Article 5 ready

For those of you that understand international adoption terminology, we just got word that the Article 5 letter is ready, so the agency's attorney will pick it up tomorrow and officially request our appointment date.  We had hoped to get there early next week, but now we've asked for a date a few days later to give us time to get our own visas.  I'll post when we have a date. 

We are temporarily homeless yet again in Colombia, at least until the 16th of June (when one of the school's apartments becomes available).  We have two close friends looking into three different possibilities, so I'm trying to trust God that He's got a plan. 

I try to stay pretty positive on here, but if you'd really like to enter our world and understand what's it's really been like, try this:  Imagine planning a big trip out of the country, knowing you'll be gone for at least a month, if not close to two months.  You know it's not that far away, but you have no idea when you're leaving, how long you'll be gone, how much the airfare will be (since you can't purchase tickets until the last minute), you don't know where you'll stay, or if you can even stay in one place for the whole time.  You can't secure a thing or make a single plan because you have no dates to confirm with anyone.  You have no idea how much the trip might end up costing, nor do you know exactly where the money is going to come from.  You're headed to be reuinted with a fifteen year old boy who will soon become your son, yet you haven't had any contact with him for nearly six months due to someone making a wrong comment at the wrong time, tangling it all up in a bunch of red tape.  You also wonder every day if something could still go wrong that would make the whole ordeal crumble all over again.  To be honest, that whole description doesn't even begin to describe the reality of living through the international adoption process--TWICE--for the same child.  It's hard enough going through it once, but going through it the second time just psychologically magnifies every aspect of it.  No wonder I've had a hard time at school this year just trying to stay organized and keep up with all the issues contained in my classroom. 

On the days when I think I'm about to go crazy, God sends me another angel to get me through.  New clothes passed on to me.  Dinner paid for.  An offer to take my son shopping.  Offers of clothing for Juan David.  Encouragement at writer's group that what I'm writing about is valuable stuff.  Compliments on my poetry.  Unexpected gifts from a teammate.  Unexpected prayers.  Friends going out of their way to find us a place to stay that isn't going to empty our bank account. Offers to help with expenses. The list goes on and on. If you've been one of those angels to us, thank you.