renew our Haitian residential visas at the Haitian Immigration office.

The security woman at the entrance told him we needed to be in line on Tuesday morning before 7 a.m. We were in line by 6: 40 a.m. having left the Ortlip Center shortly after 5 a.m. By 7:30 we moved passed the first check point with our letter.

Then you hand in any cell phones outside the Embassy and receive a small plasic card with the number of the cubby your phone will wait in. Then you pass though security much like an airport-placing your personal items and belts in a tub while you walk through a metal detector.

After a short walk though a yard you enter a building with a brightly painted orange and light purple waiting room with many windows like at some banks on one side.

At first we went to the US citizen room but as we did not have an appointment [Cory tried several times to call on Monday but could not get the right person] we went back to the main room. After a bit of a wait our names were called and a nice lady took the letter and asked us to wait.

Then we were called to one of two homeland security windows to answer when we would be returning to the USA. Well we do not have any travel plans at this time so she went to talk to her supervisor while we waited again.

Good news-someone will come to take our prints. Just have a seat and wait. While this wait took a bit longer we did not mind knowing that had we traveled all the way home a return trip to the Embassy would mean 12 + hours of road travel and an overnight or two.

A young lady came and took our prints twice. A bit of panic when she noted she would not take our prints if we did not know the complete address of our employer but thankfully in Cory's wallet he had a card with the address.

One last wait after washing the ink off our fingers and we walked out of the Embassy with our forms 4 1/2 hours later.

Tuesday we will send off this last piece of documentation.

Prayers:

• I-600a approval
• Approval of new law
• Continued progress for families waiting or stuck
• New system of matching in Haiti

I-600a Appointment Needed

September 10th Cory mailed our official dossier and 4 copies to the agency.

So blessed to complete this part of the process before returning to Haiti so that we did not need to impose on family to finish up for us!

The dossier arrived and only a couple minor issues were identified on review. We confused the instructions about the pictures and therefore did not send as many as we should but the agency can make copies for us.

Also we included the same financial copies we sent in the spring and did not update. But this can be rectified by e-mail so no big deal.

Today if we do not hear from the US government in the mail about our I-600a appointment we will contact the Embassy in Haiti to see if it is at all possible to set the appointment before or after our trip to LaGonave as it would save us over 12 hours of travel not to have to make a separate trip.

We still feel that the Lord would have us adopt two Haitian children.

Taking into account the time that adoptions take in Haiti along with our ages it would be difficult to complete two separate adoptions so we continue to pray for siblings.

As of last week the creche did not have any sibling sets waiting for adoption and it could be a long time before they do. We know the Lord can open doors in His timing. We want to do His will. We do not want to rush before Him or drag our feet.

Prayers

• I-600a fingerprint approval at Embassy
• I-600a approval
• Siblings get to the creche to match with us or 
• that the Lord change our hearts by clearly showing us His will.
• Creche staff-need a new nurse
• Haitian adoption law to be published-if it will improve things, His will.
• Haitian adoption process improvements 
• Families and children stuck in the process to move forward. 

Yes, Dossier Done

Thank you to everyone who prayed we could complete our dossier during our time in the USA.

Just after 4 p.m. today our dossier returned from the Chicago Haitian Consulate with all the documents stamped with the legalization stamp.

Cory then copied those pages to add to the 4 sets of copied dossier papers.

Tuesday one original set and 4 complete sets of copied pages head off to our agency.

Wednesday we head back to Haiti.

So we started with the first full day in the USA and finished everything up on the last full day in the USA.

Thank you Lord for Your timing. Sorry for stressing a bit and not trusting.

Heard from our agency this week as we start to dialog about a referral matching with our child / children. At this time the creche does not have siblings waiting for a family. We continue to pray for the Lord's leading and timing. Choices

Next step will be getting an appointment at the embassy for our fingerprints for the I-600a.

Then we pray and wait.

Prayers:

• Thankful the dossier is done!
• Local police letters do not need additional processing.
• I-600a appointment and approval. 
• For our referral children.
• For Haiti's new law / improving the adoption process. 

Last 2 Documents sent for Authentication.

Adoption paperwork feels like riding a teeter-totter some days.

