It’s been a long weekend in Tirana… the longest time away from Ellie since arriving in Albania on November 23rd! We (Cydil, Grandma Van, & Tesa Hannah) leave bright and early for Vlora for some time with Ellie and this week’s goal is to get passport photos taken! It’s one of the few tasks on the list that we can check off before the 15-day waiting period expires in one week.
Speaking of tasks, this morning we sat down with Alma (administrative assistant for BCS) and plotted out our remaining time here. Our return tickets are set for January 5 and working backwards, realized that there isn’t much breathing room in our schedule. Alma called the American Embassy and learned that it is closed every day beginning December 29 thru January 8, except for January 4. To get the American visa requires 2 appointments at the Embassy. Working backwards, we would need appointments set at the latest for December 28 and January 4. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem possible to have Ellie’s Albanian passport issued before December 28 as we can’t apply for it until December 21st (when we will have the adoption decree, birth certificate, and signature from the Interior Ministry) and it takes 7 days to process the passport request when it doesn’t fall over a holiday. If it’s issued on the 28th, we might have a shot, but it will be tight as we have to drive 3 hours to pick up the passport which will be issued in Vlora and 3 hours back to get to the Embassy for an afternoon appointment. Literally every hour is crucial as the business days here are so short here (offices typically close around 1:30-2PM).
Can we ask you to join us in praying that the right people will be in the offices to sign off on all the paperwork that’s needed, beginning with the adoption decree and birth certificate? If just one person isn’t in, then every document after that is held up and precious time is lost. Can you also pray that perhaps her passport might be issued in less time than the standard 5-7 days?
That’s the news from here! The next blog post will come from Vlora, electricity/internet permitting! Thanks so much for your kind words and prayers on our behalf…we’re so grateful. cnw
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