This morning went very well. Laurance arrived at 7AM and when she did, she said her husband Ben was available to go with me if I needed him. He is a good friend of ours and I was so thankful for his offer. I was so glad he was there. I knew exactly where the court was. However, when we arrived it was obviously under construction and no one was there! We were redirected twice before we found where we were supposed to be and I was so thankful for his help.
Once there at 8AM, we waited for an hour before our lawyer arrived. This is very typical of Africa in general. I was on time! I thought just maybe, exact times were taken a little more seriously when you were to appear in court.. Not necessarily true. The lawyer arrived, greeted us, and then we waited outside while he met with the Judge.
Once the lawyer finished, he stepped outside to share this information. Our first court date has been set for December 15 at 8AM. Randy, myself, and Ega (Lael’s biological father) will come before the Judge with our lawyer. There may or may not be another court date following this one. We have mentioned to some of you before that the Benin law states that you cannot adopt children if you already have children. Thankfully, there are exceptions for unique circumstances and our circumstances fall easily into the exceptions that can be defined as worthy of appeal. On the date that we have been given, we will be appealing to the court to allow us to proceed with the adoption. We may be given permission to proceed and proceed on that day, or we may be given permission to proceed at another date.
Today it was not necessary for me to appear before the Judge. I believe now the lawyer wanted me there just in case I was needed.
Our lawyer and his partner will be meeting with Randy and I both tomorrow morning to discuss things further. We may have more updates then.
Thank you so much for your prayers for me this morning. I felt the Lord’s peace and provision.
Jonathan, Lael, and myself will head to Cotonou this afternoon.
Randy and the kids are delayed 2 hours. They will arrive between 10 and 11 PM tonight. I’ll be waiting up for them!!!!
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2 comments:
You all were on our thoughts all through out the night...actually I did not wake up dad and ask him if he was thinking about you but I know he was from years of living though the nights of you all being in global transition...it is a restless night as we await news that the Vaughn crew is reunited in each others arms once again!
So pleased that the morning went well...I expected it b/c of the peace of the Lord that exudes from precious Lael...His timing is perfect...Laurance and Ben...I ponder the idea of them being angels sent by the Lord to walk beside you and Randy...again they bring peace and confidence ...what a gift to bring to people...I hope my presence brings that feeling to someone...just by walking in the room...wow what a blessing they are...THANK YOU LORD!
I know you will drive safely...don't you love "mother instructions" from around the world!!!...I can not be sure I bring peace but I do bring instruction!!!
We will talk later in the day...I know the Lord is blessing Randy, Tori & Timothy in their journey...my goodness...I love you all so much!!!
I know all of you are eagerly awaiting the reunion that will come in a very few short hours! And it won't be long now til Lael is an official and legally recognized Vaughn. Praise the Lord!! I agree with Suzy's assessment of Ben and Laurance. You have made some wonderful supportive forever friends in Benin. Ben and Laurance as well as Ega are treasures that the Lord has given you here on earth that you can also take to heaven. Each of the families have been so supportive of one another and that is an encouragement and inspiration that reverberates around the world. Love to all, Aunt VG
PS: this is the second attempted post...my writings on your blog don't always "take" for some reason, so hope this works...VG
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