I can't even bear to look at how long it's been since I last posted- I am guessing over two years- that's the amount of time that has passed since we had to put our adoption on hold. It's the amount of time it has taken to get "settled"- and I don't mean just physically. And then add the amount of time it has taken me to try and find the words, the explanation, the insight into what's been happening during that time. I still don't have it, I don't know why it's been so long. I can't make that time seem worthwhile in my eyes and maybe even in your eyes. I see the families that began the adoption journey at the same time we did, and even after, with children home while somewhere there is still an orphaned child for us, and more time has passed. But I know I am looking, feeling, and judging with earthly eyes. He has ordained this time for my good, for my family's good, for our child in Ethiopia's good, and for His glory. And not just glory on the day that child is declared to be ours, the day when all of this time will have passed and an orphan is with a family- that is my limited understanding of glory. Apparently, this time without answer is glorious. It is not for nothing that we have waiting- God's plan, God's good, God's control, God's presence, God's unfailing love has not been on hold.
you probably can't read it but it's our final homestudy BOOK
A few weeks ago we got the final copy of our homestudy. This marked a huge milestone of movement. We had gotten this far in West Virginia and had to stop. Holding the copies in our hands, receiving a final email from our social worker, and getting the go ahead to file it with immigration was so very exciting.
We mailed our I-600A application to the immigration office to await an appointment for more fingerprinting. Basically, we need their approval to bring an orphan into this country with the intent to adopt. The application stated it could take up to six weeks to receive this appointment time. A week later we got a letter with an appointment for May 14! The fingerprinting only took a few minutes, then we were told it would take another 6 weeks for the final letter of permission to bring an orphan to this country. We need this letter to add to the large stack of documents to send to Ethiopia (the dossier) to be added to the wait list. A week later and we get this rather informal looking letter in the mail. Sooooo much faster than I thought!!!!! After years passing this is suddenly moving very quickly and it is so exciting and it finally seems real. We have a few things to finish- we have to have all these documents to be state certified which means sending them to the Mississippi secretary of state, some photo pages to make, and then this huge dossier is sent to our agency who sends it to the capitol to be certified there and then on to the Ethiopian government!
where we went to be fingerprinted for the I600-
felt kinda like Sidney Bristow or Jack Bauer or 007!
When we started this process in 2010 the wait time was 18 months tops. During the past two years, Ethiopia has drastically slowed the process under accusations that they were not doing enough to confirm the children were indeed orphans. We are now probably looking at a wait of 2-3 years. I really don't ever want to get to the place of anger at the process, because I definitely value the investigation of each and every adoptive family and orphan. If this is what it takes, then so be it, but it doesn't make it easy. I
will trust that God's plan, God's good, God's control, God's presence, God's unfailing love will not be waiting, but it will be revealed daily to me, to my family, to His precious child miles from their earthly family. And though my earthly eyes may not see, it
will be glorious.
