Peace and Out

This is it, probably our last entry until we are home. I went to the embassy and picked up Davina's passport with her immigration visa in it. She has what thousands wished they had, a visa to the US. We spent the day seeing part of the Congo river from a small picnic area. The river was rather narrow and Congo-Brazzaville is very close.

Davina was pretty tired all day and I think we are all felling the effects of the last week. With the visa in hand, our adrenaline has come down and both Joanna and I are tired in every way. We look forward to the new normal at home and getting to be in our home with Nate (and the dogs).



Francis has been a great brother once again. He has gone above and beyond to help us out, God has used him in a mighty way in this process.

It is strange leaving. It seems like we have been here a very long time and have gotten into somewhat of a routine. Most mornings were lipa and mwampa for Davina while we were getting ready, then off to the morning prayer meeting at Salvation Army headquarters. After, we would go into the "cafeteria" and have eggs, bread and a nice cold coke (all for 600fc each, about $1.20). $2.40 for breakfast is not bad!

Well, that's all I have for now, we have about 30 hours of travel ahead of us and we ned to rest.

Natey, did you see that the Angels beat the Seattle Mariners 6-0? John Lackey pitched a complete game shutout! Only two more sleeps until we are home. I can't wait to see you and give you a big lov'n!

Peace from the DRC: Michael, Joanna & Davina

Home Free!

We just returned from the Embassy, where Davina's visa was appoved! We will pick it up tomorrow. In our talking to people here, getting a passport and a visa is nothing less than a miracle. Pulling it off in a week would be considered impossible. However as we knew before, and can confirm with even more certainty now, nothing is impossible for our God. He planned these days before the beginning of time, and was just waiting for all this to come to pass in His time. It is another great day. We have also gotten some genuine smiles today, which is great!

Davina has remembered that she is a three year old. Although a really well behaved 3 year old, she has gotten to the fidgets, and wanting to check everything, and test boundaries. Yesterday we sat front row for a 2 1/2 hour church service, which we arrived an hour early for. It was a long morning, but she did really well. She set off the alarm on my watch, and flung her elastic bracelet, and pulled out a few extensions, but beyond that, very good. I dont think anyone noticed the few little things. After we went to the Corps Officers house for lunch (he said it would be like kicking him in the stomach if we did not stay). She chowed on what may have been her last authentic Congolese food for awhile, including fufu, casaba leaves, soso (chicken) and loso (rice). She tends to eat more than me at most meals.

As I type, Davina is getting her hair done. We are at least 2 hours into this process, and hav at least one more to go. I am hoping to get some more practical help on how to do hair when we get home, this is a bit excessive I think...She had her extensions taken out yesterday, and her little afro was pretty cute. We have been told that women here change their hairstyle every day and it seems to be true. With so many extensions, lengths, colors, etc. there are a lot of options. My hair is excessively boring in comparison.

All continues to be well here, we are beginning to get ourselves packed up to return home on a Wed am flight. Hopefully Davina will sleep much of the way home, at least on the flights. It feels like we have been here forever, it will be strange to leave. Our flight home takes us through Nairobi with about an 8 hour layover, then to Heathrow, where we have about 3 hours. Fortunately, we go direct to LAX from there. It will be more meaningful to touch down this time, as it starts a new life, and a new citizenship for Davina. We are looking forward to you all meeting her, hopefully she will continue to progress quickly. Many people have commented on how quickly and well he has adapted to us, she is already very attached which is a wonderful thing.

After all the excitement, it is a bit anti-climactic to have all the necessary steps completed, but it is a huge relief. California here we come.

We love you Nate, we look forward to seeing you, and you meeting Davina!

See you all soon,

Love, Joanna Michael & Davina

It's A Great Day to Praise the Lord!

Vaccinations - finished. And Davina did great! No real drama at the clinic, and her medical report for the visa is complete! We were dreading the appointment today, and just praise God for giving Davina the peace to get her final shot.

Almost smiling at the compound, and representing in the PW gear!

