Our Cramazing May, Episode XLVI: Passport Office, Take 2 (and 3!)

When I say that Tuna got to work, I mean it!  He absolutely was not content with only one of us getting a passport.  Really Important Man had promised L's passport, and he needed to make sure that it happened!  So for the whole hour we were driving back to Bhubaneswar, Tuna was on the phone, talking to this person and that, in rapidly spoken Oriya, trying to make this thing happen.

Our plan of action:  drop Hoffbeast and the kids off at the hotel and head back to the passport office for go-around #2.  Breaking the news to Karen was not going to be fun....I was so glad that she and Hoffbeast had each other to process with as we ran off--and had the entertaining kids to distract them as much as possible.

Back to the passport office...I really didn't care to see inside that building again, but we had to do what we had to do, so inside we went.  This time, we arrived in the afternoon, so the crowd was much smaller, and getting in was physically much easier.  Tuna explained the situation to the security inside and after awhile, we were directed upstairs again.

(One funny side story....remember my near-indiscretion from the day before?  Well, on this day, a ceiling fan nearly blew my skirt all the way up around my shoulders....super embarrassing second awkwardness at the passport office.  Really--I promise--I wasn't trying to score points in that way!)

At the top of the stairs, we again turned left, thinking that we knew what to expect.  But this time, things were different.  The afternoon brought an entirely different mood at the passport office, and an armed guard stepped in front of Scott and me and made it very clear that this time, we would not be allowed through the glass door that led to the winding hallway of numbered rooms.  We would stay outside that door, peering through to see as much as we could see, and we would do literally the only thing we could do to help....we would pray.

There are no pictures from any of this time...it was way too tense for photographs.

Tuna walked into Room #2, then left again, following the Important Man from the day before.  Back to the room.  Out of the room and into Room #4, where we could only assuming that he was pleading with Rim on our behalf.  Back to Room 2, then out again and down a hall out of view...for awhile.  Back again.  

This went on for 20 minutes.  Scott and I would look at each other, speak a quiet word, try to smile at the stoic guard, and then go back to silently praying and waiting.

Finally, after Tuna had been in Rim's room for what seemed like forever, he began to emerge.  And then went back in.  Several times, we would see the sleeve of his shirt only to see it disappear again as they continued to discuss (debate?  argue?  negotiate?).  We never fully understood all that was happening, but we again watched as the God of the universe moved the mountains.

Eventually, Tuna walked down the hallway toward us, opened the door, and explained that Rim was very unhappy about this mistake but that he was wielding all the power he had to make us wait for an answer.  He had finally agreed to get L's passport printed but had demanded that the orphanage director come from Cuttack herself that afternoon to receive the passport in person.  I remember feeling like that was such a long shot, but Scott was eager to call and ask....what could it hurt?  He called the orphanage, explained the situation, and then gave the phone to Tuna to make arrangements.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear that she was willing to do what was needed....again, praise God!  But the timeline was very tight.

Tuna went back to update Rim and make another call or two, and when he returned, he told us that Rim had relented and decided that he would give the passport to us directly....at 5 p.m.  It was 2 p.m. now, and our flight was leaving at 7 p.m.  Tuna had asked for an earlier delivery time, but Rim wouldn't budge.

Until he did.  As we were turning to leave, Rim, with a big smile on his face, walks down the hall and out the door and says, "Okay.  4 o'clock.  Come back at 4:00, and I will have your passport!"  He seemed very proud of himself for being so magnanimous.  At this point, we didn't care.  We thanked him profusely and left, hoping hoping hoping that he really meant it and would make it happen.

By this point, we were soooo hungry and thirsty, and since there was nothing more to do for two hours, Tuna took us to a restaurant owned by a friend, which turned out to be my. absolute. favorite. Indian food of the whole trip!  Maybe it's because I was so dang relieved that this passport situation seemed to be working out, I'm not sure.  Either way, I ate sooooo much food.  And it was all delicious!!!  If I ever get to go back to Bhubaneswar, I'm heading straight there!  :)

Promptly at 4 p.m., we walked back into the passport office for our third and final visit.  This time, we turned right at the top of the stairs and entered a room full of windows on the sides and chairs in the middle.  Tuna went to a window and explained why we were there, and we proceeded to play a little game called "Make the Foreigners Wait for their Stuff for Absolutely as Long as Possible."  It was fun.  Okay, not really.  More like ridiculous.  The man behind the window first said that no, it wasn't ready and wouldn't be for a while.  Then he told us that it was there but would have to be reviewed.  Then, in a move that was purely for show, they called Scott up, asked for his passport, and carefully examined every single page and passport stamp to make sure they knew exactly where he had been in the world over the last 5 years.  Why?  No reason.  No reason at all....except that they could.  After--no joke--another 30 minutes of waiting, the handoff was finally made, and we walked out.......looking like this.............

It was an unbelievable feeling and definitely one for pictures!  Here we are with our angel, Tuna.  Thank you, Lord, for sending us this dear friend and advocate who worked tirelessly to get our children home.

And thank you, God, for your cramazing work on our behalf.....I am still in awe.