Adoption Update

Time for an overdue update. Here's where we're at. Nothing new for us personally. We're still operating on three "ings"; trusting, hoping, waiting.

        In Haiti we are waiting to be matched with one of the children living at Rivers of Hope.

        In Ethiopia we are still on the wait list somewhere in the teens.

Haiti Update

December seemed like a good month, things were moving. Our agency was the first to receive official matches under the new law. IBESR made a few more new matches for families with other agencies.  Both of the matched AGCI families were preparing to travel to Haiti in January for a socialization trip.  This 2 week socialization trip is a new requirement, designed for adoptive family to meet and bond with child. During the visit, a social worker from IBESR comes to observe how well everyone is attaching to one another and to assess the adoptive family's readiness and motivation to adopt.

In January, we heard that the "match maker" at IBESR quit. We have not heard of new matches since then and there is rumor that matches won't resume again until March. A few families have traveled for bonding trips, including one of the two families with our agency. As of today, we know of only one family (not with our agency) who has "passed" after socialization and moved on to the next step which is court. Since all of this is so new, lots of us are closely following each family's steps. So far, it's hard to find common threads in the experiences of these pioneer families.

Last week, some good news! The US State Department, USCIS, and the US Ambassador to Haiti conducted a conference call to inform stakeholders that Haiti will receive Hague accreditation on April 1. The simplest explanation of Hague is a set of standards designed to protect birth families, children, and adoptive families from fraud, corruption, and coercion. Hearing the US government praise the work Haiti has done and publicly state their support for the welfare of Haiti's children was encouraging.  This was welcomed news in light of a lot of bad press about international adoption lately.

We see new photos of the kids at Rivers of Hope every few days. We see them growing and changing. We find ourselves becoming attached to a couple of them. We are hoping March will be our month to find out WHO! I have my theories...

Ethiopia Update

Here, I am forced to talk about bad news. I'm sorry to report that a lot of bad press has involved Ethiopia. In December, just after Christmas, an Ethiopian official called for the immediate closure of international adoption from Ethiopia. Since then, there has not been a closure, but a lot of rumors are still circulating. Referrals are still few, especially for younger children.

In January, a US adoption agency working in Ethiopia was closed. This month the US Department of Justice announced that 4 employees of a different American agency were indicted for fraud. These stories are so frustrating knowing that the vast majority of adoptions are legitimate, and there are still children who need a family.

We knew when we signed up for Ethiopia 3 years ago that the worst case scenario, closure, was possible. What we didn't foresee was 3 years of extreme slowness and ambiguity. Many families in the Ethiopia program are struggling with tough decisions about what to do next, including us.

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Through all of this we have friends who are caught up in the very center of new laws in Haiti or pending changes in Ethiopia. We are celebrating with friends who have made it home with their children despite every conceivable obstacle thrown their way. And praying with friends who are still pushing their way through, still knocking down barriers. Ah this wild ride. With all that is swirling around us, we are trusting in the knowledge that we are right where God wants us. I can say that with confidence this time, because I've been there before, and He was faithful. We trust in His provision once again.