Well it's been a bumpy road for the last 4.5 years and of course Nicole is still not here and we'll see if the latest lip service comes true. This past Wednesday I had a one hour conference call with Patricia Lamego w/ the Brazilian Central Authority and her staff, Daisy Cardiel and Laurie Trost with OCI, Congressman Ted Poe's staff and the Ambassador of Brazil to the United States Mauro Viera's office in Washington DC. Yes the Ambassador got a nasty gram from Congressman Ted Poe's office and he didn't like it one single bit but now he has no choice but to be involved with us to the end. The goal that I expressed to them all was to have Nicole visiting here for the first time in 4.5 years starting this July. They say they are all standing by ready to assist in any way shape or form. So far, it's been good.
Two things standing in the way to facilitate Nicole's visitation. 1) Criminal charges against her mother. After all she did commit a crime and that's just what we do here in the US. You usually get charges filed against you when you commit a crime in this country.
2) The sole custody order I have here in Houston needs to be modified to show joint custody. Of course there are many other terms and conditions but those are the high level concerns.
There is numerous other things like visitation periods, passports etc. but will not get into them here.
I have rolled over and agreed to work towards getting those two reversed but not until we have an agreed upon amicable visitation agreement. Again there is still an uphill battle and probably numerous challenges to overcome but I am ready to tackle them head on. I know many of you on here feel you don't get the support you need from the State Department. The only reason I feel I am getting it like I am is because of the tenacious Congressman Ted Poe. He is ruthless and will not let this go until we have acceptable resolution. He is a very personable man.
I wished everybody had the kind of support I have but the only thing I can recommend is that if you are not going to get it until you go meet your Congressman face to face like I have 4 times already. Let him know you are not going away and that you are in this until your death. You need your Congressman or woman involved in the middle of it. I am grateful that I have mine in it with me until the end.
The goal is July. Please lift up Nicole, myself and my family in your prayers. Even though it may be hard for us to do sometimes, lift up her mother in your prayers as well and ask the Lord to soften her heart for the benefit of Nicole. God awards us when we sacrifice as he sacrificed his son for all of us.
