Getting Back to “Flower”

So, wow!! We have some amazing and just incredibly great hearted people in our lives that make us feel so incredibly blessed!

Over the weekend we asked a daughter of a friend (a former EE orphan) to take time out of her visit to “Flower’s” country to travel to “Flower’s” village to talk with the foster mom. I’m still finding it hard to comprehend how committed and amazing she is…don’t even know the right words, but this young lady traveled probably 15 HOURS to get to the village for a 45 min conversation and then ANOTHER 12 HOURS or so back to capitol city!! Who would do that?! Only this amazing young lady…and well, I am pretty certain her mama would have done it too. So incredible!

The good news: My friend’s daughter DID get to speak with “Flower” on the phone and told her she was coming, that we love her, and we have not given up. “Flower” told her to tell us that she loves us too and in her heart WE are her family. Ours too, baby girl…ours too!

More positive news: Foster mom did not slam the door in her face..she didn’t even sound to have gotten upset by the visit. She did not allow my friend’s daughter to come inside but did come out to sit with her on the porch to talk for about 45 mins.

The bad news: Foster mom says that it didn’t matter what she did or said, she could yell, scream, beg, cry, offer money, etc. that she would do NOTHING to help in the adoption. Foster mom said that she has nothing against our family, she thinks we are a good family, she has no problem with us adopting “Flower,” but she will not take any steps to assist. If we can do it without her assistance, she will not try to stop it.

Unfortunately, as far as we know, the ONLY way we can adopt “Flower” is if the foster family TAKES STEPS to release her from foster care. L *sigh* So now what?

I have emailed some American authorities (I won’t specify who because of blog trolls) to ask some questions about how this could be accomplished and if they know of any other cases where it has been. We are also discussing with our facilitator the possibility of meeting with “Flower’s” country’s officials (again, can’t specify because of trolls) to discuss her release. I don’t know if it’s been a successfully used route before but am trying to find out.

So…with the clock ticking, there sounds as though there is a very real possibility that a trip to “Flower’s” country will happen in the next few weeks. We will also need to figure out if our chances for success would be greater if Dan and I both traveled or not. If so, he MUST come with me. Looking at the cost of flights right now, I don’t see how we can both make the trip for under $2500. I know in the overall scheme of things that really isn’t much but it’s also money we don’t currently have. We DO, however, almost have a completed dossier, just working on a few tiny updates. Perhaps we can hand carry that with us as well.

If you feel led, would you please pray for wisdom and favor in this situation (and finances)? The best news is that “Flower” knows we love her and will not give up on her, so at least we can have peace in that.

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