After the clinic, our plan was to bring Davina home for a nap, but since she was doing so well, we went on to Kintambo compound so I could see it, and so hopefully we could find the seamstress. We were able to see much of the work our teams have done over the years, and so many of he people I have heard so much about. The children there were so wonderful. There were several that I specifically wanted to see. Of course, the twins Charity & Justice. They are beautiful girls, very happy, and they would seem to be doing well in their current environment. They are quick to smile, and to talk. We saw Hope and Exaces (looks like a mini Tiki Barber) who I have heard so much about. Their parents are very kind. Christian, who I was also wanting to meet is living with them now. He is a precious boy, his english is so good. I can see why so many of our PW family love the children here!

We left the compound in time to get to Michael's appt with the Ambassador. Davina's passport was prepared about 5 minutes prior! And, we did not have to pay any special fees, thanks to our embassy! While Michael & Francis went inside to see the ambassador, Davina and I waited in the truck. There were several armed police around, cops walking with rifles ready is a little different! I heard sirens, and everyone stopped to look - it was the President. Apparently on weekends he likes to get out and drive himself. There were two police pickups before and after him, guns poised. I did not see the man, just a sweet black Mercedes with heavily tinted windows. Anyway, a bit of excitement in the car.

Now we are home, trying to get Davina to take a nap. Washed some clothes in a bucket, that was a new experience. Francis is out buying hair for Davina, turns out all the hair you see is extensions, and she has a very short afro. We are going to have the extensions re-done tomorrow, hopefully the moondeli's can learn how all this works.

With the passport in hand, and the medical behind us, we should be in the home stretch, just need to go to the embassy on Monday and get the precious immigration visa! All is well here in Congo. We miss you and look forward to seeing you soon!

Nate, have a great time at the game, and at Aunt Cathy's. Not too much snacks, and no pudding head. We love you and will see you Thursday!

Love, Joanna, Michael & Davina

Pepperoni Pizza & Pepsi

Well, Davina does not like the clinic. And unfortunately, we had to visit there today for two vaccinations, and one tomorrow. She recognizes it when we pull up, and gets upset immediately. Fortunately, her parents had taken care of most of her immunizations, so there are just three to be done. I have an appt with our pediatrician when we get home, which I plan to cancel. Since she has all her shots, there is no need to rush and traumatize her (or the Dr!)

Michael spoke to the Abassador of Foreign Affairs, the passport was not ready today, but we are scheduled to pick it up at noon tomorrow. With that, and the medical (which the clinic will deliver to our embassy on Monday - they do not give it to you, so you cannot alter it), we are set to go to the embassy on Monday to get Davina's visa. That will be a very great day. Then, as soon as we touch down at LAX, she is an American citizen! We are looking forward to coming home, and with the visa, we are pretty much home free, we leave Wed am.

Tomorrow, after the clinic, we are going to get the passport, then head over to the Kitambo compound to see a seamstress, we bought some tye-died fabric today to have something made for Davina. I am looking foward to seeing the compound, as our teams have spent a lot of time there in past years. We are going to have dinner with the Castor's, which I am looking foward to, they seem like truly wonderful people.

Tonight after the fabric store, we went for pizza at Hunga Busta with Frances & Guilan. It was very good, pepperoni pizza with Pepsi! Davina ate a lot of crust (with some cheese) and decided she liked my pepsi which she finished - we will have to work on that, not messing with mom's pepsi, especially when it is the first one I have had in over a week. In the back they had an inflatable slide/bounce house thing, which she did with dad. She seemed to enjoy it, but not enough to smile. One of these days that girl is going to have to smile. She is probobly bored silly with us, and will do much better when her big brother and other friends are around to play with.

She is saying a word here and there, and nods her head when she wants something I am asking. Progress at least. She spoke quite a bit to the nurse giving her the shots, she was an angry little girl! She has begun shaking people's hands when they hold theirs out. Michael taught her to do a high five, but she will only do them with me for now.

We are doing well. We have been attending the morning prayer meetings, and our house is right next to the chapel where the SA territorial band & songsters, as well as other groups practice. The beauty of the voices in particular is very moving. I have no idea of the words, but I recognize a lot of the songs. It is a great experience. We appreciate your continued prayers for us, and particularly for Davina's continued transition. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Natey it was great talking to you tonight! We are so glad you are having such a good time. We love you very much and look forward to seeing you on Thursday!

