Waiting, Broken, and Moving Mountains

Well folks, the latest in the Lugo adoption we find ourselves now in April and we are still awaiting the PAIR letter.  WHAT?!!  This has definitely taken much longer than I was anticipating.  But our case is still moving forward as far as this goes as our agency is currently gathering the documents that the Embassy has requested for our case.  So we hope to be done with this part of the process very soon and then head to court!

Back in early February our world fell apart when our agency closed down unexpectedly (for apparently many reasons that I can't even explain--so I wouldn't even ask, because I don't have the answers!)  I can't even begin to describe where we were and how we felt at that moment, as it was a mixture of emotions and there are no other words besides--BROKEN.   We were left devastated and felt defeated with so many unknowns with whether or not we would be able to continue with the adoption and bring home these two children who we have never met, though love so very much.

We knew God laid these children on our hearts, and we couldn't imagine why He would allow this to happen.  But we decided that we were committed to these children, and we were going to fight for them because God placed them in our lives for a reason.   You never fully realize how much you NEED God until you're at a breaking point, and then you discover how ridiculous you have been for not fully relying on Him through it all.  We all too often take matters into our own hands, instead of fully placing everything we have in God's hands.  It is often in these moments that the Lord shows Himself to you in ways He never has before.

We pleaded, we cried, we read Scripture constantly, we felt His comfort and peace.  We knew He was going to get us through this.   We had faith that He would move the mountains and asked Him to, referring to Matthew 21:21-22 And Jesus answered them, "Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' it will happen.  And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."  Little did we know God was setting us up to see His hands at work in our lives and in this adoption process.

-Even through the craziness, the Ethiopian staff still continued to work our case, our PAIR process was still progressing even though our agency didn't exist in the U.S.!

-We had had no confirmation of the whereabouts of T & M for over a month and a half!  We got confirmation at the end of March of their location and we now know where they are, that they are safe, and doing well!

-We got confirmation that they finally received our care packages that we had sent back in November (they received them in Feb./Mar sometime); they now knew what we looked like, that they had a family, a family that are excited to meet them!  We have since received updated pictures of them and notes from them, which is super exciting.  They appear to be excited about having a new family, their new family!  

-We received word the first weekend of April that the Ministry of Women, Youth, and Children's Affairs (MOWYCA) were allowing all cases involved to proceed with adoptions, through two specific agencies chosen by MOWYCA!  So we are going to be allowed to proceed with our adoption!

ALL of these things were an encouragement!  Knowing God was working His miracles and thanking Him for each and every one.

We immediately sent all of our information on our case to our new agency and they are currently working on it.  Although we are quite overwhelmed with having to start over with a new agency along with new fees to pay, we are thankful that MOWYCA chose to let the adoption continue!

Would you please pray for T & M, our family, and this adoption?  It's been a tough couple of months to say the least, however God is moving those mountains!

-Pray for T & M, they have been moved a total of four times since February, which can't be easy on any child!  We know they are receiving proper care currently which we are grateful.  Pray that the Lord prepare their hearts as they continue to patiently wait for us, and for the transition to their forever family.

-Pray for us, and all the logistics still involved with this process.  That the Lord continue to prepare our hearts and family for these two precious children who will be joining our family.

We still have no idea when we will be traveling (hopeful that it will be soon, of course)! We are still praying that God will allow them to get home by the summer time.  Many things will have to happen seamlessly in order for this to happen, but we have faith that He can and will move mountains if He so chooses!  

And We Wait

Just wanted to post an update on where we are at in the process, as I have been getting some inquiries as to how our process is going.

Dossier in Ethiopia--check!
Request for amended/extended I-600A--check!
I-171H form (granting our I-600A) received--check!
Passports renewed--check!

We have also sent off our I-600 along with our PAIR file (Pre-Adoption Investigation Report).  This is a new process since we adopted Cruz, and we have been told it will take 7-12 weeks to process, as it has to be sent to the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the investigation of our case.  Once approved, we will receive a PAIR approval letter and can then be submitted to Ethiopian court and get a court date to go meet our kids!  So this is what we are currently waiting on.  At the earliest we'll hear something end of January, and we're of course hoping for that, but it could be February as well.  So we're hoping that maybe...just maybe we'll get to court in March, but we know it's all in God's hands and He's going to work this all out.

