I did a lousy job blogging and updating things during our hosting adventure this Summer- but Holy Cow have we been busy. I did write this one here that should give you a little background, and this one that laid out some of what our plans are to bring V here on a student visa.
V had to go back to Latvia this past Sunday. To say that it was a rough Goodbye at the airport would be quite the understatement. The only thing that made it better than our hosting journey this past winter was the hope of a quick return for V. What made it hard was the unknown. We had all of our paperwork submitted to the lawyer in Latvia, but we did not have a court date set yet for her return. With all of the unknowns surrounding everything it made it rough, really rough, to say goodbye at the airport.
Our boys took it especially hard- our oldest one the worst. He was pitiful the night before we had to take V to the airport. KP #3 even set a place at the table the other night for her...because Daddy was going to get her soon. It broke my heart to have to tell him that she wasn't going to be there for dinner, and we weren't sure when exactly we would be able to bring her home because we were waiting to hear from the lawyer.
But all that has changed now...
We've heard from the lawyer.
We have an orphan court appointment Monday August 27th. If that goes well we will have an embassy appointment on Tuesday. With the wait on paperwork, and adding in a day to guard against any delays the plan is to fly out of Latvia on Friday the 31st.
That's the plan. Here's where we need your help.
I am going to have to rent a car for the week in Latvia (thankfully they drive on the right side of the road, it'll be tricky enough driving in a foreign country without having to remember to drive on the opposite side of the road too), which will not be cheap. Throw in a hotel room for the week, food, lawyer fees, visa fees, fees that I don't even know about yet and you are up to a significant amount of money. I'm expecting that all of this would be in the neighborhood of $1,500, which to us right now might as well be $100,000.
If I gave you the rundown of the list of things that have gone wrong at our house in the past two months requiring repair you wouldn't even believe me. Trailer axles, brakes, lots of tires, air conditioning, lawn mowers, it's ridiculous. Those of you more spiritually minded would recognize that this has been a spiritual attack for us. It seems that at every turn things are going wrong, costing money, but we are determined to press through.
Here's where you come in. The greatest need we have right now is money. We have been incredibly blessed that someone has come forward offering to pay for our flight costs. That was a huge blessing, and an answer to prayer, but we still need your help to make this happen. Maybe you could donate $5, maybe $50, maybe even several hundred to bring V here where she will be loved, and have the chance of a great future. To say that this would be a life-changing event for her would be an understatement.
I am working on getting a PayPal link on my blog (www.krisparker.net) where you can donate as well as other means. For now, you could possibly send a check. I'll meet you somewhere, whatever it takes to help V come here. If you could help in any way that would be amazing.
The next area of concern is my time off from work. For the past couple of months I have been filling in as the family pastor at our church, Crossroads Church of Walton County. So that I could be there to lead the kids, and to teach the students, I have been using my vacation time when I was scheduled to work on Sundays and Wednesdays at the fire station. The problem is that my vacation time is essentially gone. That's not a huge problem, except I will have to be away from work for three shifts in my travel to Latvia. It looks like I will either have to find someone to swap with me and work my shifts while I am gone, or face taking three shifts of unpaid leave. Needless to say I can't afford to lose 72 hours of pay. Especially right now. So- if you're reading this, and you work for Walton Fire- would you be willing to swap some time?
A need that is greater than money or time away from work is prayer. This will be my first time leaving the U.S. so I would love for you to pray for smooth travels, and for everything to go smoothly while I am in Latvia. Also pray for Brandi and our boys while I am gone.
Thank you- for whatever you are able to do.
We appreciate it. And so will V.
Kris
