Visa has been issued

It truly seems a bit anticlimactic to blog about today's events. Once the paperwork is in order, the likelihood of being denied a visa is probably pretty low. Either way I seemed to be a bit nervous going to the Embassy. Funny thing is that that my nervousness was dissolved the second we walked through the door. If you are reading this blog and have never travelled abroad, you truly do not know what a privilege it is to be citizen of the United States. Yesterday when we went to the embassy there were hundreds of people there waiting to apply for a visa. Today I saw only two people (outside the windows), and they were a woman and here newly adopted son. Oh how much we take our privileges for granted. Sure our country has its issues, but why would they be lined up out side the door waiting to get in if there wasn't something special here?

Well today, Vova (who will now be called Carl) was granted the privilege to immigrate to the US with his parents. He was issued an IR3 visa which means that he is eligible for immediate application for citizenship. In all the things that we teach him as parents, I hope that we can teach him what that means and how truly special that is. Of all the people in the world and of all the people who have applied, why has God given him this opportunity? This I believe is something that we should all appreciate and respect.

Because of the weather and the holidays, we won't be able to return until Sunday, so Carl and I will have an extra day to shop, and play games (on the computer) and just hang out, "pop" and son. Yes he calls me "Pop". It sounded kinda weird initially, but it seems pretty cool now. In a way, I am glad that we get an extra day. When we get home he will be covered with the love of his momma, sisters and his brother and I won't really get much time alone. Hopefully, he will remember this time in the midst of all the excitement of returning home. I know I will.

In closing I want to reiterate what I believe about the season and God's blessing with a little story. While shopping this morning, we were at the register in a particular store checking out. They had placed a snow globe dangerously close to the edge on the cash register. While standing there, Carl somehow brushed up against it and it fell off - broken. Had this happened in a US store, the employee who placed it there would have taken the blame and the management would have been more concerned about the customer than the lost goods. I guess that is not the case here. Anyway, there was a little exchange with the management and they were not very empathetic. After a few seconds I decided not to fight the issue and just paid for the item as we left. While walking back to our apartment I got to thinking about that incident, and it made me think of what God did when He sent Jesus here to pay for our sins. No matter the reason or circumstance, Jesus's sacrifice pays the price for all of our sins and mistakes, just like what I did in that store (in a very small way). Let us all keep this in mind as we grow closer to Christmas and the celebration of this gift.

So the end of our process is complete. All that remains is spending a short time here and then the travel home. Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers as we have two more days left.

Jeff