In past cases the US Embassy performs and investigation at the end of the process.  So, because they are doing this at the front end, even before court, we are hoping for a speedy process from court to Embassy clearance.

Thank you for reading and continuing to pray for us in our journey.  I have felt an unbelievable comfort in this adoption process, and I know the Lord is going to get T & M home in the right time (hoping early summer, and for our paperwork's sake we need to get them home before July 14, 2014!)

Photos, quick update, and - 2

Well, here are the long awaited photos for those of you who don't do FB and can't view my photos there.  I know it's been a long time coming and I know you're excited...really are you?

Below are photos of our son, Cruz Galgalo:  from the very first photo we ever saw of him (referral photo), to now.  I look at it, and i can't believe how quickly he has grown!

Cruz is growing quickly, as it didn't take him long at all to get on the American growth chart!  He is now almost 18 months old and spoiled rotten!  He is such a joy to our family and we're blessed that the Lord chose him to be apart of this crazy thing we call--FAMILY.


My title, as you probably didn't notice said (photos, quick update, and - 2).  Well I've shared the photos and quick update, however I feel I need to explain on the - 2 portion.

On September 23, 2013 something happened to Daniel and I.  We happened across some people on the internet.  We spent many days with these particular people on our hearts.  We came to the conclusion that it was God who had laid them on our hearts, and for a reason.  Do you know where I'm going with this yet? 

You see, these people (two particular people, to be in fact), are children in Ethiopia who needed a family.  After much contemplation, prayer, and sleepless nights, it was apparent that God was calling us to be their family. So on October 1, 2013 we stepped out in total faith and committed to them and let our agency know that we wanted to be their family.  - 2, is for two less orphans in the world, because they now have a forever family, who are going to love them to pieces and show them what Jesus is all about...and we're excited about that!

We have our dossier turned in as of 11/05/13...whew!  And more paperwork in the works, but we're one step closer to meeting our new precious son & daughter!  A little information (at least what I can share) on our newest additions: our kids are twins, boy & girl, here named T & M, these initials stand for their true Ethiopian names (which we have chosen to keep).  I know some people do change names (I mean we kept Cruz's as his middle name), but we keep coming back to the fact that (they will have so much to adjust to once they're home: culture, manners, learning English, schooling, their new family...a whole new world, do we seriously want to throw in learning a whole new name for themselves at their age?)  Forgot to mention:  our twins are an older child adoption.

HUGE NEWS!  Have your gotten over that big SURPRISE yet?  Have your mouths dropped and shut again?  Ha ha! 

Please be in prayer for us as we take this huge step in our lives.  We know the Lord will take care of us, but personally I never thought I'd have 5 children (though might I add, nothing against people with 5 or more children!)...just thought I'd never be one of them--hence the name of the blog "Waiting Impatiently"!  And I'm going to need A LOT of patience with 5 children!  I had pictured 4, but God has 5 in His plan for us, so we're going with that!

Please pray for us as we prepare for them, as we prepare our kiddos already here at home, and pray for T & M, that God would start preparing their hearts for the changes that will take place and preparing them for their new family.  If you'd like to be apart of our adoption journey, please find some more ways, on the tab to the right "ways to help".

Lugo Latest

Ok, have I told you already that I'm not a great blogger???!!!  I think I have, but if I haven't, consider yourself given that information right now.  So don't blame me for the long, long, long time between posts...we have had a lot going on!

From the last time I posted, we were cleared for our Embassy appointment toward the end of February, so we headed to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to once again be united with our little guy!  We left Charlotte on March 5th (which was our daughter's 7th birthday)...totally devastating that we would miss her birthday (that's a whole other story)...but know we made up for it when we got back!  We arrived in Addis on March 6th, and went and got our little guy, had our Embassy appointment on March 7th, and headed back home late March 8th (Ethiopian time).  So needless to say, this was a quick trip, but with travel taking pretty much two days each way, we just went with it.  This trip made us EXHAUSTED....and I can't make that word type out like we felt...little guy traveled great (especially since we had to hold him the WHOLE way home--I think it was something like 17 hrs. I can't remember at this point)!  But I'm sure there have been worse stories than that, and we survived.

