I love my smart phone. I hate my smart phone.
30 minutes before take off yesterday I checked my email on the phone.
An in progress update from the agency in my inbox.
First, they announced that all adoptions from Oromia regions of Ethiopia are indefinitely suspended. Effective immediately. For all agencies. As in, if your child is from Oromia good luck getting him or her home to the States (ever.)
Well that is how I read it.
Second it was announced that Ethiopian courts have decided to require two trips for adoption. 1. Both parents are being requested to appear for the court hearing. 2. A parent must travel to pick the child up and attend the embassy/visa appointment. Effective immediately.
What do you do with information like that when boarding a 4 hour flight?!
Baby D is Oromo!
Baby D is in Ethiopia!
We have not passed court yet! We don't even have a court date yet.
Many many urgent emails later I had to turn off the phone, buckle up, and attempt something close to calm. I prayed and prayed and prayed all the way home. All for number one. I made a deal with God - give me D without indefinite delays and I will fly to Ethiopia as many times as is necessary without complaint.
So I just want you all to know - I AM NOT COMPLAINING!
The agency sent an email that I read as the plane was touching down. (I figured my innocent little cell phone couldn't possible cause signal problems so severe that we'd crash off of the runway.)
Baby D is safe. She has the right paperwork. She's been submitted to court. Children affected are those from Oromia region without their local court paperwork. Now I wonder if they will ever get that paperwork?
We got so so so lucky? blessed? gifted? We squeaked by barely.
So no complaints. Just a few financial concerns as you can imagine...An additional trip will add at least $4,000 to the overall cost. Sigh. We will never own a home or take another vacation I guess. But seriously no complaints. I would go 100 times over to visit Baby D if that is what is needed to get her through court.
We are still waiting for confirmation from our agency. It's always possible we'll be allowed just one trip since our case was submitted already.
~A
About Me
- Me. Us. She.
- J and I have been married for almost 15 years. We have shared many adventures and a lot of watershed moments. In 2009 I began blogging and in 2010 we adopted our daughter from Ethiopia. In March of 2012 we began the process to adopt a little boy from Haiti. This blog follows the many twists and turns on the road to our two children and beyond.
I thought of you immediately when I saw the In Process Update. I had a sneaking suspicion that D was Oromo... SO, SO relieved that you are already submitted to court. One hurdle down. I like your bargain with God -- I'm pretty good at making those kinds of deals with God myself, I just hope he holds up his end of the bargain!(:
ReplyDeleteRachael
What is the reason behind such new rules?
ReplyDeleteWow...that's so wild how they are setting up all of this red tape. I'm praying that you get your sweet little D as soon as possible.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Melody
You could work remotely with baby D by your side while you wait for an embassy appt. Save the money on a 2nd plane ticket...Summer in Addis would be lovely don't you think?
ReplyDeleteL
There were a couple of you that I thought of immediately when I heard the news. I hope that you can be grandfathered in to the one-trip thing because that really is financially inconvenient. And, you don't need to own a house when you have a home with your family. We probably never will either. lol
ReplyDelete