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