Uganda - Day 1

Disclaimer: We WILL be changing this blog title to FIVE Happy Campers once we get home!

Our trip was uneventful, which was good - just super long.  Hamza's (our driver from our first trip) smiling face was waiting for us at the airport, which was so comforting to have someone we know here!  He took us straight to our hotel - we were a little concerned for a bit because you leave the main highway and take a dirt road for 10-12 minutes to get here - and by dirt road, I mean the offroading kind.  But it is BEAUTIFUL!!!  It cost more than we wanted to spend, but we've already decided it's worth every dime.  Mom and dad, you will appreciate the fact that there is massive security here - it's gated, and there are armed guards at the gate - they check every car that comes through (including underneath with big mirror things!), and every bag and every person is searched.  So we feel very safe.  There are gorgeous views of Lake Victoria everywhere we look.  There's an amazing pool, which Mark and the boys are enjoying right now; our rooms are huge and modern; the staff is really friendly - they met us at the check-in desk with hot washcloths and fresh squeezed pineapple juice.  :)  We get breakfast and dinner included with our room, and the food is awesome - which is a huge relief to not have to worry about where/what to eat like we did last time.

Hamza had to pick us up this morning at 6:30 to get us to our attorney's office at 8:00 (actually we were still 20 min late) - the traffic is just horrendous.  Maggie was there waiting for us, and she's just as precious as ever.  We could tell she was very scared and nervous, but we did manage to get a small grin and she whispered each of our names, so she definitely remembered us.  That was all we heard from her all morning - but that's fine, we expected it.  From the attorney's office, Hamza took all 5 of us to the passport "office" - oh my.  Everything is an adventure here. We drive up and there's a large group of Ugandans waiting outside this gate - our guy named Hashim met us there, and ushered us right past the whole line, up to the front.  We were cleared to go in, and once through the gate, we were still outdoors, but went under a huge tent, with desks at both ends, and many, many people sitting in line waiting in each area.  Hashim tells us to sit so he can go do "his thing" (his words!), and he'll be back.  We sat and waited about 15 minutes.  We then see him appear at the front of one line (without waiting), getting all our documents stamped.  Then he motions for us, and escorts us to the front of the line in the opposite area, where a woman looks at Maggie, takes the file I'm holding, and we're done.  Hashim tells us we can leave, and he will stay to make sure our file gets "moved along."  That was it.  Crazy!!  I can't tell you how awkward we felt - the only white people in a couple hundred Ugandans that got escorted to the front of every line and were out of there in about 20 min. while everyone else there waits HOURS.  It's no wonder Americans are not very well liked.  Anyway, he told us he thinks we should have the passport Monday or Tuesday.  We are praying for Friday or Monday.  :)

We then went back to the attorney's office and got our file from them, at which point Alice (our atty) informed us the embassy will likely want to interview all our witnesses - including Maggie's father.  Obviously this made us really nervous, but she acted like it's totally normal, and they can get the witnesses there when they need to be.  Ugggh.  We are going to pray that the embassy won't ask for witnesses, that they'll just accept the witness affidavits.

Then we took Maggie back to the orphanage so we could finish unpacking, get organized (it literally took us hours), and get some rest before taking custody. We are dealing with some serious jet lag and felt like we needed to be a little more "stable," if that makes sense.  We'll likely be in bed at 7:00 again tonight!  We also wanted to go to the orphanage to give them our gifts, and ask some questions about Maggie's routine - and didn't want to take her back there after we'd taken custody of her.  When she leaves, we want it to be for good.   And so that day is tomorrow - can't hardly believe that tomorrow we become a family of 5!  I always thought I'd be panicky at this point, but I'm not - I have peace, which is such a relief.  Of course that may change!  :)  And Jack and Noah are so ready for this - they really touch their mama's heart with the love they have for this little girl that they hardly know.  They couldn't stop touching her today, holding her hand, fighting over who got to hold her, etc.  Renee has talked extensively to us about how our primary focus in the coming weeks is we need to make her feel safe, and as she sat in the passport "holding tent" today with her big brothers on each side, holding her hands, I felt confident that she will indeed feel safe soon.  :)

So, prayer requests for now:

1) That God would miraculously make that passport appear QUICK - Friday or Monday!

2) That the embassy would NOT ask for witnesses, and if they do, that they can be located and brought there in a timely fashion.

3) That our bonding would happen quickly, and that we can all continue to get GOOD SLEEP - even with Maggie's arrival.