It's GO - TIME.

Alright people, this week is THE WEEK. It's go-time. Late last week, we secured a court date for both Viola and Gideon. That date is this coming Thursday, September 27. Also, early this week, we're going to the magistrate of Mpigi again to get the care order for Gideon [this is necessary for court].

We also visited Viola again yesterday, and she was freaked out. I think she thought we were going to take her away. She kicked, screamed, and cried as any 3 year old would in her situation. We stood around outside the hut she was hiding in as our case worker talked to the grandma. For around an hour, she didn't come out to see us. At the end, our case worker brought her out, kicking and screaming, but she just went back into the hut. Needless to say, we're in need of a lot of prayer for little Viola. I don't think there's any way around how hard it will be for her to leave her grandma, pending a good outcome at court on Thursday.

If court is successful, we will work on obtaining visas for both kids from the U.S. Embassy. This is often a tricky step as well. Our attorney seems to think this will take around 2 weeks. So, if all goes well, we'll be coming back to the states in [roughly] the second week of October.

We've also got another little project we've been working on. I met the director of an elementary school one day when we were at a beach in Entebbe. He asked all about our adoption, the agency we work through, and if there would be any way we or our agency could help his school. Since then, we've visited the school and started trying to find ways to help some of the orphans there and the school itself. In particular, there is one little girl, named Brenda, who has three holes in her heart. Since medical care isn't wonderful in Uganda, they've basically decided that they will wait for her to die. We're working with the director to see if there are ways that we can help.

OK, here's the wrap-up and schedule for us this week. It will be busy/crazy/hectic/etc... so your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Monday:
 - Our case worker goes to Mpigi to try to secure the care order for Gideon.
 - Gideon goes back to the doctor to see if his intestinal infection has gotten better.
 - We'll go to meet with the director of the elementary school to get more info on the school.

Tuesday:
 - We'll go back to Mpigi [if necessary] to get the care order for Gideon.

Wednesday:
 - We'll try not to wet our pants about Thursday.

Thursday:
 - Court with Gideon and Viola

Friday:
 - Pending a good outcome on Thursday, we'll try to go to the Embassy and apply for visas for Gideon and Viola.

I'll try to post updates throughout the week, but I'm sure they won't be as detailed. I'm sure you'll understand ;)

Derek