This month marks one year on the wait list for us, so that calls
for an update! We have moved very few places because there have been almost no
referrals since early 2014. There are many reasons for this but mainly the
holdup is in Ethiopia. We have known the situation there for a while but
honestly it’s been pretty hard to swallow. Our agency sent their founder, head
of the program and executive director there in October to talk to key contacts
and get a feel for things in Ethiopia. The overall impression is that this
slowdown we’ve experienced since earlier in the year is the new pace of things.
International adoption is continuing in Ethiopia and the head of the Ministry
of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs (MOWYCA) has stated there is no intent
to close international adoptions; however it is a last resort for their
children. Improving the integrity of the
process is important and it is good for their children to stay in their culture
if possible but the downside is the kids who are waiting without families for
so long. Our agency now estimates our
timeline to be 3 years wait time until referral. People have asked us if there
is another adoption route we could go and there are, but we are committed to
Ethiopia. Ethiopia has really grown in our hearts and we are calling on God to
bring this to completion. Our child will be worth the wait!
I looked back at the last blog post and kind of laughed at
myself and how positive I was. We, very smugly, thought we’d be super-star
adoptive parents and this wait time would fly by with no complaints from us!
Very soon after joining the wait list we were drawn into the ups and downs of
waiting parents. An email with good news
lifts our spirits, rumors fly about bad news dampen them…..it goes like that
each week or month with shifts in the climate of Ethiopian adoptions all the
time! That is what we couldn’t have prepared for even when it is a well-known
fact that international adoption is unpredictable and really, uncontrollable. The
only thing getting us through, reminding us of our calling, is constant
conversation with the Lord. We pray for a miracle, for lots of referrals, for
His hand working in Ethiopia, movement even when we can’t see it, for patience,
the Ethiopian officials, and the birth family….the list goes on. At times we
didn’t know what to pray because no movement seemed to be happening. This is
when we feel like our dear friends have stepped in on our behalf—in prayer and
in encouragement. It is so uplifting to us when people randomly tell us they
were thinking of us or ask for updates. A big thank you to all those who are
praying for us/our child! We’re convinced we need to “pray this baby home”. Right now in the waiting period it is all we
can do.
We know that God’s timing is perfect but there are days when
we are aching for our missing family member. God is using this time to refine us
as parents and Christ-followers. God will see this to completion and His
faithfulness is unending. One day, I’m sure
we will look back on this period of time and think how minor it was because of
the blessing of our child.
On a lighter note, if you ever get the chance to enjoy
Ethiopian cuisine, we highly recommend it! On National Adoption Day and the day
after our official 1 year on the wait list, we had friends take us to Altu’s.
Altu’s is an Ethiopian restaurant near us and it did not disappoint! Our
friends navigated the menu for us (having two adopted from Ethiopia, they are
the experts!) and we just really enjoyed the flavors. Injera is a spongey
sourdough-like bread that we used to pick up the meat and vegetables. We had to
do it Ethiopian style, of course, and shared platters and didn’t use utensils. It
was a pleasure and wonderful to learn more about our future child’s culture! We
will be celebrating there in the future often.
On a final note, we’re number 44!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Ways you
can pray for us:
God’s hand
on our baby’s situation
Referrals!
Peace with
God’s timing of our referral
Regional
directors in Ethiopia (signature required on documents)
