We're official!
I cannot believe that I haven't posted about this yet. Oh wait, I've been soooo sick over the past two weeks! A nasty bought of bronchitis has drained my motivation to do ANYTHING! Even work on our dossier!
We just have a few things left to do for it to be complete. Admittedly, I didn't rush to finish them, as I was sure it would take several weeks to get our I-171 form back from the United States Citizenship and Immigration office (Department of Homeland Security). This is the form that gives us permission to bring a child into the U.S. and make him/her U.S. citizens, but hypothetically I just let it go. I had decided I would NOT stalk the mailman. I had plenty to do without getting myself stressed over this piece of paper. So, I surrendered this step to God and BOOM!
We just have a few things left to do for it to be complete. Admittedly, I didn't rush to finish them, as I was sure it would take several weeks to get our I-171 form back from the United States Citizenship and Immigration office (Department of Homeland Security). This is the form that gives us permission to bring a child into the U.S. and make him/her U.S. citizens, but hypothetically I just let it go. I had decided I would NOT stalk the mailman. I had plenty to do without getting myself stressed over this piece of paper. So, I surrendered this step to God and BOOM!
It arrived ONE WEEK FROM THE DAY WE GOT OUR FINGERPRINTS DONE!
UNHEARD OF!
SHOCKED when I opened the mail! The piece of paper in and of itself was anti-climactic. It looked like a receipt, unlike the fancy embossed fingerprint papers. But oh how important this paper actually is! We were FULL of joy and we congratulated eachother for being able to adopt a child! :) This piece of paper means we're DONE with the United States part of the adoption process!
SHOCKED when I opened the mail! The piece of paper in and of itself was anti-climactic. It looked like a receipt, unlike the fancy embossed fingerprint papers. But oh how important this paper actually is! We were FULL of joy and we congratulated eachother for being able to adopt a child! :) This piece of paper means we're DONE with the United States part of the adoption process!
KIND OF A BIG DEAL!
The infamous I-171. The last piece of our paperchase puzzle. :)
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lee Toone. You can adopt a child. Kind of makes me giggle. :)
"Notice of favorable determination concerning application for advance processing of orphan petition"
Due to the recent issues in Ethiopia, we were concerned but we'd gotten some good news. Things are improving there and with staff turnover things should get better and better. That doesn't mean the process will be faster or even where it is now, but its does mean that it is not as dismal as it has been forcasted to be. The prayers we prayed worked! All that said, my adoption group covered this time in prayer! We prayed all through the night and day and things got better! So why should I doubt that God would SPEED our paperwork to us!
We have to get on the ball so we can mail our dossier in but I don't feel the sense of urgency that I thought I would. Instead, I have peace that this is ALL in God's timing. Of course I hope that we would get our referral for our child/ren as soon as possible but I am content in the waiting (well at least for today). I am going to focus my energies on "active" waiting by doing a bible study devoted to waiting and trusting.
So SOON we will be paper pregnant! To celebrate I ordered a couple of "waiting mama" shirts! I can't wait to sport them and no doubt we'll take photos of our FED EX trip with our dossier!
SO EXCITING. So content with where we are. The journey we are traveling is just as important as the child we'll bring home. God is molding us to TRUST him.
Here is the POSITIVE update from our agency this week...
We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia. While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps. Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit. This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA). We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children. Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks. However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process.
We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen that the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption. I hope this information is an encouragement to your family. We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive.
We got another piece of good news this week. Our dear friends the Autrys (from right here in Utah) are adopting a sibling group of 4 (FOUR) off our agency's WAITING CHILD LIST! They range in age from 8 months to 7 years! What a HUGE leap of faith to take 4! I am selfishly happy that they will be down the street from us so we can play with them all the time! :) SO EXCITING!
We have to get on the ball so we can mail our dossier in but I don't feel the sense of urgency that I thought I would. Instead, I have peace that this is ALL in God's timing. Of course I hope that we would get our referral for our child/ren as soon as possible but I am content in the waiting (well at least for today). I am going to focus my energies on "active" waiting by doing a bible study devoted to waiting and trusting.
So SOON we will be paper pregnant! To celebrate I ordered a couple of "waiting mama" shirts! I can't wait to sport them and no doubt we'll take photos of our FED EX trip with our dossier!
SO EXCITING. So content with where we are. The journey we are traveling is just as important as the child we'll bring home. God is molding us to TRUST him.
Here is the POSITIVE update from our agency this week...
We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia. While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps. Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit. This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA). We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children. Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks. However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process.
We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen that the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption. I hope this information is an encouragement to your family. We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive.
We got another piece of good news this week. Our dear friends the Autrys (from right here in Utah) are adopting a sibling group of 4 (FOUR) off our agency's WAITING CHILD LIST! They range in age from 8 months to 7 years! What a HUGE leap of faith to take 4! I am selfishly happy that they will be down the street from us so we can play with them all the time! :) SO EXCITING!
Check out their blog: http://autrysjourneytoethiopia.blogspot.com/
So PLEASE join with us to continue to pray about the situation in Ethiopia...God is soooooo much bigger than this! And continue to pray for our process, that it would go smoothly. We still have a LONG way to go. :)
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