Plan B (or C or D or E... I don't know, I've lost track :)

Basically, nothing has gone the way we thought it was going to go since last April when we first heard about Samuel. We have been through many ups and downs and uncertainties. We have definitely learned that we are NOT in control.

 So, new plan. This time we go into it with the full realization that it may not work out the way we hope, but that doesn't mean that we still don't hope!! We must continue to hope and pray that this will work out, all for the glory of God. This is big picture stuff that we are living in right now and we can't get bogged down in the fact that the details are not going our way.  We are going to move ahead with adopting James now. We had hoped to adopt him at some point, but the goal initially was just to get him to the US so he could obtain medical care. We have decided not to pursue further attempts with immigration attorneys to possibly get him home more quickly. There are just so many uncertainties there and we don't want to waste any time, money or energy on something that we feel will likely not be successful.

 So we have had a busy week getting everything in order. I have been working with a wonderful home study agency, who has been very helpful and has been moving very quickly on our behalf. We already had the social worker in our house this week to start with the homestudy. With their help, the homestudy should hopefully go quickly.

The one hold up will be our background check. We just had a background check done in December when we were licensed as foster parents, but we still need to complete a new one. These backgroud checks will sometimes take up to a month to get results back. Our homestudy will not be complete until our background check is in. Please pray for a quick background check and that we will be able to somehow expedite this portion of the process. Once the homestudy is complete, then we apply with USCIS (immigration) for a preapproval for an orphan visa.

 At the same time that we are waiting for immigration approval, our homestudy will go to the Liberian courts to process our adoption. This process could normally take up to three months, but we are very hopeful that our immigration process may be able to be shortened due to James' medical needs.

 Once we have USCIS approval and once the Liberian courts have completed our adoption then Nate will travel to Liberia (again) and we will have a US Embassy appointment (again)in Liberia to obtain an orphan immigrant visa.

 So, that's OUR plan! Now let's all watch and see what actually happens :) Thank you all for your love and support!!!