And update on my sister and her adoption of Bennet~
Ashley and Jason (and my parents) left the country on August 2nd to travel to Ethiopia to bring home 18 mos old Bennet Toufiq. They found out just as they were leaving that the immigration paperwork from USCIS had a mistake about the age of the child that they are adopting. It was off by a few months. As a result, it had to be corrected at the San Antonio CIS office and then sent to NH and then to Ethiopia. This saga began August 1st and it is STILL not corrected by San Antonio CIS. There is a Senator involved but still no results. We do not understand - this is a really simple typo that just needs to be redone but no one seems to grasp the urgency of the situation.
So, Bennet cannot be issued his visa to come home. Ashley and my parents are (as I type this) flying home and will arrive tomorrow afternoon. Jason stayed in Ethiopia to take care of Bennet and wait for the visa. This is difficult for all involved because Bennet bonded almost immediately to Ashley but to noone else. Ashley can't stay b/c all flight are booked and there is a better chance of only one adult getting a flight out on standby. And they didn't feel comfortable for many reasons with Ash being the one to stay. Soooo, Jason is alone now in Ethiopia with Bennet, hoping to come home next Tuesday if this paperwork is resolved by then. If not it could be another six days.
PRAY
for a sense of urgency for all those responsible for the paperwork
for Jason during this time - that God uses it for good to bond him and Bennet
for Ashley as she is heartbroken at leaving her new son who has already faced so much loss in his life
for Ashley and my mom as they both just came down with a stomach bug and are on a 16 hour flight
One last note - it will be a sweet reunion between Ella and her Mommy tomorrow!! Ella has been nothing but a delight to have but the last day or two she has REALLY been missing her mommy. I think it has been pretty crazy for her here with the arrival of Nastya and Katya. Going from usually being an only child to one of SIX is hard on a little girl!!
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Oh, I do pray that everything gets worked out quickly. My husband (his name is Jason too by the way) and I had a similar situation where I had to come home from Ukraine and leave him with the 2 new children we were adopting. It was a hard decision, but it worked out for the best and was good bonding time for him and the kids since once he went back to work it was just me and them during the day. It also ended up being a great time for me to get the house ready and recover from my exhaustion from the trip and then we he came home, he was able to rest and let me take over for a few days instead of us both returning exhausted with a new family!
Praying for strength for all involved!
Melanie Hall
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