Sunday! SNA!

Leslie and I standing in front of South America at the Union Church
We had a nice restful day in Lima! What a great service we enjoyed at Union Church! It is an English speaking church and we were able to meet lots of people from all over the world. They had a great play area for the kids, and so our boys were able to run off some energy and make some new friends. They also had a children's church and the kids had a blast at that!












Yesterday afternoon we had an awesome meal (They have all been INCREDIBLE!) of arroz con pollo (chicken and rice with coriander seasoning). Yum! (also had some sautéed peppers and peas)








The boys LOVE Peruvian food! And if they come home a little yellow colored, is because they also love Inka Kola. They wake up asking for it!
We have a delicious bread in the mornings that is a lot like French bread. It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We have it with a sort of jam and butter. There is usually also fruit and one morning we had a special Peruvian egg creation that had some kind of delicious seasoning on it.
Another wonderful thing we tried, was a baked potato, peeled in half, and with a spicy cheese type sauce over the top. Absolutely delicious! Many of the things we have eaten can be topped with lemon juice and onion mixture that is so good! They call it creole sauce. Our friend Joyce who is from Iquitos introduced us to this in the states.
Okay, so now for the SNA appointment.
We left early this morning with Marisa, our in country rep for the appointment at SNA. What a gorgeous drive through Miraflores we had with the windows down! The weather is perfect! Sunny and breezy!
We had to wait a bit in the front of the SNA building, which ended up being very opposite of what I would have expected. It seemed a little funny to actually be in the building that held these people we have been dealing with across many miles. Also, the building was relatively small, and it just seemed very casual.
The boys were getting rather restless waiting in the lobby, but Danny occupied them by telling stories. Finally, about 20 minutes later, two lawyers, and a psychologist came down the stairs and walked over and greeted us.








Josiah and Marisa, our awesome rep in Peru




(A little aside here: in Peru, everyone greets with a hug and a little side kiss by the face. This is something that the boys have had to get used to.)
The first lawyer was was polite, but all business. The other two women (psychologist and lawyer), were extremely down to earth and greeted us with smiles and in the traditional hug/kiss way.
We went into a sort of conference room where we sat around a large square table, kids and all.
The first lawyer, who was way more serious, checked our birth certificates and our passports. Then she looked me in the eyes, and asked if I/we were sure we wanted to adopt Luana, who had severe delays, and was on medication.
Our response was obviously, "YES!" (Why else would we have spent thousands of dollars, traveled with our children to Peru, and put ourselves through crazy things for two years?) But I think the reason she asked this, was because she wanted to hear it from us vocally, and not only on the papers that she has seen.
After that, that particular lawyer left and the psychologist began to explain how things might go when we meet Camila. She decided that the kids needed to go with us first thing in the morning! This is very different from what we were told before, but fine with us.
The psychologist continued to give us instructions and prepare us for what we should expect. She then went on to say many nice and encouraging things to us about how thankful she was that we are adopting Camila, and that she believed we would be very good parents to Camila. She said that any family who would be patient and wait as long as we have for various approvals and for different reports she knows will love their child. Of course, I feel like an emotional basket case anyway, so I started weeping at even that! Lol
The appointment went very well, and we are so thankful for all of those who prayed for us. After that, we walked down the street to a very nice park and the boys had a ball. Then we drove down the road with Marisa to another park where we had fruit smoothies (The fruit here is amazing! I had a papaya smoothie!) The boys played for a while on an awesome play ground that had a merry-go-round. They had never played on one of those before, because it seems that they've been outlawed from our parks in the US. Haha Danny and I got a good laugh at the boys pushing each other around as fast as they could, because we both have hilarious memories of playing on those as kids. Marisa, Leslie, and I walked over to a shop by the park while Danny watched the boys, and picked up a couple of souvenirs.












I guess the boys have been missing their "dirt" time, because they all got busy digging!




















I also took some pictures of a beautiful church and some of the buildings around the park...




















Inka Kola has many uses, according to Josiah!




When we arrived back at the Ardiles house, we were able to get all of our luggage ready. For lunch Señora Julia, the house maid, and Señora Ardiles prepared a delicious traditional Peruvian meal called Locro De Zapallo con arroz blanco y huevos fritos, (Señora Ardiles wrote this down for me!) which is basically a special mixture of pumpkin, corn, onions, garlic, and beans, cooked until creamy, served with white rice. It served with fried eggs! Oh. my. goodness. Wow. I must learn to cook this meal. Although I think finding the type pumpkin used in cooking this meal will be quite a trick in the US. Maybe we can grow it. It ends up tasting more like squash, actually, which might could be used instead. Hmmmm...




I love these people. They are simply beautiful. They are so full of love for the Lord. Over and over Señora and Señora Ardiles have said how much they have loved having the boys in the home. That they are honored to open their home to us. I am just so overwhelmed by their kindness.
I also absolutely adore their daughter Anita, who has called me today as she was away to visit her brother, and just wanted to pray for our family. She also encouraged me with a story about how the Lord provided a gift to her that she had prayed for because she knew of someone who needed it. But as she arrived at the airport with the gift, she began to realize that the airline might not allow her to carry it, because of the baggage limit (It was a car seat.) As she was walking to check her baggage, she realized that God would not have provided the gift, and stop there, never allowing her to give it. She got through with the car seat just fine.
She then encouraged me that God would not have worked all of the miraculous things already that He has done for our family, and stop there...no way! God was going to bring us through each hurdle and each step, and that she was praying for Camila to love and connect with us immediately. Anita even offered a couple of times to actually fly to Iquitos to help us if we need any help while there! I would never ask or expect her to do this, but I cannot begin to express the kindness of this family. Anita is going to pick Leslie up at the airport and take her to the Indian Market instead of her having to wait by herself for a long time at the airport!
Tomi and Debbie (The Ardiles' son and daughter in law) also called while we were away at our appointment with SNA and told Señor and Señor Ardiles that they were praying for us during our appointment. What wonderful friends, who have helped us so very much with advice, phone calls, and were the ones who arranged everything for us in Lima.
How do we ever repay the kindness that we have been shown? This family has set a new example of hospitality that I want to show to others in my daily life. What a blessing to be a part of the Body of Christ, and know others around the world who stretch out their hands in love to complete strangers. I am in awe...
So tomorrow, we will go to meet our daughter. The child that we have been waiting for and praying for for teo very long years, our eyes will finally see in person.
Sigh. What can I say? I am overwhelmed with joy and wonder about what is on the way. There are no words. "Lord Jesus, prepare us all."
Well, we are about to take off to Iquitos! Chau! (The farewell of Peru)

Location:Sunday! SNA!