No Good Very Bad Day

The U.S. State Department has just issued a press release stating that no new adoption cases from Nepal will be processed. Meaning, we will not be bringing home a child from Nepal.  Families who have already received referrals will be able to process their adoptions, but no new cases will be allowed through. There was a line in there about hoping to open it up again, but I am not aware of any programs that closed opening up again (Vietnam, Guatemala, etc.).

This is not completely unexpected but I still feel like I've been punched in the gut. Especially since we got our hopes up this week. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to throw up.

Please pray for us. This was not a surprise to God, and we praise Him for His goodness even through our heartache.

Surprise Referrals for Our Agency

The San Jose International Airport has a new terminal with the greatest airport bathrooms ever. The stalls are big enough to wheel a stroller or rolling bag in with you, and the doors open out so you can get out without dumping your kid or your suitcase in the toilet on your way out. They're awesome.

What does that have to do with adoption in Nepal?

Nothing, except that's where I was when I got the call yesterday telling me that our friends, Tanya and Mike, got their referral for their son in Nepal! He is 19-months-old and shares Kyle's birthday!! The reason their referral is a surprise is because they were logged in in December, the last dossier sent from our agency, and yet there are probably 6-8 families logged in before them (although many of those families might be waiting for girls or younger babies).

If Nepal was going strictly in order, we would have received our referral first, but this is proof that the Holy Spirit is doing the matching (as if we, the parents of Kylelissaphyllisgeorgemarilynelmer Jr., needed proof of that). I told Tanya that I can't wait to watch their son grow up in their family, the family he was very clearly created for. What a blessing to see one more orphan receive a last name, a family, a legacy!

As if that wasn't reason enough to rejoice, Tanya also passed along some exciting news-- our agency told her that Nepal said two more referrals are on the way, also for children older than infants (what we requested). They were told the referrals would arrive today, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen (Nepal has the same concept of "manana" that we do I think). They have no way of knowing if one of the referrals is ours, but it gave us all a good heart jolt yesterday.

The fact that their son is 19-months-old and not closer to the top of their requested age range (3) makes me wonder if our son will also be younger. I'm thinking probably so since I've been mentally preparing for a 3 year old. And also because I spent last week with my good friend Melissa and her adorable and super busy almost-two-year-old daughter telling her, "Don't worry, it gets easier!" The 18-30 month range is NOT the lazy mom's ideal season! But we will be delighted to have Tow Truck home for as many of his months as we can get him, so whether he's 13 months or 3, we will be overjoyed!

Needless to say, I will keep you posted....

Good News, I think

Actually, maybe even two pieces of good news. First, it appears that travel approvals and referrals are continuing to come out, despite the lack of a prime minister.

Second, it looks like our time in Kathmandu may be cut a little bit shorter. The US Embassy has until now been waiting until families were in Nepal to begin their investigation (required to prove orphan status before a visa can be issued to the child to allow them into the States), which has caused a 3-4 week stay. It appears they are now looking to do that investigation before the family arrives (but after the travel approval has been issued), so the time in country may be reduced to more like two weeks.

Of course-- this is all information I have pieced together from various sources-- no official word from our agency yet.

The other side benefit is that this may give us more warning before our trip. For previous families, they sometimes would leave literally within hours of their TA-- can you say chaos? (not to mention expensive plane tickets!) I know we will want to leave as soon as we can-- I sure was ready to go get Lily as soon as we got our referral-- but this time some advance warning will be especially helpful since we'll have childcare, dogcare, and jobs to situate. We had dogs and jobs back then too, so I guess Lily is really what will make the advance warning helpful.

On another unrelated note, I had a dream last night that we were trying to adopt two children who were here from another country on humanitarian parole. It was an older girl who mysteriously spoke English and a toddler boy. How awesome would it be if Little Man had a big sister and Nepal let us adopt her too? As far as I know that is unprecedented and outside of their legal adoption parameters, so I'm thinking that instead of a prophetic dream, it was a borrowed storyline from a friend-of-a-friend who is adopting a brother-sister sibling group (4 and 8) from California (which is sort of a foreign country to me). Sigh....I still can't shake the thought that we have an older girl out there somewhere...

