Today was an exciting day!!! The last step in our journey to get all our ducks in a row to be ready for the big flight to America!!! We got up and around, had breakfast and went to the Oasis office to meet with Nicolas' play therapist and occupational therapist. Both amazing women! They told us about the activities that they had done with him and told us stories about their experiences with him. They also brought us a Christmas gift - so sweet! To see the love that these women have for Nicolas is so awesome. The family he has here is so large, and he has really impacted so many lives here. He is seriously one amazing kid!
After our meeting, we headed to Sandton (where the U.S. Consulate is located) to have lunch before our appointment. Put on your seat belt and get ready for this adventure! We arrived in Sandton about 12PM and our consulate appt was at 1:30PM. Our GPS told us that the U.S. Consulate was located in a corporate building which didn't seem right to us. So, I texted Beth and asked. She said that it wasn't, but gave us the cross streets so that we could find it. We knew we were close, so we searched for food next. That brought us to the mall, which was where they recommended we park anyway. We parked int the parking garage and headed inside, expecting to find a massive food court (the mall was probably 6 stories). We wandered around looking for a directory or overhead signs directing one to said food court. After we made a full loop, we had located only fancy sit-down restaurants that we did not have time for. The enhance the confusion of this mall, it has a million escalators, some taking you what appeared to be only one floor up, but also others that were half the size taking you to other floors in between. Seriously...confusing!!!! We found a Mugg and Bean (similar to Starbucks but has a full menu as well) and though FINALLY, we made it. We walked past it thinking there would be more restaurants, but then ended up coming back when I realized I was mistaken and we were low on time. We stopped at the cafe in front of the restaurant and got costco-sized super muffins (which were delicious!). As we were walking back, we noticed a large main entrance at the street level and Kevin spotted the road sign of the cross street we needed. But wait, that's when I realized that the medical paperwork we needed for our appointment was still in the car. So, at this point we are almost jogging, we high-tail it back to the car. As we are approaching the exit to the parking garage, we look down to see McDonald's and Wimpy - right by the entrance we came through in the first place. Really???? Nice! Keep moving. With the medical paperwork in hand, we stopped at McDonalds for a drink and then headed for the street exit. Once we knew that we were, indeed, in the right place, we stopped to actually eat our muffins. I failed to mention that I was handing bites of muffin to Nicolas as we were mall-walking on our race back to the car. He was such a trooper!!! With full tummies, we headed across the busy road to the consulate building. There were security guards and probably 5 or 6 people standing outside. Lee and Thato were already there. We stood in the line waiting our turn. Waiting.....waiting......waiting. We got in line at 1:05PM. At 1:20PM, they still hadn't acknowledged us. When they finally did, I told her we had a 1:30 appt and she asked for our appointment confirmation letter. Um.....what??? I don't have a letter. So, I showed her our docs from Ruth showing who we needed to talk to. The guard took that and our passports and disappeared inside for at least 5 minutes. She came back out and told us it would be a minute. She then opened the door and let Kevin and Nicolas got through, but made me remain outside until they were through security and got out into the courtyard. I moved through security and then we went together to the second building. We checked in with another woman, who was much more friendly, and then we were routed to one of the windows. I would compare it to the windows at the movies, except smaller. They have the microphone they speak into so that you can hear them and the slot to put your money and documents through. They called us up to present our documents and then referred us to another window for the cashier. You pay them and then sit back down again. They called us back a third time to do our interview. They asked us a few questions, gave us back original docs and gave us a slip to bring back later in the week to pick up his visa. WHEW!!!! That was more chaotic and stressful than any of the Home Affairs steps! At least we got a good leg workout racing around!!!
After we were done at the consulate, we went into a few stores in the mall (since we had paid to park anyway) and then headed back to the guesthouse to change. We met Bev and Nicolas' pediatrician at Mugg and Bean at Cresta (different mall) for dinner. We had a nice dinner chatting about Nicolas and about what things will be like for him in Michigan. And, of course, we had milkshakes! :)
After a long day, we came back to the guest house, goofed around for a bit - tickling, wrestling, and just being silly - and then got ready for bed.
We prayed for no rain tomorrow as this is our rescheduled date to go to Gold Reef City Amusement Park. We are going with Bev and her kids, so it will be a very fun day!!! The circus is also there right now, so it should be a blast!!!
11 days until we come home!!
The Longstreets
Monday, December 10, 2012
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Day 32: Coming to the Table
We woke up to the sun shining into our room once again this morning! It makes you think you've overslept - with the sun rising so early! The sun rises here right about 5AM, so it definitely tricks your inner clock!
