Below is an email I received today from our agency. They sent it to all their families in the Vietnam program. I'm not sure what to think, but it is leading me to pray more.
"As many of you are already aware, there have been many rumors and speculations circling regarding the current tension between the Vietnamese Authorities and the U.S. Embassy. Following the implementation of the new I-600 initiative Joint Council for Children's Services (JCICS) has called a Vietnam Summit meeting to be held in Washington DC on November 28, 2007 to discuss current matters regarding international adoption in Vietnam. The U.S. Department of State and USICS representatives will also be represented at this meeting. Faith International plans to attend this meeting.
Until this meeting takes place and we are able to gather first hand information, we can not predict what will happen with adoptions from Vietnam. Although we remain confident that international adoptions will prevail, we must be flexible and patient during this process. We do know that the new initiative has brought about tension between the U.S. and the Vietnamese government. The Vietnamese officials are concerned about the new initiative's time frame. Currently with the new initiative, the U.S. Embassy is requiring families to wait up to 60 days after filing their I-600 petition. We are hoping to find resolutions to this issue and others at the JCICS Summit meeting.
There have also been speculation regarding the re-signing of an international contract between the U.S. and the Vietnam. The original contract, signed just prior to the re-opening of Vietnamese adoptions, will expire in March of 2008. We have not yet heard when or how this contract will be renegotiated or re-signed. Once again we are hopeful that the meeting on November 28th will shed some light on this issue. We are asking families to understand that any information that does not come directly from the U.S. Embassy or the Vietnamese government is simply speculation. No one will know how the new I-600 initiative or the re-signing of the contract will play out until we are able to see the process through.
Despite all of this, our Vietnam program remains very active! We have had 12 families travel to bring home their children in the month of October and beginning of November. Five of these families are currently in Hanoi waiting for the last stage of the process to be completed before they can return home. We have also had 6 new referrals since the beginning of October, 4 girls and 2 boys.... We are very hopeful that our Vietnam program will continue to be this active in the following months."
I especially don't like the line "we can not predict what will happen with adoptions from Vietnam." I have not control, and reality is that our agency has no control either. In the past, Vietnam and other countries have closed temporarily or permanently to international adoption. In the recent past it has been Nepal and Guatemala. I am so scared that Vietnam will close before we get our little girl. If so, where do we turn? Our agency doesn't have programs elsewhere that we are interested in. We have to trust the Lord is in control of this, and as our agency recommended, be flexible.
I guess I should focus on the good news - that so many families traveled last month, and that there were 6 new referrals!
Until this meeting takes place and we are able to gather first hand information, we can not predict what will happen with adoptions from Vietnam. Although we remain confident that international adoptions will prevail, we must be flexible and patient during this process. We do know that the new initiative has brought about tension between the U.S. and the Vietnamese government. The Vietnamese officials are concerned about the new initiative's time frame. Currently with the new initiative, the U.S. Embassy is requiring families to wait up to 60 days after filing their I-600 petition. We are hoping to find resolutions to this issue and others at the JCICS Summit meeting.
There have also been speculation regarding the re-signing of an international contract between the U.S. and the Vietnam. The original contract, signed just prior to the re-opening of Vietnamese adoptions, will expire in March of 2008. We have not yet heard when or how this contract will be renegotiated or re-signed. Once again we are hopeful that the meeting on November 28th will shed some light on this issue. We are asking families to understand that any information that does not come directly from the U.S. Embassy or the Vietnamese government is simply speculation. No one will know how the new I-600 initiative or the re-signing of the contract will play out until we are able to see the process through.
Despite all of this, our Vietnam program remains very active! We have had 12 families travel to bring home their children in the month of October and beginning of November. Five of these families are currently in Hanoi waiting for the last stage of the process to be completed before they can return home. We have also had 6 new referrals since the beginning of October, 4 girls and 2 boys.... We are very hopeful that our Vietnam program will continue to be this active in the following months."
I especially don't like the line "we can not predict what will happen with adoptions from Vietnam." I have not control, and reality is that our agency has no control either. In the past, Vietnam and other countries have closed temporarily or permanently to international adoption. In the recent past it has been Nepal and Guatemala. I am so scared that Vietnam will close before we get our little girl. If so, where do we turn? Our agency doesn't have programs elsewhere that we are interested in. We have to trust the Lord is in control of this, and as our agency recommended, be flexible.
I guess I should focus on the good news - that so many families traveled last month, and that there were 6 new referrals!
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