..::I Swear We're Coming Home One Day::..

I am going to start with the good news because it outweighs the bad news! The good news is that God has blessed us with an amazing little guy, Daniel, that after almost 4 years, we can now officially call our son. Daniel is a “God send” and has changed our lives in awesome and crazy ways. The other piece of good news is that God has blessed us with a community of family and friends in the US and Uganda that have surpassed any expectations we could ever have hoped for by supporting us financially, praying for us daily, giving us free places to stay, allowing us to borrow cars for months on end, and throwing enormous garage sales in order to support our transition back to the US, just to list a few!!

Now for the bad news…

As many of you know, today we had an appointment at the Embassy to file for Daniel’s immigrant visa and unfortunately found out that we will not be getting it anytime soon.

I am going to back up a little and explain a few minor details about our situation. When we initially decided to adopt Daniel, we were planning on doing an “in-country adoption” which requires us to reside in Uganda for 3 years or more with Daniel so our legal guardianship order, which allowed us to immigrate with Daniel to the US did not allow us to adopt in the US. After our petition for a green card earlier this year was denied we needed to come back to Uganda to finalize the adoption.

Four months after arriving we finally had our court date and our adoption was finalized. We were so blessed by God’s perfect timing with this because we received our official adoption decree from the courts a day before the courts went on their month long holiday! We were so excited that we had passed all of the hassle dealing with the Ugandan court system and we were confident that we were only weeks away from coming home. We knew that dealing with the US Embassy would be much more straight forward. We just needed to get an appointment, file our paperwork and then wait the 2-3 weeks that it normally takes to receive Daniel’s visa.

In our blog post earlier this month I wrote, “The one good thing is that the remaining paperwork will all be filed through the US Embassy and if they say it will take 2 weeks…it will take 2 weeks!” Well, this week we found out that the form we need to file for Daniel can no longer be adjudicated on outside of the US and all cases must be submitted directly to USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) with a money order or check from an American institution (which we don’t have here) in order to process the paperwork. The really bad news… Since last year, the processing time for this service, has been 10 months! To think that we were so close, only to find out that we could potentially be here another 10 months has been a bit overwhelming.

Let me tell you…this has been a week full of tears. And when I say tears, I mean the uncontrollable, can’t catch your breath, feel like you are going to be sick, kind of tears. You know, the really good ones! So what is next…we have no idea! We have been so amazingly blessed through this entire process and we are confident that God is not going to just stop blessing us because we have to extend our trip. We are also confident that God’s timing is perfect and whatever He is planning for our family’s future must be pretty big, because He is pruning us like crazy right now. We are reminded every day when we look at Daniel that there is nothing we would not do for our little guy (who is not so little anymore!) and as long as we are faithful to our call to be his parents, we know that God will continue to bless our family. Our biggest prayer right now is that God would be incredibly clear as to what path we should take as a family as we move forward and that God would speak to both  Jamesdon and me in the same way so that we are united in whatever decision is made.

Our choices as of now look something like this…

A). We continue to allow God to bless our family financially through our friends and family and church community.
B). Coryn returns to the US by herself, leaving the boys behind, (even typing that makes me feel sick to my stomach) and return to the job that God has blessed us with at home.

As you can imagine, it is an incredibly difficult decision to make! I am sure any parent could relate, just take a second and think about it!

As of now, Jamesdon and I are on two different sides of the fence. I have an overwhelming sense that I need to go home to work in order to provide for our family, which makes me feel like a horrible mother (tears again, ahh, because what mother would choose to leave her children behind). Although I feel like I should be fighting to stay with my family, I feel like my job at home is a blessing from God and it gives us the ability to provide for our family. Jamesdon has a completely different mindset and it is that God has blessed us so much (we were literally praising Him with happy tears a week ago for all that He continues to do) and that we should not limit what He is capable of doing, both financially, and with the process as a whole. Jamesdon has also had an overwhelming peace about this whole situation, definitely standing firm in God’s word and  reminding me of how big God is in the middle of my meltdowns! Let me say that although we are on opposite sides of the fence, it is not dividing us! We have had some awesomely honest (and emotional) conversations the past week and if anything it is bringing us closer together. We just know that this is not a decision that we can agree to disagree on because what follows will have its challenges and we need to be united when it comes time to face those challenges.

