So Sorry for the length of this post but it is VITAL that we share.
Our fingerprint appointment was Monday. It went off swimmingly! The United States Citizenship and Immigration office took us both at Lee's appointment time (his was at 1pm and mine at 2). They took us in front of immigrants waiting and treated us like royalty due to our "adoption status." All we have left to wait for is our I-171 to come and then go get our dossier authenticated and then we're on the wait list and are paper pregnant.
SO THRILLING!!! We are SO EXCITED. WE ARE FINALLY GETTING SOMEWHERE!!!
But then, fear, rumors and speculation began in the adoption community. Then, the US Department of State just confirmed what we feared most. After finding this out last week, I was DEVASTATED. I cannot even begin to tell you how this felt. It was somewhere between a kick in the gut and a knife in the back. To be honest, I felt as though I suffered a miscarriage. Being on the list, we calculated (God willing) that we were 9-12 months from bringing our angel home. Yes, like a TRUE pregnancy and then a true loss. Now, with the current issues, it could be longer, by months or even YEARS. I broke down and told Lee there was NO WAY I could WAIT longer to be a mom. 2+ years into this process, I cannot imagine! NO MORE. I sobbed. A few corrupt cases are ruining it for all the legitimate ones.
But then, fear, rumors and speculation began in the adoption community. Then, the US Department of State just confirmed what we feared most. After finding this out last week, I was DEVASTATED. I cannot even begin to tell you how this felt. It was somewhere between a kick in the gut and a knife in the back. To be honest, I felt as though I suffered a miscarriage. Being on the list, we calculated (God willing) that we were 9-12 months from bringing our angel home. Yes, like a TRUE pregnancy and then a true loss. Now, with the current issues, it could be longer, by months or even YEARS. I broke down and told Lee there was NO WAY I could WAIT longer to be a mom. 2+ years into this process, I cannot imagine! NO MORE. I sobbed. A few corrupt cases are ruining it for all the legitimate ones.
The truth is, we live in a sinful world where greedy people will try to capitalize on baby trafficking. Its a sad, sad, reality. The MOWA in Ethiopia is trying to investigate and slow down to make sure all adoptions they approve are legit. That is GOOD news. The BAD news is families are waiting and are ready to bring their babies home. But our agency is LEGIT. Our agency is amazing and God's hand is upon it. Their first response and email was to PRAY. I just cannot say enough good things about it. So, I will post what we know and covet your prayers. CONTINUOUS PRAYERS. Our agency support group covered the Ethiopian workday for an ENTIRE DAY, some getting up in the night to pray. We are soooo blessed to be a part of this group...
Here is my friend's post today that I copied...It lists what you can do. PLEASE HELP US and all the babies/children who are desperately wanting to come HOME. PLEASE, we beg of you!
Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues, the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it processes per day, effective March 10, 2011. Under Ethiopian adoption procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing. The U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption agencies to learn more about this change in procedures. We will continue to share information as it becomes available.
Given MOWCYA's current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent. If this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child could experience significant delays. It is not clear if this change in procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has already approved matches.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?!?!?
1. SIGN THE PETITION! Click HERE and join the more than 13 thousand orphan advocates who have signed this petition in the last 24 hours. This petition will go to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi. Feel free to pass this link along to others! The goal is to have 250,000 signatures by Monday!
2. CONTINUE (or START) PRAYING! Not just our child or children, but for ALL of the children in Ethiopia who are without a family! And for the birth families who have become victims of corrupt practices. May God find an answer to resolve
3. GO TO: Joint Council on International Children Services WEBSITE! Read the articles under NEWS & UPDATES to remain informed of the latest news regarding this issue.
4. SHARE! Pass this information on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, your BLOG! Help Call to Action your family, friends, church, etc. Anyone who has a heart for adoption can become an advocate in any of the above ways!
Here is my friend's post today that I copied...It lists what you can do. PLEASE HELP US and all the babies/children who are desperately wanting to come HOME. PLEASE, we beg of you!
Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues, the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA) will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it processes per day, effective March 10, 2011. Under Ethiopian adoption procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing. The U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption agencies to learn more about this change in procedures. We will continue to share information as it becomes available.
Given MOWCYA's current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent. If this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child could experience significant delays. It is not clear if this change in procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has already approved matches.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?!?!?
1. SIGN THE PETITION! Click HERE and join the more than 13 thousand orphan advocates who have signed this petition in the last 24 hours. This petition will go to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Meles Zenawi. Feel free to pass this link along to others! The goal is to have 250,000 signatures by Monday!
2. CONTINUE (or START) PRAYING! Not just our child or children, but for ALL of the children in Ethiopia who are without a family! And for the birth families who have become victims of corrupt practices. May God find an answer to resolve
3. GO TO: Joint Council on International Children Services WEBSITE! Read the articles under NEWS & UPDATES to remain informed of the latest news regarding this issue.
4. SHARE! Pass this information on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, your BLOG! Help Call to Action your family, friends, church, etc. Anyone who has a heart for adoption can become an advocate in any of the above ways!
