All of our major preparations are in place.  The welcoming teams for each of the two families are ready.  They have a calendar for necessary appointments in the first few weeks.  They have participated in  an orientation to cultural and trauma-related issues.  The predicted 4-6 weeks since approval for Nilofar and family are about to elapse– we’re told that there might be further delay or a sudden announcement of their imminent arrival.  

We are fervently hoping for their arrival before the new federal administration makes a policy change.  Even then, we have been reassured that those already in the pipeline will eventually arrive, possibly with further delays.  Please hold everyone working for their arrival  in your prayers–both those on the ground here and the officials in the massive international bureaucracies who are working on innumerable details for every refugee.  It is entirely possible that we could receive word of their arrival next week…and so we wait on the edge of our seats with hope and prayers.