Showing posts with label Dossier. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dossier. Show all posts
Thursday, June 14, 2012
NAC Meeting June 13th
The NAC met yesterday. I could almost drive myself crazy checking email and rushing to the phone every time it rings...but I have decided to put my anxious feelings aside since we are not expected to hear anything for a month or so. It's so neat to think that there is already an answer. They've already decided yes or no. Now a new level of patience waiting for the answer!
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Dossier to Kenya: May 29, 2012
We drove our dossier down to Little Angels today.
Oh I was nervous to hand it over.
14 months of work, $17,000 so far, 191 pages.
No wonder I was nervous to hand it over.
The kids and I laid hands on the binder and declared that with each page the NAC flips through, that the Holy Spirit would prick their hearts, they would fall in love with us (!).
That each document would be accurate and correct and complete.
That our binder would be glowing with the Glory, and each member of the NAC would see the Glory.
That we would be approved to adopt at their meeting.
The NAC meets on June 13. And then we will be notified in July at some point whether we were approved.
I celebrated by brewing a pot of something special I just got in the mail today, New England Coffee Chocolate Cappuccino!!
Kevin asked me how I feel. Yesterday I was very very emotional. Today I am just tired (mentally). This has been a part-time job for me for months. So I don't think it's quite hit me that I have nothing else to work on. I'm done. There is no other paperwork to do. (Well except the i800 application, but my stateside agency will help fill all that info out for me.) Now I can plan our new school year! Woo-Hoo!!
Oh I was nervous to hand it over.
14 months of work, $17,000 so far, 191 pages.
No wonder I was nervous to hand it over.
The kids and I laid hands on the binder and declared that with each page the NAC flips through, that the Holy Spirit would prick their hearts, they would fall in love with us (!).
That each document would be accurate and correct and complete.
That our binder would be glowing with the Glory, and each member of the NAC would see the Glory.
That we would be approved to adopt at their meeting.
The NAC meets on June 13. And then we will be notified in July at some point whether we were approved.
I celebrated by brewing a pot of something special I just got in the mail today, New England Coffee Chocolate Cappuccino!!
Kevin asked me how I feel. Yesterday I was very very emotional. Today I am just tired (mentally). This has been a part-time job for me for months. So I don't think it's quite hit me that I have nothing else to work on. I'm done. There is no other paperwork to do. (Well except the i800 application, but my stateside agency will help fill all that info out for me.) Now I can plan our new school year! Woo-Hoo!!
Friday, May 25, 2012
Read About My Latest Document Miracles!
Okay so there are two remaining documents we need to have authenticated for our dossier:
1. the i800a approval letter (which is this document that I've been writing about so much), and
2. the Homestudy Verification Letter from CAS.
The reason we are getting that Homestudy Verification Letter in so late (as opposed to the 28 others we had already authenticated and I have in my hands now) is because since my Homestudy was done in Kenya and notarized in Kenya, the US officials can't authenticate it because it bears no US seal. The Kenyan National Adoption Committee (NAC) will accept my Homestudy as it is. Why? Because the NAC only requires authentication of foreign documents, not their own country's. However, there is a Homestudy Verification Letter done by my stateside agency that is attached to the back of the homestudy. Susan at Little Angels correctly suggested we have that specific letter notarized and authenticated at the state and federal levels, like all the others, since that is a foreign document.
So...I emailed the folks at CAS about 3 weeks ago and asked if they could notarize my Verification Letter and then send it on to North Carolina to be authenticated. Then it would go to my courier in DC who would authenticate it on the US level then Kenyan level.
CAS did that; sent it to Raleigh for its state-level authentication stamp. CAS said they fedex'd my document to my courier in DC on Tuesday, May 15, which is the same day I sent my i800a approval letter from Kenya to my courier. (Again, remember that drama?).
Well by Friday my courier had not received anything from CAS. So Friday night I sat in bed (it was close to 11pm here in Kenya) and I placed phone calls to the CAS office, to Fedex, and to my specific program coordinator. The CAS office closes at noon on Fridays (it was 3pm in their time zone) so I was literally freaking out. The thing is, to get my dossier to the NAC by the June 5 deadline, I needed my last 2 documents to be at the courier THAT FRIDAY so he could authetnicate at the US State Department (which takes 1 day), then the Kenyan Embassy (which takes 5 days). Then if my courier fedex'd international priority to me on Friday afternoon, then I would get the documents by May 29ish and could turn in to Little Angels by May 30, and Little Angels would have time to prepare my dossier on May 31 and June 4 (since June 1 is a Kenyan holiday), and they could take to NAC on June 4. CUTTING IT PRETTY CLOSE!!
