We've been home a week!!

Hello,

We've been home for one week... wow, what a whirlwind. I guess the last time I blogged, we were just getting ready to leave for the airport. Belicia continued to get sick... in the taxi, in the airport... just as we're going through security, a nosebleed... oh my!!! We gave her a Dramimine and she slept the entire flight. Then she got sick at JFK and on the way home. We were really concerned, so our doctor saw her at the hospital. Sunday morning was the last time she got sick and everyone feels it was from nerves. We had a fabulous party Friday night and she has settled in beautifully. She loves the United States, our church, and her new family.

We went to the beach after church on Sunday. She had never seen the ocean before; she really didn't know what to make of it. She said she really liked Rehoboth and all of the seagulls.

We took her to the eye doctor and come to find out she is blind in her left eye. A toxo-parasite has destroyed her vision. She is going to an infectious disease specialist to see if it's still in her body. Today she got her new glasses; these are just for protection of her right eye. Then we went to the salon and all had our hair done. We took her to Panera Bread and she loved it!!!

Things are going great. She's eating and sleeping with no problems. We're going away this weekend for Bethany's birthday... on Sunday we're going to Chocolate World at Hershey. I KNOW she's going to love it. Next week is Thanksgiving and I'll have to get Mandy to explain this holiday to her. I want to find a children's book on American history for her in Spanish. Barnes & Noble said I can order through their site. I just need to find a few minutes to do that.

Got to get to bed... it's GREAT to be home!!!!
Kathy

U.S.A. HERE WE COME!!!

Hola,

Ooohhh, our last day here in beautiful Colombia. I told Helena that I was a little sad because I feel as though Colombia is a part of me. I think this program is great whereas it requires the family to stay in the country until the process is completed. Even before arriving here, I thought it was a great idea. Now that we´ve been here for so long, I appreciate what Colombia is trying to accomplish by having us stay. Yes, it has been a long and crazy process, but it has been fabulous!! We have learned so much about the people here and have a much better understanding of this culture and Belicia´s background.

Today we went to the old city... it was okay. Later I went to the US Embassy and picked up Belicia´s visa. It´s so funny because when she looks at her passport and sees her legal Colombian name, she gets a little upset and says that is not her name.... her name is Belicia. Trying to explain to her that we are going to make the legal changes at home is a bit difficult.

Tonight we walked down the street to a great Tex-Mex restaurant and then headed to Baskin -Robbins. I know, I know we shouldn´t have, but it was very good. I haven´t had good ice cream since we left home.

Belicia is still getting sick. She got sick at the mall this afternoon, when we arrived back to the hotel, and just now. I can´t wait to get home and get her to the doctor. Helena stopped by a drug store and bought me some stuff to give her for the flight. She said it will help her stomach during the flight and make her very drowsy. I hope it helps!!

Well, after being here for a couple of days, we can easily say we are extremely thankful that we spent the huge bulk of this trip in Medellin and at the Intercontinental. There is nothing wrong with Bogota, but it´s more of a typical city. It´s much colder and they get much more rain here. Luckily the short time that we´ve been here has been the best weather that they have had since the end of September. Even though this hotel is nice, Jim and I both are thankful beyond words for the Intercontinental. We had so much to do there; there is really nothing to do here.

Tina, I´m getting ready to go upstairs and tell the girls about the weather report. Boy, wouldn´t it be something to see some snow flurries!! Well, I´m going to go. Our cars will be here shortly to pick us up to go to the airport. I can´t believe I´m finally saying that!!!

Chao,
Kathy

Okay, rest of story...

Hola,

Okay, to finish where I left off before dinner... so we made it into Bogota and we went to Betty´s Place. She was so friendly, but to put it kindly, the place needed some serious updating. I was very unhappy about staying, but Jim insisted. After we were given some lunch, Helena (our coordinator) picked us up and we went to the doctor. He said Belicia was fine, but his concern for her eye was that she has a parasite or virus that is very common in Putumayo. He said that they find many times that if treated, the eye goes back to normal. The last doctor that came to the hotel seemed to think she may have a stomach parasite. We are going to have her checked when we get home because on the way to the US Embassy, she got sick in Helená´s car and then she got sick again tonight just before dinner. The doctor yesterday wrote down the names of the parasite and virus that she could have. He said that the US doctors can easily check her and treat her.

I´m not even going to go into all of the details of what I didn´t like about our accomadations, but I do think Jim changed his mind about going somewhere else in the middle of the night. It was cold last night and there was no heat, so we asked for a little space heater. We turned it on and closed the door most of the way. I was getting a headache and after about an hour in bed I began to smell a horrific odor... it smelled like septic!!! Jim got up and tried to figure out what was going on and I took some Advil... my head was killing me. There was nothing we could do because Betty does not reside there and the one housekeeper that lives there, doesn´t speak or understand English. We had an absolutely miserable night, to say the least. I told Jim in the morning, we need to go somewhere else. He called Helena around 7:45 a.m. telling her we needed some place else for tonight. She called a lot of the big hotels and they had no rooms. She did call her favorite, as she calls it, petite hotel, The Halifax, and they did have one room available. She picked us up at 8:30 to go to the US Embassy, but let us stop and look at the hotel first. Belicia had just gotten sick three (3) blocks before we arrived. Since she signaled to me that she was going to get sick, I was able to put a couple of jackets in her lap. When we arrived, the lady came out immediately and helped with Belicia. She had her staff take her shirt and the jackets, they kept them here to clean. The hotel representative gave her a clean shirt to wear to the Embassy... very nice people. Anyway, this place is so much nicer!!! Jim called Betty and told her what was going on and she completely understood and apologized several times. Bogota had a horrible rain storm come through the night before we arrived and what happened was the water had seeped into our rooms. We didn´t notice the odor at first because they had our patio doors opened when we arrived. Anyway, after the Embassy, we went back to pack up our belongings (very little had been taken out) and Helena had a guide, named Jorge, meet us to pick up our luggage. When we returned, the girls room began smelling really bad too. Betty had professionals waiting for us to leave so they could get in and get everything taken care of. She felt so bad that she did not charge us for the stay.

We came over here to The Halifax and got situated and then Jorge walked us down to Avianc´s office. They had wanted to charge us $600 in penalties for changing our tickets, plus almost $400 in airfare rate differences. What a blessing... Jorge used to work with the lady in the office and they were good friends!!! She was VERY nice to us. It took about an hour, but she was able to waive all of the fees and lower our rate difference down to $37... thank you Lord!!!! It was also a blessing to find out that our tickets included the departure taxes for Jim, Bethany, and myself.... another $150.

Well, we are settled into a nice place and are preparing to turn in for our last night in Colombia... finally, we are coming home. Jorge´s wife is going to pick us up at 9:30 a.m. for a little sight seeing and then I have to go back to the Embassy at 3:30 p.m. to pick up Belicia´s Visa. It was strange today walking into the Embassy, seeing hundreds of people trying to apply for their Visas, we walk in, go to a special window for US Citizens, they wait on us immediately, and we´re in and out in 1 1-2 hours. You kind of feel bad for all of those who having been waiting, and will continue to wait, for hours.

I´m not sure if I´ll get a chance to blog tomorrow before we head to the airport (8:00 p.m.), so if not, I am MORE than excited about seeing most of you Friday night. Belicia is excited beyond belief. She keeps saying, ¨Bye bye Bogota, hello United States¨ She is sooooo excited about her fiesta, too.

