We heard today that our dossier is still at the Regional office -- I guess whatever issues there are with the girls' paperwork have still not been resolved. Sigh. This is hard.
But on a happy note, we've been given permission to visit Wendy and Fer again, so we are planning to go down to Colombia over Thanksgiving. I will be there from Sunday to Saturday, and Chris will come on Wednesday and stay til Saturday. Hopefully I can visit the girls' school at the fundacion (if they are still in school then) and maybe we can do a fun day trip or two.
I called the girls today and we had the usual somewhat awkward conversation what with the bad connection, the language barrier, and being thousands of miles apart. One bright spot: I was saying goodbye to Fer and I told her "Te quiero mucho" and she replied "yo tambien." It's one of the first times she's said much beyond "si", "no" and "bien". (Last time I called she did tell me that it was raining, though it took three tries as I thought she was saying that someone was crying! The words are similar in Spanish.) It will be so good to see them both again. Three and a half weeks!!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Update
Well, it's been awhile since my last update -- our internet at home hasn't been working and it just got fixed (thank you Juan!!).
So, a brief recap. The trip to Bogota over Columbus Day weekend went well. It was wonderful to see the girls, though of course also hard to see where they are as well. I was able to share the photo album with family and friends, and many people expressed surprise at how nice San Mauricio seems. It is nice, in pictures, but when you are there it is really sad to see so many children without families, and also to see how much relational time they are missing. But, they are safe and I think reasonably well cared for physically, which is more than happens in many orphanages, so for that they (and we) are lucky. I think the girls were kind of freaked out by me being in their environment, so it took a little while for them to kind of relax into being together. And then, once they had, it was time to leave! Christine was fabulous and it was so great to be there with her -- she was so helpful to me in processing everything and in handling all the logistics, and also just wonderful with the girls.
Hopefully the next visit will be a bit longer -- we are looking at possibly going again in November over the Thanksgiving holiday and hoping we can get permission for the girls to stay with us for 3 or 4 days.
And, dossier update. Sadly our dossier is STILL at the Regional office. Apparently there were delays with the defender sending the girls' documents there, and then today I heard that there were mistakes in those documents so they were sent back to her to be corrected. So, we are now looking at travelling to adopt in January, assuming our dossier can be reviewed next week and assuming we are approved. But after so many delays I am trying not to count on that! It has been hard to wait, to say the least.
I will post some pictures of the trip separately. Thanks to all for the prayers and support! We are hanging in there.
So, a brief recap. The trip to Bogota over Columbus Day weekend went well. It was wonderful to see the girls, though of course also hard to see where they are as well. I was able to share the photo album with family and friends, and many people expressed surprise at how nice San Mauricio seems. It is nice, in pictures, but when you are there it is really sad to see so many children without families, and also to see how much relational time they are missing. But, they are safe and I think reasonably well cared for physically, which is more than happens in many orphanages, so for that they (and we) are lucky. I think the girls were kind of freaked out by me being in their environment, so it took a little while for them to kind of relax into being together. And then, once they had, it was time to leave! Christine was fabulous and it was so great to be there with her -- she was so helpful to me in processing everything and in handling all the logistics, and also just wonderful with the girls.
Hopefully the next visit will be a bit longer -- we are looking at possibly going again in November over the Thanksgiving holiday and hoping we can get permission for the girls to stay with us for 3 or 4 days.
And, dossier update. Sadly our dossier is STILL at the Regional office. Apparently there were delays with the defender sending the girls' documents there, and then today I heard that there were mistakes in those documents so they were sent back to her to be corrected. So, we are now looking at travelling to adopt in January, assuming our dossier can be reviewed next week and assuming we are approved. But after so many delays I am trying not to count on that! It has been hard to wait, to say the least.
I will post some pictures of the trip separately. Thanks to all for the prayers and support! We are hanging in there.
Columbus Day Weekend Pictures: Saturday evening/Sunday
We spent Saturday evening at our hotel -- the girls colored and watched TV and we ordered in pizza. On Sunday we went to mass and then to lunch at a pizza place named Archie's, where the girls were able to make their own pizzas! It was a rainy afternoon, so we came back to the hotel and to hang out. The girls did some more coloring while I did some knitting -- I'm making winter scarves for them. We were also able to watch "Hello Kitty" which brought back some fun memories of the summer!
