New Plans

Wow. What a day. I just wrote the entire blog about the news we received today and the blogger app told me it was saved. It wasn't. Okay. Let's give it another go. Sigh. (I'll save the blog post about the many flaws in the blogger app for the Ipad for a future post. But saying a document is saved, and then it completely disappearing forever, is at the top of the list!)

So today Marisa set out to begin on getting the new birth certificate. We had to sign some papers. She then brought all of the needed documents to the office where the new birth certificate is issued. The man there collected the documents, and then told her to check back in 15-30 days for the new birth certificate. Ha!

We were warned by the lawyer at SNA that we would be told that it would take this long, but she assured us that that is for normal new birth certificates and that for international adoption it would be done in two to three days. (Also, because she knew the chief at the office and they would make sure it was done speedily. So I guess it's all in who you know??)

The lawyer from SNA then called the birth certificate office and told the chief that we needed it speedily, etc. The lawyer was told that there was no way for us to have it by Friday. The chief told her that Camila's old birth certificate had to be done away with in the computer system before a new one can be issued. He also said that they did not have the computer program in Iquitos to do away with her old birth certificate (WHAA???) And that the program would arrive in Iquitos from Lima NEXT FRIDAY. So that, essentially, means that we are delayed one extra week in Peru.

By we, I mean, Camila and I.

This is what we were able to work out today. We will now all be flying back to Lima tomorrow night. We were able to sign power of attorney over to our missionary friend, Trent, and he can sign Camila's birth certificate for us in our place when it is issued. He will have to send it to me in Lima via courier. I don't know what we would have done without Trent and their church youth minister, Rudolpho, who helped us tremendously today. It was quite a doozie waiting at the notary with two three year olds who were three hours past due for a nap. We had to wait for at least two hours, and Trent and Rudolpho were there to wait with us, and help us work out the kinks in this paperwork stuff (along with Marisa).

So Trent will take care of the Iquitos side of things, (what an awesome guy!) and Camila and I will wait in Lima for the documents we need.

Danny and I both have a strange feeling about leaving Iquitos tomorrow. We are ready to get to Lima and home, no doubt. It's almost like a feeling of unfinished business here. I just really can't explain it. Maybe its because we are leaving unfinished documents and having to trust that all of that will fall back into place. Maybe its because we have made such good friends with Trent and Shawn and wonder when we'll see them again. There are amazing Jesus loving people here in Iquitos who are doing such a work for the kingdom. We have grown to love these beautiful people here and their beautiful hearts. It's a bitter sweet feeling.

Tomorrow we bid farewell to Camila's birth place of Iquitos, Peru; The hot jungle city that is busy with life. Tomorrow we end one part of our adventure and begin a new one.

Well, I'm off to pack up nearly three weeks of living in Iquitos! Adios!