MY DESPERATE PLEA
Dear friends and family...
Today brought BIG news in the adoption community and urgent prayer is needed. Basically, the courts in Ethiopia have 2 judges who see adoption cases and we heard that they were getting burned out. Many in our adoption support community who recently got referrals for children, were waiting for court dates that were taking months and months. There has also been some corruption in the adoption world of late. Some orphanages, people, and agencies are falsifying documents to speed the adoption process to greedily bring in more money for themselves. They are adopting out children who are not officially orphans (either true orphans with no living relatives or those relinquished by their parents) but children who have family who could have taken them in. We have been assured over and over by our agency that they hold the up most respect from Ethiopia, and we believe it. The orphanages our agency deals with are legit, and while our agency costs slightly more than others and does not "brag" about "fast" adoptions, we felt it was worth it to wait a little longer and trust in our agency and God. We cannot say enough good things about our agency and caseworker, and KNOW that God has a strong hang upon them. Our caseworkers, the CEO, and President/Founder of our agency literally sit together and pray over these children and pray over the families that should be matched with them. We are surrounded by a group of supportive people from our agency who pray for each other and have become close friends of ours, even though we've never seen their faces.
Here is the hard part. The courts have declared that the judges will only see 5 cases per day in the courts. Right now, they see 50! This means that those who are waiting 3 months for a court date post referral, may now wait months if not over a year! By then their babies will be toddlers and will have to spend more and more time in the orphanages and transition homes. The conditions are not ideal, with supplies and nannies lacking.
We have no idea what this means for our process. I instantly thought of my dear adoption friends who have recently received referrals and some of whom are close and wondering how long they will have to wait to see/hold their precious child(ren). My heart breaks into a thousand pieces as I imagine their pain. Lee and I are FINALLY truly getting somewhere. After months and years of waiting, we have our fingerprint appointment on Monday. We have been praying that if it is not God's will that we continue, he would stop this before we write a check for $8000 in the next few weeks. Each time we pray that prayer He confirms that he wants us to proceed to bring our child(ren) home. We are struggling today. As a mother-to-be who has waited 3 years, I cannot bear the thought of waiting yet another 2 years for our child. At this point I truly don't have the strength to endure this process much longer. Soon, as we turned in our paperwork, we'd be "paper pregnant" which would constitute about the same time as a true pregnancy and in 9 months we should have had our child(ren) home. At this point, we don't know. I can't imagine switching countries. I can't imagine waiting so long we have to update all our paperwork (which happens if it is older than a year old). I CAN'T IMAGINE.
But something I CAN imagine is that GOD IS BIG AND GOD IS GOOD. I know he can change things. I know He can switch things around and make this process go FAST! I know he can ease my broken heart. I know He can give me Patience. I KNOW HE IS IN CONTROL.
I have perfect faith in Him and in our agency. Not one day has passed where we've questioned the ethics or process with America World Adoption Association. So we'll wait to talk to Emily (our caseworker), whom we LOVE. She is our angel in this process. Just the other day I sent her a card encouraging her and stating how much we love, pray for and appreciate her. It is true. She has been selected by God to help us through this process and we'll trust what she and AWAA have to say. And we trust in their reputation in Ethiopia and that adoptions with them will continue. WE TRUST.
I'm not gonna lie when I say this is easy. Adoption is an up and down roller coaster ride. DAILY. No morning sickness or stretch marks, but I truly feel that the labor pains we've experienced are just as painful. Maybe not physically but for sure emotionally. The endurance and perseverance required is far beyond anything I could imagine before I was in it. This process is not for the weary...We are drained....
I know Satan is at work here. I know he wants nothing more than these children to continue to be orphans and homeless. There are 5 MILLION of them! God knows the plight of the orphans and He will not let missing papers or government regulations prevail in preventing these children from coming home to their forever families.
Please read the article below and PRAY. For us and all the families in waiting...
Thanks and blessings and love,
Kylie and Lee and Daisie and "Future Baby" Toone
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/-Ethiopia-to-Cut-Foreign-Adoptions-by-Up-to-90-Percent-117411843.html
Our email from our Case Worker:
Dear Lee & Kylie,
We are writing to ask your family to join us in prayer for the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) regarding the number of cases they will be able to process daily. They have made statements that they desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write each day. As of today, MOWA has begun to write fewer recommendation letters each day for families in the court process. This is something we anticipate will continue over the next few weeks as the court, MOWA, and other entities meet to discuss MOWA’s desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write.
And our personal email from Emily,
Dear friends and family...
