Well here is our adoption update for the day. I sent out for oodles of information packets. We have not given up on VN and at this point will wait to see what happens but it is encouraging to read and hear in the info packets of others who have been down this path.
It seems like so many doors are closed, either due to age, closed programs, quotas met, Amelia not being home long enough... Amazingly we just get excited knowing God has a plan that only He will be able to work out.
Remember how we were saying how great it was to have our path "straight" before us with this adoption? We knew the country, we knew the agency and we were ready to go. Well I have always prayed that each of our children would have a powerful testimony of how God brought them to our family and more importantly of HIS faithfulness toward them. I guess God remembered that prayer and reminded us we are not to trust in our plans. Lot's of crying out going on here.
On another note Samuel spoke to the director of our homestudy agency. The director mentioned minority domestic adoptions as well as El Salvador and Ethiopia. He will send information via email.
Samuel and I have been praying about how to proceed with the adoption but have definitely not given up on Viet Nam. With our ages what they are we do not qualify for many countries and with things so up in the air we just have to sit tight and wait. Wait on God who we know will open the doors HE wants us to go through!
Being in Florida it has been difficult for me to get online. Well I was finally able to get on our agency's yahoo group today and saw the announcement that they will not be accepting applications for VN at this time and will reevaluate the situation in March, 08. WOW!!! We had already contacted out hs agency and were beginning the process as soon as we got home. Incredible...
So let me explain the agency's decision. There is an agreement between the US and VN which allows for US families to adopt from VN. Though not necessary on the US side having the agreement is part of the Vietnamese constitution. The agreement expires September 1 of 2008 but must be renewed 6 months prior for adoptions to continue without interruption. The agency is concerned adoptions beginning at this point might not make that deadline.
The other issues is that the US is putting a lot of pressure on VN to process the adoptions according to what they feel are more stringent guidelines. The implication of corruption has been seen by the Vietnamese government as an offense against the Vietnamese people and government. Not good diplomacy...
Anyway as a result of all this the US government has decided to do their own investigations into many adoptins and has actually denied entrance visas for MANY babies. What does this mean? That these children, though legally adopted by US families and already in their custody are unable to enter the US. There are many families now battling this issue, having hired immigration attorneys. Worse case scenario they have been told they will have to "sign" their children back into the orphanages basically abandoning them. How my heart aches for these parents. I cannot even imagine loving my baby, getting to know her, feeling her sweet skin only to give her back. The other alternative they have is to move to VN for 2 years and reapply for a VISA.
So where do we go from here...on our knees. In the end we desire God's plan to prevail and trust He will move us if our child is indeed in another country (up until now we have never ended up where we started!). We know if there is a change of country we will again be blessed beyond measure with God's handiwork.
I am amazed each time we get remarks about the size of our family since in our minds we have a small family. There are those who think it is amazing we would want more children and that we would go through the incredible process of international adoption...AGAIN. Truly after seeing God’s hand move each time He has added to our family we are excited and blessed at the possibility!
