Abandoned in Guatemala: The Failure of International Adoption Policies

I know a couple who had been trying to adopt from Guatemala right when it shut down, and they lost the chance to adopt their children. This explains some the process of international adoption. It is sad to think where things are heading now. For an interesting viewpoint on things, sit back and watch this 20 min video.

(Disclosure: the views expressed in the video do not necessarily represent my views. Please do not get angry at me if you do not agree)

What they mentioned about the Hague Treaty is essentially what happened with Burundi. They signed up, but weren't able to put things in place to complete international adoptions.

I fear something like this may happen in Uganda, or the DRC. We need to be in prayer for these countries! We need to be in prayer for these children!

Warm me up this season!

Okay, you non-coffee drinkers out there!  Our JustLoveCoffee Store now has Hot Cocoa for you to order!  

If you have been holding off buying anything because you are not a big coffee fan, now is your chance!  Buy your cocoa from our store and $5 from each bag goes to support our adoption!

Do you need an extra Christmas gift?

Maybe you just want to warm up on a cold winter night?

(And for those of you who like coffee, my recent favorite is the Rwandan coffee.  Yum!)

God is Good!

You guys prayed... and a miracle happened!  We received our I-600A approval from the USCIS in the mail yesterday!  Not only did we get the approval for the DRC, which we were expecting, but we also got the approval for Uganda!!

Remember, I said it usually takes two months for these to be approved, and they only started processing our Uganda application on the 25th of November, because they didn't realize they already had the fingerprints?  Well, it got approved, not two moths later, but THREE  DAYS LATER!!!!

It is amazing to see how God is working!  There may be a reason why we got these important papers back so soon.  It gives me more hope that maybe things will work out after all.

Keep praying, because there still is a lot that needs to happen.  You guys are participators in this miracle!  Be a participator in hopefully a successful adoption of our little Uganda girl!

-Pray for specific permission papers to be signed in Uganda

-Pray for the Ugandan government, the embassy, and the ministry who are thinking about implementing some changes in the system, which could significantly slow down our adoption, if not make it a not viable option for us anymore.

-Pray for us to keep faithful, and keep persevering through these trials!

It's about the Journey

Our adoption journey has certainly been nothing less than a roller coaster! The up's and down's, the hurry-up's and wait's, excitement and disappointment.  It has been tough!

This month we will have officially been on this journey of adoption for two years!

Two years ago, I believed we would have a child in our family by now.  Two years ago, we thought we would be adopting from Burundi.  Two years ago I had just a fragment of knowledge about the adoption process, and raising an adopted child.

Yes, we have grown so much in those two years.  And maybe that is all that God had intended for us.  Maybe it is not in His plans for us to be able to adopt.  But I believe it is in His character.  He has a heart for adoption.  He has a heart for orphans.

Recently hearing from our Uganda agency has left us more unsure that this adoption will go through.  Again, another up and down to our journey.  But we are hanging in there, because God hasn't told us any different.

Recently hearing about the DRC progress, it seems the wait is very long.  It may be another year before we even get a referral of a child.  And another year after that that we would even get to travel to bring that child home.  Of course, these are conservative estimates, but I can't help but feel a little weary.

Are you telling me that if this Uganda adoption doesn't go through, and we wait on the DRC adoption, that we may not be adding a child to this family until 2013 going on 2014!?  I had NO IDEA that this would be a process that would take 4+ years!

I guess that is why our blog title is about our JOURNEY.  It is not about a quick 1-year process that ends at the airport where people welcome us home.  It is a life-long, and very difficult journey.  Did we know what we were getting ourselves into?  No.  But we trusted.  We trusted that this is the plan that God had asked us to follow.  So we started the journey, and we are still trusting that He has a reason and a purpose in all of this.  We hope to be the family that a child can call 'home.'  We hope to share love with a child that needs that love and care.

And for God's reason, He picked US to go on this journey.

Even if it is a roller coaster!

A good post to go hand-in-hand with what we are going through, is found on the blog of another adoptive family in the waiting process.  Please read, because it expresses how we feel as well!  Meg and her husband are adopting from Ethiopia.

Fingerprint Snafu

I heard back from USCIS regarding our Uganda application.  Yeah... it turns out they hadn't done anything on it!  She said they were missing the fingerprints.  I told her I sent them in with my application months ago.  Then she said, "Oh wait, hold on... oh, here they are."  She didn't even realize that she had them all along!


So, now, my dear friends, please pray for a miracle that these fingerprints would be cleared more quickly than most cases.  Pray that we can get the approval before January, so that we can get all the paperwork turned in in order to be headed out to Uganda in March.  We don't want our daughter to be waiting any longer than she has to.


But that brings me to the point that God's timing is perfect.  Though it seems like someone messed up, and may have delayed things... God is not surprised by it!  He is not thinking, "Oh no!  She ruined My plans for Alison and Mark.  Now My timing is all messed up.  What am I going to do?"  NO!  He is in control.  He is sovereign over a fingerprint overlooking.  He is working things out to happen at the precise time that he has set for them to happen.  He is not taken by surprise and His plans are not thwarted.


But He asks His people to pray.  So, we get the privilege to be involved with praying for a quick and smooth process.  And He delights for us to see Him answer prayers.  Though prayer is not always answered the the way we expect, it will always be for our good and His glory.


We look forward to seeing how this process is completed.  We know that you have all labored with us in this, and we are so thankful!  Your prayers, and notes of encouragement, mean so much!  Thank you!

Anticipation

It is pretty exciting to think about our little girl coming home to live with us here.  Everything in our house looks different now.  Instead of looking at a room and thinking, "Well, she probably won't ever get to play in this room," now I am thinking "Whoa, look at those spider webs over there.  She is going to get into that stuff.  I can just imagine her crawling all over this place!"  And peaking into the family bathroom, "there's the tub that we'll give her baths in."  I can't wait for her to get here!

As far as our Congo adoption, we are holding steady at the same number on the wait list.  Things are moving slowly lately.  But I did get a call back from the USCIS about our application.  It is going to be finished up late next week!  Just waiting on the fingerprints to come back from being processed.  Not long after we bring home our daughter, our newly-formed family of three will increase to four or more!  I am looking forward to that referral!

Great News!

Our agency just returned from Uganda, where they got a lot of logistical things sorted out for all the families in the program.  We also got an update with the crucial information we were waiting for... is this baby girl actually eligible for adoption?  YES!  And she will be joining our family!  She will be our daughter!!

Also, the lawyer they are working with said that she hopes to have everything filed in January and we could travel to pick up our little Sweet Pea as early as March!!!  Wow!  That shocked me, because I was starting to believe it was going to take a lot longer.  Now, I can hardly contain my excitement as I ponder what awaits us possibly just 4 months down the road. 

Where our little one awaits

Much paperwork has to be accomplished in the meantime, but it is looking optimistic!  Please keep praying for this process...

-Pray that the lawyer will get everything signed within the next few weeks.
-Pray that our USCIS (US Citizen and Immigration) approval is expeditied by God and arrives quickly.
-Pray that all the paperwork will be able to get filed in January.
-Pray that we get a quick court date assigned to us, and that both of us will be able to travel for it.
-Pray for our baby girl and her care until we can get there
-Pray for our baby's young birthmother who needs the Lord
-Pray for our hearts to be patient as we wait for all these things to happen!

Also, please pray that we will receive updated photos soon!  They were unable to get any photos when they were there, but have a request in for the children's home director to send some.  Finally, rejoice in the Lord with me that God is working to give this little girl a permanent home, a home with us!

Ugandan women rejoicing