Love, Joanna, Michael & Davina

We have a word.....

Today was the day to take Davina to the doctor. Fortunately, she had a good night's sleep, and was in good spirits this morning. That was until the Dr tried to look at her arm for a TB vaccination, to which she took exception. She then proceeded to scream for probobly 20 minutes ( a repeat of the night before). The poor Dr., he was a very nice man, apparently Italian, no english, marginal french, trying to examine a screaming child. Fotunately, the exam consisted mostly of asking about her medical history, which we told him was fine (?) and him listening to her heart & lungs, both fine. Davina weighs in at 15 kilos (33lbs) and is 39" tall. When we got to the clinic, they asked for her immunization chart, which we of course did not have. Fortunately, it apparently exists, and we believe at this time is in Frances' possession, however her has been running around with the attorney and the biological parents for about 6 hours to get it, and is now walking home from some remote destination because all the drivers are gone, and the taxis are full. He is such a helpful friend, this would not all be possible without him. He is Davina's first Uncle (since she became ours), of many to come. We are hopeful the card indicates she is current on her immunizations, as taking her back to the clinic would not be good, and we would likely have to sedate her to give her an injection. Please pray that will be the case when we take the card in for them to check in the morning.

I spent most of the day just sitting with Davina. She is very snuggly, and can sit still on my lap for literally hours, which is something I have never considered possible for a 3 year old. We get the impression she has not had much in the way of affection, and is trying to catch up. She is warming up to Michael some, it is getting better every day. She and I were working on a puzzle today, and she actually spoke, just one word. I was so surprised, I have no idea what it was, other than in lingala. I think she almost did it by accident, and there were no more words after that. But it was progress.

She has not been eating much today, perhaps the stress of last night and this am have been a bit much. She seems to make progress towards joy, then slip back a bit, then forward, then back each day. She has a water bottle,which we have been mixing some juice in, which she likes to carry with her everywhere. She is basically toilet trained, I take her every little while. We will work on her initiating herself once we are home. I am sure she already knows how to do that, so it will not be too hard. She is in a pull up at night, she is a very sound sleeper, going 11-12 hours a night, which makes that part hard. Again, we will work on that sometime when we get home, that is the least of our concerns in this transition. Even without the words, she is truly a wonderful little girl, we are so excited to see the healing God is going to do in her little life, bringing her to the joy and peace that should be normal for a child her age.

All is well with us, we are being well taken care of, and as it stands, everything still appears on track for us to leave next Wed as planned. We anticipate taking care of the medical tomorrow (getting the ok) and getting her passport. We will then be able to get her visa on Monday.

Natey,we love you! We keep talking to Davina about you, and she knows your name, because she looks at us everytime we say it. She may not be ready to talk to you yet when we get home, but I know she will love you super much, and you will be a really great big brother! We look forward to seeing you at the airport next week!

Another day in Congo is finished....

Love, Joanna, Michael& Davina

Kitoko mwana (beautiful little girl)

So here it is about 5:40am and i am up because I was keeping tabs on the Angel/Yankee game on ESPN.com. Of course, the one game I lose sleep over to check on, is the one game I should have slept through. Oh well, 2 of 3 is okay by me.

I am excited that I was able to get a couple of pictures up. These pictures do not give justice to the true beauty of this little girl. Hopefully more picture to come in the next few days. - Michael

Mom & Davina

Davina likes to be read to. Joanna is reading "My First Bible" and Davina spends time looking at the book by herself. These two are connecting well and it is obvious that God has planned for Joanna to be the mother of Davina. - Michael

Bon Nuit from Congo

Well, we keep having days that we think are going to be slow yet end up quite eventful! Michael went to the Ambassaor of Foreign Affairs today. He was able to meet with him directly, and fortunately, he speaks good english, although Michael took Francis to translate if needed. The good news is they are going to issue Davina a passport, no problem. The bad news is they are out of passport books, but they are coming in tomorrow, and we should be able to get it on Friday. In Congo currently, that is huge, so we are quite pleased. The trick with that, is that in order for Davina to get her medical exam required for the visa, she needs an ID. 3 year olds generally do not carry id. So, Francis being a jack of all trades realizes he knows the SA school master, and can get her an official school ID made with her remaining passport photo. So, he goes about doing that. Michael takes it to the embassy, and they say ok and issue the medical packet, along with a letter telling the medical folks we need next day results. The embassy continues to be fantastic. So tomorrow we will do the medical (not fun, turns out Davina will need to be caught up to some extent on vaccinations), then friday the passport. Our embassy closes at noon on Friday, so we should be all set to get the visa on Monday, or Tuesday if they need more time. Done just in the nick of time! Praise God, he has moved many mountains in this one!

