Back to Ethiopia!

After a roller coaster of emotions over the last few months, I am excited to announce that we are HEADED TO ETHIOPIA to appear in court this week for the adoption of "D."  

There were times over the last few months that we were not sure that this adoption would be possible, so when we received the approval that we had been waiting for several weeks ago we were ecstatic.  You see, in April of this year, the Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office declared an immediate suspension of intercountry adoptions.  We were heartbroken for "D" and worried that we would never be able to complete his adoption.  There were over 200 Ethiopian children who had been matched with families, who were now in a difficult spot and were "stuck".  Fortunately a group of over 100 members of Congress signed a letter written to the Ethiopian Prime Minister to encourage him to allow the children who had been matched with families to continue to be processed.  I'd like to publicly thank US Senator Roy Blunt from Missouri who drafted this letter, as well as US Senator Claire McCaskill and our US Representative Ann Wagner who also signed.  Fortunately, many of the children matched with families are being processed, however to date the Ethiopian government has not released an official statement on the suspension or the future of intercountry adoption from Ethiopia. (Information taken from US Dept of State at www.state.gov)

So here we are, at the airport, waiting for our flight to Ethiopia.  We will arrive in Ethiopia on Tuesday, spend several days with "D", and then appear in court to make the adoption final on Thursday.  We have been told that "D" is very excited for us to come.  Joseph begged to come along with Jack and I, so he tagging along, but the rest of the kids are at home with family.  (Thanks to our tribe who are watching the rest of the kids - we couldn't do it without you!!)  Unfortunately we will not be bringing "D" home with us this trip.  We will just be there for court and to obtain an adoption decree and then we will travel home while our agency processes the required paperwork to obtain his visa to come home.  Jack will then travel back in 6-8 weeks to bring him home.  

We appreciate your prayers over the next week as we embark on another journey to Ethiopia.  We are excited to be able to finally introduce you to "D" on Thursday after we attend court.  

Until he's home,

Dana and Jack