FYI, once we get home, I will only blog once or twice for Belicia´s sake. I want to download this entire blog for her life book and I want to close with the first few days in her new home. When I get home, there is NO WAY I´ll have time to keep this up. Thanks again to all of you that have sent comments over the last several weeks and to all of you that have prayed for us during this journey. THANK YOU!!

God bless and Chao,
Kathy

We´re in Bogota, but crazy journey!!!

Hola,

This may take some time to type; I´m typing from a spanish computer and they have a slightly different keyboard than we have. Dinner is going to be served soon and my laptop is not connecting, so I´ll blog a little now and hopefully I´ll be able to get back on here later. Before I begin telling you about today´s crazy events, I´ll go back to us trying to get out of Medellin. We got Belicia´s passport with no problem, we were packed and ready to leave. Jim went downstairs to pay our bill and to send up a bell captain. After he left and I completed the packing, all of the electricity on our floor and the elevators went out!!! I´m wondering if Jim is stuck in the elevators and he is wondering is our luggage is stuck in the elevators. I took the girls and began going down the emergency stairs. As we descended, I began to check the doors leading onto the other floors.... they were all locked. As we continued to descend, I began to get a little nervous thinking we´re not going to be able to get out of the stairwell. Luckily, the first floor did have a crashbar and we made it to the lobby. Gloria was down there with Jim and we needed to move VERY quickly to get to the airport. I told the bell captain the electric was out and we HAD to make our flight. He realized we had been there a very, very long time and he was not about to let us miss our flight. He called some men to go up seven (7) flights of stairs and bring all of our luggage down (7 very large and heavy bags; 4 carry ons). I felt bad, but we weren´t going to miss that plane!!! After a huge whirlwind of getting the luggage and paying the bill (oh yeah, our credit card didn´t want to work!!!!), we finally said ¨good bye¨ to Medellin.

Forty minutes later (and two vehicles for our luggage), we made it to the airport. Before I packed, I asked about the weight of our luggage and were told we could pack 25 K in each bag. As we were rushing to check in, they weighed our luggage and said that we were way over our weight limit. They said we could only have 20 K. After Gloria and about four supervisors went round and round, they realized our plane was taking off in 10 minutes. They said to forget it and let our luggage go. They scambled to get our boarding passes and we rushed to get through security. As you can guess, we were the last ones on the plane, but we made it!!!

Dinner is ready, so I´m going to close. Hopefully, I will be able to get back on later and tell you the rest of the story... not a good night!!

Hasta luego,
Kathy

Last full day in Medellin

Hola,

Believe it or not, this has been a bitter-sweet day. Yes, we are excited to begin our journey home, but this city and country is so fabulous, the people are wonderful, and the other adopting families are so interesting that we are sad about leaving. Yesterday as we were in the taxi going to the mall, I was explaining to Belicia that she will be Colombian American. She said no... she wanted to be only an American and did not want to be a Colombian. Yes, I realize that she truly doesn't understand what she is saying, but it made me a little sad to hear that. I kept telling her how wonderful it is to be Colombian... it's a great country. I understand that her association to her nationality is connected to her past in Mocoa. As she gets older, she'll realize what a blessing it is to have a dual citizenship.

Gloria is going to pick Jim and Belicia up at 7:00 a.m. to go to the passport office. We're hoping to be able to catch the 11:45 a.m. flight to Bogota, but if not, the next flight is at 1:00 p.m. Laura, unfortunately we will not be staying at the Embassy Suites. The other hotels we looked at wanted $300-$400 per night and did not offer an adoption rate. Embassy Suites did offer a special rate, but had no openings. We found out through Colombian Chat about a home called "Betty's Place". I found nothing but positive comments on-line. Actually the night I called to speak with Betty, an American, that had been there for three weeks, answered the phone. She said that they have been extremely happy with staying there, so we ended up booking a room. It's a huge house and we'll have a large bedroom with a fireplace and our own private bathroom. They prepare our breakfast and dinner; I've heard the food is excellent. Betty treats everyone as if she's known them for years. She's an American that married a Colombian 30 years ago and has run this home for adopting families for 15 years now.

Dad, before I forget... my email came back, so here is our flight information:
Friday, November 9th, JFK
Avianca Flight #20
Arriving 5:00 a.m. from Bogota
Avianca's phone #800-284-2622

For anyone needing to reach us by cell phone, Jim's cell phone has died. I took it out of the safe this evening and it's not powering up. He even tried to put my battery in it and it did not work. If you need us, call my cell; it will work once we land Friday morning.

This morning we had a great time at the pool with all of the other adopting families. Unfortunately, Belicia ended up with another horrible nose bleed. Her hand was cupped and full of blood. Fortunately, the doctor couple from Germany was right there and the wife took care of Belicia immediately. She got it stopped and we came back up to the room.... it began to bleed again. She was on the bed with fresh white sheets and as it was bleeding, for some reason, she decided to blow out very hard. Well, you guessed correctly... no more fresh white sheets. Jim and I felt bad about having to call housekeeping back; they change the sheets every day and she had just left our room. If this continues, we will definitely have to see a doctor about it when we get home. Later tonight Eduardo picked the whole group of us up again. I wanted to go Panamericana; it's a lot like a Barnes & Noble and it just opened last week. It was very nice, but I do like Barnes & Noble better; they have a warmer, cozier feel.

That's it for tonight; hopefully I'll be able to blog tomorrow night from chilly Bogota. Belicia was by the pool this morning... about 77 degrees, under a thick towel, and saying, "Muy frio" (very cold). Muy frio at 77 degrees??? Boy is she in trouble!!!

Buenas noches,
Kathy

WE HAVE HER BIRTH CERTIFICATE!!!

Hola,

We got the call from Racquel... she has Belicia's birth certificate!!! We will speak with Gloria tomorrow to find out what time she will pick us up on Tuesday. Jim and I both agree... as early as possible. Hey, did any of you see on FOX News what happened in Bogota yesterday? They had a major hail storm; when I saw the video footage on FOX, my mouth literally dropped open. Jim went down to the gym and picked up the newspaper so we can bring home some pictures of it. Again, we thank the Lord that we were here this weekend... hummmm... 80 some degrees and sun vs. hail storm (bbbrrrrrrrrr cold!!)... man, that's a tough call; which would you choose?

We've had a nice and relaxing day today. Since Gloria is still gone, we got a taxi from the hotel and went over to the Oviedo Mall again. This mall is unbelievably huge (3-4 levels) and much of it is open air. When we left the hotel, the sky was blue. While we were there, it began to pour. It's very strange to walk along store fronts and it's pouring in the center between you and the other side of the stores. We found a nice shop with tons of hair accessories... very inexpensive, so the girls and I bought a few pieces. They had a nice bookstore; it offered very few bi-lingual books for children, but we found a gem. It tells a story along with pictures and sounds. It will really help her with English sentence structure and her prepositions. For example, if in the paragraph a sentence says, "The frog is sitting behind the dog.", it will have a picture on the bottom of the page showing that. The page beside it will have it in Spanish along with sound bites in Spanish and English for the nouns, frog and dog. It's a tremendous book and she loves it.

