*Some Hope to Cling To

I talked with our agency today, just clarifying more about the closure, and our options. I was pretty discouraged reading blogs of others and finding that most have dropped out of the Vietnam program, and that their agencies haven't been as positive as ours.

Our agency is encouraging families to start concurrent adoptions if they would like, but are not recommending dropping Vietnam. Only one family out of over 30 waiting families has dropped out. They do remain hopeful that adoptions will reopen soon, as Vietnam has taken significant steps and negotiations have begun. Our agency believes that as long as there are no unpredictable issues that arise, adoptions would likely begin again by the end of the year, or early 2009.

I can do that. I can wait an extra 6 months or so. One day at a time.

Some of our other options through our agency are going with China special needs (which we would be interested in), or Nepal. Nepal has been closed for some time and should reopen this month, but there are already many families waiting. If we were to do a concurrent adoption, we would not have to pay our agency fees again, but would need to pay any country specific fees. We would also need to do the paper chase again and submit a whole new dossier, with an updated home study. It would likely take several months to compile and then we would join a waiting list again, and be on two waiting lists at once. Since we want to adopt more than one down the road, this may be a good option for us, but we're not ready to make any decisions yet.

At the same time, our interest in Africa is growing. Our agency, however, does not have any programs in Africa, so we would be starting at ground zero and loose the money we've put into Vietnam (if it remains closed).

Lots of "ifs." We will keep praying.

Koen was a terror this evening, so it's hard to imagine having more than one tonight. But, maybe he's a terror because he needs a sibling to learn he's not the center of the universe.

*CLOSED

We have been dreading this day for a long time, but inevitably, it has arrived. The MOU expired today, meaning that adoptions between the US and Vietnam have ceased. We pray this is a short closure, but have no idea what to expect. Our agency seems more optimistic than others I have heard from. Do we move on? Today also marks 11 months since we were DTV. 11 months, and now our dossier is coming back to the US to sit here.

I think I'm mostly in denial, but now and then some self-pity sneaks in. I'm ready for my child to come home, but God must know better. I have to trust He has a better plan.

I have been praying for a referral by Christmas. That is highly unlikely now, but still possible. I'm not sure if I should keep praying and hoping for that or not. It would be too good to be true.

To add to the bad news, we found out my mom has a spot of cancer on her gums. She has had to wait a whole week since finding out before meeting with the surgeon, and in that time it has grown quite a bit. Please pray for healing, and peace.

My sister also hasn't been doing well. She has severe anorexia and has gone downhill in the last month. She's currently in the hospital, but should be released soon. Please pray for victory in her battle, and healing for her body.

Sorry to be such a downer. I hope you are having a better Labor day than we are.

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

Victory: Nastia wins gold

Defeat: Alicia falls in the team competition

Isn't it great to be an American?!!! I am loving watching the Games, and last night was definitely a high for me. I am a huge gymnastics fan, and loved watching Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson from the US win gold and silver - even though it kept me up til 1 am. And, of course I am enjoying watching the swimming too, and everything else.

However, if I was not an American, it is possible that I would live in a country that is not closing adoptions in Vietnam. I know Canada, and many European countries will continue to adopt from VN after September 1st.

The agony of defeat I am feeling comes from a discouraging but honest email our agency sent out. They notified us of the US State Dept's update, that adoptions WILL close September 1st. It is for sure now, as there is not enough time for a new agreement to be signed. However, that does not mean that it won't be signed in the following months. It's just likely to be a longer process than we would like.

Other bad news is that our agency has only gotten one referral in the last two months, falling way behind their usual 3-4 a month. That means we are likely still around number 16-18 on the waiting list, and won't be moving for quite some time.

I have been in denial about this closure, and am not sure how it will feel knowing that we are making no progress. Please pray for a new agreement to be signed quickly, and for God's guidance in this process.

We're camping this weekend. I'll have pics next week. Thanks

*Some News, Could be bad?

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!