After that excitement,we went to the station, which is a place for the touristas to buy souveniers. We were walking through the place, and a woman comes up to us and comments about Davina. She looks african, and has an african accent. She proceeds to tell us it breaks her heart to see us with Davina..we are thinking..oh no...but turns out she is from Texas, and has adopted herself, and was just thrilled! We spoke for a few minutes, then parted ways, with her husband (also looks african) saying "It was nice to meet y'all" in a perfect Texas accent! It was quite funny! Anyway, by the time we left the market Davina was feeling a little puny, a little drippy nose, and maybe a touch of fever, so we came home. She seemed exhausted, and really just wanted me to hold her. We noticed she was a little stand offish with Michael even. (note, to this point, no talking, no smiling, no laughing, but she had begun to warm up to us, and prior to this afternoons little sickness, seemed to be getting close to at least cracking a smile). So we are just relaxing here, and the guard from the gate comes to the door to tell us that Davina's parents are here to see her. It is terrible timing, as she is not feeling good at all, but we know it needs to be done.

We come out, and walk to the front of the compound, and Davina and I sit on the front steps of THQ. Michael goes to the gate, and brings her parents. They walk up, and are talking to her, and she is just leaning into me, holding my leg. She will not talk to them either, and eventually just looks down at her shoes. They keep trying to talk to her, with no response. However, she is fading. She begins to scratch her leg, and David (biologicalfather) comes and sits next to her, and starts moving her hand away so she cant scratch, an speaking somewhat sternly to her. Davina loses it, and starts bawling. This is the first emotion we have seen from her, and the first noise really, so this is new. Her parents are standing there, telling her to stop, and I am not sure what to do. Michael then encourages me to pick her up and walk with her to calm her, as David & Suzanne were doing nothing. So I did, and eventually she settled. Meanwhile, they did not leave, they just sat down, so Michael got Francis on the phone to translate what they wanted. They wanted a photo of the five of us together, and thought they could just come back. Wisely Michael said no, we need to do this tonight, and went and got our camera, and found someone to take the photo. And finally they left.

After some time tonight, Davina finally calmed all the way down, and I think the fever broker for good. She is sleeping peacfully now, thank goodness. We are so glad to have this part over with, as they should be completely out of the picture now so we can really connect with her. Based on David's interraction with Davina, we now understand why she is a bit standoffish with Michael. It will not take her long to learn that he is not the same. Please keep praying for her little heart to heal. This is way too much for a 3 year old. We know it will be better for her, but she has no idea what tomorrow holds.

So,another day is done in Kinshasa. Thanks be to God that he is putting all of the pieces of this very intricate puzzle together, we could not do it on our own. Tomorrow, we hope to be able to do some fun things - sponsor some kids for school, buy a cow, and donate the medical supplies Mary Freeman has collected at her hospital. All is well here.

Natey, we love you, ad we know that you are going to be a big help in making Davina feel a part of our family. We think she misses her other brothers and sisters, so she will be happy to see you! We are showing her your picture, telling her that is her oyo yaya Nate. Be good for Grandma & Grandpa, and all your other friends who are taking good care of you! I hope you saw that the Angels smoked the Yankees up last night, 18-9, Garret Anderson hit two home runs, including a grand slam! We miss you, and look forward to seeing you next week.

Thanks to all of you for helping out with Nate, we really appreciate it. It takes a weight off of our hearts to know he is getting so much love and care in our absence. We look forward to seeing you, and introducing you all to Davina next week! Love, Joanna, Michael & Davina

More favor!

