Guat. City

On one of his visits down here, my dad asked "Who would want to live in a place called "Guat. City"?" It just doesn't top most people's travel destinations list. The Guatemalans just refer to it as "Guate". I have to say that it isn't really a fun or pretty place, but I had a good time there today and yesterday.

I made a trip to "Guate" to visit the Embrey's who are here to pick up Cindi! Thanks to the Embrey's generosity, I stayed the night at the hotel and hung out with their family as well as the Whitworth's and Wheeler's who were also in the city for the night. The Wheeler's and the Embrey's both had their embassy appointments today and pick up their visas tomorrow! Yea!

The Dorsey and Dawn with Cindi and Caterin (Samuel adores these girls!).


The Embrey family is adopting two girls, but Caterin's case is still stuck in PGN. I went with the Embrey's and Whitworth's to PGN today. I think we caused quite a stir- you don't see many adoptive parents in there! It can be a bit of an intimidating place. The Embrey's and Whitworth's were both able to speak with the head lady over adoptions and, after some tense conversation, both families received good news. When we left PGN, the Embrey's lawyer packed us all in his Jeep Cherokee (all six adults, 2 babies and 2 girls!) and took us back to the hotel. Someone said that the car ride was very indicative of our Guatemalan experience- you just never know what will happen next, but at least we're all in it together! It was a funny moment of looking around and being SO thankful for the other families that God has placed in our lives through this process. The bond we share is a sweet blessing! Below is the infamous PGN building. Not all that exciting, but thought the other adoptive families might appreciate it. They also have the lovely (insert sarcasm) bushes that spell out P-G-N in front of the building. I am sure that Jimmy would have many suggestions on how to TP or vandalize them....



Without going into too much detail, this week is a big week for us as we wait for progress with our case. Please pray that God would grant us favor with our lawyer and the Guatemalan government. We should have a better update after Friday.



This week we also celebrated what I think is the last of the 1st birthdays of our Antigua friend group. Miss Rachael Anne turned one on Saturday and had a fun garden party. Here she is below with her parents, Beth and Kirk. She is also now out of PGN- praise God!

I read the verse below this morning- found it very encouraging as I prepared to head to PGN with the other families and also in light of our case. In the Spanish version, instead of "gate", it says "tribunales", which means court. The Lord continues to give us the strength to "contend" and fight to bring these kids home!

Psalm 127:3, 5 "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him.... Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies at the gate."