I hope I didn't lose any of you on that last paragraph.
In other words, to make the NAC meeting for June (which is a huge long shot anyway!), my courier needed to have both my docs by Friday the 18th at the latest! But Friday night I was on the phone trying to find that one missing doc from CAS. And hyperventilating a little. Or rather a lot.
Miraculously, my Program Coordinator from CAS got in touch with me. We chatted by phone for the first time! Listen to the story she told me. I think I had a few little heart attacks while listening to her:
So apparently when my Homestudy Verification document came back from North Carolina on May 14, it had been apostilled instead of authenticated. Major Mistake!! Susan Fox, the director at CAS, recognized the mistake, and sent it back out to the state capitol for the correct stamp. Somehow (INSERT: GOD), the document went back to Raleigh, was correctly authenticated, and sent back to CAS office headquarters in Greensboro by Friday the 18th. Then the folks at CAS (even though the office closes at noon!), fedex'd it Overnight to my courier in DC. Courier got the doc on Saturday.
Now my courier had both my documents!
Monday the 21st Courier took my CAS doc to US State Dept to be authenticated. He used their same-day service, which I thankfully found out about through a fellow-adopting friend. He drove my 2 docs to the Kenyan Embassy that afternoon. Somehow (INSERT GOD AGAIN) the Kenyan Embassy authenticated my 2 documents in 3 days instead of the usual 5 days. So Wednesday the 23rd, Courier Fedex'd my completely authenticated documents to me. At the time I write this, my docs are in the air and just left Paris! They should make it to me tomorrow or Sunday.
So Monday the 28th I will drive my COMPLETED DOSSIER down to Little Angels.
I just can't believe it. For a girl who found out she messed up her documents to Immigration on May 2, and then now she'll have her completed dossier turned in to Little Angels by May 28. Living overseas. Shipping everything internationally. FOLKS, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!! Especially considering the other issues with the documents that I've had...There is no other explanation but one: God.
Father God, I am continually humbled by your grace and your mercy and your miracles. May everybody who reads this see how Amazing You Are, Father!!
1. the i800a approval letter (which is this document that I've been writing about so much), and
2. the Homestudy Verification Letter from CAS.
The reason we are getting that Homestudy Verification Letter in so late (as opposed to the 28 others we had already authenticated and I have in my hands now) is because since my Homestudy was done in Kenya and notarized in Kenya, the US officials can't authenticate it because it bears no US seal. The Kenyan National Adoption Committee (NAC) will accept my Homestudy as it is. Why? Because the NAC only requires authentication of foreign documents, not their own country's. However, there is a Homestudy Verification Letter done by my stateside agency that is attached to the back of the homestudy. Susan at Little Angels correctly suggested we have that specific letter notarized and authenticated at the state and federal levels, like all the others, since that is a foreign document.
So...I emailed the folks at CAS about 3 weeks ago and asked if they could notarize my Verification Letter and then send it on to North Carolina to be authenticated. Then it would go to my courier in DC who would authenticate it on the US level then Kenyan level.
CAS did that; sent it to Raleigh for its state-level authentication stamp. CAS said they fedex'd my document to my courier in DC on Tuesday, May 15, which is the same day I sent my i800a approval letter from Kenya to my courier. (Again, remember that drama?).
Well by Friday my courier had not received anything from CAS. So Friday night I sat in bed (it was close to 11pm here in Kenya) and I placed phone calls to the CAS office, to Fedex, and to my specific program coordinator. The CAS office closes at noon on Fridays (it was 3pm in their time zone) so I was literally freaking out. The thing is, to get my dossier to the NAC by the June 5 deadline, I needed my last 2 documents to be at the courier THAT FRIDAY so he could authetnicate at the US State Department (which takes 1 day), then the Kenyan Embassy (which takes 5 days). Then if my courier fedex'd international priority to me on Friday afternoon, then I would get the documents by May 29ish and could turn in to Little Angels by May 30, and Little Angels would have time to prepare my dossier on May 31 and June 4 (since June 1 is a Kenyan holiday), and they could take to NAC on June 4. CUTTING IT PRETTY CLOSE!!
