My Birthday Wish

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Well, we knew some changes were coming this month. Shawna and Lindsay's country passed a law this summer that the goverment's adoption authority would undergo changes and a transition into a new department with a new name. That was supposed to take place by October 11th. And it is taking place now. We received word that it's anticipated to take 4-6 weeks to make all the changes, hiring, and transitions to get the new authority up and running. That would push our travel into mid-to-late December. :(

We were really hoping to beat this change, but we just missed the cut-off for getting an appointment to go and complete our adoptions. By one week.... Bummer! But the good side to that is, when they do start issuing appointment dates, we should be in the first group to get a date!

So now we will wait and see what happens. God is still God, and the last time I looked, He's still in the mountain-moving business (Mark 11:23). And surprises have happened before. When the new law passed, we were told that they would cease all adoptions until the new department was established, but only a few days later, they announced that they would continue adoptions for children with special needs, according to definitions by by the new law. That was a big mountain! And many children are now home with their families because of it.

So now I'm praying that God's mercy will reign and open up another opportunity on behalf of kids there. There are several families that are caught in this most-recent delay. We all have our paperwork submitted and we have done all we can do on this end. We are waiting on appointments, and waiting on others to move us to the next step.

And that brings me to my special birthday wish! My birthday is next week and I'm praying and asking God to give us a travel date to go complete our adoption of Shawna and Lindsay. It's a long shot, but God is bigger! In Matthew 18:19 Jesus said, "“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven." So will join with us in prayer asking and believing that we will get our appointment date? And if my prayer is answered, many other families' prayers will be answered, too!

When we started this journey last May, it was my hope to have our girls home to celebrate Christmas with us. I'm still holding onto that hope. And it may take a miracle to happen. But I still believe in miracles!

Also, please pray that the list of eligible special needs will be significantly expanded. The new law drastically eliminated many, many children from eligibility to be adopted internationally before the age of 5. There are many people in-country who are working diligently with the authorities to expand the official list and allow many children the opportunity to be adopted and to get the care they need. There are many more families who are waiting on this list to be expanded so they can complete their adoptions.

TTFN,
Carrie