Expect Delays (some emotional)

This week I got an email from our CWA case manager about where we are on the wait list and what the process looks like from this point forward...

Where are we on the wait list? Still #3...we've been #3 for 4 months. There's a family who submitted their dossier in August, and then I've "met" the other couple "ahead" of us. They actually submitted their dossier for 2 kiddos on the same day we did - they are adopting 2 boys!

After we accept our referral, how long until we travel before our first trip?

Once we have a referral, it will probably be about 3 months before you travel for your court hearing [maybe a long guesstimate here]. BUT the courts recess in August and September, so we definitely wouldn’t be traveling to Ethiopia for our first trip in August/September; therefore the court recess will back things up a bit – at least it has in the past.

How long between the first trip and the second trip when we bring our babies home? Once we’ve traveled for your first trip, it will be about 6 to 8 weeks before we travel for the US Embassy date to bring them home.

2 Realities plus a Bonus:

1. God is the God of all time, so he is not bound by these time lines and can bring home our kiddos whenever he wants!
2. God still works within the time confines of this world he created. Therefore, the time lines our agency has given for our adoption are realistic, too.
   
3. Since the 2 trip policy has just been instituted [beginning Mother's Day...go figure], they don't really know what it will look like.

Prayer Request: Again, I ask because my spirit can hardly pray this way without wrapping my will around the request, but I'm asking you to pray that we get our first court date BEFORE the courts close in August. It's against what would be typical, but God can do it. If we do not get the court date before August, it looks highly unlikely that we'd get our babies before the end of this year. [That's a hard reality for me to swallow].

In spite of the delays and God's tying our hearts to Ethiopia, and while we only see things in black and white, God's working in Technicolor! Thank you for praying and walking with us through the ups and downs of our adoption. Much Love!

Psalm 147

Last Sunday I woke up feeling especially tender toward our adoption. I just felt homesick for our babies. No reasons. Just a deep sense of missing these babies I've never laid eyes on. Then at Newsong we meditated on this Scripture [below] as a worship response. It was timely for me as the service was filled with orphan and baby talk. I spoke to our congregation about the good news of 1,104 children being sponsored from Malawi. I led our infant dedication part of the service. Dave Gibbons talked about the "maturity of a church is measured by how we care for widows and orphans". And a Newsong couple shared their miraculous adoption story. It was pretty emotionally intense, but this passage nourished me...

Psalm 147

¹ Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

² The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.

³ He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

⁴ He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.

⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.

⁶ The LORD sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

⁸ He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.

⁹ He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

¹⁰ His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

¹¹ the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Biological or Unrelated Siblings?

I've been asked lots of questions recently about our preferences for our kiddos, meaning what we've asked for in a referral. Our God-sized, mail order, ideal scenario would be...

Biological Siblings
Boy under 3 years old
Girl under 1 year old

But we are open for a variety of other referrals (unrelated kids, reverse gender order, 2 girls).

The biggest risks associated with accepting unrelated siblings and the new 2 trip policy is the following [from our agency's web site]:

When a family accepts the referral of unrelated children, every effort will be made to have those cases be presented to the Federal Court at the same time. However, families should also be aware that there are potential risks factors involved that are beyond CWA’s control. Those factors may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• One child’s documents may not be ready for court as soon as the other, delaying the court hearing for an indefinite period of time for both children
• One child’s court case may be approved and the other postponed for an indefinite time
• A referral of one child could be lost

Should any of these occur, a family could be faced with the option of either making two trips to bring home their unrelated children – or be asked to bear the expense of foster care fees of $450 per month until both children can travel at the same time.

In the heavens, we aren't sure what God intends for our family, but we certainly are praying God would simplify our process by providing us with biological siblings. Would you pray with us on that?
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met."

Matthew 6:30-33