As for now, we have to get our visas renewed to stay in Uganda, which may involve a trip to Kenya! My parents have offered to fly Jamesdon out for his sister’s wedding the second week in February (they also offered to fly me home for my mom’s 60^th birthday cruise, but I declined for the simple fact that I cannot leave my boys for a week or two knowing that I may have to turn around and leave them for an unknown period of time soon after.)  After a few days of fasting and praying, we still do not have any answers on how to proceed beyond that time, but God has given me much more peace with the situation. 

As you may expect, we earnestly ask that you continue to pray alongside us as we seek what God would have us do next and for increasing peace during this time!

If you’d like to unite with us in this undertaking you may send your financial blessings to: C/O Andrew Galbreath 354 Avocado Street #16 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Please make checks payable to "Jamesdon and/or Coryn Kissling"

...:::Blessed Beyond Words:::...

So the other day on Facebook, we saw a handful of posts mentioning a yardsale being organized to support our family's return to the the US. It came as a bit of a surprise to us and, to be honest, we have been so consumed with getting into the Embassy this week for Daniel's immigrant visa, it kinda slipped our minds!

Well this morning, as we were making our day's game plan and trying to further sort out the immigration process, we received this little gem...

To say that we're overwhelmed with joy today would be an understatement!

This, combined with the great Christmas package that our community sent over have truly made us feel so loved and missed in this new year! To top off all of that, we're currently back in Kampala for a few days and have been put up for FREE in a house atop the highest hill in the city! What a view!
THANK YOU GOD!!! You never cease to find new ways to impress us!!!

In other news...

We did get to the Embassy today to pick up a form required for our immigration interview and, to our disappointment, we found out that our interview  would have to get bumped from Wednesday of this week to Monday of next week. Although we felt a little discouraged, Coryn and I looked at each other and decided that we wouldn't let it steal our joy!

We hope you're all having a blessed new year! We miss and love you all dearly!!!

If you’d like to unite with us in this undertaking you may send your financial blessings to: C/O Andrew Galbreath 354 Avocado Street #16 Costa Mesa, CA 92627 Please make checks payable to "Jamesdon and/or Coryn Kissling"

..:::CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY!!!:::...

Today we received the best Christmas present ever…a ruling from the Ugandan courts finalizing our adoption of Daniel. It is a little strange because now we can say that Daniel is officially our son, but anyone who knows our family, knows that Daniel was officially our son from the moment he came to live with us 3 years and 9 months ago… we just didn’t have the paper to prove it… now we do!!! It was a little difficult to explain to Daniel because this day doesn’t really validate anything for him, he has been our son as far back as he can remember! For that we are so thankful! We are also incredibly thankful for everyone at home that has continued to support us through prayer during this process.

So what’s next? While this is another huge step there is still paperwork to be filed in order to bring Daniel back to the US, but this time as a citizen. The one good thing is that the remaining paperwork will all be filed through the US Embassy and if they say it will take 2 weeks… it will take 2 weeks! Jamesdon and I were ready to jump in the car and leave for Kampala this weekend to file the paperwork, but quickly realized that Wednesday is Christmas and while the Embassy works on a slightly less-African timetable, like any red blooded American, they take off a day or two for Christmas . So we are going to patiently wait until Thursday (if we are able to get an appointment at the Embassy for Friday) or Sunday (if we don’t get an appointment until the following week). Once we file the paperwork with the US Embassy, we will have a better idea of when we will get to come home and start to make arrangements for that.

We are all looking forward to coming home and getting to share life with all of our wonderful friends and family.

We can’t wait  get home to see you all!

...:::Our Day in Court:::...

On Thursday we finally had our hearing to finalize Daniel’s adoption. We were so blessed to get our court date on this day because it was the last day our judge was taking any cases before going on holiday for a month. While this day had been highly anticipated and many preparations had been made to ensure success, there were still many potential issues.

On Wednesday we made the 7 hour drive down to Kampala. A few hours after we reached Kampala we received a call from our lawyer who was wanting to ensure that we had traveled with all our original documents…we hadn’t. Our file containing all of our original documents was packed away nicely in Gulu. In all fairness, when we submitted our court documents we were required to have certified / notarized copies of everything, which we assumed would take the place of our original documents. Jamesdon went straight to work trying to figure out how to get the documents down to Kampala. We had a plan! Jamesdon was going to have a friend in Gulu, go to the house (we had a left a key with him just in case) and get the documents, put them on a bus that was headed down to Kampala and we would pick them up from the bus station when they arrived. We did not feel completely confident putting so many original documents in the hand of a bus conductor, but it was the option that would get the documents to Kampala on time for the hearing. Well God had a different plan because when we left that morning, we made a last minute decision to add an additional lock to the front gate, and Jamesdon was the only one with the key. Our friends could not get into the house. We called the lawyer and he said “Let us pray that it is not an issue”. After waiting so long for a court date and then having to accept that if the judge did ask for the originals and we could not present them that it could postpone our case at least a month. So we prayed!

