An Update from Melissa

[John Hanley]

What an emotional ride we have had these past 6 months!  We truly appreciate your prayers and support during this time. 

 

It all started at the end of June when we met with the judge of the Childrens' Court and he was extremely concerned over the fact that we'd brought Michael into our home since we have a daughter.  I had never before considered the fact that they might remove Michael from our home and it was too much to bear!  We prayed and trusted and waited for 2 1/2 months to get the answer that the judge did grant us guardianship...but denied our request to have travel rights.  Once again, we were heart sick. 

 

After about a month we were able to find out that we could indeed appeal the decision, so we started that process.  Another month later, in mid-November, our case was presented before a group of 3 judges.  At the time we were told that they had up to 3 months to make their ruling.  Uggh.  We wanted to be in the States in October and that didn't work out, so we wanted to go for Christmas.  We just kept telling ourselves and the kids, "God knows where we need to be when." 

 

When the days slipped by with no word, John's mom made plans to come here for Christmas.  In talking about that with the other missionaries, one of them said, "Why doesn't Kate fly back with her so at least she has a chance to visit friends and family."  We looked into that and found a ticket at a great price AND God had it all orchestrated so she could fly back in with a missionary friend of the family.  He lives in CA but has family in FL that he'll be visiting, so he's flying here from Tampa.  Perfect!! 

 

The day we purchased her ticket, our lawyer called and told us that the judges had overturned the original ruling and that Michael CAN travel with us to the States!!  We were not surprised.  We knew that God was going to work mightily for us.  He'd given me several scripture promises that kept me sane during the craziness.  I didn't search these scriptures out, but as I was in the Word, they stood out to me. 

 

Not that I encourage re-writing scripture, but I wrote them in my journal as personal promises (changing the "you" to "me," for example).  I want to share them with you because you just might need one of these promises for something you're going through...

Ps 84:11-12  You bestow favor on our family; you do not withhold any good thing from us because, in Christ, we are blameless; you bless us because we trust in you.

Ps 37:5-6  The justice of our cause will shine like the noonday sun because we commit our ways to you and trust in you.

Is 30:18  You long to be gracious to me--to show me compassion for you are a God of justice.  We will be blessed because we are waiting for you.

Is 49:23b  I will not be dissappointed because my hope is in you.

Prov 11:23  My desires will end in good because, in Christ, I am righteous.

 

and one last one for the judges!

Prov 3:27  Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

 

So, a couple of days before Christmas we get the good news.  We called to schedule the appointment for Michael's visa interview.  We had the permission of the judges for him to travel, but we still needed permission from the US for him to be able to enter the country!  We went for that interview on the 5th and he was granted a tourist visa!!!!  So, our plan is to travel to the States the month of February.  We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible then.

 

We do have one more "hurdle" (that we know of).  The way things work here is that nobody really has a clue what's going on so you just have to figure things out as you go!  We knew that we needed a visa but no one ever told us that we'd also need a permit from the Department of Immigration.  John knows from experience that there's always "one more thing," so he went online and searched and found that we need this permit.  So, he'll go with all our court paperwork and Michael's passport and visa, and within a matter of hours he should have the permit.  We're praying that it will go that smoothly and that if there is anything else we need to do to prepare for the trip that we'll find out in advance and not as we check in at the airport!

 

Again, we appreciate your prayers that have covered us, Michael, and the judges throughout this whole ordeal.  We look forward to being able to thank you in person and introducing you to Michael!

 

Melissa