I know it has been awhile since our last update, but the adoption front
has been rather SLOW, unfortunately. Last month, there were no referrals made
and thus no movement on the list, which was quite disappointing. When we
started this whole process, the estimated wait time was approximated at a
little over 2 years from joining the waitlist, to referral. These time frames
fluctuate, but the more I research I do on families currently getting
referrals, and looking at our movement in the last 8 months on the list (cant
believe we have been on it that long), the more we are starting realize that 2
years is not a realistic time frame. When I calculate our movement thus far,
and keeping nearly the same pace as our first 8 months, our referral may not
come for nearly 4-5 years! Talk about disheartening. There are over 6 million
orphans in Ethiopia alone who are need of homes, but movement in getting them
home is overwhelming slow. Jay and I recently heard about a movie concerning
the issue of international adoption and the orphan crisis called STUCK (rather
fitting title). There are limited viewings, in limited cities, but Columbus is
one of them and we are defiantly going to check it out. This film is an award-winning documentary that uncovers
the personal, real-life stories of children and parents navigating through the
rollercoaster of bureaucracy surrounding international adoption and the flaws
that are present in the process. I have enclosed the trailer for this film HERE.
In watching the trailer I don’t know whether to cry or get angry!
In light of the recent progress, or lack there of, our adoption agency
has made some changes to their policies when it comes to family planning. When
we first started our process, it was strictly forbidden to adopt or give birth
to another child while waiting. They are now allowing this, so long as there is
at least 10months age difference between the child and the Ethiopian child,
with the later being the youngest (they are very strict about maintaining birth
order). I do not know what this means for Jay and I quite yet. We still have
our nephew and luckily, no matter what happens with him, our adoption will not
be hindered.
So, exactly where are we currently? We received word today that we are
officially #95 on the waitlist. We started at 116 eight months ago. I pray for
bigger movement, in fact I yearn for it. But, I have to say that God has a lot to teach
us, and we do feel like He is drawing us nearer to himself through this
process, and that is comforting and much needed. We appreciate continued
prayers.
I have decided that I am going to blog our progress with each 10 spots
we move and with special updates. I initially thought this would be a monthly
blog about our process, but I’m afraid it would get really boring over the next
4-5 years. Not to mention full time parenting to a toddler takes a lot of our energy and spare time. Thank you all for following and we hope to hear of more referrals
soon.
