I called again today to follow up on our I-800 application. Praise God, it was approved last week on Friday; however, it was not mailed to the National Visa Center until yesterday.... So, what does that mean? Now I wait about five days and start e-mailing the NVC daily to get our GUZ#. What else does this mean? It means we have hit the point now where it is completely mathematically impossible for us to submit our Article 5 and await TA prior to the shut down on December 28th. It also pushes our prospective travel dates much further back into January and quite possibly into February.
How do I feel about it? Disappointed, but, I realize there is a much bigger picture to all this and I can only see a fragment of it. God has a reason to give us this added week of waiting to refine and prepare all of us just a bit more. Perhaps we'll have a sick little one in that time who desperately needs mama and Daddy, or perhaps He wants us to just slow down and really drink in this Christmas without the stress and craziness of preparing to travel. Maybe Hannah's heart just isn't ready and she needs these extra days in the arms of her foster mama. Perhaps we'll receive a grant that we otherwise wouldn't have received prior to travel. Regardless of what the reason is, we know He has a reason so all we can do is trust and faithfully wait (a little longer) till Hannah is home.
Please continue to pray for us: for me to manage these next few steps of the process fairly easily, for the finances to continue to come together, for us to appreciate this last Christmas as a family of five, for peace to overwhelm our hearts in the wait, for our TA to be one of the first ones issued after the shut down, and for Hannah to continue to prepare for us to come for her. Pray that we make good use of this added time of waiting to really savor Christmas at a slower pace and enjoy fellowship with one another.
Never a dull moment in the journey....
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