We're finding Belicia is allergic to other medicines also. She's been getting a lot of hives the last couple of days. Bethany has a new friend that is 11 years old and is from Germany. They have just adopted a little five year old boy. Both of the parents are doctors and while I was talking with the mother this morning by the pool, Belicia had a horrible nose bleed. Belicia had four more after that, so the mother gave us some homeopathic medicine for treatment. She treats children for allergies and skin conditions and said that this is nothing to be alarmed about; it's not uncommon. I'm not sure, but we are definitely carrying tissues everywhere we go.

We did have a fabulous dinner last night with Daniel and the two dads. Daniel told us something that just blew my mind and I had to ask him again to repeat himself because I thought surely I misunderstood him. He said that here in Medellin alone, there are approximately 30,000 (yes, thirty thousand) children mostly between the ages of 5-15 on the streets. I asked him if most of them had parents with them and he said, "No, most of them are alone or with gangs." Like I had mentioned yesterday, he works on the streets with these children and he told us some of the most heartbreaking stories. Oh... you wish you could somehow help them all...

Oh, by the way, now that you've turned your clocks back, we're on the same time as all of you on the East Coast.

Buenas noches,
Kathy

Wonderful day!!

Buenas Tardes (Good Evening),

So much to tell... I'll start at the beginning of the day. The two other dads and us met Eduardo at 10:30 a.m. and went over to the flea market; it was huge. We only had a chance to see maybe 1/3 of it, but all of us really enjoyed it. Some items were like yard sale stuff, but most of it was jewelry, hand craft items, clothing, etc. Eduardo dropped all of us off and said he would park his truck and then find us. All of us were like, "You're going to find us... in this large of place... with this many people???" He said, "Absolutely... no problem." We joked with him and told him that we hope he doesn't have to call his mom (Racquel of Casa de Maria) and tell her that he's lost eight (8) Americans!!! Sure enough about an hour later I was watching Jim and Bethany do something and glanced to the right of me and Eduardo was standing there with this smug look on his face as if he were saying, "Told you I would find you." He gathered us all together and said to follow him. He brought us to meet the fifth family that just adopted from Casa de Maria, but they are staying at The Four Points Sheraton. While all of us were standing around talking, Eduardo went and bought us all drinks... get this, pure sugar cane juice... yummy!!! I brought Bethany over to watch the extraction process... very interesting.

After the flea market, Eduardo brought us back to the hotel. During the whole morning and even standing in the lobby after our day out, we were able to be involved in some good dialogue with these two dads. All of us decided to meet down at the pool and let the children swim. This is where it got very exciting for us and we knew, that we knew, God had us here for this time. As we walked through the health club and I looked to my right, I saw a gentleman sitting there that I recognized from a couple of weeks ago and I said, "Hello". Of course his comment was, "You're still here!" He is from the U.S., has lived in Colombia for 21 years, is a professor at the university, and is also a single dad of two Colombian children that he adopted. His name is Daniel; he's 55 years old and is absolutely amazing. The children he adopted are actually off of the street. The oldest, now four years old, was a newborn. He found the mother of the baby, age 13, on the street and gave her shelter and food. She allowed him to adopt her baby. When she got pregnant again at the age of 15, he adopted that child as well. Now she is pregnant again and he will be adopting the third child as well. He, himself, is an orphan, was on the streets as a child, and knows all too well about abuse. In addition to teaching, he works with the children on the streets here in Medellin on a daily basis. He teaches English, for free, here at the hotel and is actually writing a book about a technique he has developed for teaching language. The class he teaches at the college has a two year waiting list and the US Army has approached him asking him to teach them his teaching techniques. I'm saying all of this because his background coupled with what he does now as an adult, is EXACTLY what both of these dads need; especially the one who just adopted the 14 year old who lived on the streets for 11 years and cannot read or write. When I told Daniel about the two dads, he said he wanted to meet them and since they were sitting over at the restaurant, I brought him over and introduced him to them. Daniel, the two dads, and myself talked for about 1 1/2 hours. Come to find out, Daniel is a very strong Christian and was able to give both gentleman wonderful advise concerning both of their situations. He is going to be a huge resource of knowledge to the dad of the 14 year old; he's been in the teenager's shoes, he works with street kids, he is multi-lingual, plus he knows how to bring a 14 year old that is on a fourth grade level up to where he should be academically. The teenager has no interest in learning English and has no interest in talking to adults. Daniel was able to little by little finally have a very small dialogue with him. He was able to communicate a few important things to him about education and about God. Hopefully over the time they are here, Daniel will be able to make a ton of progress with him. Several times throughout our conversation, Daniel said that all of us sitting there together was NOT by chance and that the Lord ordained it. Later on, Jim and I both said to ourselves that we only ran into Daniel once in 30 plus days. If we were not here today, we would of never run into him, and we would of never been able to introduce him to the other two dads that so desperately need his help in both raising the boys and spiritually.

Well, I'm going to get ready for dinner. Daniel will be joining us tonight for dinner. I told Jim that I really don't know any single dads, especially dads that have adopted children. Now, we're having dinner with three (3) of them...we're excited!!

Chao,
Kathy (No longer "Captive in Colombia"... we're excited... God's using us!!)

After MUCH prayer, God obviously has us here for a purpose

Hola,

Where do I begin??? Today was a day of excitement, patience, disappointment, and ultimately excitement again. Since we were waiting for phone calls, Jim and I took turns going down to breakfast. Our day began with a phone call early this morning from Isabel (in Bogota) saying that our papers were on the bus and she will see us in Bogota later in the day. Bethany and I were so excited; we were running around finishing up packing. About 10-15 minutes later Racquel (director of Casa de Maria) called and said she did not know whether or not the papers were on the bus. She was confused as to how Isabel would have that information. She said even if the papers were on the bus, it's very possible the bus won't make it in at all today. She said there was a ton of rain in the southern part of the country and some roads were washed out and there were mudslides causing roads to close. Since we didn't know what was going on and needed to stay by the phone ready to leave on a moments notice, we literally stayed in our room, with our bags packed, until close to 3:00 p.m. When it got close to 3:00 p.m., we knew it really didn't matter because the office for passports closed at 3:00 p.m. Around that time, Racquel called and said that the papers never even got on the bus yesterday, but she would call us and let us know if anything happens today. Gloria had to leave for her sister's wedding, so we took a hotel taxi just down the street to get some more groceries. After the girls had some yogurt, Jim took them down to the pool so I could make some calls to Bogota. While up in the room, Racquel called and said that the papers were completed and were in the office at the bus station ready for tomorrow's bus at 1:00 p.m. (she was given a routing number). The bus should arrive in Medellin around 7:00 a.m. Sunday and after the driver sleeps, Racquel should receive the papers around 6:00 p.m. She said she will call us Sunday night when the papers are in her hands.

We will go to the passport office very early Tuesday morning, fly to Bogota, and then go to the US Embassy doctor in the afternoon. As of now, we have a flight scheduled for Thursday night arriving Friday morning. Can you believe another flight change... another penalty. When we changed the tickets to Wednesday night, there was not a difference in airfare. Unfortunately by changing it to Thursday night, there's airfare difference on all four of our tickets (yes, I have a sad face as I type that sentence).

