The Wind Has Shifted

Things don't always work out as you expect or hope they. We know that about life. When Jimmy and I were here in August everything went perfectly. This time, not so much.

Everything started off great. We left Houston with no problem and had a very long flight to Frankfurt, Germany. We got to our gate for our connecting flight and the ticket agent could not check our 12 year old daughter in. She said there is a problem with the passport. It expires in March. Okay...so what's the problem here? It's January and March is six weeks away!

The passport must be valid for THREE MONTHS PAST THE EXPIRATION DATE!!!

Are you kidding me? What is the point of an expiration date then? Tears flowing. Tears from my eyes. Tears from my sweet daughters eyes. I was panicking. There was nothing I could do. The plane was about to board and we had to decide if I was going to get on that plane or not. Alone. Without my husband and daughter. We all knew I had to get on that plane. I had to show up for Gracie.

As I boarded I watched Paige standing there in tears and my heart was broken. The flight was 2 hours long and I cried the whole time.

Then one of those things happened that lets you know God has this under control. I was sitting on an empty row (since 2 of the seats were supposed to be for my family). Halfway through the flight a little girl came to my seat. She climbed onto my lap and started talking to me. This was NOT a hallucinaton. She was real. She was a Bulgarian child. She had the same skin, hair and size as Gracie. She was looking out the window and talking away (in Bulgarian). I have no idea what she was saying. I kept looking back to see if her parents were going to come get her, but no one was even standing up. So I just savored the moment. I knew immediately what was happening. God was sending comfort. I thought of Gracie and I knew that in a couple of days she would be sitting in my lap just like this. After about 10 minutes a woman came to collect he child. She did not speak English. She summoned the child, but the child did not move. She just stayed on my lap. I asked the mother what the child's name was and she said Daria and that she was 2 years old. She also told me th city they live in and I know it very well since one of my friends adopted there. After about 5 more minutes the mother was able to convince Daria that she should return to her seat. She was a sweet child and I got great comfort from her visit.

When I landed I had some trouble locating my driver. Once I did, I got to my hotel and pleaded for prayers. I then started to contact the US Embassy/Consulate. I was able to get an emergency appointment scheduled for Tuesdya at 8am to have them fix the problem with the passport.

Now...we wait. What happens now hinges on my meeting at the orphange tomorrow and their meeting at the consulate on Tuesday.

Hopefully I will still be able to pick up Gracie tomorrow and still celebrate Gotcha Day (just won't be what I imagined). Then, hopefully everything goes well with the consulate and my husband and daughter will join my and Gracie on Tuesday night.

We have had an amazing amount of support come through for us. Many, many prayers and even donations since this will cost us more money.

I have had to be reminded that we do not know the path of the wind. God's plans are His plans and do not always align with ours. One thing is for sure: His plan is the perfect plan!

Continued prayers are needed and so appreciated.

Tomorrow...I will let you know what happens!