Part 3: Uninvited Guests

June 26.
It was a good day, at first.  We got our kids' visas.  We went souvenir shopping.  We were excited to be heading home soon, finally.

And then apparently we had to shake it up a little.

Here was my journal entry for that day.

We had to leave Sunny Day after our original 3 weeks, because they were booked up. So was St. Anne's. We ended up at a place called Residence 165. It was comparable to Sunny Day in many respects. It felt safe enough. It was gated, and guarded. But no one there spoke English, and there was no pool. And no awesome neighbors. :( 

(if you recall, we spent most of our waking hours hanging out with the next-door LBB family at Sunny Day)

Anyway. It felt safe enough. Until today. 

This morning was eventful. David picked up our visas! He brought the papers to the DGM. We filed for visa extensions (me and the neighbors Darren and Valerie), and shopped for souvenirs. Then we wandered back home to R165.

There was a man sitting at the table on the yard. We didn't pay attention, because why would a man sitting at a table alarm us? A few hours later, 3 policemen knock on the door, accompanied by the only hotel staff who speaks any English, (tho it was still not much). He says “These are the police intelligence. They need to see your documents.” Other than that, the message was lost in translation.  

I tried to explain that my passport was at DGM because of my visa extension. 

They asked to see DGM papers.  

I tried to explain that I don't have any, because David dropped everything off and took care of all of it. 

They wanted to see Amber's passport, and then kept it. 

After a few more minutes of non-communication, I called David, trying to explain that there were police at my door and they wanted to see my documents. He was confused at first, and assured me that my visa would be ready tomorrow. No, I say. There are police at my door right now. I was thinking they were here because of a visa issue, that my visa had expired and that was the problem, but David repeatedly assured me that my visa was fine. He talked to them, then called again to talk to them, and called again to talk to them. He calls me then, and says “Stay in your room. Lock the door. Do not go with them if they ask. Stay where you are. I'm sending someone there. I'll be there in 30 minutes. I will fix this.”

Oh dear. 

I lock the door, thinking it's futile since the hotel guy has his own keys. I sit and wait, and call Valerie, pace and stare, and try to pray but my brain won't form actual words.

After several minutes our main driver Patrick comes. He talks to them, then comes and tells us in his broken English that David is on the way, and meanwhile he will continue speaking to the police.

After a while longer, David arrives, and joins the ever-growing number of men arguing around the table in our yard. Discussion gets very heated. I cannot hear what is going on, nor could I have understood it anyway. 

Eventually Andrew (from the Embassy) arrives.

Oh my.  It must be serious if the Vice Consul of the US Embassy is here in my yard on my behalf.

I continue pacing, and change my clothes so I'm ready for seeking asylum at the Embassy, or going to Congolese prison, or wherever it I may be headed next. For Pete's sake, I don't even know why they are here!  All I can think about is the family in Ghana who was arrested and imprisoned on false child trafficking allegations while trying to leave with their adopted children.

 Discussions continue. Phone calls are made. This goes on for an hour or more. It's getting dark. People are angry. 

Finally everyone leaves.

David, Andrew, and Patrick come into the room to explain.

Basically what had happened was that we were targeted by police looking for a bribe. 

They were arguing first that I didn't have a passport. 

Next they were arguing that Amber's visa was expired, which it was not. 

Then they were saying I was registered wrong at the hotel. (whatever that means??) Anything for a little money.  Andrew apologized that it happened, and assured me that they “probably won't come back” to the hotel, but that they may try and stop us on the street and demand money. And that he was glad we were leaving soon since now they know we are here.

They made it sound like not that big of a deal.  They "probably" wont come back.  But an hour later, Stephanie called (she and Kelly, the agency reps were in Lubumbashi at the time), and she said "Where are you going?  You cannot stay there.  Someone is on their way to pick you up."

We have moved again now. Well, a lot of our stuff is still over at R165, but we threw a bunch of stuff in a bag, and we're back at Sunny Day. We came before we even knew we had a room (we were going to somehow cram in Darren and Valerie's room) but miraculously, SD had a room open up, and is available for 2 nights, which is perfect. We should be gone after that.

In the end, I'm so thankful that we are safe and things are fine. I'm so thankful David was able to come and take care of it, and Patrick was able to come to be with us until David could arrive, and that Andrew was willing to come after hours to help. So thankful for people like Valerie and Darren who drop everything to pray for us, and who have our backs.

I don't know who these guys were. Andrew said they were not with DGM, who would have been in charge of any visa problems, and again assured me that my visa was fine. They may, however, have gotten a list of adoptive families from DGM, and taken it upon themselves to pay a visit to these adoptive families. Alain (the owner of Sunny Day) said they had stopped here at SD this morning, but he didn't let them in. Apparently they go around seeking out adoptive families and extorting money out of them.

The good news is that now Andrew has a renewed sense of urgency about Darren and Valerie's case, and will start on it right away. And we are all safe. And we are back at Sunny Day, which is what we preferred anyway. Too bad I'm hemorrhaging money, particularly now that I'm paying for 2 hotel rooms, having already paid at R165, and now here too. But it could be lot worse.

Major Miracles 2 and 3:  Safety, and Provision of housing when there was supposed to be no room at the inn.
Major Miracle 2b:  Darren and Valerie's visas, not even started the day before, were DONE 3 days later.