We got up and around and headed to church. Our sermon this morning was about peace and was given by an American missionary serving here in South Africa. He and his wife have lived here for 16 years. Over the last several weeks we have attended church at New Creation, the sermon has only been given by the senior pastor one time. It has been very cool to see the church body sharing that role and sharing their hearts.
After church, we stopped quickly at the store and then headed back to the guest house for lunch. We hung out for about 45 minutes and then went to Auntie Bev's house for our Coming to the Table dinner. (If you didn't read yesterday's post about Coming to the Table and Oasis Haven, I would encourage you to do so!) It was beautiful outside when we arrived. The kids (and Kevin) were swimming in the pool and Bev and I chatted until the other families arrived. We got everything set up out by the pool and the clouds started to roll in - dark ones. So, our party got relocated to the patio attached to the house. It began to pour (Huge sliding door left open at our guest house - problem! Phoned Stefan who so kindly closed it for us!)! No worries, though! While the kids watched a movie and played, the parents chatted and shared stories. We had a simple, yet delicious dinner, and then each family made a contribution (suggested contribution is the equivalent of what you would have spent on a dinner out) to Oasis Haven. It was a great opportunity for Kevin and I to meet two other families that have adopted children from Nicolas' home. Beautiful kids with amazing parents. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to keep our kids connected through technology! We did also have some more fun with Rock Band. I really felt that I was at a disadvantage because I don't know that majority of the songs, but it was quite fun anyhow.
When we got back to the guest house, Stefan mentioned that he had rearranged some things for us since we don't have as much storage space upstairs as we did in our first room. We walked upstairs and he had made space in the cupboard in the hall for our luggage and shoes, reorganized all our random stuff strewn about and found a home for Nicolas' bedding. He hung up the poster photo of Nicolas on the wall and hung up his wooden helicopter He made a shelf for all of our books and even left some extra erasers for homework because he saw that Nicolas' was getting small. Seriously, the best guest house owner EVER. You should all come to South Africa so that you can stay here. :)
Tomorrow is a busy day for us, more meetings with therapists and our consulate appointment. We are looking forward to completing this last step and having all the necessary paperwork to travel home! We will then have just over a week to simply enjoy South Africa and our new friends.
We continue to hear reports of snow at home! Hopefully it will be cold enough to accumulate by the time we get home so that Nicolas can fulfill his dream of throwing a snowball at his Dad for his birthday!
12 days until we are back in the States!
The Longstreets
We got up and around and headed to church. Our sermon this morning was about peace and was given by an American missionary serving here in South Africa. He and his wife have lived here for 16 years. Over the last several weeks we have attended church at New Creation, the sermon has only been given by the senior pastor one time. It has been very cool to see the church body sharing that role and sharing their hearts.
After church, we stopped quickly at the store and then headed back to the guest house for lunch. We hung out for about 45 minutes and then went to Auntie Bev's house for our Coming to the Table dinner. (If you didn't read yesterday's post about Coming to the Table and Oasis Haven, I would encourage you to do so!) It was beautiful outside when we arrived. The kids (and Kevin) were swimming in the pool and Bev and I chatted until the other families arrived. We got everything set up out by the pool and the clouds started to roll in - dark ones. So, our party got relocated to the patio attached to the house. It began to pour (Huge sliding door left open at our guest house - problem! Phoned Stefan who so kindly closed it for us!)! No worries, though! While the kids watched a movie and played, the parents chatted and shared stories. We had a simple, yet delicious dinner, and then each family made a contribution (suggested contribution is the equivalent of what you would have spent on a dinner out) to Oasis Haven. It was a great opportunity for Kevin and I to meet two other families that have adopted children from Nicolas' home. Beautiful kids with amazing parents. We are so blessed to have the opportunity to keep our kids connected through technology! We did also have some more fun with Rock Band. I really felt that I was at a disadvantage because I don't know that majority of the songs, but it was quite fun anyhow.
When we got back to the guest house, Stefan mentioned that he had rearranged some things for us since we don't have as much storage space upstairs as we did in our first room. We walked upstairs and he had made space in the cupboard in the hall for our luggage and shoes, reorganized all our random stuff strewn about and found a home for Nicolas' bedding. He hung up the poster photo of Nicolas on the wall and hung up his wooden helicopter He made a shelf for all of our books and even left some extra erasers for homework because he saw that Nicolas' was getting small. Seriously, the best guest house owner EVER. You should all come to South Africa so that you can stay here. :)
Tomorrow is a busy day for us, more meetings with therapists and our consulate appointment. We are looking forward to completing this last step and having all the necessary paperwork to travel home! We will then have just over a week to simply enjoy South Africa and our new friends.