I hope I didn't lose any of you on that last paragraph.
In other words, to make the NAC meeting for June (which is a huge long shot anyway!), my courier needed to have both my docs by Friday the 18th at the latest! But Friday night I was on the phone trying to find that one missing doc from CAS. And hyperventilating a little. Or rather a lot.
Miraculously, my Program Coordinator from CAS got in touch with me. We chatted by phone for the first time! Listen to the story she told me. I think I had a few little heart attacks while listening to her:
So apparently when my Homestudy Verification document came back from North Carolina on May 14, it had been apostilled instead of authenticated. Major Mistake!! Susan Fox, the director at CAS, recognized the mistake, and sent it back out to the state capitol for the correct stamp. Somehow (INSERT: GOD), the document went back to Raleigh, was correctly authenticated, and sent back to CAS office headquarters in Greensboro by Friday the 18th. Then the folks at CAS (even though the office closes at noon!), fedex'd it Overnight to my courier in DC. Courier got the doc on Saturday.
Now my courier had both my documents!
Monday the 21st Courier took my CAS doc to US State Dept to be authenticated. He used their same-day service, which I thankfully found out about through a fellow-adopting friend. He drove my 2 docs to the Kenyan Embassy that afternoon. Somehow (INSERT GOD AGAIN) the Kenyan Embassy authenticated my 2 documents in 3 days instead of the usual 5 days. So Wednesday the 23rd, Courier Fedex'd my completely authenticated documents to me. At the time I write this, my docs are in the air and just left Paris! They should make it to me tomorrow or Sunday.
So Monday the 28th I will drive my COMPLETED DOSSIER down to Little Angels.
I just can't believe it. For a girl who found out she messed up her documents to Immigration on May 2, and then now she'll have her completed dossier turned in to Little Angels by May 28. Living overseas. Shipping everything internationally. FOLKS, THAT IS ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE!! Especially considering the other issues with the documents that I've had...There is no other explanation but one: God.
Father God, I am continually humbled by your grace and your mercy and your miracles. May everybody who reads this see how Amazing You Are, Father!!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Great Meeting at Little Angels Today ~ Dossier In Order!
Today the kids and I drove down to Little Angels. Or rather, we hired our favorite driver to drive our car there! (Thank goodness he was driving because there is so much construction going on, he had to take alternate routes. I have no idea how we actually got there!)
Susan agreed to meet with us to look over our Dossier and make sure everything is in order.
It was great to see her again - this is the lady that conducted the home visits for our Home Study. She is a really nice lady (like most Kenyans we have met!). The kids sat at the table and ate their lunch (peanut butter sandwich) while we chatted. They were so well behaved during the whole meeting!
She gave me a few pointers such as which photos were the best to use, the correct order in which to put my documents, the fact that we can still make the June NAC meeting (if I get those other 2 documents back from the US by May 29 or so), etc., etc. I asked about my timeline and whether it was reasonable.
Most importantly, I was able to explain my new paradigm shift (read my last post). I think that was very important. I know I have probably seemed like a maniacal, non-understanding American to her during this whole process, so I wanted to let her know how much I have learned (and grown) through this whole thing.
It was a lovely meeting and I am glad to have everything in order!
Susan agreed to meet with us to look over our Dossier and make sure everything is in order.
It was great to see her again - this is the lady that conducted the home visits for our Home Study. She is a really nice lady (like most Kenyans we have met!). The kids sat at the table and ate their lunch (peanut butter sandwich) while we chatted. They were so well behaved during the whole meeting!
She gave me a few pointers such as which photos were the best to use, the correct order in which to put my documents, the fact that we can still make the June NAC meeting (if I get those other 2 documents back from the US by May 29 or so), etc., etc. I asked about my timeline and whether it was reasonable.
Most importantly, I was able to explain my new paradigm shift (read my last post). I think that was very important. I know I have probably seemed like a maniacal, non-understanding American to her during this whole process, so I wanted to let her know how much I have learned (and grown) through this whole thing.
It was a lovely meeting and I am glad to have everything in order!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Terminology
So exactly how complicated is this process? (Yes, I'm whining again.)
Here is an email I sent our Stateside agency. We are having a few issues with the standard authentication since I am already here in Kenya and some of my documents have Kenya notaries instead of US notaries.
The paperwork is so tedious and technical! Here's the email.
