Wednesday, November 06, 2013

Our Adoption Story ... Part 6

Hello friends!

In my last update I shared that the "Adoption Express" was picking up speed. Well it's literally traveling at light-speed now! This past week has seen us complete several significant milestones and if things continue going on the current track, we will be traveling in less than 2 weeks to get our children!

One of the hurdles was getting the USCIS provisional approval this past week to classify our adoptive children as relatives for the purposes of receiving a visa. Our application has been sent by the National Visa Center to the US Consulate in Bogota for final approval. Today we filed the online corresponding application and anticipate receiving the final approval and authorization to travel very, very soon!!

Another hurdle was filing for our Colombian visa so we can travel to Colombia. We can't go on a tourist visa as there is a special adoption visa we have to apply for. We completed the application online today and sent all the required documents via FedEx this afternoon. This packet includes our original passports, several pages of documentation and a couple of cashier's checks for the appropriate fees, as you can see in the picture. It's a little scary to send off your passport, but that's just how it goes. We also included a personal note to the Colombian Consular who has helped many adoptive families get their visas. Hopefully we'll have our visas back in just a few days and be able to purchase our plane tickets!

It's amazing how quickly all this is happening after almost four years of the process! God's timing is always right on, even if it doesn't neatly fit our agenda. We just learn to adjust our agenda to His timing. :) Thank you all for your prayers and amazing support. Your encouragement is much appreciated!!!

Blessings,
Nathan