We decided to drive over to Jax last night and have less stress on the little man for the entire trip. We also had planned ahead and decided we would visit the zoo before our appointment. We left yesterday afternoon and made the 5 hour trip to Jax - arriving about 9pm. We were blessed to be able to use some Holiday Inn points for this stay - so that was a bonus! We arrived and ate a late dinner before heading to the hotel...the little man was wired and ran around the room for what felt like hours.
We had a few hours to pass before our appointment at 2pm so we took the little man to the zoo. He. Loved. It.!!! The zoo is pretty big so we started out in Africa - where else?!? Here are a few pictures from today.
So after fun in the sun - we grabbed some lunch, went back to the hotel to gather our things and freshen up, we made our way over to the USCIS office....which was only five minutes from our hotel. We got there a bit early, so we sat in the car...and had a time of prayer before we went in. Ethan started us off - he sat in his seat, hands folded, and jabbered prayer. It was the sweetest thing I have seen. Then Will continued - and we prayed before getting out of the car.
If you think the airport security is tough - try the office of Homeland Security. First, you are met at the door by security. Let me rephrase that... you are met outside the front door by security. You have to show your paperwork along with identification to get into the door out of the heat. You cannot take anything in with you. You have to remove anything and everything that is not clothing related from your person. You walk through a metal detector. After doing so, you take back your personal belongings. After that, you are handed back your paperwork and a number and directed to the table with the instructions on what to do next.
After completing the paperwork and let go of the appointment paperwork, we waited for our number to be called. We sat there, and I thought to myself - this could really be intimidating, even scary for a young child to go through immigration to become a US Citizen. And that is exactly what we were there for - we were there to do that work for our chid(ren). We endured and took upon ourselves the process to become a US Citizen so our child doesn't have to do that. I am humbled and so thankful to know that Jesus did the same for us - He took on sin so we don't have to. He stood in our place, died on the cross so that we can have free, eternal life in HIM!
After our fingerprinting we were wished the best of luck - we departed and thanked everyone we met and came into contact with. We thanked the security guard who met us outside, and Will graciously asked her if we may take a picture of the building..."you know...for our blog and adoption journey." He's into this - I about fell over right there. She informed us that no, we could not take a photo because it's a federal building. We thanked her. She said, thank you for asking. We headed towards the car and I remembered that there was a sign out by the road. I turned around and walked back to ask if we could take a picture of that sign. Again, no was the answer. I was satisfied...Will asked if we happened to be off the property and take a photo would that be ok? She hesitated...said well... and we thanked her. Will said as we departed, "have a blessed day." She in turn, in a much different tone, said happily and with a smile that we had not seen the entire time we were there, "I will. And you as well." I knew that God was present with us the entire time we were there. I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit...it was awesome. But on the way out we happened to have to wait for passing car...
We headed back home - knowing that God had led us on this entire trip. He sat beside us, He held our hands, He calmed our spirits and He heard our prayers. We were given our paperwork back with a stamp on it that said our fingerprinting had been completed. We now wait for the I-171H to arrive in our mailbox. When will that be? We do not know...it's all God's timing. You will know when we get it...I'm sure the world will know when we get it.
God wasn't done with us and letting us know His presence and that He's in this. God is awesome! He loves us sooo much - His timing is always right and on time. He had one more thing for us. But first... here's a question...how often do you notice the clouds as you are driving along the interstate in a decent amount of traffic? Yeah, me either. As we were driving home I look out the windshield...and I took a double take. Ok, a triple take. (of course I didn't grab the camera in time) I look over at Will, with my mouth hanging wide open...he said to me with a smile and a tear in the corner of his eye, "I bet you are going to say that cloud looks like the shape of Africa."
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