Medical Clearance

After passing the OA our next obstacle was to get medical clearances for each member of the family. Surprisingly, Duong, Nani, and I got our clearances early in December. The only downside for me was in having a man stick his finger in one of my body's points of egress. Kea was a different story, however, and we are still waiting for his clearance. When his pediatrician was examining his body she noticed he had a hydrocele (testicle full of fluid) and recommended he see a urologist. The good news was that he was able to go in for surgery within one week of seeing the urologist. The bad news was that he had to go in for surgery, period.

We were instructed to not feed him or allow him to drink after midnight the night before his surgery. Duong was clever and decided to keep him up the night before and feed him pancakes at about 10:00. We then let him sleep in until he woke up, which ended up being 8:30. We then let him watch Little Einsteins until 9:00, and then let him take a long warm bath until 9:30. At this point we took him to the hospital anticipating arriving at about 10:00 and going in for surgery at 11:00. Unfortunately, Kea's doctor didn't show up until close to 12:00, so Duong and I spent close to two hours trying to keep Kea's mind off of food and water. He was a trooper, and did just fine. It has been nearly two weeks since his surgery, and he seems to have healed completely. Duong and I felt so powerless turning him over to the doctors, and yet, we also felt so blessed to have insurance and competent doctors to treat him. I understand the monetary concern about socializing healthcare, but I think it is absolutely preposterous that some families have to make the decision to either file bankruptcy or get their kids the necessary treatments they need to live a normal life. America is supposed to be the leader of civilization and enlightenment, but I think we are missing the mark on this one.

Uncle Tarzan

Jammin'

The Ladies

Family photo

Kanani and JJ reconnecting.

The OA

Elijah went to sleep at 9:30 pm on Thursday the 12th and set four alarms for 5:00 am to ensure he didn't sleep in. Because he was so anxious he just laid in bed until about midnight and then finally drifted off to sleep. At about 4:20 am he was wide awake and fretting over the upcoming day's events. A little after six he walked a few blocks to Annex 1 and met the eleven other candidates who would be testing with him.

The first activity of the day was the group activity. This is a group negotiation used to see if individuals can play nicely with each other. Elijah's strategy was to smile, speak clearly and concisely, and be exact in following instructions. The next exercise was a case memo. This involves reading through roughly thirty pages of dense information and drafting a memo in 90 minutes. The last and final phase of the day was the structured interview. Here the assessors ask questions to find out one's motivations for pursuing a career in the foreign service. They also read two hypothetical questions and ask several questions to see how one would react in certain situations. The final part of this involves sharing personal experiences that demonstrate the 13 Dimensions the State uses as a rubric to judge a candidate's potential.

Each candidate is given a score between 1 and 7 for each exercise. At the end of the day the assessors take the average score and use that as the final score. A score of 5.25 is needed to pass. Elijah was called out second to last and found out he had passed all three sections, and had an average score of 5.5. Hooray!

Walking back to the hotel, Elijah said a prayer to thank our Heavenly Father for assisting him throughout this process. A powerful feeling of love overcame him as he walked, and a humble sense of gratitude filled his being.

This is something we have been praying for since last January. The last two months we have been more diligent and deliberate in asking the Lord to bless Elijah with peace and a clear mind for his OA. The Lord blessed him greatly--as He always does. As Phuc's dad once said, "it is amazing what the Lord will do with your life if you let Him." Now we just have to wait for the security clearance and medical clearance, and then hopefully by next summer we will be moving to D.C. to embark on an adventure in the foreign service. :)

OA in D.C.

While working in Vietnam last year, some dear friends of ours (Christian and Jennie Marchant) suggested we think about joining the foreign service. Elijah, who has always been a little slow, quickly dismissed this idea and told Duong he was going to pursue a career in the law. After returning to the states both Elijah and Duong got the urge to travel, and started to consider the possibility of joining the foreign service. By June Elijah was taking the FSOT (the written exam). They say of the 5,000 people that take this test each time it is offered (usually 3 to 4 times a year), only about 20% pass. To our pleasant surprise, he passed. The next step was the QEP, which is a short series of mini essays used to further sift the wheat from the tares. Again, we were humbled and excited to find out he passed. The next step is the oral assessment "OA" which is an all-day, very intense, interview. Elijah is exhausted from the experience, but he will post a detailed account of what happened tomorrow.