...we completed all of our paperwork to formally accept "B" as our son!! By Friday afternoon, March 4th, our agency had already sent our paperwork off to Ethiopia so the team there can begin gathering all of "B's" documents for court. We didn't expect to hear anything back for about a month on the status of our court date, but expected to travel for court mid-July and hoped to be home with "B" by the end of August.
Then, on Saturday (3/5), everything changed. The Ministry in Ethiopia who oversees adoptions made an announcement that they planned to drastically reduce the number of adoption cases they process each day. The initial reports were that they currently process fifty cases per day and the new proposal was to process only five beginning March 10th. A reduction of 90% -- WOW!
You can imagine the concern this sent through the Ethiopian adoption community. There have been petitions, phone conferences, letters written to embassies, campaigns on every social media network that exists. We have all waited on pins and needles for March 10th to see if they would actually implement this new process.
On March 10th, we got a call from our coordinator that confirmed the news we hoped wouldn't come. The Ministry in Ethiopia only processed five cases. Yesterday, March 11th, we got the same news...only five cases again.
What does this mean for us? Well...the more important question is..What does this mean for the millions of orphaned children in Ethiopia? The U.S. Department of State held a conference call for prospective Ethiopian adoptive parents yesterday and reassured us that they are committed to keeping the Ethiopian Adoption program open. They are doing everything they can to understand the Ministry's concerns and to support them to continue to process cases in the best interest of the children in Ethiopia. Its simply not in the best interest of the children for them to remain in orphanages for years longer than they would otherwise.
For us, it means that we might be watching our little boy grow up through pictures and orphanage updates for the next year or more. We are still praying that this decision is overturned QUICKLY. Every two-days that the Ministry processes only five cases will extend our wait time by one month. It will break our heart to love our son from a distance for that long, but we have peace in knowing that ultimately God is in control and His plans are always perfect.
There will be meetings between the US Embassy and the Ethiopian Government on Monday. Please join us in praying for a resolution that best serves the children in Ethiopia who desperately wait for their families.
Our family is still praying for you and little "B" and that, by the Lord's will, he will be home with you soon.
ReplyDeleteMike and Krista,
ReplyDeleteOur hearts go out to you and all those families, especially the children that will have to wait longer. We will be praying that God reveals His power and Glory by speeding the process up for these families and children. That others will know without a doubt that His hand was over all of it. Thanks for the update!! We love you! Kathy
krista,
ReplyDeleteour prayers go out to you & all the families waiting on their children. we love you so & little "b"
sara
Hey Guys: just want you to know we are praying for you and your son that God will open doors only He can open. Our little 6 year old is praying for you too!!...."exceedingly abundantly more than you can ask or imagine - Eph 3" - Daniel C
ReplyDelete