Lost and Found

The Texas Capital, where our dossier got lost and found.

I have heard that sometimes biological mothers, especially pregnant ones, tell adoptive mothers “Oh you got your kids the easy way.” I have also had tons of people tell me in person they can’t believe how long this adoption process is taking, and how hard it seems to be. So many crazy hoops to jump through and so many unexpected and uncontrollable twists and turns.

I recently shared here how most of our dossier, the extremely important file full of documents that took months for me to collect, got lost. Seventeen original, notarized documents. Personal letters written by each of our doctors. Personal letters written by our psychiatrist. A personal letter written by our bank manager. Four personal reference letters from pastors and friends. Letters for each of us from the county sheriff. Our original, notarized home study…a twenty page report detailing our lives and declaring us worthy parents.

They were all lost in the mail. Mailed the first week of October and not received by the Secretary of State in Austin who needed to certify each document.

I felt like a failure. Like an idiot for not mailing them with a tracking number or even driving to Austin to hand deliver them. I felt like I had single handedly messed up in our pursuit of our daughter and now I would have to humbly reach out to everyone who had helped me create that dossier to get it redone.

Of course I prayed and begged people to pray with me that it would turn up. I knew it was out of my hands, but as weeks passed I lost hope and resigned myself to starting over. After a month I started emailing people and asking them to redo their letters and forms.

I just felt tired and frustrated and down last Tuesday night as I told Mike, “I just need some good news right now.”

Then Wednesday night I was sitting on the couch watching TV when Mike practically jumped off the couch with his computer on his lap. “Honey! Honey! They cashed our check! They cashed our check!”

I didn’t believe it till he showed me the cashed check online that I had written out to the Texas Secretary of State. The dossier was found!!

We rejoiced and thanked God and shared the news. The next morning I called and tried to stop them from sending the documents back to us via snail mail again. Too late, according to them all seventeen documents had been processed last Friday and mailed back via the self-addressed stamped envelope I provided.

So now I wait again. It only took a month to get from Houston to Austin, right? I am so grateful for this weird turn of events. I am convinced that He heard our prayers and uncovered the missing package. I know He was teaching me some stuff about His timing and sovereignty.

I’m back to stalking the mailbox every day, but with hope now. I’m also waiting for USCIS (immigration) to mail us our approval letter, the final piece of the dossier before it goes to Haiti. I’m so ready to be done with this part of the process.

Our agency coordinator and a whole bunch of families in our program and headed to Haiti this weekend for appointments at the Embassy and to spend time with their kids. I was hoping to join them but it just wasn’t meant to be this time. So we wait for our referral patiently.

And of course, we pray.

Author: Sarah

Mom of three. Triathlete. View all posts by Sarah