So we had our second hearing on Wednesday morning. We got ready, made it to the High Court with an hour to spare, waited around with some other adopting families, and at nine, went over to our Judge's hallway. There were many people there, and our lawyer informed us that it would be a while, because he was a junior lawyer and the Judge saw clients in order of their lawyer's seniority. So we waited, and waited, and waited. After about an hour it became clear that something was wrong.
It turned out that the Judge had called our names sooner than expected, and our lawyer was no where to be found. The Judge became very angry and cancelled our hearings completely.
We found out that our lawyer had two appointments that day at the same time, and because our Judge looked busy he went to see the other Judge he had an appointment with, believing he would make it back in time to see our Judge. Because the Judge he was seeing was the junior of the two, it was very offensive to our Judge when he found out.
When all of this was explained to us we were very upset. We spent the morning begging God for mercy and for him to soften the Judge's heart towards us. We also had to sit outside his chambers so he would see our commitment to this adoption and feel bad for us. The judge was very merciful to us, in that when he cancelled our hearings he did not adjourn them to a later date, leaving the door open for an apology and a rescheduling. Our lawyer had to write a formal apology letter and send it to the judge. A little after 12 all of this was accomplished. The Judge accepted Isaac's apology. The clerk who acted as the mediator's words to Isaac were "You all must have prayed hard this morning, because he has agreed to see you tomorrow at ten."
We immediately drove to the embassy to work on Jeff's paperwork. He had to sign some visa documents before he could leave. When we got there we realized we had forgotten our tax returns, and so he wouldn't be able to fill out everything. The consular was closing at 2, so we didn't have time to go back and return. We sat in the little cubicle waiting to meet with the vice-consular for about half and hour. Finally, one of the secretaries came out and said that she was double booked, and could we come back in about an hour? YES! That was just enough time for us to run back to the guest house, grab our paperwork, change, and eat some lunch. We made it back for our appointment just in time for our appointment, and Jeff finished filling out all of the paperwork he needed to take care of.
On Thursday we went back to the high court for our hearing. This time we got to see the Judge. It was very intimidating, just as it was the first time, but this time he accepted our paperwork and announced that he would have his ruling on July 22nd. Both Isaac and Sister Christine think it went very well and are expecting a favorable ruling. We hope they are right. Please continue to cover this process in prayer.
Jeff will be leaving soon, and my Mom will be arriving. Jeff will not be here for the ruling. He does not want to leave, but he can't stay away from work any longer. When he leaves I will no longer have a computer, but Jeff will have easy internet access and a phone card, so he will be posting updates more frequently. We hope that we will have a favorable ruling on the 22nd, and as soon as we have that we can post pictures.
On a side note, there is a sticky situation that we are dealing with here that has to do with some cultural differences. We really need your prayers for our wisdom and discernment. We need to avoid offending certain people key to our adoption process, but two things have been asked of us that we feel uncomfortable with, and it is hard to stand firm when so much is at stake.
It turned out that the Judge had called our names sooner than expected, and our lawyer was no where to be found. The Judge became very angry and cancelled our hearings completely.
We found out that our lawyer had two appointments that day at the same time, and because our Judge looked busy he went to see the other Judge he had an appointment with, believing he would make it back in time to see our Judge. Because the Judge he was seeing was the junior of the two, it was very offensive to our Judge when he found out.
When all of this was explained to us we were very upset. We spent the morning begging God for mercy and for him to soften the Judge's heart towards us. We also had to sit outside his chambers so he would see our commitment to this adoption and feel bad for us. The judge was very merciful to us, in that when he cancelled our hearings he did not adjourn them to a later date, leaving the door open for an apology and a rescheduling. Our lawyer had to write a formal apology letter and send it to the judge. A little after 12 all of this was accomplished. The Judge accepted Isaac's apology. The clerk who acted as the mediator's words to Isaac were "You all must have prayed hard this morning, because he has agreed to see you tomorrow at ten."
We immediately drove to the embassy to work on Jeff's paperwork. He had to sign some visa documents before he could leave. When we got there we realized we had forgotten our tax returns, and so he wouldn't be able to fill out everything. The consular was closing at 2, so we didn't have time to go back and return. We sat in the little cubicle waiting to meet with the vice-consular for about half and hour. Finally, one of the secretaries came out and said that she was double booked, and could we come back in about an hour? YES! That was just enough time for us to run back to the guest house, grab our paperwork, change, and eat some lunch. We made it back for our appointment just in time for our appointment, and Jeff finished filling out all of the paperwork he needed to take care of.
On Thursday we went back to the high court for our hearing. This time we got to see the Judge. It was very intimidating, just as it was the first time, but this time he accepted our paperwork and announced that he would have his ruling on July 22nd. Both Isaac and Sister Christine think it went very well and are expecting a favorable ruling. We hope they are right. Please continue to cover this process in prayer.
Jeff will be leaving soon, and my Mom will be arriving. Jeff will not be here for the ruling. He does not want to leave, but he can't stay away from work any longer. When he leaves I will no longer have a computer, but Jeff will have easy internet access and a phone card, so he will be posting updates more frequently. We hope that we will have a favorable ruling on the 22nd, and as soon as we have that we can post pictures.
On a side note, there is a sticky situation that we are dealing with here that has to do with some cultural differences. We really need your prayers for our wisdom and discernment. We need to avoid offending certain people key to our adoption process, but two things have been asked of us that we feel uncomfortable with, and it is hard to stand firm when so much is at stake.
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2 comments:
Hello Jeff and Amy. I just got back from 3 days in Yosemite with Tom and Mary. It was great to be with them. Wisdom will come. God promised it. Ask believing. Our love to you and Tommy. Uncle David
I am praying for you guys! July 22nd is certainly a blessed day;)I just bought a "Somebody in New York loves me!" t-shirt for a certain someone (read: too small for either of you). I am praying for wisdom, favor, and safety.
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