We continue to hear reports of snow at home! Hopefully it will be cold enough to accumulate by the time we get home so that Nicolas can fulfill his dream of throwing a snowball at his Dad for his birthday!
12 days until we are back in the States!
The Longstreets
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Day 31: Just Keep Swimming
It was a hot one today! I say this knowing that it's snowing at home. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. We received word from many of you about the snow (thank you!) and Nicolas is PUMPED!!!
This morning, we got up and had breakfast, got dressed and went out to the garden to play soccer. It was Mary and Nicolas against Kevin and I. I think we spent more time chasing the ball down the hill than we did playing soccer, but we had fun!! We told the kids they had to wait until after 8AM to go in the pool to prevent waking the other guests. So, once that time passed, they were in the pool and having a blast - see below:
This morning, we got up and had breakfast, got dressed and went out to the garden to play soccer. It was Mary and Nicolas against Kevin and I. I think we spent more time chasing the ball down the hill than we did playing soccer, but we had fun!! We told the kids they had to wait until after 8AM to go in the pool to prevent waking the other guests. So, once that time passed, they were in the pool and having a blast - see below:
This is Mary doing a flip off of Kevin's shoulders.
And Nicolas doing the same :)
Can you see my tan??? :)
Look harder.....it's there!
Once Nicolas and Mary had frozen themselves in the pool, they went up and hopped in a hot bath. Then they played cars and baseball until Bev came to pick Mary up. Our first sleepover was a success (except that Mary's little sister Amy Rose kept Bev up half the night because she was devastated that Mary was gone - sorry Bev!!!)!!!
We had lunch and lounged around for a couple hours and then headed to the store to get a few things for dinner. Then it was back out to the pool! More flips and laps and throwing Nicolas into the pool. He loves it when Kevin and I grab his arms and legs and swing him into the pool. I am always afraid that he is going to do a belly flop and come up in tears, but it's a big grin every time! In between jumps, he lays on the tiles along the pool to warm up. Today he told us he wanted to be "toasted like a chicken". :)
Woolworths (grocery store) made our dinner tonight - lasagna and tomato and pesto flatbread. Since we have moved to the loft suite at our guest house, our fridge is about 1/3 the size of downstairs, so I am quite a bit more limited on what I can cook based on what I can store. After dinner, we got back in our homework routine (since we haven't been for a couple days) and Nicolas and Kevin built the wooden helicopter he received as a gift from Jacky who used to help him with his studies.
Tomorrow after church we are attending a Coming to the Table event at Bev's house. If you haven't seen my previous posts on Facebook about coming to the table, you can learn more about it here: http://www.oasishaven.org/sites/default/files/downloads/social_initiatives_cttt_overview2_us.pdf It is such a great way to get together with friends to raise both funds and awareness! It's not about making a ridiculous donation or a lifelong commitment, it's about making a choice - one time - to choose someone else over yourself. I'm not sure I can put into words how meeting the Oasis team and the children they care for has impacted our lives. We knew it would, but wow!! It is one thing to read about it, to see pictures and hear stories, but it is so much more powerful to experience it first-hand. The houseparents in these 2 houses have given their lives - quite literally - to raising these children. They pour their hearts, their energy, and all that they into these kids. It is a beautiful thing to see. They endure the chaos, the stress, the laughs, the joy, and the sorrow of bringing them in, raising the up, and saying goodbye when God calls them into families. It is a job I don't believe I would have the emotional strength to do. Love them, sure!!! Care for them, yes! But to have to say goodbye time and time again, ouch!! They are supported by an equally amazing team of support staff who share the burden of the day-to-day needs of caring for 10 children - cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc. Coupled with the most amazing administrative staff you could imagine, Oasis Haven is the culmination of what happens when a group of people listen and respond to God's call on their lives to do more than just pray about the orphan crisis in our world today. I am so inspired by this team of Believers. I pray that you will be as well.
The Longstreets
Friday, December 7, 2012
Day 30: We're Gonna PAAAAAAARRRRTYYY!!!!
It's finally here!! After having to postpone a couple of times, today is Nicolas' farewell party with his brothers and sisters at the Bou house (where Nicolas has been living for the last few years).
