Truth Will Set You Free

Turned into the Embassy September 7th, 2012 for Marguerite Cesar Ream
(who will eventually be readopted/renamed in the U.S. as Elita Marguerite Ream)

Well, that's finally done. It felt good but sad too. Wishing we were turning in two. However, we will praise the Lord for each provison. Last week we got our miracle. We found the aunt on Monday. She met with the lawyer on Tuesday. Notarized affidavit was completed on Wednesday. Entire original dossier with English translations (that was an adventure to read), Marguerite's Haitian passport, and the elusive affidavit were delivered to the Embassy on Friday...10 days before our 2nd extension ran out! 

The U.S. Embassy officials will now study our completed packet and decide whether or not to approve our I-600 which will give permission for visa and immigration to the U.S. for Marguerite. They said we should know something within about a week.

I am halfway expecting that the Embassy will ask us to redo the death certificate for Marguerite's first mother. We now know that the information on the death certificate our original facilitator provided is completely incorrect. We know Marguerite's bio mother died in 1999 shortly after her birth. The death certificate states she died in 2009. We also now know that all those listed on the death certificate to verify the death are not actual members of the family even though they are listed as having the same last name. It is a joke. A sick one. I am very sick over it. But it will be ok. 

The lawyer asked me what I wanted to do regarding the discrepancies on the affidavit vs the death certificate in the dossier. I thought about what I have been teaching my children about always telling the truth. I said, "I want you to tell the truth. We have to tell the truth." The lawyer agreed and said he could not understand why the truth was not told in her clear cut case in the first place. He wrote the truth in the affidavit with an accurately plausible explanation for the discrepancies.  He told me that if we have to do another death certificate that it should not take long at all. I've heard that before. I cringe at "long at all" for anything else. So we are praying that the additional explanation given with the affidavit will be sufficient. But even if it isn't and we have to do additional work, we are thankful to know the truth. We are thankful we cling to the Truth Who helps us bear all these things. We are thankful for our Truth who accomplishes all things according to His will. We believe that it is always best to tell the truth and we believe in faith that The Truth, The One Who has been gracious to give us the truth about our daughter's history will indeed set her free. 

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." 

John 8:32

***There is more to this story. We got a big surprise last Tuesday that came with the truth and the aunt. But that deserves its own post. :)