For all the ups and downs of this process, there is one thing we knew: God has a child for us. It’s hard to believe, but it’s now been two full months since we met Charis and were quickly convinced this beautiful little girl was God’s gift to our family. While the process has been long and twisty, we have had Charis with us and have had the wonderful opportunity to start to get to knew our daughter. A week ago, we really didn’t know how long this process was going to take. Even though it looked like there were steps forward, they were slow and it often felt like one step forward and two steps back.

God, in his graciousness and mercy, saw fit to move the process quickly this week. On Tuesday Kim picked up the new birth certificate listing her adopted name of Charis and showing us as the parents. She immediately turned around and applied for the passport. We thought she would receive the passport Wednesday morning… then Wednesday afternoon… then Thursday morning at 8:00. At 11:45 on Thursday, she finally received the passport and raced out to the medical clinic so Charis could get the physical required of all US immigrants. A doctor amazingly volunteered to work through his lunch break to get them in. From there, they raced over to the US embassy, which has offered to move their appointment from 2:00 to 3:00, but said that was absolutely the latest they could do. Kim made is to the embassy and was interviewed for almost two hours, with every piece of paperwork being meticulously reviewed. Finally, Kim heard that wonderful words: they would approve the visa!

When Kim finally told her, I fell to my knees in tears. They were coming home. Yesterday (Friday), Kim picked up the completed visa while I locked in their plane tickets. And now? Kim and Charis are in the air on their way to London. And tomorrow they arrive in Tampa at 4:45pm! I left a full month ago today. Tomorrow, our family will be together again! Praise God!

Thank you to all who have read this blog, prayed for us, supported us, blessed us with gifts, cared for Jeremiah so I could work, prepared (or bought) meals for us and so much more. We are so grateful. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If you are able, we would love to have you join Jeremiah and I at the airport at 5:00pm tomorrow (Sunday) to welcome them home and celebrate.

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PS> For all our excitement, our hearts are heavy for our dear friends, the Larkins, who travelled with us to Zambia but are still separated. Just when it seemed they were finished, some paperwork sent them back to the drawing board and it may be another couple of weeks. Please be praying that God would move quickly to reunite their family and bring Isaiah home with his family. Thanks.

When we met Charis, she could really do nothing. Couldn’t sit up. Couldn’t crawl. Couldn’t walk. In our loving care (okay, mostly Kim’s loving care), she is growing stronger and eager to walk. Here is a video of her learning to walk…

This adoption has been the hardest thing we’ve ever done. We knew the process was going to be tough, but this is even more than we thought we were signing up for. I don’t even know how to put into words the ups and downs, the uncertainty and the angst of waiting.

Finally, a couple of days ago, we did get some movement: the judge signed the adoption decree! Praise God. We were slow to post anything if only because our good news was accompanied the same day by a major setback for our dear friends on this journey alongside of us. But, again, praise God that Charis is now, officially, a Jeantet!

Ok, so where do we go from here? Following are the steps before we will be able touring Charis home with us…
1) Birth certificate: We need a new birth certificate reflecting her adopted name and us as the parents.
2) Passport: Once we have the birth certificate, we can apply for a Zambian passport for her to travel on.
3) Medical exam: All US immigrants are required to have a medical exam from an authorized physician.
4) US immigrant visa: With all of the above complete, we can apply for the visa to bring her back to the US with us.
5) Fly home: Finally!

So, while we have the adoption decree, you can see there are several steps yet to completing this process.

Please pray for the Lord’s favor in a quick end to this process. The birth certificate has been applied for and we hoped to get it on Monday. But Monday has just been declared a national holiday in Zambia for the funeral of a former president. That, unfortunately, slows us even further, possibly up to a week because of the 4th of July the following week.

Finally, please pray that our paperwork will be deemed sufficient by the US embassy to issue the visa.

Thank you for joining us in this rescue mission. The end is slowly coming into sight. May the Lord bring us all home to Sarasota soon.

