An Urgent Prayer Request

I write today to ask for your prayers, a very specific request. We would GREATLY appreciate your prayers for HCO/HOH Baby Center as we try to obtain our official Certificate of Registration from the Childrens Department.


For the "short" version, read the bold. For details you can read all.


We have done everything "by the book" and have what we need to accept children into our home, but we still do not have our official Certificate of Registration. After submitting all the paperwork, which was a huge ordeal, we were finally released to "wait."  Yes, that is how it goes. For months, I would take something to our District Childrens Office only to be told that I needed something else, another document, form, or piece of information. I would always inquire, "Is there anything else?"  Typical answer, "No, just ___." This was a game that went on from June to November of last year. Finally, in November I was told that our Area Advisory Council (the highest in the District) had submitted us for registration. Our file was then sent to offices in Nairobi. Now, we just "wait" while they process it and get it back to us. 


It is almost June and we are still waiting. Now a few tricky issues arise. As is typical in this country of Kenya, things are not the same across the board, the law is loosely interpreted, often confusing and sometimes contradictory to itself. Such is the case here. In the district where we are currently, you must be a registered home (or in the process of) to accept children into the home. In the district where we will be moving, you must have 20 children in order to be registered.  We will not have 20 children. See the frustration???


This week, I will am trying to track down our registration number so that I can go to the offices in downtown Nairobi to find our paperwork. I will be attempting to find out what the status/hold-up is and how we can get that certificate of registration IN HAND.   


It is possible for our registration number to transfer with us to the new district...IF we have our official certificate of registration. 


Why do we NEED the official certificate of registration???


(1) If we do not obtain it from our current district before we leave, we must start over in the new district which will not register us because we have fewer than 20 children.


(2) Our babies cannot be released out of our care without it.  We have some adorable babies that could likely be adopted or placed in long-term foster care, but they cannot leave to go to a "forever family" until we have our certificate.


(3) On a personal note, Julia cannot be released from the home to my personal guardianship without the certificate.  I will be going home for Kris's wedding in October, and the thought of leaving her behind is simply unbearable!


You can pray that...


- I will be given our registration number or whatever is needed to follow up on.


- I will be able to find the right person to talk to to follow up. (It would typically be a case of having to return a number of time because the right person is "out of the office" for the first hundred times you try.)


- Our Certificate of Registration will truly be processed and there waiting for us!!!


Thank you for joining HCO in this prayer. If we do not receive our certificate of registration before we move, then we will pray for God to direct us through the next steps so that our babies are able to progress in the direction God has for them.