Now, to the exciting part I mentioned in the beginning. We had a TON of prayer yesterday and last night regarding our situation here. Jim and I said this afternoon that it is very obvious that the Lord wants us here this weekend. It's very interesting because after I made a few phone calls, I went to join Jim and the girls down by the pool. Jim was in a conversation with a gentleman in his late 60's that just adopted a 14 year old boy from Casa de Maria a few days ago. His wife and him never had children and she passed away in 2006. He retired as a professor when he was 55, went to law school, and now runs his own practice on Long Island for the last eight years. Sadly, he knows nothing about parenting and is really struggling. The 14 year old lived on the streets with no family until a couple of years ago when Casa de Maria took him in. This teenager is a major, major challenge for this gentleman. He is only in the fourth grade, so the father was extremely interested in learning about homeschooling. We talked a long time about different issues regarding parenting. If he does not get a handle on this boy, it's very likely he will run away when he gets to the States. He has a lot of "street smarts" and feels he can take care of himself. Then we ran into another single man (around our age) from Atlanta that just adopted a seven year old boy from Casa de Maria (Belicia knows both of these boys, so they're having fun). Tomorrow all of us (the two single dads and their boys) are going to pile into Eduardo's (driver filling in for Gloria) Land Rover and head over to Casa de Maria and then to a flea market. Apparently this market is only open the first Saturday of the month and features a lot of hand crafted items. We're not really interested in buying, but it will be a nice change of pace. Get this... the two dads want to get together with us for dinner tomorrow night down by the pool. Could they be part of the reason we're still here....????

I can honestly say that I am very happy to be here. When powerful prayer warriors are in prayer for you, and God doesn't answer that prayer the way we ask, then you KNOW He has more important things to accomplish... things that could be eternal. Even though we may never fully know what it is or to what extent we are used, it is exciting!!

Going to get some sleep...

Hasta luego,
Captive in Colombia

Still up in the air and house call #4

Hola,

Thank you so much for those of you that have been praying for us this afternoon and this evening. For those of you who don't know what's going on, here is a quick review. We got no answers this morning; Racquel was supposed to call us first thing, but when we called the orphanage, they said she wouldn't be in until tomorrow at noon. No one there could understand English, so we called Isabel in Bogota. She checked into what was going on and come to find out the papers were not on the bus last night. When we saw Gloria, she said that Fanny and everyone at the orphanage were very concerned and had been on the phone with Mocoa. Fanny said that she was told that they would have the papers on the bus tonight.

Our problem now is that if the papers are on the bus, the bus needs to come in around 10:00 a.m. I spoke with Isabel and she said that we need to see the US Embassy doctor in Bogota by 5:15 p.m. or we cannot see him until Tuesday afternoon. If you read this tonight, please pray that the bus gets in early. We need to get Belicia to the office for her passport (1 hour process), get loaded up from the hotel, get to the airport (45 min. drive), fly to Bogota, get luggage, clear airport, then go straight to the doctor. What a whirlwind... one that none of us will mind. If we get to the doctor tomorrow, we may be able to get home Wednesday. Isabel called me this morning and said that the US Embassy will not be closed on Monday. As of right now, we have plane tickets for Wednesday night (11:30 pm Bogota - 5:00 a.m. JFK) arriving Thursday morning.

Melinda, thanks so much for your offer! Hopefully everything is taken care of and the papers are out of Mocoa.

Baker Family - Yes, we want grapefruit and/or oranges. You can email us at jamesbaker348@comcast.net and give us the details and we can email you back with what we want. Thanks so much for thinking of us... we love the fruit!

Your asking, "What's the deal with house call #4?" This morning Belicia was playing around and fell off the bed and twisted her ankle. No big deal, but I gave her Children's Motrin along with some water and within minutes she was at the toilet vomiting. The rest of the day she didn't have much of an appetite and said her stomach bothered her a little. We went to the Oviedo Mall for awhile and she was fine, but a little tired. When we got back to the hotel, she felt hot and had a fever of 103.3 and complained of a headache. I gave her Advil and within a 1/2 - 3/4 hour she had some bumps on her arm. Since she may have to see the US Embassy doctor tomorrow, Jim and I really didn't want to take any chances, so we called for the doctor. By the time he got here (40 min.), the bumps were gone. Come to find out, she has the same virus that Bethany and many others had a couple of weeks ago. The doctor thinks the same as we do... she's allergic to Ibuprofen. By bedtime she was back to her bouncy, silly self.

When we went to the mall, we got to go to our first Juan Valdez Cafe... YUMMY!! Most of you know I'm a Starbucks fan, but this beat Starbucks. We got a sampling... Jim got coffee, Bethany got a frozen brownie coffee, and Belicia got hot chocolate. All three were great!

Going to get some sleep...

Buenas noches,
Captive in Colombia

One more week

Hola,

Finally someone has explained to us what is going on with Belicia's birth certificate. After Gloria called this morning and said it would not be in today, I told Jim we need to speak with Racquel and have her explain to us exactly what's going on. After a couple of calls, this is what it boiled down to... they do offer express service here in Colombia through DHL, but it only works with major cities. Racquel told us that the city she is from, Mocoa, is in an extremely poor and dangerous region and services such as DHL do not go there. One option they use to send documents is the driver of a passenger bus. Since the orphanage did not have a driver going to Mocoa last Tuesday, they had to send our finalized adoption papers down using the mail system. Our papers were just received today, but were sent out last Tuesday. Racquel did speak with someone there that said they did have our papers and would pull her birth certificate and put it on a bus today. The bus was supposed to leave 6:00 p.m. tonight, drive 18 hours straight through, and arrive in Medellin at noon. Since the girl in Mocoa that was supposed to get our papers on the bus left the office to make deliveries and then went straight home, Racquel is not 100% sure whether she got our packet on the bus. Racquel does not have her cell number, but will call her first thing in the morning. As long as the documents are here tomorrow or Friday, we will be home Thursday. We just feel so much better now that we understand exactly what is going on. This afternoon after lunch, the servers were asking us what's going on and when are we heading to Bogota. As we were explained this to them, we mentioned that she's from Mocoa. Their eyes got big and two of them said, "SHE'S... Mocoa? AAHH, now understand why take long... very far, very poor, very dangerous".

Well, that's about it. Most of our day was consumed with taking care of this and calling Delaware/Maryland to reschedule many appointments that were scheduled next week. Hopefully tomorrow night we'll be in Bogota; we're ready for a change in scenery!!

Chao,
Captive in Colombia

"Captive in Colombia" won

These are pictures taken with my smaller digital camera from about 1 1/2 weeks ago when we went to the El Tesoro Mall. I couldn't find my cable that I needed in order to download the pictures. These are some of the rides the girls enjoyed that are located in the center of the mall.



Far cry from the Salisbury or Dover Mall, huh?



Jim and Bethany racing; she won because he got stuck!!

Hola,

A big thanks to all of you that posted comments or sent emails voting for our new name. We have a winner... Captive in Colombia. It was very close between that one and "Going Mad in Medellin".

We didn't do much today. Jim took the girls to the pool this afternoon while I packed some more. While I packed, I turned on some Joyce Meyer broadcasts on my laptop. She said something that I've heard before, but it hit home harder this time. She talked about how we talk about the faith we have in God, but how can we truly have faith until we are put into situations that force us to put that faith into action. That is so true... when our prayers are answered quickly and we are rescued quickly from situations, we never get the opportunity to exercise our "faith muscles". God has brought us through different situations throughout the years which have helped grow our faith. I believe with all my heart that He is growing us to a new level of faith in order for our testimony and walk with Him to be that much stronger. I remember a Wednesday night years ago, when Laurel Wesleyan was still in the old building, Pastor Todd asked us what was our favorite attribute of God... I remember that my answer was, "His faithfulness". It still is.

