Homestudy

Our first homestudy interview is tomorrow! I'm not really sure what to expect - we've already answered 16 pages of questions . . . and she said it would be 2 hours! I know part of it is going over everything that could possibly happen as far as a referral goes, and what we would be comfortable with when it comes to medical conditions, background, etc.

I'm hoping we get a better sense of how many kids they have in care right now, ages, medical issues and more. I'm really anxious for information, not because our child might be there (I doubt he is, considering the age we've requested but it's a possibility) but because there are others from our agency that I am in contact with (via the web) who are eagerly waiting for their referral. It's really exciting to sort of wait with them and learn from their experiences.

I think that the paperwork part of things is probably easier than the waiting so I'm glad we're not rushing through this. By the time we get to the referral stage our agency should have had several families go through the entire process and I'm hoping that means it will go fairly smoothly. At this point some of the families who got referrals in December are still waiting to travel, which is a really long wait when your child is in an orphanage halfway around the world! Normally the wait is more like 3 months from referral to travel.

There are basically two things that can delay travel and they both have to do with court appearances. Once you have a referral you get a court date which is when your agency appears in the Ethiopian courts will all the necessary paperwork so that they can make you the legal parents of that child. Here are the possibilities:
1) You pass! The courts feel that they have all the necessary documentation and that every effort has been made to confirm that this child is indeed an orphan and there are no better options for him/her than adoption. This is where having a good, ethical agency is most important because they need to do everything they can to find living relatives who can sign relinquishment papers to satisfy the courts. If the child was abandoned this is not necessary, but they require that he/she be in care for 3 months before adoption to make sure someone doesn't come back for him/her.
2) The courts ask for more information. This could be paperwork, more effort to find a living relative, more information on the adoptive parents, etc.
3) Court is closed. The courts close in the late summer/early fall, I think for the festival season. If you got a referral just before that you will have to wait until they reopen, and then there is a backlog of cases so it will be a while. That could significantly delay things.

The good thing is that I feel confident in the care that these children are getting through our agency so at least if we have to wait a while to bring him home we won't worry about his treatment.

In closing, I want to ask for prayers for Stefan's grandmother who has been struggling with her health lately. Please pray for her and for Stefan's family as they care for her, especially his mom. Thank you!