Good morning all! Or, I should say Bon Jour! It is a language frenzy here, as we work between english (which few speak), French (which is coming back to me from the ancient days of high school), and Lingala, the local dialect which is a bit of a mystery to me. Then in comes Francis, who knows all of the above and is helping us, with a greeting of "Ola, que pasa"? Oi. I have not idea what language I am speaking anymore.

Still no words fram Davina, however she talks a lot in her sleep, so we know it is just a matter of time. She is exceptionally well behaved. She continues to eat well, and will eat whatever is put in front of her. Last night, she ate two plates of rice, bread, chicken, beef & french fries. Today, I believe he stomach is trying to process, as that was likely a lot for her. It was funny last night for dinner, there was a power outage, so we were sitting at a coffee table in the front room where there is the most light. We made her a plate, but she would not eat. Michael suggested perhaps she liked eating at the regular table better, so we moved into the relatively dark dining room, and she chowed! She has really good table manners, which has surprised us. We keep hoping she will talk to us, but feel a bit comforted that she wont talk or react to anyone. In fact, when other Congolese try to talk to her, she will reach for us, or grab onto us tighter. So at least she is beginning to understand that we are safe, and consistent. She has been through a lot for a three year old. Please continue to pray for her transition, that she will have peace in her heart. I think tday is the day her mother was considering coming to say goodbye. I really pray that she does not, but understand that she may need to. Davina is currently sitting next to me, drinking all my water with the peach iced tea mix. Just switched her to guava juice....

Yesterday our attorney met with great success on her birth certificate. We were given an attestation of her birth, as there was no birth certificate we were told. The attestation is not enough for her visa, as apparently those are pretty easily come by, so we had to go to the tribunal to get a judgement saying the birth information was valid. To get that done quickly involved quite a bit of $. In their research they found that there had been a birth certificate issued, however it had been lost, but they had an electronic copy in Kinshasa. Our attorney was able to get it, and Michael took it to the embassy immediately and they gave it the ok. I was surprised to hear that with that, we may actually get some money back from te tribunal! The folks at our embassy have been truly fantastic, so helpful and really kind. They wrote us a letter of recommendation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and set up the opportunity for Michael to meet with the Ambassador there personally, which he is doing right now. It is our understanding that their intention is to issue a passport immediately. With that, we can proceed to get her medical exam done, then we will have all we need. Voila! as the Congolese say. We understand the medical takes 4-5 days, so we will need some favor there as well...

God has been incredibly kind through this whole journey to date. The travel here was very difficult, leaving Nate was much more painful than I expected. Had God not made it so very clear that Davina was His plan for our family, I would have likely turned back at the first opportunity. Being here, and meeting these wonderful people has been a real blessing.

Davina and I are spending much of our time on the compound. I find that when we venture out, walking, we get a lot of wierd and some bad looks. The moondeli (white people) are a little more common here, but we are not supposed to be holding a congolese child. The men seem ok, but the women are not pleased. I did not go to the Ambassador today for that very reason, we do not want to draw attention to this that we do not know is positive. On our first day the Commisioner (SA) advised us to keep it low, and referenced the Madonna situation in Malawi. We obviously do not get the press she does, but are looking to heed his wisdom. I do not have fear here, but it is wise to lay low...

We have been unable to post pictures here, due to slow connection speeds that keep timing out. We have emailed some pictures, and asked that they be forwarded, so hopefully they will make it to you soon. For PW, Kenny has them. For SVS, Linda has them, for family, we sent them to Cathy. There is one with me reading to Davina, you will notice the stark difference between her skin color and mine. I believed I was tan prior to seeing that!

Look at me being long winded! I will sign off now, and wil try to update later with news of the passport and medical. We appreciate your continued prayers.

Natey my love, I miss you very much. I am certain that you are going to have a lot of fun with Davina when we get home. Have a very fun half birthday, be super good for Jeanette at Disneyland, don't scare her on the rides too much! We love you and we miss you, and we look forward to seeing you soon!

Love, Joanna, Michael & Davina

She is ours!

