I'm writing this update from somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, between Alaska and Japan. I need to pinch myself, so I know it's real because it all still feels like a dream! Let me back up a few weeks – as many of you know, we have had a LONG wait for our immigration paperwork to be processed at the Korean Embassy. The group that was processed before ours took 3 weeks, ours took 3 months. Let's just say we were feeling very over-due for our call, and it started to feel as though it was never going to happen. About 2 weeks ago, we received word that our paperwork was finally nearing the final stage, and that we should be ready for a travel call within 1-3 weeks.
As you can imagine, we were ECSTATIC and glued to our phones daily. After two weeks of not hearing anything, we started to wonder if this was really going to happen. We were so ready to travel, and wanted to leave soon. Steve had been in between projects and was home for the week, the kids still had 2 weeks before school started – so we wanted our call desperately. We were concerned about having to wait to travel into September, while Steve's work picks up and the kids having the first week of school. Well, God knows all the ins/outs of our life and needs and couldn't have planned things better. We decided this week on Tuesday that we were going to try to travel as quickly as we could after we received our call, and not wait a week or two as many parents need to before being able to leave. We stayed up until 2am on Wednesday morning, packed every suitcase, wrote out all the instructions for our kiddos, the house, etc.. and went to bed. All night, I had dreams about getting our call. Sure enough, Wednesday morning, at 7:00, we got the call of our lives that our William is ready and we are free to travel anytime! We decided right then that we would try to leave the next day.
Under normal circumstances, we would never be able to hop on a flight the next day and travel across the globe. What made it possible for us, was being blessed by a friend of our family with 2 Buddy Passes on Delta Airlines. The passes allowed us to fly standby to/from Korea and only pay a fraction of the airfare. What a huge blessing!!!! However, the idea of flying stand-by is totally new ground for me, and sounded somewhat scary. I'd prefer to know exactly how things are going to go, have a plan and know what to expect. Talk about a stretch! However, God provided the blessing and we knew He would provide the open seats. So, we got listed on flights for the next day, did last minute details, and prepared to leave. The kids were staying behind with their grandparents, and they had the opportunity to go with Steve's parents to Michigan to see their cousins for 5 days. The timing couldn't have been better – the kids were thrilled at the idea of a road trip and a vacation to Michigan. This made saying goodbye to us much easier for them, and they were so excited for their adventure! We had a hard time leaving them, and I already miss them dearly. We'll be gone 8 nights, and usually only ever leave the kids for 1-2 nights at a time. I know they'll have a blast, but things just don't seem the same without them.
This brings us to our morning – my sweet mom gave us a ride to the airport at 5am and our adventure began! We didn't make it on the first flight, and listed for the next flight. Our hope was to make it to Detroit, and then there was a flight with plenty of openings from Detroit to Seoul. Standby for the second flight was a nail biter. They offered us 1 seat, but couldn't get us both on. About 2 minutes before they closed the door, there was a passenger who hadn't yet come to the gate and they were able to offer us each a seat. We walked on, and they closed the door right behind us. Thank you GOD!!! We arrived in Detroit and had a good run to the next gate, and saw were were listed as “cleared” for the flight to Seoul! I wish I could have gotten a picture of the screen, but we were in too much of a rush!! What's even better is they seated us in Business Class, which is such a huge blessing. I expected to be in the middle of two seats, with a kinked neck for 14 hours, and here I am stretched out in my little “apartment in the sky” getting endless Diet Cokes, and getting the sleep I missed from last night in a comfortable lazy-boy seat. God is good!! Truly, only the Lord could have arranged all of these details.
We'll be arriving in Seoul on Friday afternoon. We lose almost a full day by crossing over so many time zones. Let's hope my homeopathic “No Jet Lag” pills actually help! We'll be staying in Seoul for one week. I haven't gotten confirmation yet, but I believe we'll get to meet William on Monday or Tuesday. I can't even think about it yet, or I get too emotional! Then, William will go back with his foster mom for a few nights, and we'll hopefully get him the night before we fly home. We're really praying for a night at the hotel with him, rather than just getting him the morning we fly home.
This coming weekend marks the 1 year anniversary that we were matched with Will. It's been a long wait and harder than I expected. Each report and picture would bring so much joy, but such heartache knowing he was growing and developing and we were missing it. Yet, I still believe God was using that year in a hugely important way for his life. He's been in good hands, and very spoiled and love by his foster family. I look forward to the day when he will be able to meet his foster mom again and I can send her letters and pictures of him getting bigger. I know the good-bye will be very emotional for her, and I'm praying for God's comfort and strength as she delivers precious Will to his parents. I am eternally grateful for Mrs. Gong and her love for William.
I'll do my very best to keep the blog updated while we're in Seoul and will be posting pictures on Facebook. We appreciate all the prayers!! More to come!!
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