Looks Like Another Slow Down

Just when things looked like they were "rockin' or rolling" as Lily would say, the Prime Minister has stepped down. I think this means all of the ministers (like Cabinet Secretaries) will be replaced, so it is likely that nothing will happen with adoptions in the near term. This is normal for Nepal, so it's not overly concerning, it just means that additional time and uncertainty will be added to an already long (well, not yet for us) and uncertain process.

While we wait, we pray for our little boy, that he is being loved and nurtured. We learned our lesson last time that worrying will not make this journey one second shorter, so instead we pray. We are also intentionally living each moment while we wait as a gift, being careful not to rush through this God-appointed time. If He wanted it to be shorter, He could surely do that. Since He hasn't, we know there is purpose for this wait so we seek Him for that purpose. When you're praying for our son, will you also pray for the other families throughout the world who wait for their Nepali children? It is the first adoption for many, and the wait the first time is SO hard, especially with all the uncertainty.

Back to our boy, Kyle recently informed me that he's not so sure about the name we had originally picked out, so I'm relieved we never told. This could happen a dozen more times till the little man comes home, so don't bother asking what the latest name choices are :)

Lily recently informed me that she doesn't want a little brother, little sister, big sister or big brother. In fact, she doesn't want "anyfing." It was in the context of sleeping in her room with her brother once he comes home, which I'm sure is what caused the ill feelings. So, Little Man, if you're reading this down the road-- you are very wanted, even by your rather spoiled big sister-- she just doesn't want to have to give anything up due to your arrival. Little does she know though, she only stands to gain! My brothers have been two of the biggest blessings in my life, and I know she'll say the same thing one day. Hopefully sooner than 35 years from now...

Update on Families in Nepal

(Cindy, thank you for the reminder that I needed to do an update!)

****Update: Got an email from our agency just now saying the two families from our agency who were in Nepal are now home with their little girls, and they reported no serious issues. They had to be there an extra week because of the shutdown, but I don't know what the total time was that they were there.


I don't have an update on the families from our agency who were in Nepal, but the one family whose blog I was following came home yesterday with their little boy. They were there about three and a half weeks. Not ideal, but not horrible considering there was a big shutdown while they were there. It seems as if there were no major snags in the process- that's huge!

Beyond all of the cost associated with a long trip, I try to prevent myself from spending too much time wondering whether we can be away from Lily for that long. It is borrowing tomorrow's worries, and we have no way of knowing how different the process will be when it's finally our turn. As of right now it doesn't look like  a great idea to take Lily, but the thought of being away from her for that long makes me want to throw up. I know she'd be fine with her grandparents (by the way G&G and N&N, can you take care of her??) but I'm not sure I would. We know families who have taken their children and left them, and we know there are pros and cons both ways. Right now all I see are the cons to both ways...

Anyway, praise God for protecting the adopting families in Nepal and for placing these precious orphans in families!

pray for the families in Nepal now

There are families in Nepal now, including two from our agency, and they need a lot of prayer. There is a huge protest going on, and the Maoist protesters are intent on a government overthrow. The result is a complete shutdown of the whole city, including the US Embassy. If the Embassy isn't able to work, they aren't able to process visas for the children to come back to the US. Please pray for the Lord to intervene and allow the adoptions to be finalized and visas to be issued so these families can return home with their new children. Also pray for them to be protected against fear or discouragement, and for bonding to take place despite the obstacles.

Finally, Good News!

Just hopped on the Internet to check the recipe for the very special lemon cake I'm making for Easter, and found out that Travel Approvals have FINALLY come for the families who have had referrals since September! This means nothing for us directly, except that the program is moving.

It also means that in my flesh I am tempted to begin to worry that we won't have the money when our referral does arrive, but it's Good Friday so I am asking Jesus to take every worried thought to the cross with Him! It is SIN to forget that the Lord provides for His children, and He took every last sin to the cross. Thank you Lord for willingly being our blameless sacrifice, so that we could have life, and so we could become your children that you will provide for throughout eternity, which began on this very Friday so many years ago.