Wednesday was a long-awaited day! It was the day we knew Xh and Herta would walk through the gates of the US Emb*ssy for their appointment to request a visa to visit the US for Xh's surgery.
I've heard my share of scary stories of interviews behind those thick yellow walls on Rruga Elbasanit and knew that it had the potential of being an intimidating process that may not end favorably.
We woke up, our thoughts consumed with little else (in spite of having guests arriving later that day), spending the morning praying for Xh and Herta's visa interview and waiting for a text message from Jorid. The appointment time was 8:30 a.m. But I had already exchanged two e-mails before they were out the door and had received a subsequent text that the girls had been admitted in, but Jorid and her husband were left outside waiting, not sure when we might hear the outcome of the interview.
We went about our morning work, but a little more jumpy than usual with each notification that popped up on our phones.
Around 11:00 am Jorid finally texted again, "They got it!!"
I must confess I wouldn't have been surprised if only Xh had been approved.
To be sure we understood correctly we wrote back. "BOTH of them got their visas?"
It was quickly affirmed and I may or may not have made my children giggle uncontrollably with my version of a "happy dance" right there at the kitchen island.
We quickly sent off messages with the good news to the other members of Team Xh, including our prayer team who had been notified the previous evening to pray earnestly on her behalf. One of prayer team members wrote me to say she just so happened to have a newborn to feed at the exact time of Xh's appointment and had been praying! My inbox started chiming with reply after reply to the good news.
Nathan made a poignant remark later as he reflected on all the people who had joined the team rallying around Xh to get her needed surgery in America this summer. He said, "I can't help but feel like we're like the friends of the paralytic who were so determined to get their friend to Jesus they dug through the ceiling to get their friend to him. I feel like we and so many others all have a corner of Xh's mat and we're doing what we can to get her healed."
I loved that picture and will carry that with me til we see her back in Albania later this fall. Someday I hope we can share that with her and that she can understand it in the truest sense.
In the mean time, we will keep trusting God for her healing.
(In case you missed it, read part 1 and part 2.
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