*One Step

Our agency sent out an update this week stating that Vietnam has named a head neogtiator - a first step in signing a new MOU. Vietnam has also requested that both governments now begin negotiations toward a the end of establishing a new MOU. So, that's progress, and good news to us.

Last week in Hanoi there was a meeting between the Ministry of Justice, DIA, Provincial Justice officials, MOLISA and directors of the orphanages that are approved to participate in inter-country adoption to discuss possible changes to international adoption procedures in the nation. The following changes were proposed:
The following list is a direct quotation from our agency's email:

1. The DIA would act as a functional central adoption authority.
2. That licensed adoption agencies would not have direct contact with orphanage directors for placement of children.
3. Allocation or referrals of children would be handled by an “adoption committee” which would consist of team members from MOJ, MOLISA, Foreign Affairs or other governmental agencies. This would be done within the central adoption authority.
4. That charitable donations for the care of children in the orphanages would be strictly handled by a committee within the central adoption authority. All funds would be deposited with the central adoption authority and they would disperse the funds to the MOLISA office responsible for the orphanage receiving the donations. The orphanage will be required to file a detailed description of how the funds were allocated.
5. There will be a reduction in the number of adoption agencies licensed in Vietnam. The exact number has not been determined but is reasonably believed to be reduced from 43 to 15.
6. That Vietnam will initiate legislation to implement the Hague Treaty.

It all sounds good to me, except number 5. Does that mean if our agency is not one of the 15, we are out of luck? Another something to pray about.

There has been no decision by the DIA (of Vietnam) yet as to weather or not our dossiers will be returned or stay on file in country.

*No Decisions Yet

I talked to Amy, our adoption coordinator this Monday. She was just checking in to see how we were doing with all the bad news lately. After our conversation I have a little more hope. I learned that Vietnam is scheduled to become Hague accredited in March of 2009. That would mean that even if it closes in September, once they are Hague accredited, any other country that is Hague accredited would be able to adopt from there without any other signed agreements. In order for Vietnam to get Hague accredited, they would have to have a clean system, and I believe all adoptions would have to be the same - have similar financial requirements..... I hope I'm not putting too much hope into this possibility.

Other good news was that our agency received 4 referrals lately - 3 girls, one boy, which moves us up on the waiting list. We are still in the early 20's, but we must be in the earlier early 20's. If our agency continues to receive 3-4 referrals a month which was the trend before the latest issues, we would be somewhere between 8-12 on the list by September 1st. That means that if it closes, we would not be able to complete our adoption. However, if Vietnam reopens in March, we would stay in order on the waiting list, and likely receive our referral within a few months, and travel within a few months - probably next summer.

So, I have hope that with all these issues, it will merely mean we will have to wait a bit longer to hold our little girl. I do believe that the Lord has all this in His good and perfect plan for our lives, and that He will bring us together at the right time. Please pray that our faith would stay strong.

We still wonder if we should start an adoption in another country right now or not- especially if Vietnam never does reopen. Amy said that many other waiting families are pursuing other routes at the same time. One option in Nepal through our agency, but more likely for us is China special needs. Still, I think we will likely wait until September to make any decisions.

We even talk about Africa a bit more - or former Soviet states, but the reality is that it is very costly to do two adoptions at once, and we're not ready to pull out of Vietnam. We have grown accustomed to imagining a little Asian girl as part of our family, and the Lord will have to do some work to change that picture.

With the news that we will likely not receive a referral until at least next spring, we wonder if we should do something adventurous with the next year of our lives. The Lord has sure given us a passion for orphans, and we are researching and contemplating going abroad for a year and helping orphans hands-on while we wait for our second child. Not sure how or if it would work, but we'll see.

*Another Adoption Update

We have had a very full few days. Before I share all the wonderful things we heard about at the conference, I’ll share an adoption update.

After checking email several times a day for a week, we finally got a good explanation/response from our agency. It wasn’t that they weren’t trying to be timely, it’s that they were waiting on a JCICS conference call, and trying to get their facts straight.

Our agency said that the statements about Vietnam are not necessarily fact. There are many ifs in the process. If a new agreement is not resigned in the near future, Vietnam will stop taking dossiers on July 1st, and then if they are not near signing a new agreement when September 1st approaches, they will only process the adoptions of those who have referrals. It is good to hear those ifs. There is still some hope.

Here is another hopeful statement from our agency's update:"We all need to keep in mind that this is a very complex situation with various agendas existing among different parties.... While they may differ in their tactics and words used, all parties wish for adoptions to be done in an ethical, transparent and legal manner. So while it may appear through the AP reports that adoptions in Vietnam are at risk of stopping please know that all parties are willing to start the negotiations on the new agreement."

Our agency also believes that the Summary of Irregularities, is not the norm of Vietnamese adoptions. "This document has been criticized by most people familiar with adoptions in Vietnam, including representatives from other countries that adopt in Vietnam, as it presents a board picture of unethical conduct in Vietnam when, in fact, the alleged conduct is extremely limited to a few provinces and agencies." There are a few agencies, in a few provinces that are behaving questionably. The US Embassy discussed many bold generalities in the Summary and never stated any specific places, people or institutions. We have been told that the US Embassy has been asked to produce factual evidence, so that those at fault can be prosecuted and issues can be cleaned up.

Also, and perhaps most hopeful to us, is that Vietnam has stated they plan to become Hague approved in 2009. If and when they do, an agreement between the US and Vietnam is no longer needed! So, even if we can’t complete our adoption this year, we could potentially still adopt from Vietnam next year.

Some bad news is that Vietnam is giving less referrals to American agencies right now because of the issues. If they come so slowly, we are even less likely to receive a referral in time.

Keith and I have discussed this a little while we’ve been away. We don’t want to complete our adoption if we suspect our agency, their in country staff, the orphanage, officials, or anyone in the province of unethical behavior. It is our hope that the Embassy will release more specific information so that the adoptive parents and children can have peace about their own adoption histories. I don’t want my child learning some day, or even questioning some day weather her birth mother gave her up or not. I want her to know that her mom gave her up out of love, knowing that she wanted a better life for her daughter. (We heard a neat song by Nate Huss, an adoptee, about his birth mom)

At this conference we were wondering if the Lord would guide us in our adoption. Nothing became more clear, but we did become more aware of other options, and I think I am all the more open for special needs.