On Friday the 3rd. of September our long awaited FBI results arrived in the mail just as we were getting ready to Fly to Seattle for a real vacation. My results were clear, no criminal record. Elizabeth was rejected because they said she didn't have good enough fingerprints. The problem is she started out life as a vegetable farmer in Canada and now she works for the Gideons International and she has worked her fingers to the bone. The explanation sheet said that you could do lots of things to make them grow back. It also told how to take them better. After checking with others who have had similar problems during the Foreign adoption process, the best solution was Corn Huskers Lotion. So after waking up in Tukwila, Washington we sent out for Corn Huskers Lotion. In Metropolitan Seattle they must not have much of a need to shuck corn, after several stores we found a bottle at a Walmart in Renton. Elizabeth applied it constantly during the Vacation.
We visited the Pifers on Saturday Evening they had moved to Renton from Smyrna in the last year. We had a great time catching up about old times and their new life in Seattle. Sunday morning we went to Lynnwood and worshipped at the new campus of our church. We had a great time hearing the Radical series and later we were able to have lunch with several members at their favorite Restaurant.
Monday morning we went to Edmonds to ride the ferry to Kingston and went to Port Angeles and the Olympic Peninsula National Park. We drove up and down mountains while it was raining in the Rainforest. It was still an amazing adventure and the trees and mountains were beautiful. For lunch we ate at the Lake Crescent Lodge. It was delicious and after lunch we went kayaking on the Lake very nice, but very cold and wet. The following day we drove out to Sol Doc Hot Springs and enjoyed the pools with tourists from Japan and Germany very international feeling. We missed reservations on the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria where you can see across the straight of San Juan de Fuca, so we had to drive back to Kingston and take the Ferry back to Edmonds and drive to Vancouver and take another ferry to Victoria. That made a 90 minute trip take about five hours. The Vancouver ferries are very impressive, they travel at 20 knots and do not leave a wake.
We did all the Vancouver Island things including Whale Watching, tons of fun and well worth the price to go with Prince of Whales fleet. We also drove out to the west to see the Tidal Pools everything was just like we read in magazines and saw on travel TV. A great blessing!
Now we are ready to go to Brussels, which is very similar except for the mountains. The people and the culture are remarkably similar. We do have the problem of Elizabeth's fingerprints though. When those prayers are answered, we are ready to apply to the Belgian Embassy which can take one to four months. Then we buy the tickets and take off. So if you have been waiting to be part of our financial support team the time is here. Contact us at dan.christensen58@gmail.com for details. We are at a very blessed time of our lives right now. God has been good all of the time!