GOOD NEWS!!!

After 5 months of Joel and I being seperated and waiting on more investigations, we finally have good news! The US Embassy granted the permission for the children to obtain visas - which was the document we've been waiting on for the past 2.5 months! Now Joel is able to join us and it coming to Peru on Monday and we will begin the stages of finalizing the adoption.

What does it look like from here? Joel comes, the kids are taken out of school, we spend 1-2 weeks in Trujillo (at the orphanage) bonding and taking pictures to prove it, we shed tears as we say goodbye and head to Lima. Then, Joel returns home and I stay with the kids another 2-3 weeks in Lima as they issue new birth certificates, documents and visas for the children with their new last name. Next step - FLY HOME - just in time for Christmas!!

The past several months have been very difficult as we have been tested in our faith and patience. Thank you for all of the emails, phone calls and especially your prayers. We have felt very supported and are so grateful to all of you!! The journey is just beginning as we work on bonding as a family and overcoming the obstacles set before us - but what an exciting journey!!

Back in July...

I'm doing some back-tracking and sharing some of the events that have been happening since I returned to the orphanage in July. Besides Rocio's quinceanero and Windsor Christian church's visit in July, the orphanage also celebrated Peru's Independence day. We celebrated Dias de Patrias with a program put on by the children, representing several different regions of Peru. The kids dressed in costume, sang, danced, decorated the dining hall and shared foods from all over. Here are a few pictures:

Yamelit ready to perform a traditional dance from the jungle

Segundo and Edwin (right) representing the jungle of Peru

Nadia in traditional clothing the mountains

The Amigos Casita representing the coastal areas like Trujillo

Kevin

Nancy

Myself, Liz (director) and Sam (on-site Volunteer Coordinator)

Looking for an update?

I've abandoned this blog for some time. Mostly it's due to not having any 'real' information to share and feeling quite discouraged. I'm bound by not being able to share details and, truthfully, there are no real details to share... so it's a lose-lose situation.

There has been a lot of activity on the orphanage side of life. I suppose I should muster up some energy to blog about the events. However, on the adoption side of things - we are in the forever waiting mode. We are waiting for the US Embassy to issue an Article 5, where they assure they will be able to give our children visas to enter the country. We have been waiting for almost 2 months while they do an investigation. It's beyond frustrating as the clock is ticking on the amount of time we have left to complete the adoption - and we continue to pray for all of this to come to pass.

I will post when I have news that means something. Thanks for your prayers, encouragement and times when you scream with us and for us.

Windsor Road Christian Church

Tim Brooks and his wife adopted 3 sisters from Hogar de Esperanza about three years ago. Since then, Tim has kept connected with the orphanage by being the webmaster for www.perukids.com and has had it in his heart to return to Peru and serve. He and his oldest adopted daughter, Loren, led up a team from their church in Illinois and brought 25 people to the orphanage to share their talents. After spending many months emailing and coordinating their trip and activities, I was extremely blessed to be able to be in Peru while the group was here. They were very busy - painting classrooms, building a garage port for our bus, having VBS for the kids each day, holding medical training for some of the staff, playing with the kids and loving each person they came into contact with. I was touched by their open hearts and overwhelming generosity and made some beautiful friendships. Read about their trip and see pictures by visiting their missions blog http://wrcc-peru2009.blogspot.com . The group mentioned several times how the children touched their lives, but the children, staff and volunteers with never forget Windsor Road Christian and their selfless love!

If you or your family or church group would like to come serve at Hogar de Esperanza, please contact me! I would love to have you come and get to know this special place.