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... of the perfect storm

It's raining here in Austin. It's been off and on since yesterday. Coincidentally, last night Cyclone Fani made landfall in Odisha, India and as it continues over the next few days, the eye of the (the then tropical) storm will come very close to our son´s rural town in West Bengal. The wind and rain could cause some serious damage in such a small town and the aftermath could be significant.

Sometimes, it's hard to take something seriously that is happening to other people on the opposite side of the world. We see the news (maybe), a facebook friend reminds us, we pause for a moment to pray, and then we carry on with our "normal day". But as the rain has continued here over the last day, it has been easy for me to focus more on what the people in India and Bangladesh are and will be going through. It's also so much easier to focus on it when a member of your family is there and you have no idea what's happening to or how this will affect him.

I'm not sure why Moses is still there. He could very easily been home already. He really should be home already and my mama heart hurts that he is not. He is about to be in the middle of a natural disaster without his mom and dad. And not only that, but depending on the level effect this storm has on his part of India, the courthouse that has yet to give us the certified copy of the court order they have had 4 weeks to do may very well be forced to close for a time and we will be even further delayed in getting him. We only have his passport left to apply for, but depending on how this storm affects Kolkata, the passport office could be inoperable for a time as well.

Thankfully, the state when the storm made landfall was proactive and wise and evacuated many people and successfully have saved many, many lives. But it didn´t save their homes or their shops or their jobs. And we aren´t sure how or if West Bengal is preparing. We had been hoping and planning to finally pick our son up at the end of the month, 13 months after matching with him, but I am having a hard time believing that will happen at this point.

Will you pray with us that the orphanage will be proactive with the safety of the 10 kids who are there (and also for the many other orphanages in Odisha and West Bengal that may be affected)?  Will you pray that he won´t get sick from the flooding and sanitation issues after the storm passes? Will you pray that God will miraculously have already had the court get the copy of the order to the orphanage in these last few days (and for them to keep it safe) or that He will miraculously spare the courthouse any damage so that they can get that document when the storm passes? Depending on what happens with this storm as it goes through his area in the next few days, we will either be resigning ourselves to a longer wait or we will be making arrangements to try and expedite his getting out of India by going there ourselves sooner than expected. We need wisdom, patience, trust, and peace.

(His town is at that black and white dot)


Thanks ❤

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