July 2007

We would like to take a moment to update you, so that you will know how to pray for us and our soon to be growing family. Last Saturday (June 30th) we were finally able to send in all the necessary documents (our Dossier) to our case manager for our adoption, which is a huge praise! From there, it gets reviewed and sent to Washington D.C for approval and authentication. It is then translated and sent to Ethiopia!! So from here, there is a lot of waiting.

We have been told by CWA staff that we could receive our referral (i.e. the pictures and names of our children) anywhere from immediately to 4 months from now. Obviously, we are hoping for "immediately" :), but more importantly, we are praying for God's timing and plan. We would ask that you would join us in praying for that as well. Please pray that we would have the patience to wait on God and His perfect timing for our family.

CWA runs several foster-type homes in Addis (the capital) for children once they have been referred. For example, once we receive and accept the referral of our children, they will be moved from the orphanage where they are, anywhere in Ethiopia, to one of these CWA run foster homes for additional medical care, etc. to prepare them for the adoption process. These CWA homes are limited in the number of children they accept due to space and staffing. So, if the homes are full, our children have to wait for available spots in the home before the CWA staff can petition and apply for a court date. We just received word from the director of CWA that until recently there was only one judge in Addis processing court applications, but there is now two! This means that cases can be processed quicker!!! Translation: the quicker other children get their court cases completed, the sooner there is room for our children in the foster homes, the sooner we get to bring them home!

We are very excited by this news, but somewhat saddened by additional news. Ethiopia is on a different calendar than we are and they celebrate their new year in September. They are also a few years behind in their calendar.....so this September they will be celebrating the new year 2000!!!! Due to these celebrations, the courts will be closed as of August 6th, and no more adoption court cases can be processed until the courts open again. Traditionally, the courts stayed closed for Aug/Sept....but there is no set date for the courts to open at this point. Please pray with us that the courts will open quickly, and that when they do open that they will still have two judges so that cases will continue to move quickly!

Once our children have received a court date, they will receive additional medical exams to clear them for their trip to the US. We will then receive notice of an Embassy appointment. The agency has said we will usually have 6-8 weeks notice before the Embassy date, at which time we will travel to Ethiopia and bring them home!!!

We are sorry to fill you in on all the technical details, but we are hoping that as you read this you understand why we have no answer to the question "when do you get to bring them home?" It is very hard for us to not really have an answer. Based on the info we have now......anything could happen. We could get an immediate referral, there could be two spots open in the foster homes, and we could get a court date before the courts close on August 6th, and then we could travel in Sept/Oct.....or we would wait for a court date in the fall and travel late fall/winter, or possibly even next Spring. As you can see, it is a very difficult question!!

Here is how you can pray for us:

-Please pray, that above all, our heart's desire would continue to be for God's plan, not our own.

-Please continue to pray for our children and their current caregivers. That God would provide for their needs, and continue to hold them in His arms.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. We are so excited to share this journey with you. And yes, we will let you know as soon as we do get that referral!!!

Because of His love,
Jeff and Meredith