Today brought BIG news in the adoption community and urgent prayer is needed. Basically, the courts in Ethiopia have 2 judges who see adoption cases and we heard that they were getting burned out. Many in our adoption support community who recently got referrals for children, were waiting for court dates that were taking months and months. There has also been some corruption in the adoption world of late. Some orphanages, people, and agencies are falsifying documents to speed the adoption process to greedily bring in more money for themselves. They are adopting out children who are not officially orphans (either true orphans with no living relatives or those relinquished by their parents) but children who have family who could have taken them in. We have been assured over and over by our agency that they hold the up most respect from Ethiopia, and we believe it. The orphanages our agency deals with are legit, and while our agency costs slightly more than others and does not "brag" about "fast" adoptions, we felt it was worth it to wait a little longer and trust in our agency and God. We cannot say enough good things about our agency and caseworker, and KNOW that God has a strong hang upon them. Our caseworkers, the CEO, and President/Founder of our agency literally sit together and pray over these children and pray over the families that should be matched with them. We are surrounded by a group of supportive people from our agency who pray for each other and have become close friends of ours, even though we've never seen their faces.
Here is the hard part. The courts have declared that the judges will only see 5 cases per day in the courts. Right now, they see 50! This means that those who are waiting 3 months for a court date post referral, may now wait months if not over a year! By then their babies will be toddlers and will have to spend more and more time in the orphanages and transition homes. The conditions are not ideal, with supplies and nannies lacking.
We have no idea what this means for our process. I instantly thought of my dear adoption friends who have recently received referrals and some of whom are close and wondering how long they will have to wait to see/hold their precious child(ren). My heart breaks into a thousand pieces as I imagine their pain. Lee and I are FINALLY truly getting somewhere. After months and years of waiting, we have our fingerprint appointment on Monday. We have been praying that if it is not God's will that we continue, he would stop this before we write a check for $8000 in the next few weeks. Each time we pray that prayer He confirms that he wants us to proceed to bring our child(ren) home. We are struggling today. As a mother-to-be who has waited 3 years, I cannot bear the thought of waiting yet another 2 years for our child. At this point I truly don't have the strength to endure this process much longer. Soon, as we turned in our paperwork, we'd be "paper pregnant" which would constitute about the same time as a true pregnancy and in 9 months we should have had our child(ren) home. At this point, we don't know. I can't imagine switching countries. I can't imagine waiting so long we have to update all our paperwork (which happens if it is older than a year old). I CAN'T IMAGINE.
But something I CAN imagine is that GOD IS BIG AND GOD IS GOOD. I know he can change things. I know He can switch things around and make this process go FAST! I know he can ease my broken heart. I know He can give me Patience. I KNOW HE IS IN CONTROL.
I have perfect faith in Him and in our agency. Not one day has passed where we've questioned the ethics or process with America World Adoption Association. So we'll wait to talk to Emily (our caseworker), whom we LOVE. She is our angel in this process. Just the other day I sent her a card encouraging her and stating how much we love, pray for and appreciate her. It is true. She has been selected by God to help us through this process and we'll trust what she and AWAA have to say. And we trust in their reputation in Ethiopia and that adoptions with them will continue. WE TRUST.
I'm not gonna lie when I say this is easy. Adoption is an up and down roller coaster ride. DAILY. No morning sickness or stretch marks, but I truly feel that the labor pains we've experienced are just as painful. Maybe not physically but for sure emotionally. The endurance and perseverance required is far beyond anything I could imagine before I was in it. This process is not for the weary...We are drained....
I know Satan is at work here. I know he wants nothing more than these children to continue to be orphans and homeless. There are 5 MILLION of them! God knows the plight of the orphans and He will not let missing papers or government regulations prevail in preventing these children from coming home to their forever families.
Please read the article below and PRAY. For us and all the families in waiting...
Thanks and blessings and love,
Kylie and Lee and Daisie and "Future Baby" Toone
http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/-Ethiopia-to-Cut-Foreign-Adoptions-by-Up-to-90-Percent-117411843.html
Our email from our Case Worker:
Dear Lee & Kylie,
We are writing to ask your family to join us in prayer for the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs (MOWA) regarding the number of cases they will be able to process daily. They have made statements that they desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write each day. As of today, MOWA has begun to write fewer recommendation letters each day for families in the court process. This is something we anticipate will continue over the next few weeks as the court, MOWA, and other entities meet to discuss MOWA’s desire to decrease the number of recommendation letters they write.
And our personal email from Emily,
Hi Kylie,
I'm glad to hear you're going to get your fingerprints completed, that's great! I assume that you just received the email that I sent out to all families regarding the MOWA transition. Again, we are not sure how severe their decrease in recommendation letters will be, nor how long it will be effect. With these unknowns in mind, I'd suggest that you all continue paperchasing per usual, and join us in prayer for the nation of Ethiopia and its children that need homes. As we learn more and see more definite decisions come forth, we'll be in touch with you!
So, after a heartfelt prayer, and time talking together, Lee's response to these issues knocked me down. We have come SO FAR. Why would we not fight for our child/ren? Why wouldn't we pray this MOUNTAIN MOVED? Longer time seems like an ETERNITY. But we can do it. And God can make it be 2 months if He wants to.
And so we MOVE FORWARD. We Defend the Orphan. We WAIT UPON THE LORD. WE REST IN HIS KEEPING. And we are COMFORTED. And we focus on the fact that this is not all about the child, but it is also about the JOURNEY that God has us upon and the persons He is shaping us to be...
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