Hopefully tomorrow will be the day we receive her birth certificate. If we make it to Bogota tomorrow, I'm not sure where we will be staying, so I'm really not sure of internet access. Hopefully I'll be able to continue our blog once we get there, but if not, you'll know it's because I'm having trouble getting a connection. I should be able to connect without trouble, but you never know.

Going to turn in...

Chao,
"Captive in Colombia"

After three days staying in, we got out today!

Hola,

I know, I know... very bizarre sculptures. Today we visited the Museum of Antioquia here in Medellin. We strolled through the inside for awhile. Bethany enjoyed it, but Belicia held on for about half way and then became bored. Of course it was hard to understand Gloria as she tried to explain some of the art, but from what we could gather, there is one artist that portrays all of his sculptures (above) and paintings, how shall I say.... oversized. There was an entire wing that displayed his paintings... everything and everyone was comically oversized. I didn't take any pictures inside, but the photos above give you an idea of what we saw.

Okay, now for the bad news... Gloria said that she spoke with Fanny this morning. Fanny said that she called the people that are retrieving Belicia's birth certificate and they said that we should have it Wednesday morning. Timing will be everything; if we do not apply for Belicia's visa by Thursday, we won't be home until later next week (remember, The US Embassy is closed on Fridays). Come to find out, Monday is a holiday, All Saints Day, which will possibly hold things up another day.

At breakfast this morning, we met some very interesting people. The buffet bar was out of syrup for Bethany's french toast and a gentleman noticed that I needed help asking for some. He asked me in English what I needed and then found a server and asked in Spanish for me. Come to find out, he was born in Cuba and was in the Peter Pan program when he was 13 years old (I believe he said it was a program for Cuban refugees... again, hard to understand with the Spanish accent) and was adopted by a family in Iowa (he looked to be around 50, so it was many years ago). He was raised in Iowa, but now lives in Bogota. He was extremely helpful in giving us some ideas of places to visit and eat while in Bogota. While I was speaking with him, Jim met a family, from various places throughout the States, that was here for a wedding. They know several people that have adopted internationally and was very interested in ours. They said the same thing we keep hearing about how Americans are terrified of Colombia. They all said their friends thought they were crazy to come here. There was a large group of them... mostly in their 60's and they said that they have had a fabulous time here.

Jim got a haircut today in the hotel salon. You would expect at a resort such as this sky high prices, but no. Check out these prices... a man's haircut is only $10, manicure is only $5, and a pedicure is only $8. When Jim was asking at the front desk the price of pedicures (for me, not him), he questioned the $8 (because it's so cheap) and they told him that they realize it's a little expensive and in town you can get one for $5... that's amazingly low. Jim keeps telling me to get one, but I just haven't felt like it. He wanted to schedule a massage for me (only $10... again, amazingly low), but it's so uncomfortable having these kinds of services done when you can't understand what they are saying and they can't understand you.

We asked Gloria about going to the coffee plantation. She said that it was still not safe to go and Racquel did not want us travelling far. This was the first time she told us how far the plantation is... two (2) hours away. We had no idea it was that far, obviously we would not want to go. We thought maybe 15-20 out of town... well, at least we're enjoying the coffee!! While at the museum's gift shop, we tried a marmalade made with a bit of coffee... yummy!!! They were out of stock (just the sample was available), so when we went to the grocery store, we found two (2) jars of the same brand... considerably cheaper than the gift shop. We also found a bag of these coffee candies that they give out at the mall when you exchange money... again... yummy. So bottom line... our favorite treats we've picked up: chocolate covered coffee beans, some kind of fruit/coffee marmalade, and coffee candy. I'm sure versions of these items can be found in the States, but I've never seen them in little Seaford.

Yes, I know I'm rambling, but I'm going stir crazy. This is what Jim did tonight - since we're staying at the hotel all day tomorrow, Jim said, "Since we're staying home tomorrow, let's...". What did he say?... "home"??? The servers keep telling us, "This you home, whatever you like". Sssshhhh... if you're quiet, you can hear me screaming. Honestly, I am saying all of this light heartily.

Oh, before I close... THANK YOU to everyone that helped with the Upward Soccer Ceremony tonight. It was such a blessing to know that everything was taken care of and we did not have to worry about a thing. Jim spoke with Jason tonight and found out everything went well and the entertainer/speaker that we hired did a fabulous job. Jim can't wait to speak with Pastor Ken tomorrow to find out how many people gave their heart to the Lord... remember basketball... we had 30 some children and few adults give their heart to the Lord for the first time (that was exciting!!). Basketball sign-ups begin November 19th... will we be there???? Mom, I'm joking, we'll be home soon.

We need your vote... Jim and I are going to rename ourselves. Which do you like better:

Instead of Sleepless in Seattle, do you like
-Going Mad in Medellin
-Crazy in Colombia
-Captive in Colombia

Buenas noches,
Kathy

Four weeks!!!

Hola,

Wow... can you believe that we left four (4) weeks ago?!?!? Hopefully, I won't be blogging this time next week and saying, "Can you believe that we left (5) weeks ago?" OOOHHHH, we won't go there...

Today was much like yesterday; nothing really new. I did begin to pack because when her birth certificate does arrive, we're going to have to move fast. Racquel, the director of Casa de Maria, called us today. We were hoping she was calling with good news, but she wanted to check in and see how we were doing. She said it could come Monday, Tuesday, who knows... we just need to be patient. She said that she realizes this is taking an extremely long time, but Putumayo is very far away. This thing with the distance we still don't understand; to us, if you express something, it doesn't matter that it's "X" amount of miles away. I guess we are very spoiled in our country by how quickly we can get everything.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that yesterday the hotel sent to our room complimentary chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, and bottled water. Jim said to me jokingly, "Well I guess when you stay an entire month, that's what you get." This is horrible... the girls were in their room and they didn't know that the goodies had been delivered. We were so tempted not to tell them about it... those strawberries looked so good... BUT... we did call them in. I know there are a lot of chocolate lovers out there reading this that would have been tempted not to share also... I won't mention any names!!! You should have seen Belicia's face when she saw them. When she went to eat them, she was very careful not to eat the cap of the strawberries... this time!!! The other night at dinner we let the girls get the dessert bar. Well, Belicia got cheesecake with strawberries dipped in whipped cream. Bless her heart... she put the entire strawberry in her mouth... cap and all. Jim and I tried to stop her, but as she chewed, she realized something was wrong. We went and got another strawberry off the bar and explained that she's not to eat the green part. All four of us cracked up laughing... things we take for granted! Frazier family... I know you can relate!!

Well, if we don't hear anything tomorrow, we still want Gloria to come and pick us up and take us somewhere... anywhere. We may check out a museum or the botanical gardens. We know that the girls won't be thrilled, but at least it will be change of pace. We'd still love to go to a coffee plantation, but Jim's thinking that because the election was just today, Racquel will say it's still not safe; we will at least ask.

That's it for now...