We got up this morning and skyped with Delta Airlines for almost two hours trying to get our flights settled now that we have our appointment with the US Consulate scheduled for Monday. They told us we could leave as early as the middle of next week, but Delta says no. No room for us on the plane. So, we will actually be coming home at our originally scheduled time of 11:30AM on Friday December 21st. Who would've thought?? We knew that if we purchased the unrestricted tickets that our dates wouldn't change......The flights are completely booked up until Christmas Eve, so it was a struggle to even get Nicolas on our flight. We found out today that Delta should have held a seat for him when we booked our tickets back in the beginning of November. Good to know now!!! :) All that matters is that we will be home for his birthday and Christmas!!!
After getting flights settled, we got ready and headed to the car rental place (again) to renew our car. Of course, they tell you it will take only a couple minutes, but it never does. They told us Wednesday that we had to come anytime today to renew our contract. Had to be today. Then, when we get there he says that it goes by time, so if we need the car until the afternoon we should have waited until the afternoon to stop in. What???? No. Thankfully, he offered to amend it to the later time for us so that we didn't have to spaz out on him. :) Then, they just need to inspect the car. Then, they just want to make us fill out a form because there appears to be hail damage on the roof of the car. Half an hour later, our two-minute ordeal was over. :) We then went to pick up the cupcakes and ice cream for the party and headed to Bou house for the party!
All of the kids from both houses (19) were there, as well as the house parents, the Oasis office team, and some of the teachers and caregivers that have gotten to know and love Nicolas. We brought crafts to do with the kids, which was a blast! We made foam stockings and custom ornaments for their trees. Sarinah had music playing, so of course there was dancing! I think all of them took turns wearing my sunglasses, which was adorable! Watching them all gang up on Kevin and take him down was also great! I did suffer a fat, busted lip courtesy of the precious Amy Rose Ponkey Donkey Beukes, but time heals all wounds. :) It was so great to just spend time with the kids. They are all amazing! We had such a blast!
After the party, we stopped at Mary's house (a.k.a. Bev's - Mary and Amy Rose are two of Bev's kids) to pick up her things and Mary came to stay the night at our guest house. We stopped to pick up muffins and milk at the store, and then got in the pool when we got back. Kevin and I both braved the cold and jumped in - although we didn't last long!! Hopefully the rain is gone for a bit so that it can warm up again! Nicolas and Mary didn't mind, so they played and we got to chat with Kevin's mom for a bit while they swam.
We had a leftover smorgasbord for dinner, played outside for a bit, and then watched Kung Fu Panda to top off the night. And yes, we had ice cream! :)
We noticed that the giant hot air balloon at Monte Casino was up today, so we are hoping it will be calm again tomorrow so that we can take Nicolas! He has been wanting to go. I am still undecided at to whether I will be brave enough to try it. It goes very high, but I know the view would be worth it if I can get over the fear......
Stay tuned!
The Longstreets
We got up this morning and skyped with Delta Airlines for almost two hours trying to get our flights settled now that we have our appointment with the US Consulate scheduled for Monday. They told us we could leave as early as the middle of next week, but Delta says no. No room for us on the plane. So, we will actually be coming home at our originally scheduled time of 11:30AM on Friday December 21st. Who would've thought?? We knew that if we purchased the unrestricted tickets that our dates wouldn't change......The flights are completely booked up until Christmas Eve, so it was a struggle to even get Nicolas on our flight. We found out today that Delta should have held a seat for him when we booked our tickets back in the beginning of November. Good to know now!!! :) All that matters is that we will be home for his birthday and Christmas!!!
After getting flights settled, we got ready and headed to the car rental place (again) to renew our car. Of course, they tell you it will take only a couple minutes, but it never does. They told us Wednesday that we had to come anytime today to renew our contract. Had to be today. Then, when we get there he says that it goes by time, so if we need the car until the afternoon we should have waited until the afternoon to stop in. What???? No. Thankfully, he offered to amend it to the later time for us so that we didn't have to spaz out on him. :) Then, they just need to inspect the car. Then, they just want to make us fill out a form because there appears to be hail damage on the roof of the car. Half an hour later, our two-minute ordeal was over. :) We then went to pick up the cupcakes and ice cream for the party and headed to Bou house for the party!
All of the kids from both houses (19) were there, as well as the house parents, the Oasis office team, and some of the teachers and caregivers that have gotten to know and love Nicolas. We brought crafts to do with the kids, which was a blast! We made foam stockings and custom ornaments for their trees. Sarinah had music playing, so of course there was dancing! I think all of them took turns wearing my sunglasses, which was adorable! Watching them all gang up on Kevin and take him down was also great! I did suffer a fat, busted lip courtesy of the precious Amy Rose Ponkey Donkey Beukes, but time heals all wounds. :) It was so great to just spend time with the kids. They are all amazing! We had such a blast!
