Thank you all for expressing your care and your frequent trips to our blog for any new information. I haven't posted because there is so little to share and we are expecting to hear good news any time.
So, here is what I can share. Our first 30 day waiting period is over!!! The Municipality in Goma has been very slow issuing the Certificate of no Appeal apparently because the person who signs off on these has not been there for many days. This is kind of the way things tend to work. Our attorney is working to have those certificates issued asap, hopefully even this week. Once he has that and the birth certificate, he plans to "file immediately" for the final (2nd) judgement. This is the really big step when it comes. We are not sure yet once it is filed for how immediate or not the hearing will be scheduled. So... we will keep you all posted as we expect to hear something within the next few days. And pray that the hearing will be scheduled very soon.
In the meantime, we shopped for their first clothes yesterday!!! It was such a special feeling. The whole family went and the kids helped us pick out 2 outfits for each of them and a hoodie (it gets a little cool at night). At the store we saw a pair of shorts that Annalise already has and Annalise really wanted us to get the same ones for Anouarite so they can match. Among Nicodemu's new clothes is a red shirt that Chuck found with an American flag on it that says "Gold medalist in training". Pretty cute. We have learned of a group from Alabama taking a mission trip to Rwanda and they are willing to take, we hope and are waiting for verification, a small package as space is very limited. They will not actually see the children or go to the orphanage but the Rwandan pastor who takes food in to them every 2 weeks will retrieve the package and deliver it to them with the food! We have also put together a family photo album for each of them and will send a letter as well. Please pray that all of this makes it to them, that the clothes fit, and that they learn of our deep love for them. We have sent 2 letters but we don't know if they have received them so we don't know what they know about us!
Hoping to update you all more very soon.