Chao,
Kathy

Still no birth certificate

Hola,

I talked with Gloria today and she said that the birth certificate is still not ready. Fanny said that it would be here by today, but now it may not be until Monday or Tuesday when we receive it. Jim and I talked about things and he had me call Mom regarding the party they are throwing for Belicia. Since it looks as though we won't be home until Friday, Saturday, Sunday... or who knows when... I told Mom that the party should probably be moved to the following Friday. I think everyone is in agreement... there are too many unknowns. I did cancel my hotel reservations in NYC and our flight for Monday night.

Guess what the girls did today... they went swimming!!!! Jim said maybe tomorrow ... they can go swimming!!! How exciting!!! Actually, it's getting to be quite comical. Jim and I never had done a Sudoku puzzle before this trip, but now I've done so many that I was actually able to complete one on an expert level today. I'm really looking forward to getting home and getting back into the swing of things. We really can't complain because it is very nice here; we just miss home and all of you.

Chao,
Kathy

Quiet day

Hola,

Another gorgeous morning... they closed the inside hotel restaurant for breakfast and served it in the pool-side restaurant. Picture perfect weather... it was blue skies, in the low 70's, low humidity, and a very slight breeze. After we ate, we sat out by the pool until it began to get warm. We didn't let the girls go swimming until mid-afternoon; the sun here burns you very quickly... especially Bethany.

We ate dinner down by the pool because Jim and I wanted the salad bar. Tonight they didn't have any spinach or any really dark green lettuce on it. I asked our server if I could get some so I could make my salad with something healthier than iceberg... get this, he had the chef make me a special spinach salad. Oh, it was sooo good; they really take good care of us. Like most evenings here lately, it was a total down pour by the time we were finished eating. Again, the hotel is great... they supply oversized umbrellas for guests to use.

Tonight during story time, we began talking to Belicia about the fiesta next Friday. We told her it's a fiesta para Belicia (party for Belicia) to welcome her to the United States. We explained it will be at our church and there will be many family and friends there. She was soooo excited. She began to ask if Tia Colleen, Marie, Marisa, etc. would be there. We told her "yes". When she asked about Tia Twila, it was hard for us to explain that she lives in Atlanta, but I think she finally got it. She is definitely NOT thrilled about our weather and especially the thought of winter. When it's around 70 degrees here, she's saying "muy frio" (very cold). Jim and I just say, "Girl, you're in for quite a surprise if you think 70 degrees is cold." I'm putting her in a sweatsuit when we go to Bogota because it's in the mid-60's there... no shorts for her.

Well, not a lot going on, so I'm going to close.

Hasta luego,
Kathy

Thanks Debi!!

Debi, I just finished typing my blog for tonight and then I found your comment. I'm glad you've enjoyed our blog and good luck with your adoption. Thanks for the name of the bookstore. I'm wondering if it's the same one I read about on the Colombian Chat group. We may stay at the Embassy Suites in Bogota and someone mentioned that right around the corner from the hotel is a great English language bookstore/cafe. I really prefer looking through a book that I'm going to use for schooling vs. just blindly ordering on-line or from a catalog. Again, thank you!!

Buenas noches,
Kathy

Had a good day

Hola,

We had a nice day today. It was a beautiful morning, so after breakfast we walked out by the pool. We were told by Gloria yesterday that a couple was coming in from Denmark and picking up their new baby boy from Casa de Maria; Gloria was supposed to pick them up from our hotel at 11:15 a.m. this morning. We saw a couple sitting by the pool that were very fair skinned and very blond. We guessed that they were the couple from Denmark and we were right. We talked with them for awhile; they were very nice. Belicia actually recognized the name of their baby; they told her his name is Miguel and Belicia was able to tell them his last name.

Later Gloria took us to the San Diego Mall and we searched for Spanish math books. We looked in four places and they didn't have any, so I'll just order some on-line. The girls really wanted to come back to the hotel and swim, so we just came back and did not go to the zoo. Since we're going to be here a few more days, we picked up a BINGO game at Exito. We figured it's something we can all play, it was cheap, it's a small box for our luggage, and it can really help Belicia with learning her larger numbers in English.

I did speak with our representative in Bogota this evening; her name is Isabella. She said there is no way for us to be on our plane Monday night. When we get to Bogota, Belicia must first see the US doctor (afternoon appointments only). The next morning we must apply for her Visa, the next day we would actually receive her Visa.... THEN we can fly home. Todd and Di, it's safe to say we won't be in NYC Tuesday morning... sorry!!! It could be Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. Jim has our Dads lined up to pick us up for Wednesday or Thursday. I'm not even going to think about coming home on Friday....

Well, the hotel is packed again; there's a big insurance convention going on through Saturday. They also were setting a camera crew by the pool. With the election being held this Sunday, the local news was covering a debate between the candidates. We are definitely staying at the "happenin' place"... always something going on.

My mind is definitely turning towards home. I'm beginning to think about the thousands of things to be done when I return... the gazillion financial questions Pastor Todd has for me (I'm smiling as I type this!!)... the laundry (oh my!!!, but we saved about $1,000 not having it done here)... the tons of personal and business mail to go through. At least I know, thanks to Colleen, Marie, and Dad, that the yard and house will be in perfect order... Colleen will even have groceries for us... THANK YOU!!! Last night while sleeping, Jim moved his foot and I, for the first time, thought it was Jasmine jumping up on our bed. Only a few more days!!!!

Chao,
Kathy

We finally got to meet Andres and Laura!

Hi Everyone,

We had a very nice time today... we got to meet Andres and Laura. They are a wonderful couple and we got to chat with them for about 1 1/2 hours while sitting down at the pool-side restaurant. They get their little baby boy on Friday; as you can imagine, they are very excited!!

The weather was beautiful this morning and into the early afternoon. Any guesses as to where we spent that time???? If you answered, "the pool", you are correct!!! Surprise, surprise... If we don't hear anything tomorrow from our attorney and it's nice weather, we may ask Gloria to bring us back to the zoo. The girls enjoyed it so much, plus I forgot my camera. I would of loved to have gotten pictures... we'll see.

I may ask around and see if anyone knows of a teacher's resource store here in town. I'd like to be able to find some math workbooks in Spanish. I've seen some items online, but I would prefer to look through some actual books. Belicia knows so much math and I want to be able to keep up on it.

That's about it for now...

Hasta luega,
Kathy

WE GOT SENTENCIA TODAY!!

Hola Mis Amigos,

Gloria called first thing this morning and said that nothing was ready at the courthouse yet, so we made plans to meet her at 11:15 a.m. to go to the zoo. We were just getting ready to walk out of our room and the phone rang. It was Gloria stating that our papers were ready and Jim or I needed to go sign the documents. Since Jim was wearing shorts, he was not allowed to go, so I went instead. Fanny said that instead of a person going to Putumayo (it's an 18 hour drive), she decided to Express the documents. For some strange reason, she says the birth certificate won't be back until probably Saturday. Jim thinks their version of Express must be "The Pony Express". Anyway, there are way too many variables to go into. Bottom line... they way Fanny is talking, we won't be on the plane Monday night unless God intervenes. I won't confuse you with all the details, but I'll keep you updated.

