Major Change!

Last week, we received word that the Ethiopian government has made a new law effective April 1, 2010. They will now require that families appear at court, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to testify to their willingness and commitment to adopt their child. Under the old law, we signed over power of attorney to the in-country coordinator affiliated with our agency. He would then finalize our adoption and after our child received their visa (1-2 months after finalization) then we would travel to pick them up.

Under the new law, we will travel to Ethiopia, meet our child, testify that we would like to adopt them and then travel back to the States.....without our child (can't imagine how I'm going to do that). :( We will travel to Ethiopia again in 1-2 months to pick up our child once they have their visa.

When I first heard this news, it was very challenging on the financial side. It also brought some anxiety over the realization that international adoption can be very unstable. Will this actually happen for us? However, I am very excited to think about meeting our child earlier than I originally thought and spending an extra week in Ethiopia! I am also aware that this change is for the Ethiopian children. It is about making sure that adoptions are done ethically and that is the most important thing. This change came about because there have been about 40 cases of child abandonment cases. Some of the less reputable agencies have not been truthful about the child's health or history. When the adoptive parents travel to Ethiopia and find out the truth, they may not be comfortable with the truth and they end up leaving their child in Ethiopia.

So, this change has been (and will continue to be as all the details have not been worked our yet) a bit of an adjustment. But, I am constantly amazed at how much this adoption has already taught me about faith in God: "...Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall have success!..." 2 Chronicles 20:20 Until we have our child in our arms, we will just have to trust and believe in God that any change that occurs is part of His plan. In the meantime, we wait. "That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised." Psalms 130:5