After the party, we stopped at Mary's house (a.k.a. Bev's - Mary and Amy Rose are two of Bev's kids) to pick up her things and Mary came to stay the night at our guest house. We stopped to pick up muffins and milk at the store, and then got in the pool when we got back. Kevin and I both braved the cold and jumped in - although we didn't last long!! Hopefully the rain is gone for a bit so that it can warm up again! Nicolas and Mary didn't mind, so they played and we got to chat with Kevin's mom for a bit while they swam.
We had a leftover smorgasbord for dinner, played outside for a bit, and then watched Kung Fu Panda to top off the night. And yes, we had ice cream! :)
We noticed that the giant hot air balloon at Monte Casino was up today, so we are hoping it will be calm again tomorrow so that we can take Nicolas! He has been wanting to go. I am still undecided at to whether I will be brave enough to try it. It goes very high, but I know the view would be worth it if I can get over the fear......
Stay tuned!
The Longstreets
Day 29: And the Blessings Continue to Flow!
**Power was out when we got home last night**
We got up this morning and headed down to Home Affairs to pick up Nicolas' temporary passport. I must admit I was skeptical that it would really be ready in less than 24 hours. But.......it was!! Praise God!!!
After we left Home Affairs, we headed over to one of the malls to look for a denim jacket for Nicolas because he has outgrown his, but really likes it. Unfortunately, since it is summer here, no luck. We did find some new sandals for Kevin since his have seen better days, so the trip wasn't a wash.
Once back at the guest house, we had to relocate to the Loft Suite. Being that we are here for so long, Stefan had to split our booking in order to accommodate us on such short notice. Nicolas is very excited that this room has a bath tub. :) After lunch, Nicolas headed straight for the pool! If you are friends with us on facebook, Kevin posted the video of Nicolas doing a flip into the pool. I, of course, am just afraid that he will hit his head on the side, but boys will be boys! It is amazing how brave he has become in the pool! He is definitely going to miss it when we get home! Given that the pool is still quite cold, I opted to stay out. We received word mid-afternoon that Nicolas' unabridged birth certificate is ready!!! God has definitely been the driving force in getting this paperwork done so quickly!!!
We got up this morning and headed down to Home Affairs to pick up Nicolas' temporary passport. I must admit I was skeptical that it would really be ready in less than 24 hours. But.......it was!! Praise God!!!
After we left Home Affairs, we headed over to one of the malls to look for a denim jacket for Nicolas because he has outgrown his, but really likes it. Unfortunately, since it is summer here, no luck. We did find some new sandals for Kevin since his have seen better days, so the trip wasn't a wash.
Once back at the guest house, we had to relocate to the Loft Suite. Being that we are here for so long, Stefan had to split our booking in order to accommodate us on such short notice. Nicolas is very excited that this room has a bath tub. :) After lunch, Nicolas headed straight for the pool! If you are friends with us on facebook, Kevin posted the video of Nicolas doing a flip into the pool. I, of course, am just afraid that he will hit his head on the side, but boys will be boys! It is amazing how brave he has become in the pool! He is definitely going to miss it when we get home! Given that the pool is still quite cold, I opted to stay out. We received word mid-afternoon that Nicolas' unabridged birth certificate is ready!!! God has definitely been the driving force in getting this paperwork done so quickly!!!
When we went back to Home Affairs for the second time today,
not one - but two – different men commented on the fact that we were back
again. J I guess we must be a memorable crew! God was with us again in that there was no one there are we were able to walk in and out with his birth certificate in 5 minutes! I'm sure the woman who helped us thought we bribed someone to get it so quickly. She looked up our receipt number and said "You just applied for this today." I replied that we had actually done it the day before. She just looked at me as if she were thinking "Who are you?", but printed it and sent us on our way.
Tonight we met Auntie Beth at the Oasis office to head out
for dinner. First, we went to a park
that starts with “E” and is one of the botanical gardens in Joburg. It has a beautiful series of fountains that, tragically, were not running. We wandered
around the park chatting about Joburg and how different South Africa is from
what we were told/prepared for. It is
such a beautiful place that gets a bad wrap. After having been here for a month, I laugh at some of the things we were afraid of coming here. We met up with Beth’s boyfriend Donovan in our stroll and finished our
loop through the park before heading to a South African restaurant for
dinner. Beth made a few suggestions
about dishes to try – I had the mommy chow (a.k.a. bunny chow - a.k.a. amazing!)
and Kevin had boerewors (similar to brats) and pap. Our South African child had a burger. J My mommy chow was seriously amazing and I
will definitely try to find the recipe online!
