Hallelujah

Our prayers have been answered. Just moments ago, Dustin met with a very kind and compassionate Social Welfare Officer. It turns out he DID think we were other people. Dustin cleared that up and told him our full story. The first step is for the grandfather of Moses to give his consent to an adoption. He would basically have to co-sign a letter with the birth mother, relinquishing the child for adoption and emigration. The SWO plans to call him today and discuss the situation. I'm a little nervous because I don't know how much the mother has communicated with her father (Moses' only other known living relative). I hope he's not taken by surprise. As far as I know, she last talked to him two months ago. A lot can change in two months.

We're taking things step by step. Dustin did an excellent job "buttering up" the official. I don't mean that to sound as awful as it does. Dustin said that we wanted to play by the rules, do everything according to proper procedures, and not rush the system. I can just imagine the smile on the officer's face. He really likes rules.

We will wait to hear about the conversation with the grandfather before moving forward. Dustin told the SWO that his return ticket to America was in a few weeks. He seemed to nod as if to say, "I think we can try to make that work." I guess anything is possible.

Just to mix things up a little bit, I've decided it's time for me to go over. I'm going to buy myself a ticket tomorrow for these dates: June 15 - July 9th. It's high time I meet this little man. Of course this would mean that we're not coming back on June 19th - Dustin's original return date. But even if adoption proceedings could go that quickly, it will still take a few weeks for immigration approval etc.

This is my understanding of our next steps:
-Talk to the grandfather and have him sign a joint letter with the birth mother
-Have a home inspection by the local SWO in our town, Balaka

Once these steps are done, I believe we'll be looking at lawyers and court dates etc. Dustin didn't want to jump the gun and start pushing for more details. The SWO wants us to take things step by step and so we will.

I'm going to try to rebook Dustin a return ticket for July 9th (same as me). We'll just move forward in faith that the timing will work out.