Adopted for Life…and in Death

You need to read this story…

http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/02/03/adopted-for-life-and-death/

…just make sure you grab some tissues first.

The Lord Knows…

This week we got some interesting news. Apparently the there is a discussion going on in the court systems right now that will have some bearing on how many times we travel to Ethiopia. The current requirements are just one short visit at the very end of the process to pick up our child. Currently, we have a signed power of attorney to represent us for Ethiopian Court. Apparently this system isn’t working well for the children – especially older children. Here is what we were told:

According to our Country Representative, Ato Zerihun, there is currently a discussion by the court system in Ethiopia whether or not to require adoptive parents to appear in person for the court hearings of their prospective children.  This has the potential to make Ethiopia a two trip country; one trip for court and one trip for the Embassy appointment.

This discussion has been precipitated by the alarming number of cases being revoked – 43 thus far.   We are attempting to get clarification on the exact nature of revocations, but assume those are dissolutions.

The network of adoption agencies will meet with the president of the First Instance Court to discuss this proposed procedure. We do not have a date for this meeting as yet.

AT THIS TIME, this is only in the discussion stage and no changes have been made to the requirements. We just want to keep you informed as we learn more ourselves.    We will keep you apprised of any additional developments as we hear of them.  Keep this in prayer.

While we see the obvious benefits of parents meeting their children before court, especially in the case of older children, we also acknowledge the cost involved in traveling twice may be prohibitive for some families.

So – we wait and we pray! I am confident that if we go to Ethiopia twice (though it will double our remaining costs!) that it will be for our best…and the added benefit would be that we could meet our son or daughter (sons/daughters??) sooner! The only problem would be leaving them. How do parents DO that?? The very thought of seeing, holding, hugging, kissing my Ethiopian baby and then getting on a plane without them makes me want to vomit! BUT – I trust God’s grace would be sufficient even in that heartache! We’d appreciate your prayers for wisdom for the courts. We truly want them to do what is best for the children, even if it is inconvenient for us!

On a side note – anyone want to go to an Adoption conference???
We’re not sure yet if just Matt or if both of us will be attending – but it would be fun to see you there! Let us know if you’re going…

USCIS…

It’s been a long couple of weeks. We’ve been going NON STOP since before Christmas, and we’re both tired! There’s been work meetings, ministry stuff, lots of family obligations…and we’ve been burning the candle at both ends. Well, yesterday (yep, Sunday…we’re not always on top of things) Matt checked the mail after church and…we got our USCIS approval!!! I must admit, it had fallen a little off the radar, so it was a complete, wonderful surprise!! After posting our great news on facebook and then sharing it with some sweet friends last night…we realized not very many people know what this means. So, here is your USCIS approval lesson (from the USCIS website):

If the child you adopted or intend to adopt in the United States is residing abroad, the child will need an immigrant visa to enter the United States. Visas are issued by the U.S. Department of State (DOS) at the Embassy or Consulate in the foreign country where your child resides.

The type of visa your child is issued will determine what steps you will need to take for the child to acquire U.S. citizenship.

Immigration through adoption, or “Intercountry adoption,” refers to the adoption of a child born in one country by an adoptive parent living in another country. USCIS plays a key role in the intercountry adoption process.

You May Immigrate an Adopted Child Through the Orphan Process if:

• You Are a U.S. citizen.
  • If you are married, your spouse must also sign Form I-600, Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative and must also adopt the child.
  • If you are not married, you must be at least 25 years old when you file the Form I-600 petition.
• You establish that you will provide proper parental care to the child.
• You establish that the child whom you have adopted or plan to adopt is an “orphan” as defined in U.S. immigration law.
• You establish that either:
  • You (and your spouse, if married) have adopted the child abroad, and that each of you saw the child in person before or during the adoption proceeding

    OR

  • You will adopt the child in the United States after the child arrives in the United States (you must have permission to bring the child out of his or her own country and to the United States for adoption).

Who is an Orphan?

Under U.S. immigration law, an orphan is a foreign-born child who:

• does not have any parents because of the death or disappearance of, abandonment or desertion by, or separation or loss from, both parents

  OR

• has a sole or surviving parent who is unable to care for the child, consistent with the local standards of the foreign sending country, and who has, in writing, irrevocably released the child for emigration and adoption.

