Good News!

This is from an e-mail we received yesterday!
"We are thrilled to share positive news from Ethiopia.  Earlier today Minister Zenebu, along with other high level MOWCYA officials, met with agency network representatives.  In this meeting it was clearly expressed by Minister Zenebu that she does not plan to work to stop adoptions, but desires to focus on eliminating bad practice and continue to invest in good practice of Ethiopia adoptions.  She reiterated that neither MOWCYA nor the Ethiopian Government plan to shut down adoptions within Ethiopia, and went on to encourage agencies to continue their work as normal."

This is exciting news for us! :) We are glad that they are going to continue forward with adoptions and that they are looking into certain issues to better the children's welfare. Definitely an answered prayer!!

     We had decided to cancel our fingerprints for today because of snow & ice but after reading over the paperwork it said that if you don't show up for your appointment then it is considered "abandoned"! We definitely didn't want that or to have to pay another $800 fee.  So, Allan drove us in the ice and snow to Greer, SC this morning, only to find out that they were closed and will reissue us another appointment time! The lady on the phone told Allan we could've just looked on the internet to find that info! That was kind of frustrating, considering we looked everywhere on the internet and couldn't find any information on if they were open or not! So, anyways within the next few weeks we will be heading back to SC to get fingerprinted, hopefully this time there won't be snow/ice!

Hopeful

We still do not have a definite answer from Ethiopia as to if they are going to close international adoption. They have however said that they can continue for now, so we are hopeful! Waiting for the unknown is very difficult! But, we are going to continue forward with updating our home study and trusting in God's plan for us and our child. We are heading to SC on Wednesday to be fingerprinted again by Homeland Security. We have passed out documents for references to fill out again and then the only thing left is to wait for our physicals and mine isn't until March! It is crazy that all of this has to be redone now and will continue to have to be redone every year until we bring our child home!

We are so thankful for the love & support that our friends continue to give us. We are so blessed! :)

Prayer request...

Allan and I received an e-mail the other day from our Adoption agency with some news that has left us wondering what God is up to. I didn't know if I should post this info on the blog yet because I didn't know if it was confidential, but after researching it, it is public knowledge so I am asking for prayers please.

Apparently, the Government officials in Ethiopia are thinking about closing international adoption. They will have a decision around January 13th. There isn't much more news on it right now, our agency is waiting for a translated version of the paperwork and then we will know more. We ask that you Please, Stop and Pray for the Ethiopian officials and for the children in Ethiopia. We know God is up to something, just not sure what!

At the same time of the unknown with Ethiopia, our documents are up for renewal with our Home study and fingerprints, we have 13 documents that need to be updated and another home study to take place at our home. I have to say I'm a little overwhelmed right now. To not know if we should even bother trying to update these documents or if we should start in the hopes that Ethiopia will stay open. I've been kicking myself all morning for cancelling our physicals, which we thought we wouldn't have to have redone and now we do. I cancelled them and they were only 2 weeks away and now we have to wait til March 19th for another appointment. This paperwork is on a deadline so now I don't know if we are going to exceed the deadline by waiting til March or if we should try to find another doctor who is able to do notary as well. I realize this probably sounds petty to even mention the physicals but when you are in the midst of it, it is yet another obstacle to get around.

So, for now..we pray and wait. We wait to see what God is up to. We have amazing brothers and sisters in Christ who are praying daily for us, we are so blessed to have such love and support! Thanks in advance for your prayers! We will give an update as soon as possible. :)

We will be joining in with our Adoption Agency as they are going to be praying and fasting from January 9-11^th and the focus will be on the situation in Ethiopia as the government considers changes and reforms to the intercountry adoption system.  The focus of their prayers will be:

 

·         Praying for Ethiopian government officials to be convicted of the need children have to grow up in a family and for international adoptions to remain open;

·         Praying for advocates in Ethiopia and around the world to speak up on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children;

·         Praying for an end to any corruption, deceit, inappropriate work regarding adoption;

·         Praying for prospective adoptive families who are anxiously awaiting news of the Ethiopian government’s decision; and

·         Praying for wisdom and guidance for our agency staff as we seek to respond wisely to whatever news we hear from Ethiopian officials.

We would love for you to join us in this! :)