Dear ---,
Okay I'm understanding the authentication process a little better...
My courier emailed me and asked if I was sending a notarized Affidavit of True and Accurate Document to include with our homestudy so the US can authenticate it.
Our agency here suggested having CAS notarize their original Homestudy Approval Letter, and attach that with the homestudy to present to the NAC with my dossier.
But technically, I should be able to take my homestudy to Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Nairobi and have it authenticated. You guys' homestudy approval letter...is that supposed to be included in my dossier as well? Is that a requirement of the NAC? Have you guys ever notarized/authenticated those approval letters in the past? If not, then why would I need to have CAS notarize/authenticate them now? I realize since the approval letter originates in the States then the NAC might require it to be notarized, but if you guys have never notarized them before then why should we have to start all over again with that now?
About the i800a, am I right, below, in suggesting that I always keep the original with me? However, since the i800a approval letter is not notarized, then even though the document originates in the States, the States will not be able to do anything with my Affidavit because my affidavit will be notarized by a Kenyan notary, so the US can't do anything with it even if I sent it to the State Dept to be authenticated.
Wow these are such TEDIOUS questions!! But valid ones as the NAC will kick out my dossier if I do something wrong! And I just don't have the time left in my timeline to have it kicked out by the NAC. Because if they don't approve us then we'd have to call off the adoption because there would be no way we'd have time left in our timeline to redo paperwork at that point.
Okay I think I am hyperventilating at the thought of that.
Sincerely, Jessica
Here is an email I sent our Stateside agency. We are having a few issues with the standard authentication since I am already here in Kenya and some of my documents have Kenya notaries instead of US notaries.
The paperwork is so tedious and technical! Here's the email.
Dear ---,
Okay I'm understanding the authentication process a little better...
My courier emailed me and asked if I was sending a notarized Affidavit of True and Accurate Document to include with our homestudy so the US can authenticate it.
Our agency here suggested having CAS notarize their original Homestudy Approval Letter, and attach that with the homestudy to present to the NAC with my dossier.
But technically, I should be able to take my homestudy to Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Nairobi and have it authenticated. You guys' homestudy approval letter...is that supposed to be included in my dossier as well? Is that a requirement of the NAC? Have you guys ever notarized/authenticated those approval letters in the past? If not, then why would I need to have CAS notarize/authenticate them now? I realize since the approval letter originates in the States then the NAC might require it to be notarized, but if you guys have never notarized them before then why should we have to start all over again with that now?
About the i800a, am I right, below, in suggesting that I always keep the original with me? However, since the i800a approval letter is not notarized, then even though the document originates in the States, the States will not be able to do anything with my Affidavit because my affidavit will be notarized by a Kenyan notary, so the US can't do anything with it even if I sent it to the State Dept to be authenticated.
Wow these are such TEDIOUS questions!! But valid ones as the NAC will kick out my dossier if I do something wrong! And I just don't have the time left in my timeline to have it kicked out by the NAC. Because if they don't approve us then we'd have to call off the adoption because there would be no way we'd have time left in our timeline to redo paperwork at that point.
Okay I think I am hyperventilating at the thought of that.
Sincerely, Jessica
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Medical Appointments and Finished Notarizing!
So our medical certificates from Taiwan are due to expire in May 2012. We didn't think that would wind up being a problem, but because the homestudy took so long it really adjusted our timeline. So I made 6 doctor appointments for yesterday and today in order for the embassy doctor here to fill out new medical certificates for the 6 of us. The doctor was nice enough to follow me down to the notary's office and have them notarized as well. The same day!
That meant I could put all 27 of my notarized/authenticated documents in a Priority Mail box! Tomorrow I will mail all these to a courier in DC so he can walk them into the State Department and the Kenyan embassy for the national level authentications. It takes two business days at the US State Dept (because they only allow 15 documents per day) and five business days at the Kenyan embassy. The total is $1944 for all the documents. The Kenyan embassy charges $50 per document, hence the steep price!
These are the documents in my package:
That meant I could put all 27 of my notarized/authenticated documents in a Priority Mail box! Tomorrow I will mail all these to a courier in DC so he can walk them into the State Department and the Kenyan embassy for the national level authentications. It takes two business days at the US State Dept (because they only allow 15 documents per day) and five business days at the Kenyan embassy. The total is $1944 for all the documents. The Kenyan embassy charges $50 per document, hence the steep price!