After dinner we went to another restaurant to have dessert. It was an evening of laughs and great
conversation. We have been so blessed to
have built so many great relationships in our time here in South Africa.
The Longstreets
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Day 29: An Unexpected Blessing
Finally, the sun is back! It was beautiful today! We didn't have much planned for today. This morning we got up and lazed around the guest house. Nicolas did some drawings, played with his cars, and then we all went out and played soccer and ran around. Then, we came in and got ready before lunch. We had a skype date at 1PM, so we headed over to the Oasis office so that we would have a faster internet connection. Right after we started our skype, we received a very unexpected text message - Nicolas' new ID number and birth certificate were done already!! Petra (our social worker) asked us to meet her at Home Affairs ASAP to move to Stage 2!!! Praise God!!! We experienced some technical difficulties with skype as well, so unfortunately we didn't get much time to talk.
The Oasis office is quite close to Home Affairs, so we were able to get there quickly. We waited for Petra to arrive (she had to come from much further away) and we submitted the forms for Nicolas' unabridged birth certificate. We were blessed once again today in that we did not have to wait too long in line to get our paperwork processed. We were also able to work with the same man (whose name is Gift - fitting as he was a gift to us!) that helped us yesterday. The abridged birth certificate we received today only has his name, date and place of birth. The unabridged certificate will be much more like ours in the US, listing details of parents and such. Once we had the abridged certificate we went to the passport office to apply for his temporary and permanent South African passports. That process was a bit jumbled in comparison, but nothing we couldn't handle. Filling out the paperwork was quite simple, but when it was my turn, the woman looked at me like I was nuts. Turned out she hadn't done a passport for an adoption before, so she didn't know what paperwork she needed. She took some documents and disappeared for 5 or 10 minutes. Then, we told her we needed both temp and permanent passports, but she only processed us for the permanent one. When we went to the cashier (a different person), we explained that we needed both due to time constraints and needing the temp passport for our consulate appt, she explained that we had to go back to the other lady. So, we waited for her and she informed me that I had to fill out another form for the temp one. Ok......so I filled out the next form and by that time the lady who had been helping us had disappeared. So......we waited a little more. A different person helped us with the second application. We paid for that one and then headed back to have his photo taken. They looked at the papers and told me the temp passport application needed to go back to the people who sent us to her. What??? LOL. Ok. So, I took it back to the woman at the cashier desk who told me to take it there. Confused yet?? :) Then she told me we could come back between 8:30AM and 2PM tomorrow to pick up the temp passport. which is awesome!! I have no idea when they are going to process it since we turned it in about 30 minutes before they closed, but I hope she was right! We will be heading back over there tomorrow morning to pick it up. Please pray it will be ready!
Petra was texting our updates to Ruth (who is back in Capetown now - about a 12 hour drive away) and Ruth confirmed that they will be able to schedule our US consulate appointment as soon as we have the temp passport!! So, things are going more smoothly that we ever could have imagined!!! Thank you so much for all your prayers - they are powerful!!
Not as exciting, we headed to the rental car place after we left Home Affairs because we have to renew our rental. You can only rent for 30 days at a time. Of course, they told us we cannot renew it until the day it expires, which is Friday. So.....we will go back again on Friday.
We decided to eat out for dinner as we had planned to go to the grocery store this afternoon. We went to Luigis (bet you wouldn't guess it was Italian). This was the restaurant Beth and Bev took us to on our first night in Joburg. We had also come one other time when our internet was out for dessert. What are the chances that we would have the same waiter all three times, and even better that he would remember us. We had a great dinner and celebrated being one step closer to coming home! After dinner, we headed back to the guest house for homework, ice cream, and a movie.
