Day 8 - the craziest yet

Ok so I sat down to type this update and told Mark that no one is even going to believe this stuff anymore.  Seriously.  We have experienced and witnessed the absolute craziest things over here!  So are you ready for today?  It's a doozy . . .

We left the hotel at 6:00 a.m. to get to the IOM clinic before it opened.  We got in and out of there, no problems - they even took us back first!  Maggie is 30 pounds, had a negative TB test, and checked out fine.  Thank you God!  

So we head directly to the embassy.  On the way, however, Hamza was a little slow getting moving from a stopped position in traffic, so he got pulled over.  ?!?  Dumb.  And then the cop took his license away.  We got swept up in the moving traffic, so Hamza then had to find somewhere to stop and park and WALK back through traffic to find the cop who had his license.  Uggh.  It's total insanity here, people. 

We get to the embassy aka Fort Knox.  Good grief they have that place locked down - it's rather intimidating.  The point of this initial visit was to: 1) hand in all our paperwork, and 2) request our visa interview.  We immediately had problems.  The enormous online form I’d spent I-don’t-know-how-much-time on yesterday didn’t load to their system (yes, it has to be done online) so we were told we needed to re-do it with a new case number.  And Hajji’s (Maggie’s father) consent and affidavit were photocopies – they needed originals – AND they needed a consent in his native language. ??  New requirement.  They can change the rules at any point in the game, and to say it’s unnerving is an understatement.  The good news was that the official told us we could get an interview TODAY at 2:30 p.m. if we could produce the above-referenced documents and get the online thing done again – by 12:30.  It was 10:30 a.m.

So we tear out of there and tracked down an internet café – which was a shack about 16x10, crowded and hot.  I sit there with all my documents and managed to pluck it all out in record time.  Next stop: our law firm, where they were to be tracking down  the “originals.”  Upon arrival, we learned they didn’t have the consent in Hajji’s native language, so they drafted one quick, and sent Hashim (remember, the passport guy?) to track Hajji down to sign it.  By the time we got there, Hashim was back, consent signed in Lugandan.  They managed to pull all that off in 45 minutes – we were stunned.

Back to the embassy we went, 3 original documents in our hot fists.  Mark “ran” them into the embassy (it took almost an hour) while we waited in the car and ROASTED.  Mark gets back to the car and says there’s trouble on the horizon, because they warned him they may want to see Hajji in person anyway.  Fabulous.

So I sent our attorney a text, and told her someone should at least warn Hajji that he may be needed this afternoon.

Then we grabbed “lunch” at a gas station – ha – which consisted of milk and peanuts for Maggie, chips and pop for Mark and the boys and water and a protein bar for me.  You can’t just grab safe food here – there are select few restaurants we would trust in the whole city, let alone in the neighborhood we were in.

And then back to the embassy for the 3^rd time today.  Mark and I both had pits in our stomachs and were very anxious, so Hamza promised us he would sit outside and wait for us and “play” (pray). J  We head in and see our TN friends just as they go in for their interview.  They come out 20 min later, all smiles – they get their visa on Friday.  Ok, that helps.

We get called in.  The first questions are about our tax returns – yes, we can support this child.  Then she asks about Maggie’s background.  I report it as I know it, and it isn’t more than 3 minutes in when things get ugly.  She sees discrepancies.  (Okay – this is Uganda – you are not EVER going to find 4-5 witnesses who are all going to say the same thing – it just isn’t possible).  She starts firing off questions we have no idea how to answer (i.e. why was Maggie taken to that particular orphanage?  Describe her parents’ marriage – describe their divorce)  ??? REALLY?  We have NO IDEA!  MANY total left-field questions that were unanswerable – and the worst part is she was enjoying this interrogation.  I have to pause here and tell you how disheartening it was to be on American soil, and be treated like criminals.  We expected this to be an oasis, a place of support from fellow Americans – ha – NOT.  Then she grills us about why we chose Uganda to adopt from.  She was extraordinarily suspicious and we could see we were in trouble.  She informed us that with such a “complicated” case like this, she needed to see the father and question him – and then would determine what the “next steps” would be.  ?!?!?  She asked us to bring him back tomorrow at 2:30.

I’m biting my cheek, holding back tears as I turn around and go out to the waiting room, making a beeline for the door before I cry.  The guard at the door starts motioning at us to turn around. 

We turn around and THERE SITS HAJJI.

No, seriously. Sitting in the waiting room.

I had no idea how or why he was there but I wanted to hug the man.  (But I didn’t).

Mary, one of the social workers at the law firm, brought him.  We run back into the interview room and tell Ms. Visa Nazi that HE’S HERE!  She arranges for an interpreter and brings him in.

We head outside for some fresh air while he’s questioned.   During that time, Mary sits with us and tells us some very interesting things.  Evidently Hajji is still celebrating the Muslim holiday that occurred yesterday – in his sect, it’s 3 days.  So when asked to come to the embassy, he had told them no.  Mary – I love this girl – said “Ok.  You don’t have to come.  But when the Roisums get denied their visa, we are bringing Maggie directly to YOU, not back to the orphanage.  She’s your responsibility.”  He told her “ok, let’s go.”  She also told us his history of being not very cooperative and playing fast and loose with the truth, so we were not optimistic about what was going on in the interview room.

He came out after ½ an hour.  We were called back in, and the gal wouldn’t even make eye contact with us.  Said Hajji’s testimony was concerning because it didn’t match some of his other statements and she had “serious concerns” about this case. Whatever.   

But she decided to grant our visa application anyway.  We can pick up Maggie’s visa on Friday at noon and we are FREE TO LEAVE.

There were tears.

We all headed outside and took some pictures – with Maggie’s father – because we decided it may be important to her later on in life.  Then he went on his way, and it was the strangest thing for me to watch this man walk away from his child. 

Here’s the kicker, though – once in the car, we told Hamza the story, and told him we had no idea why Mary brought Hajji to the embassy.  He told us he was sitting in his car praying for us, as he promised he would, and had the notion he should call our attorney (Alice) and tell her they should bring Hajji.  !!!  Oh yes he did.  He called Alice, and – get this – she told him that Mary already had Hajji at the office, and she would send them immediately.  !!!

IS OUR GOD AMAZING OR WHAT???

There seriously aren’t words to describe what it’s like to see something like this play out right before us.  HE MOVES MOUNTAINS, PEOPLE –  and not just one – SEVERAL.

I’m sure some of you are thinking – well aren’t you concerned that the embassy was concerned about your case?

No.  We aren’t.

God has made it absolutely crystal clear to us that this little girl belongs in our family, and we are indeed comfortable with the facts of her case.  Yes there are minor discrepancies but THIS IS A 3^RD WORLD COUNTRY for crying out loud, and none of the questions change the fact that this little girl is an orphan and has sat in an orphanage for a year and a half.

People, our agency told us this remaining 3-step process would take weeks.  We finished it in 6 business days.  This is UNHEARD of.  People here are in shock.  Our God is SOVEREIGN and FAITHFUL.  We all know Him now in ways we never thought possible.  This has been a long, tough journey – but oh, to have a front-row seat to the workings of the Almighty God is a spectacular thing.

So we are COMING HOME.  Hopefully this weekend but that will depend on available flights.  We received a warning from the Embassy today about a terrorist threat to Uganda similar to what happened in Kenya, so we are feeling the urgency.  And I may just kiss American soil once we’re on it again!

There aren’t words to thank you all for praying – I hope you can see answers to your prayers in all these crazy stories.  HE HEARD.  HE ANSWERED.  HE IS GOOD!