I had every intention of loading pictures of the time we spent in Antigua onto my laptop this weekend. But instead, we enjoyed the fall weather and worked in the yard. I'll let you decide which of those two was more enjoyable.
Although I don't have any pictures here to prove this, trust me that Antigua is one of the most beautiful places. It's an old city with cobblestone streets, quaint shops and restaurants alongside authentic markets. It would have been an amazing weekend had we not had this cloud of uncertainty hanging over us.
Without knowing where the missing form was, we had no date of travel. We could be there another week, another month or another year for all we knew. I was an emotional wreck. Torn between this new little one that I did not want to leave again and home - where three little boys missed Mom and Dad.
We decided that on Sunday, I would head back to Guatemala City, and Kyle would fly back to Atlanta. I would stay with Ellie, and we would pray that everything would be wrapped up quickly.
I spent Sunday and Monday of that week walking in circles of the hotel. Ellie and I would sit by the pool a while, wander through the few gift shops, do some laps in the courtyard, and go back to the room for naps. Sounds like a great vacation, right? Except for the part where I was all alone, in a country where I could communicate very little, not able to leave the safety of our hotel, and with a very fussy 2 month old.
I needed a better attitude. A change in perspective to get me out of my pity party. I walked the hotel praying and crying out to God to come through for us. My attitude didn't change instantly. I still desperately wanted to be home with my family. But peace slowly began to remove all the fear and worry, and I was able to sleep. Well, okay, maybe not that last part. But, had Ellie slept through the night, I surely could have as well.
On Monday afternoon, I received news that the infamous "pink slip" should be issued the next day. This was not expected by anyone involved with our case, so what a testimony to our God! Tuesday morning, we were given that fabulous piece of pink paper. However, now we had a new obstacle in our way. A new system had begun on Monday of that week mandating appointment times for the embassy to get baby's visa. Prior to this, as soon as pink was issued, the visa could be given the next day. Under the new system, however, it was taking as long as 1-2 weeks for an embassy appointment.
Our agency director in Guatemala came with me to pick up our "pink slip." After 30 minutes of pleading, the embassy finally allowed us to be grandfathered in under the old system and receive Ellie's visa the next day. This meant we could go home on Friday! God had come through for us yet again. There was no other way to explain what had happened since Sunday. In a situation where we had been told there was no way we'd be home before two weeks at the earliest, God had made a way for us to be home within a week.
"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21
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