Finding Home Part 6

Bob left and his sister arrived, and we entered what we thought was the final stretch of our stay. At this point we had been in Romania for 7 weeks. Two weeks later S arrived one evening to tell me more “bad news”. By now we had proceeded far enough with the adoption that we had entered the waiting period- a part of every adoption. It is a buffer of time in which the birth parent has the right to change their mind. A difficult time, but necessary. I had a chart marked with the days of the waiting period and cheerfully marked the days off each night as I went to bed (whatever works to keep you going!). S’s news that day was that he had discovered my lawyer had neglected to file the papers until just then, and therefore the waiting period was only starting now. I’ll never forget that moment. All my hope for going home soon collapsed, and I was devastated. How many more delays could there be?

But, after a difficult night, we determined to go on, and made the necessary arrangements to lengthen our stay. By this time many Canadians had come and gone with their new children, leaving us behind. We were now proficient at changing our departure dates on our airline tickets and extending our visas. Because Bob’s sister needed to go home before I would be able to go, we asked our sister in law if she was interested in coming to be with me for the last short stretch. She was thrilled to come and made the arrangements. By this time it was May and we had been in Romania for 9 weeks. We had arrived in winter and were now experiencing spring.

Katy continued to grow and to claim my heart. She was the bright spot in all of the waiting and I treasure the time I had with her to spend only caring for her and getting to know her-something I may not have had in the regular busyness of life at home. I also treasure the time I had to become more than a tourist in her home country. Once you are living alongside the local people for that length of time, shopping with them in their markets, using their transportation (by this time taxis were a luxury seldom possible with our stretched farther than we could ever imagine budget), you gain a new perspective and I am thankful.

S became incredibly dear to me and took care of me in that time as a father cares for his daughter. These blessings would not have been possible if we had been able to leave Bucharest as quickly as we had wanted to, so I am thankful. I have much more perspective to offer Katy regarding her country because of the length of our stay.

Anyway, the waiting period finally ended and we were able to have our final court date and gain Katy’s passport and visa and any other paperwork we needed to bring her out of the country. We were cautiously confident we were actually nearing the end and marking off the days on my chart every evening became more and more exciting.

Preparing to leave actually became heart wrenching. Leaving S and M behind was difficult. Enduring something as painful and joyful as we had, bonds you with someone, and the thought of possibly not seeing them again was very difficult. I struggled to convey to them how thankful we were for them and how sure we were they were God’s direct and purposeful gift to us. (We have met them again since, and I am so thankful).

But we did leave. My SIL had been in Bucharest for 3 1/2 weeks by now-2 1/2 weeks longer than we had expected, but we were going home!

The entire length of our stay in Romania was 12 1/2 weeks-a full 1/2 week longer than the “record holders” up to that point. A distinction I would rather not have, but we have it nonetheless.

The day before we left, S came to our house to settle last minute things. I remember him coming to me, holding my hands, and telling me that he could now confess that he had had his fears regarding our adoption. Apparently the media had been full of stories that foreign adoption was being shut down in Romania, and he was very fearful this would happen before our adoption was final. His fears were valid– Katy and I left Romania on May 29. Adoptions in Romania were ended May 30.

Is there any doubt Katy was intended for our family? Is there any doubt God was working? Is there any doubt God had a plan? None. I am humbled and amazed at His faithfulness and can hardly wait to ask Him in heaven to show me all of the unseen protection and intervention on our behalf during the whole process.

In all of this writing I have only scratched the surface of the story. Much had been left unsaid and I am sure you have questions about aspects I have left out. Feel free to leave a question in the comments and I will gladly answer.

I fully acknowledge that this has not been written perfectly. These posts always been written in snatches of time stolen at work or at home, so I have been unable to edit like I might normally. But at the same time I know God has been a part of the writing and I trust that He will work through my humble attempt's at telling this story and to glorify Him. I still dream that at some point I will be able to write the whole story, perhaps in a book.

Katy is 18 today. Eighteen years have passed since she was born and almost that many since we landed in Winnipeg airport and were greeted by her Daddy, family, and friends. God’s faithfulness has continued, and praise the Lord, will continue. I praise Him for what He did in our life and for what He will do in the future.

He has a plan. He will be working.