We leave for the DRC 2 weeks from today!! Almost surreal at this point (especially given our delays up to now) but we are getting ready to meet our sweet girls. We spent this past weekend planning and buying every light and preserved food we can think to take with us. Traveling and staying in one of the world's poorest countries is amazingly expensive. Eating out costs on average $20 to $40 PER PERSON and requires hiring a driver which is also costly. We are thankfully staying in a guesthouse that has a small kitchenette. So, we are taking about as much tuna, pasta, oatmeal, dried fruit and peanut butter as we can. Kinshasha here we come!
We heard from our agency today that our paperwork looks in order and that we should hopefully be able to meet our girls on June 6th. The Maries will hopefully be in Kinshasha a week before we arrive to complete their medical exams and have their passports processed. We are praying that this transition will not be too difficult for them and that their foster mother will be able to stay with them until we arrive. I cannot begin to imagine this transition from the perspective of a 3 year-old child. Please pray for their hearts. Please pray for the millions of details that need to come together in the next 2 weeks.
This most recent travel delay has been financially challenging as we are unable to use my dad's donated Delta airmiles to purchase our tickets. Darn the London Olympics and black out dates! We purchased tickets on South African Airways a few weeks ago and have been struggling with mounting unexpected expenses. We never imagined that being in the DRC for a month or more (in fairly modest accomodations) would cost more than a luxury trip to Europe with our own private masseurs and fine wines! We have literally felt like we are hemorrhaging cash lately! So, imagine our surprise today when I found out that a long overdue bonus was finally being paid. It will really help with these current expenses and was not at all expected! I am not sure why I am so surprised...God has been in this insane process all along and has shown us his dramatic grace, mercy and provision just when we thought we didn't have enough stamina, enough money or enough hope to continue on.
During this most recent bouts of ups and downs, I was trying to describe to a dear friend how I felt. She said "sort of like the disciples when Jesus was sleeping in the boat during the storm." And the whole time, the son of God, the creator of the universe, had the whole situation under control. Under control, despite my fears, despite the challenges, despite the situation on paper. He loves two little girls an entire world away more than I can ever imagine. He put the promise of their lives in our hearts which makes absolutely no sense. I wish we could say we were the kind of people who are always selfless and kind but we're not! When people tell me what a good thing we are doing, I want to scream. Only an unimaginable God could take me, selfish and worried and consumed by such worldly things, and bring me here.
-Val (Darren's guest blogger)
We heard from our agency today that our paperwork looks in order and that we should hopefully be able to meet our girls on June 6th. The Maries will hopefully be in Kinshasha a week before we arrive to complete their medical exams and have their passports processed. We are praying that this transition will not be too difficult for them and that their foster mother will be able to stay with them until we arrive. I cannot begin to imagine this transition from the perspective of a 3 year-old child. Please pray for their hearts. Please pray for the millions of details that need to come together in the next 2 weeks.
This most recent travel delay has been financially challenging as we are unable to use my dad's donated Delta airmiles to purchase our tickets. Darn the London Olympics and black out dates! We purchased tickets on South African Airways a few weeks ago and have been struggling with mounting unexpected expenses. We never imagined that being in the DRC for a month or more (in fairly modest accomodations) would cost more than a luxury trip to Europe with our own private masseurs and fine wines! We have literally felt like we are hemorrhaging cash lately! So, imagine our surprise today when I found out that a long overdue bonus was finally being paid. It will really help with these current expenses and was not at all expected! I am not sure why I am so surprised...God has been in this insane process all along and has shown us his dramatic grace, mercy and provision just when we thought we didn't have enough stamina, enough money or enough hope to continue on.
During this most recent bouts of ups and downs, I was trying to describe to a dear friend how I felt. She said "sort of like the disciples when Jesus was sleeping in the boat during the storm." And the whole time, the son of God, the creator of the universe, had the whole situation under control. Under control, despite my fears, despite the challenges, despite the situation on paper. He loves two little girls an entire world away more than I can ever imagine. He put the promise of their lives in our hearts which makes absolutely no sense. I wish we could say we were the kind of people who are always selfless and kind but we're not! When people tell me what a good thing we are doing, I want to scream. Only an unimaginable God could take me, selfish and worried and consumed by such worldly things, and bring me here.
-Val (Darren's guest blogger)
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