PAIR Approval!

This morning we received an e-mail informing us of our PAIR approval! We were told to expect a 3-6-month process for PAIR approval, but ours took less than 2 months. Woohoo!!!! This means the U.S. has deemed our boy adoptable. Thanks for your prayers for the finder interview last week. The PAIR approval is a direct result of that interview, so I guess things went well!

Next we will wait to hear from the Ethiopian courts/ MOWA (the Ministry of Women's Affairs) after they have reviewed our case. We ask for extra prayers for this step. We received a program update from our agency's supervisor on Friday. Difficult news to swallow...

"I was able to have another phone call with the Embassy this morning, and while there is not a lot of new news about the delays at Federal MOWA, I did get some info to share. The head official is back and is reviewing cases again. Embassy informed me there are about 340 cases at Federal MOWA. 340. This is a significant back log like I have never seen. And those are just US cases. We have over 20 there now and more PAIR approved cases added regularly. So the bottom line is, it is a mess and it will take a lot of time for them to work through those...In all honestly I have no time frames for you for cases that are waiting there. We have cases approaching a year, I know other agencies have them waiting longer. Cases really seem to get approved in no particular order. This is hard on everyone involved, we understand that."

And now they have 341. That is a HUGE number. Amazing to think there are 300+ orphans who have been matched to families in the U.S. who are ready to receive them into their homes and hearts, but everyone has to wait. Indefinitely. I admit... I've been praying that L's file gets miraculously placed at the top of the stack. But that seems selfish and unfair to the kids and parents who have been waiting for months and years already. Once again, we are thankful that God is in control. He loves these little people more than anyone and knows them intimately. So for the umpteenth time we trust Him with our baby L. and the hundreds of other fatherless ones.

Latest News

Sadly, the unrest in Ethiopia continues to escalate.  On October 21, we received this notice:

"The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer all non-essential travel to Ethiopia due to ongoing unrest that has led to hundreds of deaths, thousands of arrests, as well as injuries and extensive property damage, especially in Amhara and Oromia States. The U.S. Embassy's ability to provide consular services in many parts of the country is limited by the current security situation. 

The Government of Ethiopia declared a State of Emergency effective October 8, 2016. An October 15 decree states that individuals may be arrested without a court order for activities they may otherwise consider routine, such as communication, consumption of media, attending gatherings, engaging with certain foreign governments or organizations, and violating curfews. The decree prohibits U.S. and other foreign diplomats from traveling farther than 40 kilometers outside of Addis Ababa without prior approval from the Government of Ethiopia, which severely affects the U.S. Embassy's ability to assist U.S. citizens. The full text of the decree implementing the State of Emergency is available on the U.S. Embassy's website.

Internet, cellular data, and phone services have been periodically restricted or shut down throughout the country, impeding the U.S. Embassy's ability to communicate with U.S. citizens in Ethiopia. You should have alternate communication plans in place, and let your family and friends know this may be an issue while you are in Ethiopia. See the information below on how to register with the U.S. Embassy to receive security messages."

We also received some encouraging news though! Our PAIR paperwork seems to have passed its first step. We were notified on October 27 that the U.S. Embassy in Addis received our PAIR packet. This means that it was reviewed by USCIS staff in the U.S. and has been sent over to Ethiopia for the next step of the investigation. They said they will now begin the required orphan status investigation (Form I-604, Determination on Child for Adoption) to determine whether the child identified meets the definition of an orphan under U.S. immigration law. We received an e-mail today that there is an interview set up for November 10 between the Embassy personnel and L's finder. This term "finder" is new to us. I'm assuming it's the person who received baby L. when his birth mother dropped him off at the hospital, but I am waiting to hear from our adoption coordinator to have this clarified. Please pray that this interview on Thursday will be a successful one! We are praying that the Embassy will receive all the information they need from this one encounter so that the investigation does not have to take a lot more time.

Dave and I definitely have our moments. It's hard to think of our little boy in an orphanage waiting day after day, month after month. It's hard to feel so powerless. But overall I feel very encouraged. I believe that God is intervening to help push this process along. Given the state of emergency in Addis, it's a miracle that anything is happening at all on the adoption front! We cannot thank you all enough for your prayers!!