There are still more steps in the paperwork process. The most complicated part, so far Authentication. In international adoptions, every document that is part of the homestudy process has to be authenticated, or "legalized". For every country/state the procedures can vary. For us, it meant traveling to three different county courthouses before Christmas. It also means mailing documents to various Secretaries of State, U.S. Consulates and to the U.S. Department of State. Many of which require couriers and return envelopes with tracking numbers. As you can imagine, the fees add up. So far we have spent almost $300 on different fees and I expect to spend quite a bit more before we have finished the process.
It is scary to know that if certain procedures aren't followed correctly, we might need to do the process over again. So, I drag in my big, scary binder of papers and documents to the UPS store each time I mail a document. Yes, I bring a large 3-ring binder to the UPS store. Where ordinary citizens just want to mail Christmas gifts to their loved ones. I take 15 minutes to go through each document, get the right envelopes and check the addresses, twice. I'm sorry to you, busy working gentleman, holding a very large, heavy package and waiting while I open my binder and recheck the addresses, a third time. I'm sorry. There isn't even room on the counter for it all. But the nice UPS man reassures me every time that it will be OK. And we send off the next paper.
But, it is just part of the process. Just like the homestudy. And parent training. And so many other details. You can pray for us during this process. Pray for patience. And wisdom. And trust that God will work out the little details.
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