Lunch yesterday found us rejoicing because we received the re-notarized letter in the mail and learned by E-mail that our home study was finalized last week and sent on to the Secretary of State.

We'd received the corrected background-check letter earlier.

We worked to collect the needed documents and make copies needed to send in our I-600a form to the  US government.

This form, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition, " is used by a U.S. citizen who plans to adopt a foreign-born child and enables USCIS to adjudicate the application that relates to the qualifications of the applicant(s) as prospective adoptive parent(s)."

Even though we do not know who our children will be this is the first step in the process of getting them US citizenship and immigration paperwork. For this part of the process we will need appointments for fingerprint checks again-likely once we return to Haiti at the Embassy.

The depressing/panic minutes came when preparing the redone letter to send off again for authentication at the Secretary of State office. Noticed for the first time [did not notice before we sent it the first time or when we asked the letter to be re-done] that it listed my name in it's short form, Kris Thede.

Every other document lists my legal name so we seriously thought that we may need to have the letter printed and notarized for a third time but thankfully a call to our agency reassured us that should not be a problem.

After the trip to the post office Cory spent hours scanning documents so that they could be sent electronically to a college professor who will be translating them into French.  We only lack the one that just went for authorization so she should be able to work on most this weekend.

Next week we will start the process of making copies of the 'dossier'. Not sure that the whole dossier will be translated and then legalized before our return to Haiti but doing our best. Thank you for the prayers.

Prayer Requests:

• Authentication of last letter in IN.
• Authentication of home study in CA.
• Correct and timely translation of all needed documents.
• Processing of I-600a. Good dates for fingerprint appointment.
• Keeping the copies [4 each] and documents organized. 

Authentications and translation.

We now have the missing documents and they already sport their pretty gold seals of authentication. 

We received the re-done letter back from Michigan State's Office of the Great Seal, correcting my mistake on August 8th.

We received our background check results in the mail last week. However my letter listed Cory's birthday as mine. A follow up e-mail assured us that the the correction will be rapidly made and mailed to us.

One of the authentications returned to us with a list of items that the notary neglected to put on the letter. We are working to get this letter re-notarized and then will need to send it back to the Secretary of State for the needed authentication.

Waiting on one more reference letter to return from authentication. 

Additional copies of our home study need to be authenticated in CA before translation/legalization.

E-mail inquiries and correspondence last week helped us to locate a translator for our documents that will make up our dossier that will go to Haiti. We sent the documents that we already have so that the translation can start in hopes that we will have everything translated by the first part of September. 

Prayer Requests: 

• Re-Notarization and authentication of one letter.
• That we receive Kris's background-check letter and the last reference letter.
• Finalization and authentication of our home study in CA.
• Timely translation of all needed documents.

Fingerprints and the OFFICE OF THE GREAT SEAL

First full day in Michigan,  Cory and I traveled to Lansing today to complete our background checks and authenticate most of our Michigan notarized documents.

Found out that my ring finger contains a double whorl, rather hard to get a clear print but after 6 try's we had 2 that would work.

Two copies each of two new documents notarized...but noticed at the Office of the Great Seal that while we corrected one mistake we missed the second one...in my tired state I grabbed the older letters not the new corrected one.

So tomorrow we will sign the newer letter in front of the notary and sent it off by mail to be authenticated. Also plan to send off one letter to Pennsylvania for similar treatment.

 Now 14 pretty gold seals proudly shine on our pile of documents that were signed in Michigan.

We also called our agency today asking about one missing document. We need to work on getting the needed document rewritten, notarized and authenticated as soon as we can.

The fingerprints should be here in 7-10 working days [off the record maybe in 5]

Home study corrections being worked on while we wait for the background check results.

Next week we start to investigate people to translate the documents that will comprise the dossier that travels to Haiti into French.

Prayers:

• No problems with running our background checks. That the fingerprints were done good enough. 
• That the remaining needed documents can be processed in a rapid fashion and sent back to us.
• Home study
• The missing paperwork
• The out of State authentication of the notaries and the last one for Michigan.
• That we find someone to translate and maybe also get the documents legalized.
• That nothing would get lost or delayed in the mail.