You must file an orphan petition before the child’s 16th birthday, or before the child’s 18th birthday if the child is a birth sibling of another child whom you have also adopted and who immigrated (or will immigrate) as:

• an orphan based on a Form I-600 petition filed before the sibling’s 16th birthday

  OR

• an “adopted child” as defined in Section 101(b)(1)(F) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provided the actual adoption took place before that sibling’s 16th birthday.

Overseas Investigation

As part of the processing of your case, USCIS (or, in some cases, the Department of State) will conduct an investigation overseas to verify that the child is an orphan. The purpose of the investigation is to:

• Confirm that the child is an orphan as defined in the U.S. immigration law.
• Verify that you have obtained a valid adoption or grant of custody; the child does not have an illness or disability that is not described in the orphan petition.
• Determine whether the child has any special needs that were not fully addressed in your home study.
• Determine whether there are any facts showing that the child does not qualify for immigration as your adopted child.

Home Study:  Establishing Proper Parental Care

To establish your ability to provide proper parental care, you must submit a home study completed by someone authorized to complete an adoption home study in your home State (or anywhere in the United States, if you adopt the child while residing abroad).

The home study preparer must complete the home study according to the standards established in DHS regulations.  For more information on home study requirements see the “Orphan Home Study Guidelines” link to the left under “Home Study Information.”

Filing a Petition for Your Child

You can have us review both your suitability as an adoptive parent and the child’s status as an orphan at the same time. If you have already identified a child you want to adopt (or you have already adopted the child), you may file Form I-600, Petition to Classify an Orphan as an Immediate Relative.

Submit your home study with your Form I-600 and any other relevant evidence that you are suitable as an adoptive parent. Submit evidence that the child is an orphan and that you have adopted or intend to adopt the child.

Advance Processing

You may also begin the orphan process before you identify a particular child for adoption. You do so by filing Form I-600A, Application for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition. Submit the home study with the Form I-600A. If USCIS approves your Form I-600A, the finding that you are suitable as an adoptive parent will make it unnecessary to address this issue again, when you file a Form I-600 for a particular child. Once a particular child has been identified, you would then file a Form I-600 for that child.

If you do not file Form I-600A, then you must complete all requirements of the I-600A when filing Form I-600. (see forms on the right).

Before Traveling Abroad

• Verify that your Approval Notice is valid
• Verify that your fingerprints are still valid
• Contact the appropriate USCIS overseas office or U.S. embassy or consulate for details on processing times

After the Orphan Petition is Approved

Apply to a U.S. Embassy or consulate for a visa for your child. The Department of State officer who decides the visa application must determine whether your child is “inadmissible” under any provision in section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. For children, the most common ground of inadmissibility is medical inadmissibility due to certain diseases, lack of required vaccinations, or other medical issues. If your child is inadmissible, you may be able to obtain a waiver of inadmissibility by filing Form I-601, Application for Waiver of Ground of Inadmissibility.

SO…what that means is that they’ve done our background checks (including fingerprinting) and received our homestudy information and found us to be approved to bring a child into the states!! This is a great milestone in the adoption journey, so we’re excited and celebrating today.

On a side note, our sweet friends who had us over made us boeuf bourguignon last night. Yes, the Julia Child recipe. And it was even more delicious than I had imagined. Our 18mo old ate a MAN portion. Truth be told, I probably ate a MAN portion too. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned…my desire for a good dutch oven seems to be returning at break-neck speed…perhaps AFTER we bring baby home And then we got to watch Bolt (well, part of it) on the BIG SCREEN in recliner movie seats. Now how’s THAT for celebrating!?!? Sure, we had this planned BEFORE we got the USCIS approval…but God knew that it would be the same day.

Orphans in Haiti

Haitian Orphans sleeping outside after the Quakes

My heart has been so heavy over the last week watching (minimally) the pictures and videos stream in from Haiti. It hardly seems real, sitting here in my warm house with plenty to eat and drink, not to mention easy access to medical care! I am so burdened for the orphans in particular. I read one article that stated that they were expecting the number of orphans in Haiti to TRIPLE by the end of this crisis. TRIPLE.

What can we do to help? If you’re anything like me, you’re probably scheming to try to bring a handful home — even if just for a time until things get figured out there. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be an option right now. This is a helpful page that aided me in understanding why I can’t just go get a houseful of kiddos and bring them back here for love, food, and medical care.

