No marines at this embassy - I was expecting marines - but I guess Lesotho is too peaceful. There were security guards and a metal detector and they took our phones. Once inside, Trent said, "I never thought I would be happy to see pictures of President Obama, VP Biden and Hillary Clinton." We weren't sure exactly what documents the embassy needed, so we took EVERYTHING - our file from Lesotho as well as everything I'd copied from home. They gave us the official list of what they needed and we sorted it all out then waited while they photocopied and checklisted everything. Palamang had a blast playing with his bouncy ball and his cars on the wooden floor. Then Scott from the consular's office came out and chatted with us. He said everything looked to be in order and asked us about our experience and said he'd forward everything to the consulate in Johannesburg. He was super friendly and helpful, which was a relief because I was nervous not knowing exactly what papers we needed and/or whether we had them all! Of course he couldn't tell us when Paul's visa would be issued, but he said he'd try to arrange our appointment for Thursday, May 24th. If ya'll could pray for that date, too, that'd be great!
After two days of traditional, home cooked Lesotho food, we weren't sure what to do with ourselves for lunch, so we treated ourselves to burgers from an American-type restaurant in the mall. And now, tonight, we all have upset stomachs. Seriously. Lesotho food = feeling healthy and full. Hamburgers = feeling totally bleagh. Plus, all we could think about was how many street kids Shelley could feed with the money we spent on the hamburgers that are now churning in our stomachs. We've been ruined. (Palamang didn't like eating the burger with his hands.)
Trent caught a horrible cold (think it was Palamang's cold, actually, because he had a cough when we picked him up), so he planned to stay home while we took Paul to Ministry of Hope for a playdate. But I screwed up and didn't get our hotel reservations for Johannesburg confirmed, so he had to walk back to the mall to get online and take care of that. Good thing, too, because several of the hotels where we wanted to stay are not available for four people. We're hoping the Holiday Inn Rosebank doesn't notice the tall American teenager and the small Basotho boy tagging along with us.
I knew from the pictures that Palamang had to have a sense of humor, and it has really blossomed in the last couple of days! He's a giggler and a tease. He loves to play "Where's Palamang" and then LAUGHS when we catch him and tickle him. He pretends to put his clothes on backwards and then LAUGHS when I gasp. He's discovered the air mattress makes a great landing pad for flips and jumps (I HOPE the air mattress survives through the next week!) When I told him we were going to Ministry of Hope to play with Thabo (bapala Thabo) his face lit up and he said, "KB," who is another friend from MIS. The kids played for almost two hours. Palamang shared his cars and they blew bubbles and they tried to get the lawnmower started (boys!). It was good for him to still have that connection with MIS friends, but in the smaller, safer confines of Ministry of Hope. (Yes, Paul is wearing earmuffs in this picture. I don't know why.)
At four, when our taxi came to collect us, he grabbed my and Sam's hand, said "Bye" and marched us to the car. When he saw the Mohokare gate he said, "Daddy!" then ran to the rondaval to find him.
Tonight, before bed, be grabbed THREE books from the closet (he's becoming quite the staller!) One was the airport book. He said, "Sefofane America!" which means "Airplane America!" Yes! We're getting closer!
Much love,
Trent, Kristi, Sam and Paul
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