Later that evening, we continued to receive calls from our lawyer as he was trying to prepare for our hearing, and this added a lot of stress, trying to search for recommendation letters that were never sent to us directly. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep so well Wednesday night. On Thursday morning we woke up early only to find the power was out. One thing about court in Uganda, as I guess it is everywhere, you have to dress the part! The fact that Jamesdon did not have a 3 piece suit was bad enough but there is no way that he could go into the court room without ironing his shirt. No problem for Jamesdon though! He placed a frying pan upside down over the stove then put the iron on top of that heat up the iron enough to iron the shirt. Although it didn’t stay hot for long, he just repeated this over and over until he had his shirt and the boys shirts ironed. About an hour later they were all dressed and “looking smart”! Then Daniel and I prayed for the rain to at stop or least decrease in intensity by the time we had to leave and it did!

We piled in the car and drove into town to meet the lawyer, and soon after went into the waiting room where we spent the next hour and a half waiting to see the judge. (Considering we planned on being there all day, waiting an hour and a half was incredibly short). We would have waited longer, but our lawyer convinced the judge to hear our case before another family because our case was much simpler and would take a quarter of the time and the judge agreed. 

When we entered the court room, the judge made a very good impression being that she was quite friendly and personable. She started by asking Daniel questions like “ Who is that lady?” which Daniel answered “ My mama!” and “ What do you call that man?” and he answered “Daddy!” and who is that boy and he said “ My brother!”. The judge then commented on his certainty for each of those questions as if the answers were obvious. Lastly, she asked him if he was happy. With a big grin he responded “YES!” He still seemed a little confused about why she was asking him such silly questions. The judge continued to go through all the requirements that need to be met by us as his guardians and as we went through each one, the judge was very easy on us. One case being, that in order to finalize an in country adoption, we should have fostered Daniel in Uganda for 36 months. While we have exceeded the 36 months of fostering, we had not been in Uganda for that entire time, but the judge quickly recognized our fostering time as sufficient seeing that Daniel was receiving medical treatment in the US that could not have been provided in Uganda. Throughout the entire hearing, the judge never asked for an original document, Praise God!

As the court case was winding up and we had told the judge everything we could about our families story, she looked at me and Jamesdon and asked “Do you have any regrets?” This question brought unexpected emotions from both of us as we answered “Not even one!” Jamesdon then said “We would do it a thousand times over!”. After a few final details were recorded Daniel turns around and says something to Jamesdon that made him laugh out loud. Rightfully so, the judge wanted to know what Daniel had said that was so funny. Jamesdon responded “Daniel just asked, 'Daddy if you did it a thousand times, wouldn't mommy have a thousand babies!'” The judge was quite amused not only that he came up with that but that he had been listening to everything we had been saying. The judge had just discovered one of Daniel’s most infamous traits…he hears EVERYTHING! At the very end the judge thanked us for taking care of him and told us that she can see he is very well taken care of and is very happy! Jamesdon and I were able to leave court feeling an enormous weight lifted realizing that we are one step closer to legalizing what God put in place almost 4 years ago!

We are so thankful for all the people who have been praying for us! We definitely felt God’s hand in everything that took place in the court room. With that being said we would still ask that you continue to pray for the ruling to be given before the judge goes on holiday this coming Friday. The ruling is what we need to take to the embassy to begin all the paperwork to bring Daniel back to the US as a citizen. If the ruling does not come by Friday, we will have to wait until the middle to end of January to file the paperwork with the embassy, which would bring us home in February.

We definitely know that we will be spending Christmas and the New Year here in Uganda, but pray that we will be home by late January. While we have been super blessed and God has taken care of us through all of this, we had hoped to be home for the holidays. Because of our extended time here, we humbly ask that you prayerfully consider supporting our family financially through the duration of our time here.

Financial gifts are being handled by our good friend and can be sent to:

C/O Andrew Galbreath
354 Avocado Street #16
Costa Mesa,  CA  92627

Please make checks payable to "Jamesdon and/or Coryn Kissling"