A Day Of Rest

It is midday on Sunday here in Nepal (1:40am central time) and today we staying close to the hotel. The Nepal government is again voting on a Prime Minister today which means most shops and all of the roads are closed. We have been told by the person working with us here in Nepal (Bobby) that it is not safe to travel through the city today. We are trying very hard to remain positive and we are taking each hurdle and each decision one at a time trying not to look too far down the road. Tomorrow we will visit our child in the morning and then file some paperwork with our embassy (we are expecting the same treatment as before).

In case some of you don't know, and to be honest I have not made it very clear, here is what we are fighting. For an adopted immigrant to enter the U.S. they must show that they have been orphaned. This can be done one of two ways. First, the parents (both if living) must sign over their rights. Second, after a giving period of time, and substantial documentation (such as newspapers articles about the abandoned child, police reports of the abandonment, etc..) the Nepal government can declare the child an orphan. At this moment there are 80 children in the "pipeline". All 80 have been abandoned. Our embassy says (although they will not give us any documentation) that they have found corruption in the Nepal system. Therefore, if they can't substantiate our documents from the Nepal government they can deny the Visa. They will not tell us how they will substantiate the document. In fact they tell us very little. It feels as if the burden of proof has fallen on us.

Our lawyer here in Nepal and the director of the orphanage have told us over and over that the documents are real. No one can tell us how our government will make that determination. Regardless, we know that we have so many people working on our behalf back home, we have individuals and entire churches and communities praying for us, and so we remain hopeful. We are exhausted, but it is very difficult to sleep. Please continue to help us back home. Your requests on our behalf can't be ignored. We miss everyone and ask that you continue your prayers and support as we will face some difficult decisions in the very near future.

On a lighter side we both ordered hamburgers for lunch yesterday. It just didn't taste like burgers back home. I remembered that they don't eat beef in Nepal so I asked Bobby what the burger was made of - Water Buffalo.