Here are some more pictures!! The first couple are from yesterday and the rest are from today:
The Oasis office is quite close to Home Affairs, so we were able to get there quickly. We waited for Petra to arrive (she had to come from much further away) and we submitted the forms for Nicolas' unabridged birth certificate. We were blessed once again today in that we did not have to wait too long in line to get our paperwork processed. We were also able to work with the same man (whose name is Gift - fitting as he was a gift to us!) that helped us yesterday. The abridged birth certificate we received today only has his name, date and place of birth. The unabridged certificate will be much more like ours in the US, listing details of parents and such. Once we had the abridged certificate we went to the passport office to apply for his temporary and permanent South African passports. That process was a bit jumbled in comparison, but nothing we couldn't handle. Filling out the paperwork was quite simple, but when it was my turn, the woman looked at me like I was nuts. Turned out she hadn't done a passport for an adoption before, so she didn't know what paperwork she needed. She took some documents and disappeared for 5 or 10 minutes. Then, we told her we needed both temp and permanent passports, but she only processed us for the permanent one. When we went to the cashier (a different person), we explained that we needed both due to time constraints and needing the temp passport for our consulate appt, she explained that we had to go back to the other lady. So, we waited for her and she informed me that I had to fill out another form for the temp one. Ok......so I filled out the next form and by that time the lady who had been helping us had disappeared. So......we waited a little more. A different person helped us with the second application. We paid for that one and then headed back to have his photo taken. They looked at the papers and told me the temp passport application needed to go back to the people who sent us to her. What??? LOL. Ok. So, I took it back to the woman at the cashier desk who told me to take it there. Confused yet?? :) Then she told me we could come back between 8:30AM and 2PM tomorrow to pick up the temp passport. which is awesome!! I have no idea when they are going to process it since we turned it in about 30 minutes before they closed, but I hope she was right! We will be heading back over there tomorrow morning to pick it up. Please pray it will be ready!
Petra was texting our updates to Ruth (who is back in Capetown now - about a 12 hour drive away) and Ruth confirmed that they will be able to schedule our US consulate appointment as soon as we have the temp passport!! So, things are going more smoothly that we ever could have imagined!!! Thank you so much for all your prayers - they are powerful!!
Not as exciting, we headed to the rental car place after we left Home Affairs because we have to renew our rental. You can only rent for 30 days at a time. Of course, they told us we cannot renew it until the day it expires, which is Friday. So.....we will go back again on Friday.
We decided to eat out for dinner as we had planned to go to the grocery store this afternoon. We went to Luigis (bet you wouldn't guess it was Italian). This was the restaurant Beth and Bev took us to on our first night in Joburg. We had also come one other time when our internet was out for dessert. What are the chances that we would have the same waiter all three times, and even better that he would remember us. We had a great dinner and celebrated being one step closer to coming home! After dinner, we headed back to the guest house for homework, ice cream, and a movie.
Here are some more pictures!! The first couple are from yesterday and the rest are from today:
Kevin and Nicolas' palm frond fight by the pool.
Nicolas and Kevin reading 'The Story' as part of Nicolas' homework.
This is right after we received his new birth certificate as Nicolas Wandile Longstreet!
And with Dad!
It seems like things are going so quickly now!! We are racking our brains trying to think of all the things we want to do before we go home! The time has flown by so far, and it's only going to start going quicker! Hopefully, tomorrow we will have his temp passport and we will be praying for a US Consulate appointment early next week. We'll keep you posted!
The Longstreets
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Day 28: Home Affairs - Stage 1
It is hard to believe that we have been here 28 days!!! While it does feel like we have been away from home for a while, it seems like we just met Nicolas. It's crazy how time flies!
This morning we went to Home Affairs (similar to Secretary of State) to start the paperwork process to change Nicolas' name. We arrived there around 7:30 this morning in hopes of avoiding the lines. We started at the ID center. Petra had already acquired the appropriate documents for us, so we started filling them out. We had pre-filled samples from Ruth to ensure that we would fill them out correctly. We started comparing the documents and they had all changed - since last month. Nothing catastrophic, just enough to make you nervous about making mistakes. Not to worry, though, a quick call to Ruth and we were good. After filling the forms out twice (once for practice of course!) we got in line. When it was our turn, we found out that we were in the wrong office. We actually needed to go to the birth, death, and marriage office down the hill. So, we headed that way. After only a few minutes in line, it was our turn. The man looked at our documents and said "You don't need this one and they need to fill out this one" (which was one of the documents we had marked for stage 2 of the process). So, we filled those out. We were back to the front of the queue and got another gentleman this time. He looked though our paperwork and said there were two more forms we needed. What???? Thankfully, he let us fill them out at the counter while he put in the rest of our paperwork. The other forms we had to fill out were ID registration forms for us to prove that we were present to request his record change. With that, we had to get fingerprinted which we also had to wait for. The last step for today was to have them fax all of the documents to the processor. It took a while, but they got it done and we received confirmation that they had been sent successfully. Total time at Home Affairs for stage 1: 3 1/2 hours. I would say that the biggest difference between Home Affairs here and SOS at home is that there is no official queue (and the departments are broken up into fairly small offices) or numbering system, so people just wait at the desk until they are done with a client. It was easier than we anticipated. Hopefully, all steps will go this way! Special thanks to Petra and Ruth - it would have been stressful without their help! We did hear from Ruth that the processor who will prepare our documents is currently unable to access the system she needs in order to process our paperwork, so please pray that it is back up and running very soon!!!!
