THEY ARE COMING HOME!!!!

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

5:38 am EST (12:38 pm Ethiopian time)

I was awakened by a phone call. On the other end of the line was our friend Henok who had just spoken to Tom (through the phone that the translator who is with Tom today let him borrow). My heart started pounding out of my chest when I answered. He said to me, “Whitney, Tom is outside of the embassy right now and they will not let him in. They have told him they are closed because they have meetings all day long today and tomorrow. He told me to tell you to email your attorney and see if there is anything that can be done.” Immediately my heart sank and a deep pit in my stomach formed. How could this have happened? Tom was there on Tuesday in person and the lady at the embassy told him to come back on Thursday with the TB results…the email we received in response to our inquiry about coming on Thursday to bring the results also indicated that he could bring the paperwork. Neither of them mentioned the Embassy being closed for meetings…although, neither said he would be seen for an interview. So, I emailed the embassy myself, emailed our attorney, and asked some close friends and family for prayer and then got on my face and prayed.

7:18am EST (2:18pm Ethiopian Time)

I received a message from Henok…”Congratulations everything has been approved, Tigist is coming home soon!!”

WHAT?!?!?! How in the WORLD did it go from “They won’t let him in the Embassy, they are closed for meetings today and tomorrow” to “Congraulations everything has been approved”??? One word…GOD!!!

Amazing answer to prayers and nothing short of yet, ANOTHER, miracle that God beautifully orchestrated to make this happen. And of course, He didn’t spare us the drama, stress, uncertainty, or make it easy…he reminded us to trust him, have faith in him, and he made it MIRACULOUS!

Tom’s side of the story is a lot more detailed and a LOT more crazy than I could have imagined. SO MANY things had to fall perfectly into place to make what happened today possible. 

7:30am (Ethiopian Time): 12:30am EST

To set the tone of the morning, not only was the day freezing cold and rainy, but the traffic was horrible and Sophia wasn’t feeling well (may have a cold) and Tom was just exhausted. They were able to get the TB test results read and put into an envelope to take to the hospital for a doctor to review and then send on to the Embassy. After waiting for at least 30 minutes at the hospital, Tom began to feel concerned that it was taking too long and something was wrong. He spoke to our translator who told him to come in and they waited more. Finally they were given the documents they needed with a CLEAR medical report and headed toward the embassy. They ended up picking up the social worker on their way as Tom found out she needed to be there as well, but then they hit MAJOR traffic issues.

11:35am (Ethiopian Time): 4:35am EST

They finally arrived at the Embassy and Tom was feeling a surge of urgency so instead of just allowing the social worker to take the documents in by herself, he accompanied her.

When he arrived to the front of the Embassy he was told that they were closed and in a meeting today and tomorrow. When Tom explained that he had spoken to someone in person on Tuesday and emailed and the embassy and being closed was never mentioned, the person just told him again they were closed for this training/meeting. Then a security officer came down to talk to him because he spoke better English and Tom explained the situation to him…but all he kept telling Tom was “why you don't have an appointment?” Even though Tom told him that he was in American citizen and should be able to go in based on that alone, he said you still need an appointment. Tom had the director of our agency speak to this guard as well, but nothing helped. They would NOT let him in.

Tom wouldn’t take no for an answer. So he waited outside of the Embassy and he recognized a man from when he was there two days before. The man said something in Amharic to everybody who was waiting outside, which Tom didn’t understand. Then he approached this man and told him the situation but another person cut him off and interrupted their conversation. The man told Tom he would look into it and went inside. So, he and our little Sophia (still not feeling well) stood outside in the wet, cold rain longer.

After contacting me through the translator and our friend Henok, he noticed there was a different lady out front that the social worker told him to go speak to. As you can imagine, the “Daddy on Fire” came out in full force when he spoke to this lady and he demanded to speak to someone “up top.” Soon he was on the phone with someone, it was the same lady he spoke to on Tuesday. She asked if he had the rest of the medical and necessary documents. He told her he had all those documents in hand just like she had told him to bring back today. Therefore she let them in.

When they got into the embassy (which looks very similar to the DMV with chairs and windows you speak through) it was COMPLETELY EMPTY. No one was at the windows, no one was waiting. They were CLOSED. A lady approached the window and took their documents. Then another man came to the window and said they weren't expecting him to show up this afternoon so if he wouldn't mind giving them about 40 minutes or so to review the documents, they would get it done today.

2:15pm (Ethiopian time): 7:15am EST

They finally came out and called them to the window. After a brief conversation and questioning if I had met Sophia before (didn’t even want to see photos!), she proceeded to fill out some forms and told them everything was taken care of and they should come back tomorrow at 10 am to pick up the visa, passport and a sealed document that will remain sealed until they go through customs in DC. She said as soon as they land on US soil she is a US CITIZEN!!!!!

And that was that. Everything is complete. They are COMING HOME!! PRAISE GOD!!!

We are making travel arrangements now so I will be informing everyone of when they will be arriving soon. If you would like to help contribute to the final phase of bringing Sophia home, please feel free to donate to our “Covered in Love” quilt project or click the link on the side bar to donate (if you are viewing on a mobile device, click “view web version” at the bottom of the page to be able to see the button)

God has done amazing things. I keep telling people…”He finally said it was time, and when he says its time..he means..ITS TIME!”

Also..in case I forgot to mention...I love my husband.