Monday was a very productive day in Congo! We slept very long last night, much needed afer the travels. We were en-route for about 36 hours, with very little opportunity for quality sleep. That, combined with a lot of sadness in leaving Nate led to complete exhaustion. When we arrrived on Sunday we went to the grocery, then were able to take a long nap. When we woke, we really just wanted to go back to sleep but were determined to stay up until 8pm so we would not be up all night. Fortunately ourfriend Francis came over to keep us company. Not long after,we had another knock on the door, and were surprised to find Davina, with her mother and father, as well as their Corps Officer. They wanted to meet us. It was a very strange situation, and since we were surprised, we had no time to plan. They left after a short visit, and took Davina with them. This morning, once we finally got moving, we met with Col. Castor, who has been coordinating everything, and he introduced us to Rocky Nganga, our attorney. From there we proceeded to the US Embassy to plead our case as Davina does not have a proper birth certificate or a passport (passports are out of stock in DRC currrently as they are changing their flag). We were successful on the passport, they wrote a letter of recommendation to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who we believe will be issuing a passport tomorrow when we meet with him. The birth certificate was a no go, but our attorney was alread working on that, so we should have that by the end of the week as well. IN the meantime, we needed passport photos, so we were able to take Davina with us. Once we were done, there was not enough time to take her home, so we met her father and he said it was ok we could just take her tonight. Her mother may come by in a couple days to say good bye we are not sure.

We did go to Davina's house today to get her, the house, where she was living with her parents and 7 siblings, was probobly smaller than her room at our house, and had just a curtain for a door. It was a "triplex" so to speak, and there were tons of little kids running around, we do not know which were her siblings. The mother came around to my (Joanna) window to specifically kind of make eye contact with me. We assured them we would take good care of her, and she seemed ok.

Now we are back at our house, on the THQ headquarters in Kinshasa. Davina has not spoken yet, but is warming up to us,and follows us around. She went to the bathroom on her own, and is eating an drinking all that we give her. Although she is not overly thin, it would seem she has not had a lot to eat/drink bsed on her appetite. She is a size 3T, at least, with a size 9 shoe (I brought size 8, bummer). Not positive on the clothing size, as her stomach is a bit distended, I do not think that will last. She is stunningly beautiful, ths picture we had did not do her justice. We are hoping she will start smiing soon, and we will post pictures as soon as we can.

Thanks to you all for your prayers, God's favor continues to be on us in this matter. Please pray for the passport situation on Tuesday, and that the birth certificate will be processed this week as promised. Also please pray for Peace for Davina's mother, that she knows she did the right thing.

Natey, Davina is very quiet now, but we have been told that she has a lot of words usually, and likes to play alot, so I think you will be having fun with her soon. She is also very smart, like you, so you can help her learn English, and to read! Mommy & Daddy love you and miss you very much. We know you are having a great time with Grandma & Grandpa. We will see you soon!

Love to you all, Joanna,Michael& Davina

Greetings From London!

Well, so far, so good, we are about halfway there! We landed at Heathrow at about 9:30am (1:30 am PST). We spent several hours in the "quiet room" trying to rest, and are now roaming aimlessly killing time until 8pm. Our next leg takes us to Nairobi, then into Kinshasa. We will arrive there at about 1:30 am PST on Sunday. We will be getting Davina on Sunday or Monday, and then will begin the process of getting a passport & visa for her to get her out, and bring her home.

We will update as frequently as we can. We love and miss you very much. Special love to Captain Rudy Tooty, we love you super much and can't wait to see you. Thanks for your prayers, we know that God is with us every step, we look forward to what he has in store!

Blessings, Michael & Joanna

Here she is: Davina Nsombi Freeman!

You can tell from my last post that it has been a while since I have posted anything. I am not big on this, but considering what is happening in my life, I thought this would be the best way to get the news out.

Long story short, Joanna and I are leaving on the 17th to go to the Democratic Republic of Congo to pick up our daughter. As of August 10th, the adoption was completed we are legally parents of Davina Nsombi Freeman. We have been preapproved for her immigration and now have to work with the US embassy in Kinshasa to get her immigration visa. God had been working miracles all along the way and saying God is good seems like selling Him short. I know He is good, just the way we use good is not the same.

All glory to God who can do far more than we can ever ask or dream!

Joanna and I will update this as often as we can from Kinshasa, so check back for updates.

Peace.