Our Cramazing May, Episode XXXVI: Monday Morning at Basundhara

Monday, May 23--“'The boys' are downstairs at breakfast, and I am packing up for our hopeful trip to Delhi tonight.  If all goes as planned, we will wake up one week from today with our whole family (minus our Hunt).  I can’t wait to get a Beth Hug and give my Neil a good back scratch while he squeezes me tight.  Things are going as well as could possibly be expected with little Tom.  It will be interesting to see how he reacts today at the orphanage….Lord, I pray that he would somehow, someway understand.  And I pray that we find our FLIP.  So many precious memories captured on there…

It is a new day, and the big item on the agenda is the passport office.  I am grateful that God has made it possible for us to go and pray that He will lead us to the right people and that it wouldn’t hinder—and would maybe even help—the adoption program through Basundhara, AIAA, and the other agencies.  What a wonderful place our son has lived for these past 2 years.  When I asked what they needed, Swati simply said that they needed diapers and formula.  No extravagant requests…not even the request of new beds, which in my opinion, they could sorely use.

My mind is set on You, Lord.  I know that any action at the passport office will come because YOU move them!  Lord, would you use us here somehow…however we can best bring your name glory and honor, do it!  Perhaps we should go to Delhi tonight; or perhaps you mean for our plans to change.  If so, that’s okay, and we rest in you."

I wrote those words in my India journal, knowing that I had no idea what the next few days would bring.  We wouldn't go to Delhi that night--in fact, it would be an extra two days before we could go, but God was so good and so faithful through it all, and seeing Him move in the end was worth the wait through the uncertainty.

The plan was for Hoffbeast, Rex, Tom, Karen, and Lipily to head back to the orphanage for the day while Scott and I went to the passport office.  We were hoping to get the passports before heading to Basundhara to say our goodbyes and pick up the necessary paperwork that would accompany us and our kids on the way home.

I was feeling sappy and nostalgic.  This was it.  Whether or not those passports would be in our hands by the end of the day, the adventure had begun, and we would never be the same.  I took some pictures...treasuring these things in my heart.

Our family needed three sets of shoes on the flight to Orissa...

...but would need four sets of shoes on the flight out.

These are the flowers that Tom had for me on the day we met...I knew that I couldn't keep them much longer, but I wanted to make sure to take them with me in picture.

So we packed up our room and parted ways, saying goodbye to Hoffbeast, Karen, and the kids, praying together that God would perform the miraculous at the passport office.  And Scott and I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Meanwhile, at Basundhara, fun was being had in the family room...

Lipily's new mama and Tom's new daddy were SILLY people that day!  Truthfully, they were both amazing, entertaining the kiddos and showering them with as much love as possible.

Rex had found a new book to look at...I think it might have been a book sent to one of the kids at Basundhara by her waiting family.  Either way, it's the only time Rex is pictured with any books besides Where's Waldo? and the Time 2012 Almanac for Kids.

I know that they were eager to hear news, but until they did, they were making the most of their time, enjoying the place where their son and brother lived for two years.

"Childline 1098 (the phone number) is a national, 24-hour, free, emergency telephone helpline and outreach service for children in need of care..."

Through Childline, our son and many other children like him are given the chance to live.  When Basundhara receives a call about a child in need, they immediately make arrangements to pick up the child and bring him/her to the orphanage to receive needed medical treatment and try to get him/her matched to a family.

The palm trees and other foliage there were beautiful...what a lovely place to spend the first two years of life.  If he couldn't be with us, I am glad that Tom was with Soudemani and others there who loved him.

And again, I remain so grateful that Lipily was with us on this journey.  She had known Tom for a long time, and she was so nurturing and tender with him whenever he was sad.

It was hot and they were tired.  So off came Tom's shirt and on came a nap!

Karen was well-stocked with art supplies for Lipily...but at least in this picture, it's obvious that they came in handy for the boys, too--for Rex as well as for S and B.  It was such fun for Rex to have other kids along...the orphanage was about 90% girls, but there were some boys around, and Rex made fast friends with them!