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.