We serve the God of the one elephant...a.k.a. Praise Jesus we are coming home!

The sun was up and the breeze was cool as I walked the 12 blocks from our apartment to the High Commission early this morning. As of yet, there was not word at all about our medical visa and we were starting to lose hope. To add to the pressure, we found out yesterday that if we miss our Friday flights this week, the next available flight out of Jo-Burg is on April the 23rd!!! 

My gut was turning as I scurried through the ever busier sidewalks that run like grey rail road tracks along a long line of embassy after embassy. The Hungarian Embassy is quiet as usual while the Algerian Embassy is bustling with robed dignitaries and black Mercedes Benz going in an out! As the Canadian High Commission looms in the distance I begin to pray...again...asking God to calm my heart, to give me wisdom and to prepare the way for me to be able to meet with the Immigration office in charge so plead my case. 

I show my passport, fill out the log book, chat with my new friend the gate guard [he asks how things are going and I tell him we will see], I clear the metal detector and make my way into the High Commission. There a few people in front of me but within 5 minutes it's my turn. I smile, chat with the lady at the front desk and she remembers me - "Your the one who needs to leave by Friday right?!" I say, "Yes!". I hand in Zoe's passport and ask how things are going with her case. She doesn't have any information for me so I swallow hard and as kindly ask if perhaps the officer in charge would have a moment to speak with me. She smiles...this is new from my Monday experience...and says let me see. A minute later and pretty lady with short cropped hair, black rimmed glasses and a warm smile is standing at the window introducing herself to me. It is Diane the immigration officer in charge! What happens next was the most amazing thing - we had a warm, kind, caring, helpful conversation!

She is a wonderful lady who showed real empathy for our situation! She heard me out, encouraged me along the way and assured me that she was doing everything she could to get us home. Just this morning she and her supervisor had sent urgent requests for our medical from Nairobi! Amazing!! But she wasn't done! She then went on to tell me that she has Zoe's file completed and that we are ready to go as soon as the medical arrives - which means if it comes overnight on Wednesday we will get our visa before they close for the Easter weekend on Thursday at noon. She was done! She had expedited our case and was ready and waiting. 

She talked to me for 20 minutes, answered all my questions, apologized for any difficulties I had experienced on Monday and explained the process clearly to me! I walked out the door with a new friend and a renewed belief in the Canadian government! My High Commission did care, they were working, they were listening and they were doing their best to serve me during this difficult time! I was blown away! 

I met up with the other Canadian couple who arrived a little after me. They were given the same news and then we drove back to the McKnight apartment together! I ran in the door and tried to explain to T what had happened! It was, well, a miracle!! Our hope was renewed and we decided to celebrate with Dutch Bacon Pannekeoks [sp?] - which by the way are delicious. If ever in Pretoria you must go to Harries Pannekeok house and have some! We did a quick shop at Woolworth's and came home to put the kids down for nap. 

T and I began to talk about what would happen if the visa didn't come through? What would our plan be? What are our options...we just didn't know! We were getting ready to write our travel agent about options when all of a sudden the cell phone rang. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it. I picked up and a voice on the other end said, "Hello Troy, it's Diane. I just wanted you to know that we've just heard back from Nairobi. Your medical for Zoe is complete and clear and they will be sending it to us overnight tonight. So, please come by tomorrow at 11 am to pick up Zoe's visa. Troy you are going home!!" Well needless to say I was barely able to speak as I could hardly believe what I was hearing. I made her repeat it three times until it settled in! I asked what I could bring by the High Commission tomorrow as a way of saying thank you to everybody and she said, "No need to bring anything! It is our pleasure to serve you and get you home!!!" This is not what I expected! However, we have been served well and we can't believe that we are coming home...so it does look like we serve the God of the one elephant...who knows, maybe God is still trying to teach me something about trusting him!!

So, let me say - Praise be to God our Father who is faithful and true! He has kept us safe, and sane, and relatively healthy! He has given us the strength we needed, even when we thought we couldn't go on for one more day! To him be all honour and glory and praise!!

And to you - our friends, our family, our Powers Creek family - we couldn't have done this without you! Your prayers, your comments, your emails, your phone calls, your skype calls...you will never know how much it has all meant to us! Thank you for carrying us through!

Finally, a huge thank you to Stockwell Day and his assistant Barbara who responded in such an amazing way to our urgent request. Barbara has been in contact everyday and has been an incredible support. Though they didn't have to launch any further action on our behalf - just to know that they were there and ready to support has meant more then they will ever know! We feel so blessed to have Stockwell and Barbara serving us in the Okanagan! May God continue to bless them as they serve us and all Canadians!!

Well - there you have it!!! Please pray with us that the visa medical will arrive without delay or problems overnight, that the visa will be issued tomorrow morning and that we will be able to make our flights on Friday - if not before! Also, please pray for T who has picked up a stomach flew that she is battling with right now. Not able to eat much and seems to be producing a migraine as well. Lastly, pray for the kids. They have not slept for 4 nights now - both of them up with bad dreams and last night Liam had night terrors through much of the night. Please pray that God will protect us, protect them, give us all rest, health and some sleep over the next two days.

Woohoo!!! We are coming home!! Someone needs to bring a big honkin' rock in on Good Friday night for me! Someone please lay one down at the cross on behalf of the McKnights! We love you all and miss you much! We will write more tomorrow when it all shakes out...and that my friends is the McKnight Report!