Our Trip so far in Pictures

Court went well yesterday.  The judge was in a much better mood... even smiled at us!  We will not get our ruling until the 9th of November (same day as Ezekiel).

Here's some pics of the 29 1/2 hr trek here:

Our 3hr stop over in Frankfort - we were SO thirsty, we had to buy some drinks.  $17 US for those!!  CRAZY

We still look happy and not too tired at this point (after buying the drinks)

This is at our 5 1/2 hr stop over in Vienna - looking much more tired and no place to sit, so we crashed on the floor...

LITERALLY!! :)

This is Cairo - we ate a snack at Burger King!! :)  Not quite the same onion rings as back home... We are SO tired here and just want to be in Uganda!

Our last plane.  Each plane got smaller.  Thankfully the smallest was also the emptiest, so we could stretch out.  Otherwise it would have been VERY uncomfortable!

Finally here after 29 1/2 hrs!

Happy to be on Ugandan soil but EXTREMELY tired!

Having great friends here really helps!  Thanks Justin and Shauna!!

And of course, what you all are probably waiting for...

is

these...

In front, daddy and Ezekiel.  In back, mommy and Kaysia

Kaysia (in pink) playing in the sand.

Ezekiel LOVES to help!

Unfortunately, we have been a little pre-occupied to take many pics of us out and about so nothing to show for that.  Today is market day, so we hope to have a bit of a break from Sanyu and see some more Ugandan friends.

Teach

A Day in Court

So, lots has been going on but I only have enough time and battery power for a short post.  Here's where we're at:  one court session over, after hours sitting and waiting for a judge who was late.  Then hearing our lawyer and the judge banter back and forth with legal jargon, total making us feel like "oh crap, this is never going to happen" and then having the lawyer say in his office "I think things went quite well."  REALLY?!?  Were we in the same court room?  Anyways, it is not mine to control, God's got it worked out.  We find out the ruling on November 9.

Thursday we get to do it all again, but we are going for a different ruling, so maybe things will be better and hopefully the judge shows up on time!  Please keep praying for us - we need it!

Teach

We Are Here!

We made it!  29 & 1/2 hrs travel time, plus waiting for a shuttle in the airport that never came and meeting a REALLY nice taxi driver named Arron who drove us to our Guest House.  An emotional trip but more emotions to come!  We are going to eat and then see our babies!!!!!  More later,

Teach

Two Down, Two to Go...

Well, we are 16 hours in to our 29 1/2 hours of traveling.  We started in Canada and have been in Germany (Frankfort) and are now waiting in Austria (Vienna) for flight #3.  Lots of connections, but when you have to book a flight less then 24 hours before you leave, you can't be too picky.  So far it has been good traveling but we are tired.  As I type this, Cher is trying to get some "rest" by sitting on the VERY cold floor on my coat and holding her head in her hands - I would post a picture, but I think I would get into BIG BIG trouble :)

Anyway, we asked God very specifically to be in Uganda by the end of October and just when I begin to doubt and give up, He comes through!  We truly do serve a miracle-working, awe-inspiring, gasp-giving, mountain-moving God!  Thank you Jesus!!  I cannot even begin to explain and retell ALL He has done to make it possible for me to be sitting here in Vienna with my wife, on our way to get our babies!  Just AWESOME!

On a side note - I don't think I will ever be able to top this anniversary (it is today).  I have taken my wife to Germany, had lunch with her in Vienna and now I am taking her to Cairo - pretty romantic, huh?  That's gonna be a tough one to beat :)  Will try to post more soon!

Teach

Get ready, get set...

Okay, so I totally do NOT recommend finding out you are going on a trip half way across the world on a Thursday morning and then having to fly out Friday.  There is just not enough time to prepare everything - but that's what we are doing.  We got the LONG awaited email Yesterday morning (Thursday) and were told we needed to be in Kampala on Monday morning @ 9 AM.  That's not a lot of time to plan and travel half way across the world!!!  To make matters worse, I was working today and could not be of much help to Cheremi as she was trying to get everything in place.  So, it is now the middle of the night and I think we are close.  Soon we don't have much choice and will just have to GO.

The plus side is, very soon we will get to see, hold and love on our babies!!!  That is something I am VERY much looking forward to.  God was SO good to us today and we are SO thankful to Him and to those who have gathered around us to support us.  I hope we haven't forgotten anything!  Please continue to pray for us - for our kids who we are leaving behind at home, for our kids who we are going to get, for us not to stress too much about it all, for favor in the courts and with the judge, for finances both now and after we return... - man, just pray for us, God knows our needs!  Thank you in advance!

We will try to update as we go along, so stay tuned!  Blessings,

Teach

Please Pray!

I don't know how many people read this blog, but if you do, please pray for us.  Our lawyer has emailed saying that the judge will NOT hear any cases AT ALL in November, so they are really trying to get a court date for before the end of October.  We really need a lot of things to fall into place that surround our court date - flights, accommodations, immigration paperwork, packing, finances, James' work, Parental leave benefits... A LOT of stuff!  If you like to be real specific when you're talking to God, ask Him for an October 23rd court date, cheap flights, lawyers fees covered, James' planning for school, immigration and parental leave to fall into place.  Thank you SO much, we appreciate ALL of your prayers - and they WORK, we have seen that first hand SO many times in our marriage!

Be blessed today,

Teach

Front page News!!

Well it's not every day you make the front page of the Newspaper, both print and internet copies - even if it is only in a small city.  The paper is circulated to all of Southern Alberta.  If you're interested, you can read the full article here.   Here's the pic and the caption read "James and Cheremi Schalk and their adopted children Trae, 8, Nate, 6, and Naleah, 3, walk through the Lethbridge Corn Maze Monday. Theo Slingerland and family held a fundraiser at the corn maze to help the Schalks with expenses in travelling to Uganda where they are adopting two more children, Ezekiel and Kaysia. The children in Uganda are unrelated but are in the same orphanage."  

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do the interview, but then I thought that maybe God could use me to open people's eyes and hearts to adoption and the plea of the orphan.  Not sure what God will use it for but I think it came across pretty good.  I gave the reporter A LOT more information on orphans, adoptions and stuff related to that, but I guess she can only write so much.  Not bad though.  Happy reading!

Teach