Please be praying. Our court appointment is at 8:30am on Friday (that’s 2:30 EST for those of you in the US). Our first court appointment on Monday did not go as expected. We really thought that Monday was going to be the day where Charis was officially declared to be our daughter. It was not. The judge did not like the way one of the court filings was worded. He recommended some revised wording and said he would see the case again on Friday. Be praying. This has been the hardest thing we’ve ever done in our lives. We love Charis and want her to be officially declared a Jeantet. She was our rescue mission. We are close, and yet feeling so far away. We want nothing more than to bring her home as our daughter. Again, please be praying!

Along with going to Victoria Falls, the other big thing we wanted to do while in Zambia was go on a safari. We wanted to see the animals! It really was a fun day, but it was the start of our day that is most memorable. I wish Jeremiah could share this story, but I’ll share it instead…

We were picked up from our hotel in Livingstone at 6:30am for the safari. Early morning is the best time to see the animals as they most out and about at that time. Before heading into the park, we stopped at the lodge so I could go inside and pay for day (we went on the safari in the morning and a river cruise on the Zambezi that evening). I was gone for, oh, like, 4 minutes maybe. I get back outside to find out that already I have missed something!

Knowing that we were going to be out early, I had picked up some donuts for us to have for breakfast that morning. Jeremiah had his donut sitting on his bag in the safari truck when a monkey swooped into the truck and stole his donut! Jeremiah was so upset, first that he lost his donut and second, that the monkey was being really selfish and not sharing the donut with his monkey friends! He was upset. We all thought it was funny! When you see him, definitely ask him the story. Very funny.

Here are some pictures from the safari and then from the river cruise. Enjoy.

Safari Game Drive and River Cruise

This whole process has been a complete whirlwind with countless highs and lows, but the past few days have been especially tough as we can do nothing but wait for our court date and want desperately to get home to our family. This morning though I was very encouraged by David’s words to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28…

20 Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.
21 And behold the divisions of the priests and the Levites for all the service of the house of God; and with you in all the work will be every willing man who has skill for any kind of service; also the officers and all the people will be wholly at your command.

I don’t have to be afraid to go to court and stand before a foreign magistrate who gets to decide the fate of my child because it is the Lord who will be there with me. He ordained Charis to be our daughter a long time ago and will not abandon us in this process now. And, while the timeline we are hoping for to get home is nigh unto impossible, we serve a God who specializes in the impossible. He has sent all kinds of people to us in this process to help us and encourage us just when we needed them and we can rest knowing that just as Solomon had men with every kind of skill available to him, God has provided so many Zambians with all kinds of skills and connections to help us and we know that he will not let us down now.

Thank you Lord that your promises are new every morning and that we can hope in your Holy word.

On our honeymoon in 2004, Kim and I went to one of the natural wonders of the world – the Grand Canyon. Seeing the Grand Canyon was spectacular and majestic. Now, seven years and two kids later, we went to another of the natural wonders located right here in Zambia – Victoria Falls. Measuring at 360 feet high (not that we ever saw the bottom of the Falls!), Mosi-o-Tunya (or as well call them, Victoria Falls) is the largest waterfall in the world. If the Grand Canyon reveals the majesty of God, Victoria Falls reveals the power and might of God. It was truly awe-inspiring. I’m not even sure how to capture in words what it was like to experience the Falls. Maybe the pictures below will capture what I can’t. But I can say this: it was one of the most fun, enjoyable and incredible experiences of my life. Thank you God for the opportunity to experience Victoria Falls.

One quick and funny (now) story. Baboons run free throughout the national park at the Falls. We were just standing there, taking a break, when one of the baboons ran up and tried to rip Kim’s skirt off! She, of course, screamed. Jeremiah panicked that it was after his fruit snacks. With the screaming, the baboon ran off. A few seconds later, park security came up to us, having seen what just happened. One of the guys looked at me and said that if it comes back, and then, with a hand motion, demonstrated a punch. At first, we thought he might be joking. Nope. That was his recommendation. If the baboon came back, he wanted me to punch it in the face! Fortunately for PETA, it never came to that.

PS> My favorite of the pictures below is the one of Kim and I with our feet in the Zambezi. We were, literally, just 30 feet north of the Falls with our feet in the river. What a cool experience.

Victoria Falls

We gave you a few teaser pictures before. But here is a real album of our new family.

Meet Charis