One amazing couple just received a call that has changed their lives forever. A beautiful baby boy for Rana and Yvan!! Rana and I have e-mailed over the last year through this process and we are ecstatic for their family. She has a beautiful mama heart and now there is a son to celebrate.
Go wish them well!
http://ranavansjourney.blogspot.com/2009/07/20-months-2-weeks-1-day-and.html
Our medicals are apparently in the pouch and on their way to Nairobi! We are so excited that this part of the wait is finally over. We hope that medicals can be booked this week and sent back to Nairobi by the end of the week, but I’m not too sure how the diplomatic pouch works so it could take longer. Once the medicals are done we can start our last count down – the visas! The visa wait is very unpredictable, and can be anywhere from two weeks to twelve weeks. Our agency is saying about 8-10 weeks right now. There is still hope that the HC will process them much faster due to the pressure on them right now from the press. In any case, once the visas are issued we are free to fly to pick up the girls!! We’re all just so happy that the medical request was issued so that things can keep moving. One of the hardest things in this process is being stopped and waiting while nothing is happening.
Our agency representative who was in Ethiopia is coming back to work this week. That means we will receive updates for our girls with pictures sometime this week or next! We’re praying that we’ll get an update and the notice that our documents are back in Nairobi very soon. Then we will start to hustle to buy the girls their clothes and start buying items we need for travel.
Apparently the high commission met in Nairobi this week and has said that they will work on the post-court cases rapidly for families that are through court. We are now wondering what this means for us. We are so happy for the imagine families that will get their visas in a timely fashion and be able to bring their children home. Our file was opened on May 27 with the commission. We don’t know whether it will be processed faster because of this attention or whether we will be given a low priority and need to prepare for even longer wait for travel. We are waiting to hear back from our agency, but we wonder if they will really know the answer yet.
We are working to try to find out what is going on, but as of yesterday we still don’t have the request for medical for our girls. Other families are also affected. We are now starting to see our travel window slip away yet again. We were told we’d likely travel August. Now “possibly September” and we fear that December might be a possibility. On top of this, I have a bad case of the flu. That doesn’t allow me to deal with this in the most rational manner. (I’m great on the phone when I have to be, but crash in between) We are waiting to hear from our agency (who has been amazing at keeping communication open) and hope to get more information today. As I feel like I’m about to fall over, I’ll go back to bed. Thanks for all the e-mails of support. They mean a lot. Pray that our medical gets requested.
Jenn.
We arrived safely back in Steinbach last night. We had a wonderful trip and I will update with news and pictures later.
We arrived to hear news that Imagine adoption (not our agency) has declared bankruptcy. We are numb with shock. An estimated 400 families are affected by this. Some of the friends I have met on-line are traveling to Ethiopia right now to try to bring their children home. Others are living the nightmare of realizing that their dreams of becoming a family might be over. Many of these families have paid their fees and still haven’t received their referral (match to a child). It looks like they may never see that money again. Many do not have the funds to start over. I can not comprehend the pain they must be feeling and the shock. We are praying that information would be provided to these families that have so many questions. We pray that the children in Ethiopia who were living in the transition home would be cared for and that the courts and visas would be processed quickly for them in order to bring them home. We pray for guidance for the people making decisions – that the children and families would be put first.
For those asking about our adoption – we are still waiting for the medical request. So far there is no news that it has been issued. We aren’t sure why. Our agency representatives landed in Addis this weekend and are trying to figure out what is happening. It is not an agency problem, but a Canadian Immigration problem. Our visa can not be processed until the medical form is requested by the Canadian Immigration Commission, the medical is complete, and sent back to Nairobi.
