Sentencia!!

Sentencia is the word all adoption families want to hear. It is the final adoption decree. Praise God, we learned that our sentencia is scheduled for Monday- as in TOMORROW!! The judge is requiring that only Chip travel to Ibague for this. Even while rejoicing in this good news, we were again given the opportunity to trust God with Isa and her heart. When Isa realized that only Chip would travel to Ibague she was very sad. We thought she was sad about the adoption and the lawyer asked her again if this is what she wanted to do. Isa and the lawyer spoke for twenty minutes privately while we waited. Thoughts raced through my head; "God, how could you bring us this far for this!!?" Finally, we met with Isa and the lawyer, both smiling. It turns out that Isa misunderstood the ICBF officials. Her adoption records will be sealed for twenty years and Isa thought that this meant she could not contact anyone in Colombia for twenty years! With this in mind, she was crushed at the thought of missing her last opportunity to visit Ibague. Isa again affirmed that she wants to be part of our family. Someone here described adoption as a rollercoaster ride that goes up, down, sideways and (I would add) loopty-loopy. It is exhausting but so worth it!

Sooo, tomorrow Chip must to travel back over the mountains to Ibague and back-- a 4 - 5 hour drive each way. After Sentencia, our timeline to return home is about two more weeks. Once we have the final decree, we still have to get a new birth certificate, passport, visa, and a few other documents.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!! love, K