At court today, I got to meet Gloria's son-in-law and a very close friend of hers (he was her deceased husband's best friend). Apparently the gentleman is a prominent defense attorney here in Medellin. He bought Gloria and me a frozen coffee that, believe it or not, was better than Starbucks!! It was VERY good!! I was completely caught off guard by this man... he knew I was married and was there for an adoption, but still he told me several times that he thought I was beautiful... then he gives me his business card and told me if I ever need an "escort", call him... THEN as he shakes my hand, he gives me a kiss.... yuck, yuck, yuck... I told Gloria that I really wish Jim came instead!!!! She was laughing and thought it was funny...

Later in the afternoon, we went to the zoo. Belicia had never been to one and she really enjoyed it. It was rather nice and we got to see some animals that we've never seen before. When we returned to the hotel, the girls went where??? Of course, to the pool.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention on my blog last night that we were able to give the lady in housekeeping her gift. Jim had the concierge find her and bring her to our room. It's one of those things that the Lord prompted both of us to do and we are trusting Him that our gift will somehow impact her life.

I want to thank each of you that have been praying for us. This is not an easy journey and I believe your prayers have help strengthen me. You know Jim... easy going... Mr. Calm. He has handled everything beautifully. He's been a great husband and wonderful Papa' (as Belicia calls him) through everything. The three of us chicas (girls) are very blessed to have him!! Well, we should be winding down in a few more days. We can't wait to see each and every one of you!! Todd and Diane... hopefully we will see you in NYC!!!

Buenas noches,
Kathy

Finally... blue skies!!!

Hola,

We finally had blue skies and were able to get out!! We began our morning with surprising, yet disappointing news. We went to breakfast and the couple from NYC told us that they were leaving for Bogota in 1 1/2 hours... I had tears in my eyes. If we were not in a public place, I would of cried. Joanne told me that when they came here two years ago, this happened to them. A couple arrived eight days after them and left before them; she said she did cry. They arrived here one week after us. Come to find out, they were in Court #3 (the fastest court) and we found out today that we are in Court #13 (the slowest court). They found out their good news last night at dinner. Come to find out Eduardo and Fanny drove to get their baby's birth certificate without the couple knowing about it; Fanny wanted to surprise them.

When we went to Casa de Maria today, Fanny was there and told Gloria that our papers are ready except for one (1) signature. The person that is supposed to sign it should come in tomorrow and sign our documents. We met Eduardo today when he came to pick up the couple from NYC to take them to the airport. He is Racquel's (director of the orphanage) son and he was able to clarify why we need to stay here additional time after we receive Sentencia. He said that Fanny's sister will take a bus (not a plane) to Putumayo and pick up Belicia's birth certificate. Putumayo is very far from here and that's what takes so much time.

While speaking with Eduardo, he asked how things were going and we explained some of what we were dealing with. He suggested that since we were going to Casa de Maria, we should speak with Belicia's counselor. Again, it was a wonderful opportunity for us and for Belicia. Basically we were told that what is going on is very normal. They said that she always did a great job following rules. She has never had material items or options regarding what to eat, wear, play with, etc. Now she's learning that there's more out there in this world than what she's been accustomed to. They said that she's trying to figure out her place in our family and how she has to behave to get what she wants... where are the boundaries? We were told that we are doing an excellent job with being firm and standing behind what we expect out of her. Her counselor talked to her and told her that she needed to obey us and do what we ask... without whining. She needs to use words... no whining; she's a big girl. It's been great having the orphanage close by; they've been wonderful.

FYI - We will be referring to Windy from now on as Belicia (Bay lee see ah). She absolutely loves the name; she told Gloria today that she thought her new name is very beautiful and she likes it. That's an answer to prayer!!

This afternoon was absolutely gorgeous, so the girls got to spend time in the pool. Later we went across the street for dinner and then, Bethany and I had some "Mommy/Bethany" time over coffee and dessert. Jim and Belicia played games together.

Lori, to answer your question about her glasses... actually, she's doing great without them. She does have 20/20 in her right eye. We have an eye doctor's appointment scheduled for her when we return. I showed our doctor the Colombian report and she said it was no big deal and that the condition can probably be corrected with the proper glasses. If not, she said it would be a minor laser surgery. Yep, I've got all kinds of appointments for her when we return... doctor, dentist, eye doctor, and hair stylist.

Laura, have a great flight tomorrow and I'm looking forward to hearing from you and finally getting to meet you!!

Well, going to close... we'll see if we get Sentencia tomorrow.

Chao,
Kathy

Stayed in our room all day

Hola,

We had a very lazy day today. I, personally, never left our room; it rained most of the day. I slept in and Jim brought me an omelette up from the restaurant. We were supposed to go to the other couples' room tonight, but they ended up going to their interpreter/driver's home for dinner. We were invited, but we thought it best not to go. Belicia (we're calling her that more and more now) has been, to put in nicely, very much of a challenge these last couple of days. We did not want to go to someone's house and have to deal with another "episode".

Tomorrow, Fanny is going to go to court and find out what is happening with our case. Hopefully, it will be good news. Sorry, but not a ton of stuff going on.

Buenas noches,
Kathy

We ventured out today

Hi All,

Before I begin with our adventure today, I just want to clear something up. When I mentioned that someone would have to go to Putumayo to get Windy's birth certificate, I did not mean one of us. I'm sorry for unnecessarily alarming some of you; I should of mentioned it would NOT be us... sorry about that.

Gloria was still sick today and it was cloudy, cool, with off and on rain. I really just wanted to get out, so I went to Jenny and asked if we could hire a driver. She lined us up with one, but then he called and was not able to make it. We asked the hotel for someone else and the bell captain, that has been a huge help to us, hooked us up. The guy drove a taxi (which made me nervous because we've been told over and over not to take a taxi), but come to find out in order for a taxi to clear through the hotel's gate, they have to be on their "approved list" and have had security checks performed. The driver was really nice and asked us what kind of bookstore it was that we wanted to go to. We told him it was a Christian bookstore and then he told us that he was a Christian and his wife is from Canada. When we got in close proximity of the store (which wasn't in the greatest neighborhood), the driver realized he went past it and started driving backwards in heavy traffic!! Then another driver really got mad with him (something having to do with a parking space), parked his car, got out and came over to us. They proceeded to yell at each other; our driver later told us that he was telling this other guy to show some respect, he had people (meaning us) from out of the country with him... if he wanted to fight, he'd fight him later. NYC taxis are a delight compared to today's ride. When we finally found the store, it was closed (they closed because of the rain... how crazy is that??). The driver took us to a mall that he said would have a Christian bookstore in it. The mall was huge, but not nearly as nice as the other one we had visited. It was so packed with people and was filled with horribly, loud live music and emcees... I just wanted to leave. The girls and I needed to use the bathroom and, silly me, why would I expect to find toilet seats on the toilets and toilet paper in the stalls??? Shouldn't I have known that the toilet paper was in the hallway leading to the bathroom?!?!?! I was so irritated by this point, but the driver was really nice to us and was trying to help us find the Christian bookstore in the mall... I just kept a smile on my face. Long story short, finally we found out that the store had gone out of business, but a church operated out of the fourth floor and had a very, very small selection of items to purchase. We were able to find something for the housekeeper and bought a couple of items for Windy. By this time, Bethany was getting a headache from the loud music and I told Jim that we needed to go back to the hotel. Get this, the driver was throwing a birthday party for his wife tonight. He invited us over, he calls his wife from his cell, then he hands me the phone (in the mall with all the loud music) and tells me to chat with her... I'm sorry, but it was a very strange day today. Jim and I both agreed that it was not wise to go to a stranger's house for a party. I was so glad to make it back to the hotel safe and sound. I left out a lot of details; it would take way too long to type out everything, but believe me when I say, we are never doing that again.

