These last three days have been tough...I am not going to say they have not been. I have shed so many tears as I have been questioning why at this final stage are we running into problems? I have been feeling pretty sorry for myself and for the decisions that have to be made. We were told yesterday that a bigger orphan investigation was needed...today we were told that could take up to two weeks to complete. If at the end of that they are satisfied, they will grant the visas, and if not they will send the cases to Nairobi, which could get held up there for weeks.
Our flights are scheduled for tomorrow night and the decision to stay or go has been weighing heavily on our minds. Do we put the girls in the care of a good friend here while we wait for the investigation to be done and then return to get their visas and come home, or do we wait here for a little longer hoping we will get a quicker answer? How do we say goodbye to the girls again, explaining to them what is happening and hoping they somehow understand? How do we get off the plane at home without them by our sides? My heart has been breaking trying to wrap my mind around our situation. We've already spent nine weeks in total in country over these past few months and we miss our families at home so much.
Florence, Bette and Livingstone came by a while ago and said they had come to pray with us. My tears immediately started flowing again, but Florence took my hand and said, don't cry - our God is going to bring these girls home with you. "Your tears are creating a gap between you and God." She said this to me a few times and I was thinking, how do you not cry at a time like this? But the more I thought about it, she was right, my tears were getting in the way of my trusting the way I need to trust and believing the way I need to believe right now that God will continue to fight for us and see this through to completion. Doubts were creeping in. And, the devil was a work.
I really am always amazed at the faith that these individuals show. How blessed we are that they love us. When they ask God for something, they ask for it already believing that it has happened. So, we brought the girls out and we all prayed for God to work in this situation, that he would work in the Embassy employees hearts to the point that they would feel compelled to act on our behalf urgently, that they would grant the visas now, that these girls would not have to say goodbye to us again and we could come home together. I felt a great peace and haven't shed a tear since...which has only been a couple of hours now, but this is progress! :) I am sure there are tears to come. God gave us our emotions and the ability to feel them. Florence prayed that the next tears we cried would be tears of joy. Livingstone prayed that at 12:00 tomorrow we would get news that we needed. While I could not understand all the prayers as most of them were spoken in Lugandan, it did not matter. They were calling on the Lord with no fear - THANKING Him for what he has done over and over again - and for what He was going to do. They surrendered the girls to Him. They have taught these girls to pray so well too - I could hear their little whispers and it was so sweet, I can only imagine how pleased God is to hear the prayers of His little children.
So, tonight I am going to be very specific with my prayer requests:
- Pray for the Embassy employees that they will feel God's urging to approve our Visa's quickly.
- Pray that we will not have to say goodbye to these girls even for a few weeks and that they WILL come home with us very soon.
- Pray for our congressman and senator who are working on our behalf with the US Embassy in Kampala as well as the USCIS office in D.C. urging them to process the Visa's.
- Please pray for peace for Rachelle and I and for the girls. Pray that the spirit will guide us in our decisions and our path will be VERY clear in whether or not we take our flight tomorrow night.
- Pray that the devil will be kept far away from us.
- Pray for all the other many families here right now that are also waiting for Visa's - things are not moving quickly for others as well and all of these children need to come home with their families.
- Please thank God for what He has done for us here.
There is a song I have on my iTunes here by Josh Wilson called Before the Morning. I have listened to it many times since I have been here. If you get a chance, pull it up on the Internet and listen to it. It is a great message of hope and very fitting for anyone of us going through a difficult journey right now.
With much love and gratitude,
Sara
As always I am hear praying for you!
ReplyDeleteMelanie
It's 2:32 AM here in Mishawaka, and I have been awake for a while thinking about you and praying for all of you. We want you all home so badly! I have been asking God for some words of comfort to help us in this time of waiting and praying, and He brought these thoughts to mind. I hope they help you a little.
ReplyDeleteI am thinking about what Mary & Martha went through as they waited for Jesus to come and heal Lazarus. How difficult it was for them to watch their beloved brother suffer and die because Jesus didn't come when they thought he would. What they asked was not difficult for him, and they could think of no reason why he wouldn't grant their request. But, he waited four days. His reason. . . for the glory of God. I have a song that says, "Even though he's four days late, he's always right on time."
Sara & Rachelle, God is still always right on time. I don't understand why he is waiting, but I know he will be right on time.
I've prayed that he will wrap all four of you in his arms and give you the strength and peace you need to wait for his timing.
We're all going to shout and praise God when this is all accomplished.
Love you all!
Sharon
Sarah and Rachelle--I am praying that God does indeed give you peace and a swift end to all that you are going through. I also prayed that you will all be home with us soon and that all the families there will be quickly united with their loved ones.
ReplyDeleteSometimes we do not understand that God has his own timetable and that all things will be done on this timetable, but they will get done.
God Bless you all and all of those in the same situation there. I also pray for God's Blessing for all who have helped everyone there. Words cannot express our thanks to them. May God Bless you all!
Marcia and Steven Sharp