Fingerprints Again

We went to Indy to get our fingerprints redone today. They expire after 15 months, so we had to go back to keep our paperwork up to date. It's frustrating to have to go all the way to have the fingerprints taken again (digitally, I might add), but we took advantage of the trip by spending some time at the Children's Museum. It's just hard to believe that we started this process about 18 months ago. Still no updates. We're just keeping everything current so that once we decide on the right country for us we can go ahead with the process.

The Chapmans on Good Morning America

If you missed seeing the Chapman interview on GMA this morning, you can watch it here. My heart continues to break for this family. They have been through so much, but their faith has not faltered.

The Hunger Site

I found this awesome website that allows you to donate food with a simple click. Go here to check it out. All you have to do is click on a box and it donates over a cup of food to the hungry. So easy to do! You can have an email sent to your inbox to remind you to click daily. That's what I'm doing so I don't forget to do it every day. Just a small way to make a difference.

Waiting

If you're wondering what's going on with our adoption, we're in a period of waiting right now-waiting on God's direction and leading. With Vietnam closing and some other things we've been through lately, we're trying to get a sense of where God is guiding us. We feel a peace about this time of waiting, and we know that God will direct us in the future. We'll update you on any decisions we make.

Please Call Your Legislators!

We have contacted many of you regarding the campaign going on for Vietnam adoptions. I just got done calling and emailing my legislators. For some reason I've always been intimidated by this sort of thing, but it really was simple. After talking to a live person, I emailed them with the same message as well. When I talked our local representative's office, they actually gave me the email of the right person to contact, which I thought was really cool that they are listening! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's the email we sent that explains the details:

Please join us in a campaign that's going on to encourage our government to come up with an interim agreement in order for adoptions in Vietnam to continue when the current agreement expires on September 1. You can find out more about it here . Please call your legislators today, Tuesday, or Wednesday (June 2, 3, or 4th) asking them to them to support A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam. Please call both of your U.S. Senators and your representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov and your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov. I've included Illinois senator's information: Richard Durbin (202)224-2152, Barack Obama (202-224-2854).

Include the following in your calls and emails.

· "I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to join the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Co-Chairs and sign their letter to Secretary Condoleezza Rice in support of the recommendations found in Joint Council's A Child's Right Campaign for Vietnam."

If they have not heard about the Campaign, ask them to contact the Congressional Coalition for Adoption Institute at 202-544-8500 or Joint Council on International Children's Services at 703-535-8045.

The Door Closes

We learned some very sad news yesterday. I have alluded to the possibility of a closure in Vietnam, but we had hope that it may still work out in the end. However, the US Embassy in Hanoi posted an announcement on Friday that they will accept dossiers through July 1, but you must have a referral by September 1 in order to adopt from Vietnam. The closure is not a surprise, but I thought they would grandfather in those who had dossiers over there. It is really hard knowing that our daughter won't be from Vietnam. We have fallen in love with the country and culture, and we've made some wonderful Vietnamese friends in the community in the process. It is good to finally have some answers, but there are still so many unknowns. We aren't sure yet where we will go from here. Please keep the many families affected by this news in your prayers. Many have been on waiting lists for many, many months and don't know if they will get a referral before the September 1st deadline. If you're interested in reading more, check out the Voices for Vietnam Integrity blog.

March has come and gone

The future of adoptions in Vietnam is still uncertain. If the MOU was going to be resigned, both countries had to sign a letter of intent by the end of March. Since that hasn't happened, it looks like the program will close at least for some time after September 1 when the current agreement expires. There's no way of knowing how long it will be before a new agreement is reached. There still has been no formal announcement about what will happen to those in process. Please be praying for us during this time of uncertainty.

Home Study Approved!

Our social worker let us know that she received approval for our home study from DCFS today, so now it's off to USCIS. We are excited to have made some progress, but we are thinking and praying hard about whether or not to stay with Vietnam.

Home Study Sent to DCFS

Our social worker told us that she is sending our home study to DCFS today. This process will take several weeks, after which the home study then goes to USCIS. We should have approval within the next couple of months. By March we should know more about the future of adoptions in Vietnam.

Our First Tet Celebration

Our friends Blake and Sue had us over to celebrate Tet. Blake and Sue cooked several delicious Vietnamese dishes. We had banh chung (sticky rice cakes), tomato egg drop soup, and pork riblets in caramel sauce. We brought a Vietnamese banana cake for dessert. The food was great, and we enjoyed hanging out with Blake & Sue (and Elijah loved playing the game cube they have!).

Chúc Mừng Năm Mới

That's Happy New Year in Vietnamese! Today marks the beginning of Tet, which is the New Year's celebration in Vietnam that lasts for about a week. We are looking forward to learning more about this celebration. Today begins the year of the rat.

Unknowns in Vietnam

Today the U.S. Department of State made an announcement warning prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) about the uncertain future of Vietnam adoptions. The statement below was posted on Ethica's website, and they do a great job of explaining the current situation in Vietnam if you are interested in learning more. You can also read the warning statement from the Department of State's website. We are really struggling with what to do at this time. We feel really invested in Vietnam already, and we hope and pray that the MOU is resigned. We'll keep you updated on anything we learn.

USDOS Announces Advisory and FAQ on Vietnamese Adoptions
The U.S. Department of State(DOS) has issued the following statement about adoptions from Vietnam.

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_3939.html

At meetings with adoption service providers attended by Ethica personnel, DOS has noted that approximately 2000 people have indicated to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that they intend to adopt from Vietnam. Many agencies have stopped adding people to their waiting lists, but the lists are long—with many agencies reporting waits of 12-15 months to 2 years for a referral. In light of the long wait times, and the significant number of people in process, the Department felt it was wise to inform people who have not already begun an adoption from Vietnam that it was possible that a new Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) will not be concluded by the Sept. 1 deadline and that when a new MOU is concluded, it might be different from the one currently in place.

The U.S. does not require an MOU; the Vietnamese government does. Thus, while the U.S. will certainly continue its processing past Sept. 1, 2008, it is impossible to predict what the Vietnamese government will do with cases in process when the MOU expires. Because it is impossible to predict, it is the responsible thing to do for the Department to make families aware of the possibility that cases not completed by September 1, 2008 could face significant delays. Families should be aware that no agency can promise you that you will receive a referral after September 1 (as some families have reported), or that a case in process is guaranteed to be completed.

Additional information on this situation can be found here:
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_3940.html

Home Study Visit

After no progress for some time, we are moving in the right direction again! We had our home study visit with our new home study agency today. Since it's just an update, we'll only need to have one visit. It went well, and we are happy to be moving forward. Our social worker gave us the following timeline: Home study sent to immigration in 2-3 weeks. Then about 4-6 weeks to get our approval from USCIS. So this will take us to March, which is a key month in the Vietnam adoption community. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which is the agreement between Vietnam and the US is due for renewal in September. Apparently we should know by March if the two countries are going to be renewing the MOU. Please pray with us that this will happen. We're waiting to choose a placing agency after we see what happens in March.