These are the documents in my package:
1. 6 Notarized Medical Certificates (one for each member of the household)
2. 6 Birth Certificates (one for each member of the household)
3. FBI Background Checks
4. Guardian Birth Certificates (2) and Marriage License
5. Guardian Letter of Consent
6. Inquiry on Prospective Adopters Form
7. Kenya Police Checks
8. Marriage License
9. Kevin and Jessica Passport Certified
10. Pastoral Reference
11. Personal Reference
12. Report on Financial Means Form
13. Report on Fixed Means Form
14. Taiwan Background Checks
15. Undertaking by Adopters Form
16. The Homestudy/Homestudy Approval Letter from CAS
Again, just like with the i800a application, I pray all these documents are exactly correct and that nothing must be redone and resubmitted. Lord bless this package as it quickly travels to DC and then travels back to me unharmed!
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Faxing Dossier Docs for Review
Oh I'm so excited to be at this next step!!
I am photocopying all my dossier documents and faxing them to my Stateside agency for review. I want to make sure everything is correct before I mail them to the courier.
Hopefully I can send off 28 of my 30 documents to the courier on Wednesday. I think that if we do this NOW, then I'll have time to correct any mistakes in the paperwork since we are waiting on our i800a approval anyway. But I am praying there are NO mistakes and NONE of the paperwork has to be redone.
We've had to redo our Guardian's Letter of Consent as well as our 6 medical forms. Hopefully that's all!
I am photocopying all my dossier documents and faxing them to my Stateside agency for review. I want to make sure everything is correct before I mail them to the courier.
Hopefully I can send off 28 of my 30 documents to the courier on Wednesday. I think that if we do this NOW, then I'll have time to correct any mistakes in the paperwork since we are waiting on our i800a approval anyway. But I am praying there are NO mistakes and NONE of the paperwork has to be redone.
We've had to redo our Guardian's Letter of Consent as well as our 6 medical forms. Hopefully that's all!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Dossier Materials Returned
We received all our state-authenticated documents back in the mail this week.
I cannot BELIEVE how fast that part happened! And that included mailing time back and forth from Kenya to the U.S.!!
Yippee, yippee,
I cannot BELIEVE how fast that part happened! And that included mailing time back and forth from Kenya to the U.S.!!
Yippee, yippee,
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Working on my Dossier
Today I am collecting all my dossier documents for each to be sent to their originating state in order to be "authenticated" by the Secretary of State.
Here is where they are going:
Mississippi: 2 certified birth certificates
Virginia: 3 certified birth certificates, marriage license, notarized letter
Pennsylvania: 1 notarized letter
Colorado: birth certificate, marriage certificate
DC: birth certificate
And I just realized one of my reference's notary signatures has already expired so I can't send that one in yet...my reference has to do that all over again. Which means my reference has to fill out another reference form, have it notarized, and send it to me in the mail. Who knew! The little things! And then once I receive it in the mail, I can send it on to its respective state to be authenticated.
I am very happy that each state's website is pretty straightforward. Most even have forms to print out and send in with the appropriate documents. And they all take personal checks - yippee! It would be impossible to do this if I had to get a money order or cashier's check for each one.
I am also pleasantly surprised at our mail system here at the embassy. These envelopes are all going priority mail, so the states should receive them in 5 days. It's exciting to actually be DOING SOMETHING!! and moving this adoption forward. Or so, I hope! We are still waiting for our home study draft. It's been 5 months...
Here is where they are going:
Mississippi: 2 certified birth certificates
Virginia: 3 certified birth certificates, marriage license, notarized letter
Pennsylvania: 1 notarized letter
Colorado: birth certificate, marriage certificate
DC: birth certificate
And I just realized one of my reference's notary signatures has already expired so I can't send that one in yet...my reference has to do that all over again. Which means my reference has to fill out another reference form, have it notarized, and send it to me in the mail. Who knew! The little things! And then once I receive it in the mail, I can send it on to its respective state to be authenticated.
I am very happy that each state's website is pretty straightforward. Most even have forms to print out and send in with the appropriate documents. And they all take personal checks - yippee! It would be impossible to do this if I had to get a money order or cashier's check for each one.
I am also pleasantly surprised at our mail system here at the embassy. These envelopes are all going priority mail, so the states should receive them in 5 days. It's exciting to actually be DOING SOMETHING!! and moving this adoption forward. Or so, I hope! We are still waiting for our home study draft. It's been 5 months...