Columbus Day Weekend Pictures: Saturday afternoon
After visiting San Mauricio, we took Wendy and Fernanda and their siblings Hugo and Leidy to lunch at an outdoor restaurant, and then to the Salt Cathedral in Zipaquira. The restaurant had a playground so the children had a chance to play outdoors while waiting for lunch. As you will see, the Salt Cathedral is all underground -- carved into an old salt mine.
Columbus Day Weekend Pictures: Saturday morning
We visited San Mauricio on Saturday morning, and were given a tour by the girls' social worker and one of the psychologists.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Bogota Visit; Dossier Update
Big news: I'm going to Bogota on Friday to see the girls! :) :)
We have Monday off for Columbus Day, and I received permission from the girls' defender to visit them. Chris can't make it, so my sister Christine is going to join me. We will arrive in Bogota Friday evening, go to the fundacion on Saturday morning to visit and then take the girls with us for an overnight and bring them back on Sunday. I can't wait to see them! Chris and I spent yesterday morning getting some different treats and activities for them -- new coloring/activity books & colored pencils, some card games, cute new pajamas (couldn't resist at Costco!). I also went through the children's books we have and picked out some new ones to bring as well as some old favorites from the summer. I was a bit verklempt organizing it all last night -- it brought back some wonderful memories.
Our agency's representative, Manuela, has been fabulous in arranging everything for our visit. She is going to meet us at the airpot and has also planned some fun day trips for us to do with the girls. On Saturday, after we visit the fundacion, we are going to see the Salt Cathedral, a cathedral carved into the side of a mountain in an old salt mine. On Sunday, weather permitting, we will go to Monserrate, a mountain near Bogota that has a cable car to the top. Afterwards on Sunday we're going to tour the colonial city and visit the Museo del Oro, the most famous museum in Bogota.
We are staying at Betty's Place, a guesthouse that caters to adoptive families. Some of the Kidsave families that we know have stayed there when they travelled to visit or adopt. It sounds very down to earth and welcoming.
And, update on our dossier! We have been told that the Regional committee will consider it this Wednesday, October 7. If they approve us at that meeting, then a referral should be issued by next Tuesday (Colombia observes Columbus Day too so Monday is a holiday) and hopefully translated and sent to our agency within the following week so we can get started on the immigration paperwork which is the last step. We are still hoping to travel to adopt in November but we are cutting it close . . . so keep those prayers coming!
We have Monday off for Columbus Day, and I received permission from the girls' defender to visit them. Chris can't make it, so my sister Christine is going to join me. We will arrive in Bogota Friday evening, go to the fundacion on Saturday morning to visit and then take the girls with us for an overnight and bring them back on Sunday. I can't wait to see them! Chris and I spent yesterday morning getting some different treats and activities for them -- new coloring/activity books & colored pencils, some card games, cute new pajamas (couldn't resist at Costco!). I also went through the children's books we have and picked out some new ones to bring as well as some old favorites from the summer. I was a bit verklempt organizing it all last night -- it brought back some wonderful memories.
Our agency's representative, Manuela, has been fabulous in arranging everything for our visit. She is going to meet us at the airpot and has also planned some fun day trips for us to do with the girls. On Saturday, after we visit the fundacion, we are going to see the Salt Cathedral, a cathedral carved into the side of a mountain in an old salt mine. On Sunday, weather permitting, we will go to Monserrate, a mountain near Bogota that has a cable car to the top. Afterwards on Sunday we're going to tour the colonial city and visit the Museo del Oro, the most famous museum in Bogota.
We are staying at Betty's Place, a guesthouse that caters to adoptive families. Some of the Kidsave families that we know have stayed there when they travelled to visit or adopt. It sounds very down to earth and welcoming.
And, update on our dossier! We have been told that the Regional committee will consider it this Wednesday, October 7. If they approve us at that meeting, then a referral should be issued by next Tuesday (Colombia observes Columbus Day too so Monday is a holiday) and hopefully translated and sent to our agency within the following week so we can get started on the immigration paperwork which is the last step. We are still hoping to travel to adopt in November but we are cutting it close . . . so keep those prayers coming!
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