Russia Update

Here's the latest update on the situation in Russia. The next meeting is scheduled for May 12th. It looks hopeful and we've received updates from our agency indicating that adoptions are still going through during negotiations. We won't be sure how this affects our timeline until this summer. Please keep praying that the process will not be delayed unnecessarily and that the doors to Russia remain open!

U.S. Department of State Announcement

A Hope Blessing

Today we were given "A Hope Blessing" (baby shower) for Hope. Since we don't know how big she is yet, everyone gave gift cards, money and special mementos for her memory book. My favorite gift was a frame of our family, including Abby, and an opening for a photo of Hope. It was nice that someone thought to include her, too! Here are some pictures from the party. It was meant to be a surprise, but it turned out that I couldn't come at the time the party was planned, so they told me. But I did not know who was invited until I showed up (Chad and his mom made up the guest list) or what the theme of the party was. Thank you Chad and "Nana" Linda for making "Hope's Blessing" a special day ...

AMOS STORY
Aaron Ivey. ©2009 IVEYMUSIC. (ASCAP)

Another photograph to wrestle in my head
Another sleepless night on concrete featherbed
These thoughts of you like bullets to my soul
We’ve got to find a way to get you home

I’ll find a way to get you here
If it takes my fleeting breath
Another sunrise hits the ground
And it’s a dark lonely sight
Lightyears away I hope you know
There is somebody searching
For the way to get you here

I will get you here

Throw the clocks away and run out to the street

We’ll fly to distant clouds where it’s just you and me
A day will come when all of this is gone

You’ve got to find a way to believe

I’ll find a way to get you here
If it takes my fleeting breath
Another sunrise hits the ground
And it’s a dark lonely sight
Lightyears away I hope you know
There is somebody searching
For the way to get you here
I will get you here

Close your eyes and dream of a better day with me
As angels hold you tight, may you sleep in peace tonight

So dream, dream, dream my child
Hear the whisperings of hope

It’s a song that you can sing, as you sleep in peace tonight

Another Update

Here is another update on Russia Intercountry Adoption. The Department of State has received no official notification that adoptions from Russia to the United States have been suspended. However, it appears that the adoption process has slowed down.

Volcanic ash prevented the U.S. delegation from traveling to Moscow over the April 17th weekend. The delegation now plans to travel to Moscow during the week of April 25. Please continue to pray that the door to intercountry adoption in Russia remains open!!

Joint Council on International Children's Service

U.S. Department of State Intercountry Adoption

Update

Here is an update on the current situation in Russia. Despite news to the contrary, it appears that adoptions have NOT been suspended. In fact, our agency has reported that several American families currently in Russia have been permitted to proceed with their adoptions. A delegation from the US State Department is scheduled to meet with Russian officials next week in Moscow regarding the ongoing situation. While there is always the risk of shutdown in international adoption, including Russia, most insiders are optimistic and do not believe the situation regarding the Russian adoptee from Tennessee will lead to a shutdown of adoptions to American families.

We are waiting patiently through this with HOPE and trusting God for the outcome. We know His heart is for the orphan, so He surely cares about this even more than we do! Please continue to pray for us while we wait and for all of the families and children who are waiting, too. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement the last few days and for taking time to sign the petition this week. We will keep you posted as we hear more!!

Russia Adoption Confusion Rattles US Families

Update on Status of Russian Adoption
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." ~ James 1:27

Call to Action from the JCICS

A year ago today, we found out that our application to begin the process of adopting a child internationally was accepted and we officially began our "Journey to Hope!" By now you have heard the news about the 7 year old boy who was put on a plane and "returned" to the Ministry of Education in Russia by his American adoptive mother after living in America for only 6 months. Russia was and is currently still open to adoptions by foreign citizens. We just found out last month that we have been assigned a region and are less than 4-6 months away from our first trip to finally meet Hope after a year of waiting. Now, due to the current crisis, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Child's Rights Ombudsmen in Russia have called for a suspension on adoption to U.S. citizens. We need your help!

Please help keep the doors to intercountry adoption open so we can continue on our journey to bring Hope home from Russia. The Joint Council on International Child Services (JCICS) has issued a call to action for people who have adopted, are in the process of adopting, or know someone who is adopting to help children in Russia who are in need of a permanent and safe family (as well as helping waiting families bring home their adopted children). Suspending adoption does not protect children but only subjects them to the depravity of an institution, and an entire life without a family. Please take a moment to visit the link below and sign the letter being sent to President Obama and President Medvedev before Tuesday night. There are also some other ideas listed on their website for ways you can help.
JCICS Campaign and Call to Action
Thank you, friends. Your voice and ours can make a difference!

Trusting God

We found out on Friday with the rest of the world that a 7 year old boy was returned to Russia by his adoptive mother like unwanted parcel. She had her mother put him on a plane, unaccompanied, and paid a man $200 to meet him at the airport in Moscow and "return" him to the Ministry of Education with only a note to explain she did not want to parent him anymore. Not surprisingly, Russian officials were outraged and have threatened to put a freeze on all Russia-U.S. adoptions. Like the rest of us, they could not believe someone would be so cruel to a young child. Especially one of their own. As they should, Russia is taking this very seriously. However, for families like mine who are in the middle of an international adoption, this means more red tape and more waiting. Click here to read a statement from the Joint Council on International Children’s services sent to us by our agency:

Joint Council Statement on Current Events in Russia
As for the actions of this mother, I am having a hard time believing that she did not know the risks involved in adopting this child. The training we received from our agency specifically addressed all possible issues and disorders associated with adopting and parenting a "waiting" child. We were required to undergo 10 hours of pre-adoption training and our social worker spent hours preparing us for what to expect when we bring our child home. There is no way to enter this process without knowing that these children often come with emotional and/or developmental problems, especially at 7 years old. We were informed to expect some issues and that the older the child, the more severe the issues could be. It does not mean that every child adopted internationally comes with severe emotional or behavioral problems, but that it is prudent to be prepared for the worst. Our agency provided excellent training and preparation for dealing with sensory integration disorder, reactive attachment disorder, fetal alcohol syndrome, and many other problems common among children who are adopted internationally. While I am not sure who is at fault (the mother, her agency, or her social worker), it is clear that she did not have realistic expectations going into this adoption. You cannot expect a 7 year old boy who was taken from his birth family at age 6, put in an orphanage for a year, then taken to a foreign country where he has had his name and identity changed and was given a new "mommy" not to come with psychological issues. Even without the training required for adopting internationally or guidance from a qualified social worker, logic says that a child in this situation would have problems.

That said, we still believe we are called to adopt this little girl from Russia and that God has uniquely equipped us to be her parents. We knew going into this that there would be obstacles and we are belieiving our all-powerful God to work out this seemingly huge problem. Less than a year ago, our agency was blacklisted by Russia for incompliance on post-adoption reporting requirements (along with hundreds of other U.S. agencies as part of Russia's attempt to tighten the process and filter out the "bad" ones). We worried then what would happen, but it was resolved without any impact on our process. If God could see us through that, He can see us through this. Nothing is too big for our God. And His heart is for the orphan. He does not want to see the hundreds of thousands of orphans in Russia lose their opportunity for a forever family any more than we do. So, we will trust God and wait ... again.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers as we wait to bring Hope home from Russia. We should hear something from our agency this week about how the current situation will impact our adoption, so please check back soon!!

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." ~ Philippians 3:14