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Electrical Problems and No Updates
Wow I am so excited to be sitting at a computer writing a blog post!! (I'm writing this on all my blogs!)
My computer is dead - it somehow got a terrible virus when we arrived here and is completely unusable right now.
Then the power cord on Rachel's computer broke, and we JUST GOT A NEW ONE IN THE MAIL!!! So this is the first time in almost a month that I have been able to type out my homeschool curriculum and print things again and blog again!
It is strange; we have had so many electrical problems since we moved here. Kevin's 65" inch TV died, our VCR (that I just bought in the States this summer), Rachel's iPod dock, our computers, and today our bread machine died. It took me forever to set up our printer and Vonage phone. I still cannot use my fax machine.
To say it is upsetting is an understatement. There have been some days where I just wanted to pack up and leave. And then I remember we are here for a reason...so we trudge on.
And actually, there has been absolutely nothing to update. We are still waiting to review our Home Study Draft from Little Angels. It was the end of September when we finished all the home visits. I am preparing my Dossier materials to be Authenticated. But I cannot resolve my fax issues - - so I cannot fax my documents to my agency in the States for review. I have had a very, very difficult time of paperwork since moving here. Silly issues like trying to find U.S. money orders and mailing documents and faxing materials. Things that are super easy to do in the States but has been impossible here. I do not know why. I am trying to stay encouraged. With the Spirit's help.
There have been many days recently where I have prayed: "Okay, God, is adopting still Your Will for our family?" That is how seriously difficult it has been. So I still keep doing paperwork. And I still keep praying, waiting for a Word.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Short Rains Season
We received our U.S. background clearances in the mail this week. I ordered two sets - one from the actual FBI, which will already have the apostille (msp?) stamp on it and one from a private company that we paid to have expedited here. I am not sure which one will be accepted by the government, so that's why we went ahead and ordered both. The FBI said it could take up to 8 weeks to receive theirs in the mail.
Now I am in the process of working on my dossier, which means sending each of my individual documents to the Secretaries of State in which they originated. I am so happy to have a way to mail things here! And to have a DPO address! It takes only a week and a half to receive mail here as opposed to 3+ weeks with the diplomatic mail system we had in Taiwan. That cuts the time in half! So even though we have a lot of documents to mail back and forth from overseas it will definitely be a little easier with this system set in place.
It is turning fall in the States, but it is the "short rains" season here. It rains a little bit every day and pretty much every night. But it is very warm when the sun is out, so we spend a lot of time at the pool during the day when it is not raining. We are decorating for Halloween. Apparently Halloween is a big deal here on the compound, just like our neighborhood in Taiwan. The kids are so excited and can't wait!
There is a lot of stuff going on here in Kenya. The military here has gone into Somalia to push back AlShabaab, who keeps coming over the border and kidnapping people from Kenya. The kidnappings are maddening, so although I hate war, I am happy that Kenya is standing up and defending themselves.
In fact, yesterday a helicopter flew over many times with this banner attached: "Defending Kenya".
It was a good morale booster. Go Kenya!
Today is a Kenyan holiday, Mashujaa Day. Happy Heroes Day!
Now I am in the process of working on my dossier, which means sending each of my individual documents to the Secretaries of State in which they originated. I am so happy to have a way to mail things here! And to have a DPO address! It takes only a week and a half to receive mail here as opposed to 3+ weeks with the diplomatic mail system we had in Taiwan. That cuts the time in half! So even though we have a lot of documents to mail back and forth from overseas it will definitely be a little easier with this system set in place.
It is turning fall in the States, but it is the "short rains" season here. It rains a little bit every day and pretty much every night. But it is very warm when the sun is out, so we spend a lot of time at the pool during the day when it is not raining. We are decorating for Halloween. Apparently Halloween is a big deal here on the compound, just like our neighborhood in Taiwan. The kids are so excited and can't wait!
There is a lot of stuff going on here in Kenya. The military here has gone into Somalia to push back AlShabaab, who keeps coming over the border and kidnapping people from Kenya. The kidnappings are maddening, so although I hate war, I am happy that Kenya is standing up and defending themselves.
In fact, yesterday a helicopter flew over many times with this banner attached: "Defending Kenya".
It was a good morale booster. Go Kenya!
Today is a Kenyan holiday, Mashujaa Day. Happy Heroes Day!
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