Daddy in Ghana

Well, after a number of delays, the day actually arrived when Mo (Daddy) departed for Ghana. He left LAX sunday evening arriving in Ghana, via London, late monday night, July 13. He found Rebekah and Ama waiting up for him near 11 pm. It was soooooo good to see them. BIG HUGS and Kisses all around. And they were just as excited to see him. Jojo, the little bed bug, was sleeping the night away. Even after losing about 20 sleepless hours on the planes, Mo was unable to get more than just a few hours of sleep. There were a few things weighing heavily on his mind. How much longer will the process take before we can take Ama and Jojo home? Will it take another 22 days? Am I able to trust God and his faithfulness in this matter? How are Shayley and Reece going to handle not having Mommy and, now, Daddy at home? (Thank you Grama, Grami and Papi for caring for them while we're not home).

This last question was resolved fairly quickly. It was decided that Rebekah was going to head back home Wednesday night, July 15. She got the process started and spent alot of time already in Ghana. Unfortunately, not as much was accomplished as we had hoped in the adoption process. We are still waiting for passport and Visa approvals, a completed background investigation of Ama and Jojo, and a medical examination of for each. Please continue to pray for God's hand to work things quickly and without issue. On the other hand, Rebekah did gain custody of the kids right away and began the bonding process. Needless to say, the time was fruitful but certainly not without it's challenges; communication being one of them. Meanwhile, Shayley and Reece (and Daddy) were REALLY missing mommy. And mommy was really missing them.

So Mo only has two days to spend with Rebekah and come up to speed with where we are at in the adoption process. It's been awhile since we've had some alone time. Please pray that Mo is able to quickly come up to speed and that he can bond with Ama and Jojo. It's been great even in just the first day. Thank you, LORD. Pray also that Mo can continue work well with our adoption coordinator. Please pray that Rebekah has a safe journey back home to be with Reece and Shayley. They are SOOOO happy that she is coming home.

In short, things haven't quite worked out in the timeline that we expected based on what we were told. One of the "long poles" has been getting the director of the passport office to approve us. What we found out today was that the director was responsible for hosting/coordinating meetings related to President Obama's visit over this last weekend. With his departure, we understand that she is no longer tied up with this responsbility and can now focus on approving passports. At least, that's our current understanding. The other reason, we think, is that time scheduling in Ghana is far different than in the states. When we set a time for, say, ten o'clock, it usually means ten o'clock. Or if we say something will take a day, it usually does. As you might have guessed, that's not so much the case here. Pray that we can learn a new level of patience but also a gracious way of trying to "help" the process along.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Please...keep on praying! (Ephesians 6:18)