We arrived back in Charlotte on March 9th (which we consider GOTCHA DAY since we arrived at home, though I know others may consider it by other things) and Isabel, Sofia, Granna, Poppa, & Aunt Meg were there at the airport to greet us and meet their new brother, grandson, & nephew:
Cruz Galgalo

We arrived at our house to be greeted by Grandma Suze & Papi as well!  It was great to be home and all the waiting we just forgot and none of it mattered anymore, because our son was HOME!

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Since being home, Cruz has adjusted great.  It took a little while to learn laying down at certain times meant "nap time", and learning to drink his bottle at one time, instead of little bit by little bit.  He got it pretty quickly and I was excited about that.  He's adjusted to his family, or shall I say his family has adjusted to him, either way, it seems as if he's always been here!  He's a little messer, into everything, but such a Sweetie Pie, with lots of kisses & hugs to give!  He is a healthy, growing boy, and we are doing great!

On May 31st, we celebrated with family, Cruz's 1st Birthday, though he didn't tear into the cake like I expected, we had a wonderful time celebrating!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and supported us through this adoption journey.  Going back and reading some of the prior posts, it just seems like it happened so long ago.  I'm so glad it's a distant memory and now Cruz is forever in our arms.

I was going to post photos, but that isn't working at the moment.  I'll do that soon, so those of you who don't FB can see our family of 5!

A Long Time Coming

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to give everyone an update on our adoption process...I know it has been awhile.

Since our last writing, which is when we had just gotten back from our court trip and meeting our son, we have been waiting...and waiting...and waiting.  Waiting to hear that we had the court decree.  We were greatly anticipating getting it within a week or so of our court date, however that didn't happen.  It was December 11, 2012, five weeks from court that we received that court decree.  We were happy that we finally received it and that we could move forward, but were then praying that the rest of our process would go smoother and quick.

At the point of receiving the court decree, our agency could then begin to gather the several documents needed in order to submit our case to the US Embassy.  The first of which was our little guy's birth certificate...which ended up taking a whole other month to receive due to a delay with getting a MOWA letter that was needed in order to get the birth certificate.  So I'll calculate that for you...that puts us at January 18, 2013 when we FINALLY got that.  So as you can imagine, not as smooth as we had hoped, for sure.

Moving on to the passport, we received that in a few short weeks on February 5, 2013.
Then we received the medical report (that required passport be in hand) from the his medical exam on February 11, 2013.

It has now been 14 weeks since we last saw those big, beautiful, brown eyes, held our little boy, his little hand wrapped around our fingers.  This has been SO hard, and oh how we miss him so.

This has been a tough last few weeks.  Amongst all of this going on with the adoption, my grandmother became suddenly ill, and on February 3rd she went to see her Lord and Savior.  The loss of her has been devastating to me and my family.  We have peace in knowing that she is now celebrating with Jesus, no more suffering, no more pain!  But...it's hard not to feel that hole in your heart...that a piece of your life is gone.

Needless to say, the Lugo's have been in a valley of discouragement for some time.  Not understanding why our adoption process has been delayed in some areas (though I must say... I know we're waiting a lot shorter time frame than many adopting families--so please do not take offense to that.  We most definitely feel what those of you who have and are waiting feel).  It's hard not to get discouraged when something isn't happening when you want it to.  It's been so hard to comprehend why God would allow my grandmother to join Glory before getting to meet  her new great-grandson.  But also praying in her last days, that He would bring her home because seeing her suffer was too much.

But in all of this, we have learned that God has His timing, and it's always perfect.  It doesn't mean I have to understand it...but I have to accept it.  Even though I hate that my sweet grandmother will never get to hold him...He is faithful to bring us through.  I think that He knew our family would need something really special, something that we've been waiting for, our little boy...to help us heal from the loss of my grandmother.  God knows exactly what we need at exactly the right time.

The encouragement we needed came today...we got word that we have been submitted to the US Embassy, February 13, 2013!!!!!  They have already screened our file as well, so the investigation of our case can begin.

We want to thank you for your continued prayers and thoughts.  Please pray along with us that the Embassy investigation would go speedily and that we get "cleared" very soon.  We hope to be traveling by the end of the month to pick up our little boy, who we've been longing to bring home and become a family of 5!

GREAT NEWS!

Hi Bloggers,

I do have to apologize for the long time in between posts!  A lot has happened in the last month and a half.

After receiving our referral late August, we have been patiently waiting to be told that we were submitted to court, for courts to re-open (they take a long vacation mid August - late September), and to be issued a court date.