What we CAN do:
PRAY for the orphans (and widows and all of the Haitians!) in this time of crisis. Pray for those Christians who are there to be bold with the gospel, for God to graciously change hearts, and for many more opportunities for kingdom work in the days, weeks, and months to come.
Donate (click here or here for a link to some reputable charities)
Get Creative (like them or them)
PRAY for workers to go into the field. There will be many opportunities over time for people to go to Haiti to help rebuild. Pray and ask if God would have you go when the need arises. And pray that God would provide (maybe you, maybe me?) for the Orphans in Haiti – once things settle down a bit, there are going to be a lot of Orphans who need a home….

Do you have other ideas of things we can do? How are you praying?
How has God stirred YOUR heart as you’ve watched the situation in Haiti?

One Month!

one month

We just passed the “one month in the waiting room” mark. Wow…that was fast! If only they ALL would go that fast…

It’s been a busy month with Christmas and traveling to Spokane and enjoying time with family. All of the distractions were wonderful. So far, the waiting has not been very difficult. I do have moments where my heart aches for the little one that the Lord has made for our family, don’t get me wrong. And there have been many tears shed this month thinking about what is coming, and especially for birthmom. BUT, it has been much easier than I anticipated so far. So, I am thankful for that grace and will take it as long as it comes! I am sure as soon as the referral is in our hands, it will be VERY hard to wait. So, I will take these “easy” months and be thankful.

Ethiopia was on my heart as I made my Christmas list this year, and my sweet family has blessed us with a beautiful basket from Ethiopia (with all of the proceeds going toward digging a well in one Ethiopian community), a couple of pounds of Ethiopian coffee, and some books too! I am looking forward to reading them. One of the books I received was “From Ashes to Africa” which is a memoir of one infertile couple (ashes) who adopted (africa) and the story of God changing their hearts, giving them hope and joy, and burdening them for the “least of these”. It was a very quick read, but I really enjoyed it. They were very real about their struggles and pain along the way, and that was so helpful for me. God has been providing me with several opportunities to see the challenges as well as the joys from books, blogs, and conversations He’s brought in the last month. I am thankful for the reality check.

This month, we decided to sponsor a child from Ethiopia as well. It’s been fun having his picture around, praying for him, and thinking about a real boy and just just an idea of a boy in Ethiopia. I am amazed how God can take a country I hardly gave a thought to just a year ago and turn it into a daily thought and prayer. God is good to change our hearts and open our eyes!

So what will the next month bring??

It’s arrived!

We got word early this week that our Dossier made it safely to Ethiopia.

An update on the long road ahead…

Image credit: photos.anthonyordille.org

We spoke with our case worker, Sue, this week. She was very kind and informative and will be fun to work with. She had some good information about the process from here on out, and had also had the information we’ve been waiting for. What’s the wait time??

For context, when we applied to the Ethiopia program in June, the wait time for a referral was 2-5 mos for a young boy and 6-9 mos for a young girl. I will not lie when I based my projections and hopes upon the SHORT side of that time frame. From referral, the wait time before travel was usually about 4 months. So, I figured we could travel as early as July. Well, God’s plans are not always our plans! By the end of our conversation, our question was “will we travel in 2010?” to which she said “I really hope so!”. So, the wait is a lot longer than we had desired and preferred.

We’re in the “waiting room” with 55 other families. Sue said we shouldn’t think of it as a “waiting list” because we all have different specifications. Average wait times for a boy under 2 yrs is 6mos right now. Average wait time for a girl under 2yrs is 9mos right now. That’s for the referral! They are getting 2-3 referrals a week, but last week they only got 1! And since we’ve been in the program, the wait time from referral to travel has also increased from 4mos to 6mos on average. Our lives, and our adoption, are in the Lord’s hands. He ordains our steps (and our wait!), so we’ll seek patience… and your prayers!

