Nuts and Bolts

Alright, so the calls for more information have begun to roll in. So I will attempt to let you all know what is going on in one on-topic, stick-to-the-subject, sure-to-be-dry post.

You already read that I got up one night and made a totally random phone call to a woman whose number I received soon after Trace passed, but threw into a hand made solid maple file (that is so full it actually tips over when you open the drawer). The woman answered and told us that there was a pilot program "just beginning" with Rwanda and we would be one of the first families through. They were only taking something like 8 families into the program. So, I met her the following day, she was very informative and kind and happened to have a similar steam-roll-through-it personality as mine. This woman has since been described to me as a cross between Mother Theresa and a loose cannon. I liked her even more with that.

Immediately (read: next day) we were on the road to getting a homestudy (a requirement for any US adoption) completed. I was warned that this process can take on average 6 to 8 months, but we plowed through it in 3 weeks. The social worker was great and responsive, completing everything in record time.

Tomorrow we get to hand deliver (avoids all those "Woops, we never actually received that" kind of responses that tend to slow things down) our I600A along with our completed homestudy and all sorts of other official looking forms all the way to St. Albans, VT. This is the home of what used to be called the INS, now renamed the USCIS, although no one calls it that.

There we get fingerprinted for a criminal check or something... and then another wait begins. Since the Immigration load isn't really too hefty in Vermont, we are told the turn around time is actually quite fast and everything should be all set in 2 weeks to send on to the Rwandan Consulate.

Once that happens and they approve our Dossier for adoption then we will be matched with a child. After a thorough medical examination, we will be able to approve the child. Then I can travel whenever to Rwanda and meet this child...

Next everything is going to the Rwandan court system for approval and finalization. We are told that at this point it really has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with their system being sure that the child is orphaned with no known relatives, etc. I will be in Kigali at this point, hoping that paperwork is going thru quickly and smoothly so I can get home to Scott and Ri and begin life as a family. We are warned though that many Africans don't really regard time as Americans do (good luck getting me to pay attention to the calendar when I get back!), so who knows how long it could take. I see 4 weeks start to finish. Just a prayer I am putting out... Anyone who wants to join me, please do.

In order for us to get home to the States, we need to travel to Nairobi, Kenya and apply for a visa with the US Embassy. Unless things for this are up and running in Rwanda by the time i get there- which could happen, apparently and would admittedly make things a wee bit simpler.

What? Oh... where am I staying? Hmmm... I don't know yet. But I will. Soon. I am blessed to have met numbers of very warm, kind people willing to help me in Rwanda. I have no doubt that everything is as it should be and that I will be cared for well.

Oh, you want to know about the child? Boy? girl? Age? Well, in typical form, we do not know gender. We are asking for a newly born child.

As for diseases, well... yes, I have anti-malarials. And antibiotics to carry in just in case. And yes, I have insurance that travels with me. No problem. Now all I have to do is figure out how much I can take and what I can bring in... the food may be a wee tad problematic, I don't know. But I do know I was informed to not eat anything even remotely healthy like veggies or fruits... unless well fried and processed. I am thinking a few cases of Cliff bars. What would you do?