After Home Affairs we were hungry (surprise!), so we were planning to go to Luigi's for pizza. Um.....no. Apparently people don't eat lunch on weekdays until 12 (it was 11:30). So, we settled for Steers instead (burger joint). It was actually quite good! And, if you saw on facebook, we celebrated our step in the right direction with ice cream! I know, we eat a lot of ice cream.....it will be a tough habit to break! :)
Nicolas has been dying to go in the pool after three days of rain, so despite the fact that it's freezing, he went in anyway. Given that it was so cold, he would get in for a few minutes and then warm up on the tiles around the pool which get very warm in the sun. He was also enjoying using the water and his finger to make art on the tiles. He also got into a palm frond war with Dad. Good times!
The clouds came in and it began to sprinkle once again, so we headed inside. We played for a bit and then had dinner followed by our evening routine. We e-mailed Nicolas' teacher in Byron Center to ask her for some specifics on what we should be working with him on. She gave us a long list of sight words to practice and he rocked the house!!! He'll need to some time adjust to american money and measurements, but I think he will do very well!
Tomorrow is open on our calendar, so we will see what the day brings. The forecast has rain threatening our fun almost all week, so who knows if it will be another day in.....
The Longstreets
This morning we went to Home Affairs (similar to Secretary of State) to start the paperwork process to change Nicolas' name. We arrived there around 7:30 this morning in hopes of avoiding the lines. We started at the ID center. Petra had already acquired the appropriate documents for us, so we started filling them out. We had pre-filled samples from Ruth to ensure that we would fill them out correctly. We started comparing the documents and they had all changed - since last month. Nothing catastrophic, just enough to make you nervous about making mistakes. Not to worry, though, a quick call to Ruth and we were good. After filling the forms out twice (once for practice of course!) we got in line. When it was our turn, we found out that we were in the wrong office. We actually needed to go to the birth, death, and marriage office down the hill. So, we headed that way. After only a few minutes in line, it was our turn. The man looked at our documents and said "You don't need this one and they need to fill out this one" (which was one of the documents we had marked for stage 2 of the process). So, we filled those out. We were back to the front of the queue and got another gentleman this time. He looked though our paperwork and said there were two more forms we needed. What???? Thankfully, he let us fill them out at the counter while he put in the rest of our paperwork. The other forms we had to fill out were ID registration forms for us to prove that we were present to request his record change. With that, we had to get fingerprinted which we also had to wait for. The last step for today was to have them fax all of the documents to the processor. It took a while, but they got it done and we received confirmation that they had been sent successfully. Total time at Home Affairs for stage 1: 3 1/2 hours. I would say that the biggest difference between Home Affairs here and SOS at home is that there is no official queue (and the departments are broken up into fairly small offices) or numbering system, so people just wait at the desk until they are done with a client. It was easier than we anticipated. Hopefully, all steps will go this way! Special thanks to Petra and Ruth - it would have been stressful without their help! We did hear from Ruth that the processor who will prepare our documents is currently unable to access the system she needs in order to process our paperwork, so please pray that it is back up and running very soon!!!!
After Home Affairs we were hungry (surprise!), so we were planning to go to Luigi's for pizza. Um.....no. Apparently people don't eat lunch on weekdays until 12 (it was 11:30). So, we settled for Steers instead (burger joint). It was actually quite good! And, if you saw on facebook, we celebrated our step in the right direction with ice cream! I know, we eat a lot of ice cream.....it will be a tough habit to break! :)
Nicolas has been dying to go in the pool after three days of rain, so despite the fact that it's freezing, he went in anyway. Given that it was so cold, he would get in for a few minutes and then warm up on the tiles around the pool which get very warm in the sun. He was also enjoying using the water and his finger to make art on the tiles. He also got into a palm frond war with Dad. Good times!
The clouds came in and it began to sprinkle once again, so we headed inside. We played for a bit and then had dinner followed by our evening routine. We e-mailed Nicolas' teacher in Byron Center to ask her for some specifics on what we should be working with him on. She gave us a long list of sight words to practice and he rocked the house!!! He'll need to some time adjust to american money and measurements, but I think he will do very well!
Tomorrow is open on our calendar, so we will see what the day brings. The forecast has rain threatening our fun almost all week, so who knows if it will be another day in.....
The Longstreets
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