To Cut A Long Story Short

Okay, here's a very brief precis of what has been going on.

The SO's ex-wife, who had primary custody of his two girls aged 13 and 9, told him she was going to Western Africa on a missionary trip four days before she was due to leave. We live about an hour away from them and he was concerned as to who would be looking after them while she was gone for fifteen days. She assured him that babysitters were set and that she would provide him with all the details he needed.

Unfortunately, she did not do that. He was completely in the dark as to who was supposed to be caring for his kids and when. The day she left, he started calling the girls when they got home from school. They didn't know who was coming to look after them, nor was anyone there. When it got to be 6.15pm and they were still there by themselves, we got in the car and drove over there.

When we arrived at 7.30pm, they were STILL alone, although a woman, whom we had never heard of before, had apparently called and told the kids she would be there sometime after 8pm. The SO was beside himself as it was a school night and they had not been fed yet, and oh yeah, THEY HAD BEEN ALONE since 3.00pm and were getting scared. We put them in the car and took them to get something to eat.

The SO tried calling the woman who did not answer her phone. She eventually called back at 8.30pm and said she would be available shortly. The SO told her that it was unacceptable to leave two young girls at home alone until close to 9pm and that we would look after them for the night.

The next day The SO tried in vain to find out who was in charge of the babysitting. No one he managed to contact seemed to know what was going on. We went to Social Services for help as to what to do and he was advised to get legal advice, which he did.

The girls are now with us; they are happy to be here and we are happy to have them. Their mother has not called or tried to contact them or us (or any other family member that we are aware of) AT ALL since she left and we have no idea if she's okay or not. The country she went to is extremely dangerous; the air service is unsafe, it is politically unstable and a haven for Al-Qaida, and it is full of nasty diseases. Any number of awful things can happen to you there, especially if you are a Westerner.

The girls are extremely worried about their mom and we are too. We're not sure when she's supposed to be coming back, but we think it's next Monday. We pray she will show up healthy and alive. This whole situation is incredibly stressful for us all. Again, we appreciate any positive thoughts you can send our way.

That is it in a nutshell.