Well we got a call on the afternoon of October 24th (I was concerned when I first received it, that maybe some paperwork was missing and they needed us to re-send some things).  We were so surprised to be told that our US agency staff missed being notified that we had been submitted to court (the date is still unknown when that happened).  So we had been submitted and issued a court date of November 6th!  I was so shocked, happy, excited, and just could not believe it!...and reality set in that we had little time to prepare for our trip.  But really...none of that mattered.  We were going to meet our son!!!!!!!

Daniel was out of town the week before we were to leave...my Mom was a life-saver...she helped me in so many ways get ready for our trip...thanks Mom!  We took care of donation shopping and our last minute travel shopping was in full swing...not to mention booking a flight (whew!...thanks Mel!)

By the way, thanks to all who helped with the donations!  We are so grateful to you for helping us collect these items.  They were so needed at the care center and were truly appreciated!  We couldn't have done it without you.

So on November 4th, 2012 (Adoption Sunday), we were on our way to Ethiopia to meet our son.  Wow, what a LONG flight...but it was so worth it.  We arrived on November 5th (Daniel's birthday), and went straight to meet our son.  What a sweet time!  And let me tell you...he is so precious, sweet, cute, and such a good baby!  We know he was meant to be apart of our family!

We attended our court hearing, all went well there!  We are still awaiting the "official court decree", but hope to hear soon that we have that so we can start getting together the documents to be submitted to the US Embassy.

After court we picked up our little man and spent the rest of our stay spending time with him at our hotel.  He has the sweetest personality.  I cannot wait till the girls can meet him...what a special time that will be!

So Thursday afternoon we had to take him back to the care center.  We were thinking that he'd easily fit in our carry on...but figured we'd be frowned upon and may end adoptions forever if we did that.  So what an extremely hard thing to do...to leave him.  But we just think of the day we'll be reunited...and praying it won't be too long from now.  We miss him so much...and it already feels we've been away for a long time.  I know he's being loved and cared for while we're away from him...and that helps.  But at any given moment I may burst into tears...missing him so.

We have been forever changed from this trip.  I know the Lord is working...on what He is leading us to...I'm not exactly sure yet.  Just trusting Him and keeping faith.  He's had this process in His hands from the beginning...He's definitely got the rest of it under control.

We were able to meet some other couples while in country, also adopting.  It was good to make new friendships...and I hope we'll be able to stay connected throughout the rest of our process and even after!

What's next:  When we receive the court decree our agency can begin gathering the few documents to be submitted to the US Embassy.  From there Embassy reviews it, investigates, and then issues an interview date for us.  This is the date we await...the pick up trip!  Time frame varies...but we are definitely praying for sooner than later!  It will most likely be 8 weeks or more...but hoping closer to the 8 week mark.

We have a lot of preparations to finish up...so hopefully we can stay busy with those things...as well as with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up our calendar is starting to fill up quickly.  So I'm praying this time will pass quickly with everything else that is going on.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying and thinking of us.  We still need them as these days are extremely tough.

Faithfully praying,
Daniel & Heather

THE TIME HAS COME!!

We have a huge announcement!!!!  On August 29th, 2012 we received what we've been waiting for:  a referral of a little 2-month-old boy!!!  We are super excited to have a son (who is now almost 3-months-old)!  We, unfortunately, cannot share any other information besides that right now.  But wanted to give you this exciting news and thank you so much for your prayers during this part of our process.

A lot will wonder:  what's next?  The staff in Ethiopia are getting all the paperwork ready to be submitted to court.  When it is ready, it will be submitted, then a judge has to review it and issue a court date, then we get notified and we go for court.  This is the actual adoption court hearing, though we won't be able to bring our little one home on the first trip. =(  All paperwork has to go through US Embassy for processing and visa, etc.   All of that has to be complete before we can bring him home.  The hopeful timeline is:  Court--late November/early December; Home--January/February.

Please continue to pray for us during this time...it's hard seeing pictures and not being able to be with our little man and hold him!  Pray that God would expedite this paperwork and that it go smoothly!  We know His hands are already on it and with it, and it's all in His control!

If you would please pray for our little man, "G".  Yes, he does have a name (though we are unable to share it).  We are still trying to decide on a first name and will keep his given name as his middle name.  For now, we're introducing him as "G".

Waiting Impatiently,
Daniel & Heather