We are going to stay at the hotel tomorrow. We're going to hang out with the couple from NYC tomorrow night in their suite. We're going to order in Chinese... that way the children can play and we won't upset any servers at a restaurant. It will be much safer and more relaxed.

Chao,
Kathy

Happy 75th Birthday, Mom!!

Hola,

Colleen and Marie, thanks so much for the pictures you sent me of today... should I post them?!?!? You know I'm joking... you guys would want to hurt me when I get home. Everybody, they sent me some crazy pictures of themselves having fun with Mom at the mall. I'm glad they had a good time. Nancy and Tina, Mom really loved the message you left her... thanks!!

Unfortunately, Gloria has had a relapse of this virus going around. She told Vicki this morning that she would call us when got home from the hospital, but we haven't heard from her; we're praying that she's okay.

We took advantage of the beautiful day and the girls spent several hours in the pool. They also have enjoyed over the last couple of days playing "Narnia". Windy absolutely loves the movie and has watched it over and over (we play it in Spanish and use English sub-titles). They dress up as Queen Lucy and Queen Susan; it's quite comical because they are speaking two different languages, not understanding much of what the other is saying, but having a great time.

We had wanted to go to a local Christian book store and search for some Latino Christian music for Windy. The concierge has been so helpful. Jim got into a conversation with her yesterday and come to find out she's a Christian. She told Jim about how she grew up Catholic and didn't have a relationship with Jesus. About six years ago, something really bad happened in her life and she took her father's pistol (he's a police officer) and was going to commit suicide. She said that as she was about to, she heard a voice telling her not to do it and that God loves her. She felt a prompting to pick up the phone and she began dialing a number... she was just dialing... it wasn't a number she was familiar with. Come to find out it was a Christian church's prayer/help line. She was all alone... sobbing... soaked her pillow in tears as she talked to the counselor. While doing this she felt a hand rubbing up and down her back comforting her... at that point she gave her heart to Jesus!! As she talked to Jim and found out that we are a Christian family, she said that she knew there was something different about us. Anyway, there is a lady in housekeeping that is seven months pregnant. Jim and I both felt a prompting to do something for her. Remember, like Pastor Todd prayed before we left, that we are not here just for our adoption, but that God would use us to touch someone else's life. We've filled up a gift bag full of baby goodies to give to her. We've only seen her twice and when we asked Jenny, the concierge, about her, she said she really didn't know... they have so many in housekeeping. Last night we prayed that God would help us find her; this morning Jenny gave us her name. She did some research and found out which lady she was. I really feel lead to give her something for herself... maybe a book in Spanish... maybe a Joyce Meyer book. That's another reason we wanted to go to the Christian bookstore. Jenny gave us the name, address, and phone number of her favorite one. I say all of this only because we would love to have your prayers for this mother. The father wants nothing to do with her or the baby, she makes minimum wage ($200 per month), and has to live with her parents. Her name is Narvey. Please pray that the Lord will guide us as to what we should get her... a book, music...? Pray that the Lord will touch her life and that our small gift will greatly impact her life.

Laura, yes, it looks as though we will actually get to meet!! Call us when you get into town... our room numbers are 656 and 658. That would be great... all of the other adopting families have left except for the couple from NYC.

Well, going to turn in for the night.

Hasta luego,
Kathy

Day at the mall

Hi Everyone,

Bethany is no longer sick... I'm so glad! We were able to get out today; we went to the El Tesoro Mall. I do apologize because the night we went to Archie's Pizza, I told you that we went to the Oviedo Mall. We asked Gloria to take us there, but come to find out today, she actually took us to El Tesoro. I noticed as we approached it that it looked very familiar... I told you that her English comprehension is not the greatest, but she's super nice. The mall has a great little outside amusement park in the middle of it. Windy has never been on rides, so she loved it. Bethany only enjoyed a few things because most were geared towards younger children. They had a pet store that the girls enjoyed. Next to the pet store was a music store... Mom, Bethany got to play the piano! She was so happy and I think the gentleman at the store was quite surprised when he heard her play. He was making comments in Spanish, but I do not have a clue as to what he was saying. It was soooo nice to hear her play. Later, we ate in the food court and found out how different people really are. Bethany ordered an apple soda; when she went to drink it, there was a dead fly in it. Jim brought it back to the gentleman and showed it to him. The gentleman took the fly out with a spoon and gave the drink back to Jim!!! Obviously, Jim told him "no thank you" and asked for a new drink.... how gross!!

Well, we found out some discouraging news today. Gloria said that since Windy was not born here in Medellin, when we receive Sentencia, we will not be able to leave the next day and go to Bogota like we thought. She said that once we receive Sentencia, someone has to physically go to her home town (by plane) and get her birth certificate. We've been told now that it will be another three to four days AFTER Sentencia before we can even go to Bogota. We really, really want to come home and this is very frustrating. Please continue to pray that everything will come together so we can make it home as scheduled. I do thank the Lord for Joyce Meyer, laptops, and the internet. I was able to watch a sermon of hers that I desperately needed to hear.

Tomorrow, October 19th, is Mom's 75th birthday!! I hope you have a great day with Sherry, Colleen, Marie, and Marisa. I wish we were there to celebrate... love you!!

Buenas noches,
Kathy

Still nothing from the court...

This is the pool-side restaurant that I've mentioned several times. Our wonderful server, Walter, is talking to the girls while they swim.



Hola,

We didn't hear anything today; today is the 10th business day after we filed the adoption papers. Our adoption agency told us that they have 10 business days to review our papers. IF this holds true, then we should definitely hear something tomorrow... key word is "if". The family from Norway got theirs finalized yesterday and left for Bogota this afternoon. Theirs only took six business days... it all depends which court and whose desk your papers land on.

We stayed around the hotel today. Bethany is not still 100%; when her medicine wears off, she ends up with a fever. She feels a lot better, but doesn't have a big appetite. I'm just glad she's not having any stomach problems.

Well, we went three days without any testing from Windy, but she decided today would be an entire day of testing. Sadly, she ended up missing out on a couple of things today, but we are seeing progress. We're discovering she can understand more and more English everyday. Get this... tonight Jim explained something very clearly to her in Spanish using words and phrases that we've been using successfully in communicating with her. She said "no comprendo"... we knew better... she's a character!!!

Something I forgot to share last night regarding some information regarding the poverty in this country. Jim was told by Gloria and one of the workers here at the hotel that minimum wage here is about $200 per month... month NOT week. That is so sad. Between seeing what we saw yesterday and hearing this, it makes us appreciate even more all the many blessings God has given us and the great nation in which we live!!!

Actually, since I've been typing, Jim's been on the phone with Gloria. She said she spoke with our attorney today. Fanny said that the court said our papers were not ready today and they won't be ready tomorrow either. Well, like we said, it's all in the Lord's hands... we'll leave when we leave. He has a purpose for us being here this long. We'll see how the weather is tomorrow; if it's good, we may go to the zoo.

Chao,
Kathy