A few items for prayer:

• Please be praying that we get our USCIS approval soon. Based on when we applied, it should be any time. BUT, these were the docs (and fingerprints) that originally had my maiden name on them. We can’t really be considered for a referral until that approval comes.
• Please be praying for the process in Ethiopia. Since June, there has been a much greater workload for the Ethiopian workers – they have the same amount of employees handling this huge influx of dossiers and referrals.
• CWA just partnered with two new orphanages. Only one has started giving referrals. We’re praying that God uses this partnership to speed up the process of bringing kids into their forever families.
• We haven’t taken our names out of the “young siblings or twins” pool. And we found out that it is a very small pool. A referral with young siblings or young twins is very rare, but should the Lord provide one, we’d be one of the first to be called with information about them. Please pray for wisdom.
• Most of all, please pray for our hearts to rejoice in the Lord along the way! We want to trust Him for every turn. I know that it will get hard (especially if we’re looking at another year or more before we meet our little one(s) – but I know God can sustain us if we put our faith in His promises.

One “trimester” comes to an end!

Cute Ethiopian Dossier...mine wasn't as cute.

Today we got word that our dossier is OFF TO ETHIOPIA!!!

Our first “trimester” has come to an end…and now comes the waiting. I know I won’t always feel this way, but I am relieved to have “our part” finished and to be waiting now. Of course there is still work to do (more education, a support system plan that CWA has started requiring, keeping my heart excited about adoption through the Word, reading travel books in Ethiopia, etc…) but I am thankful to be done with the paper pushing that is required with the dossier. It’s starting to feel more “real” that a little one is there waiting for us – that our family will soon grow to be a family of 5 (or 6…that’s right – we’re debating again. Please pray for wisdom!). We’re so excited to welcome another blessing into our family.

I am also thankful for the timing of this phase. Because we’ll be waiting for awhile (should have more details on that within the week), I feel “ok” taking some time off of adoption prep for Christmas. It’s nice not to always be feeling like there is something else we should be doing. Thank you, Lord, for your perfect timing!

Tomorrow we have a call scheduled with our case manager. We loved working with our document prep team at CWA – we look forward to building a relationship with our case manager as well. We’re also attending a webinar on the waiting phase tomorrow. It should be nice to have some more information. I am preparing my heart for a much longer wait time then I was originally expecting. We’ll see what she says!

Thank you for checking in on us and sharing in our happy news! We’re so thankful for your support and prayers!!

Quick Praise Update!

On Friday we received the paperwork to apply for a grant from our church for adoption expenses.  About 20 minutes later we received word that our dossier was sitting at CWA waiting to go to Ethiopia as soon as we paid our remaining agency fees.  Last night we received confirmation from our elders that our application for the grant had been accepted and we will be getting a sizable donation toward the adoption.  The grant covers all of our remaining agency fees and then some…Praise God!  We are so thankful to be a part of a church that values adoption.

We will receive the check today and overnight it to CWA tomorrow morning! More updates coming soon.

It’s OUTTA HERE!

As of this morning, our dossier is officially OUT OF OUR HANDS. Yes, this 3/4 pound pile of papers that has consumed hours and hours of our time and energies has now been entrusted to Fed Ex. Woah! Ok, so really, we’re entrusting it to our gracious and sovereign God who works all things together for good….so we have great hope and anticipation!!

Here is the remaining process as far as I understand it

Tomorrow: Our dossier is delivered to a courier in the DC area.
Wednesday: Our dossier goes to the state department in DC for authentication.
Thursday -Sunday: Thanksgiving holiday and weekend. Our dossier will probably be sitting on some official’s desk waiting for Monday.
Monday or Tuesday: Dossier is done making it’s rounds in DC (finishing off at the Ethiopian Embassy).
Wednesday or Thursday: Dossier is shipped back to CWA.
Friday: If funding is in place….Dossier goes off to Ethiopia and we go on the waiting lists!!!

So that’s a “perfect world” scenario – and we’re not completely expecting that…but would love it if you pray with us that God would send our docs through the system as quickly as possible!! I can’t wait to find out what “number” we are on each list. I know that the waiting will be SO HARD – but I am also excited to be done with one major chapter of our Ethiopian journey. Our hearts have only continued to bond with this baby we know so little about (like…are they born yet?) and our hearts are forever entwined with Ethiopia. It’s amazing how much God opens your eyes as he opens your heart to the gospel and adoption. We’re so thankful for our adoption into the family of God. We’re so thankful He is granting us faith to love like He loves. And now we’re so thankful to be one step closer to meeting Kopp Baby #3.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We have so much to be thankful for!!