The Journey Continues

[from October 17, 2007 on my facebook page] - Around a month ago, we submitted our adoption dossier for approval by the Oficina Para Adopciones (Office for Adoptions) in El Salvador. The dossier took a lot of work, time, and expense to put together. All through the process of preparing it, WE were the limiting factor in our adoption. WE were the one who needed to get this form together, or have a physical exam or psychological exam. WE were the one who had to prepare our house and family for the home study. After 6 months of work, WE were finished and we submitted our paperwork.

Now, WE are no longer in control of our adoption fate and it's kind of scary to be honest. Now, our paperwork is in El Salvador where it will be translated into Spanish and reviewed by governmental officials. We have been told that the approval process will take 3 - 10 months. That sure seems like a long time to read our paperwork and decide whether we would make a good adoptive family.

In looking at the database of other El Salvador adopting families through our agency (America World Adoption), it looks like it consistently takes 6 - 7 months to be approved. That means we'll be waiting until probably March or April before we hear anything. The wait is agonizing. And if that were not enough, once we are approved, we go onto the "referral list" where we wait to have adoptive children referrred to us. You guessed it... we have no idea who our children are yet... no names... no pictures... no history... nothing. It's hard. Harder still is the fact that NO ONE from our agency has EVER received a referral from El Salvador yet. There are a lot of folks ahead of us on the list. Some of them have been waiting 16 - 17 months with no referral. Most of them are looking for infants or toddlers while we are looking for late elementary school aged children. We think (hope) that will shorten our wait time... but there are no guarantees.

I think that the uncertainty would be unbearable if it were not for our faith. We know that it is up to the Lord to take care of our children until we can bring them home. We also know that this will happen in HIS timing and not ours. Matthew chapter 6 has a section (v.25 - 34) that I find myself visiting over and over again these days. It reminds me to not worry and to have faith and seek God. I find a lot of comfort in that because I know that he has never let me down yet. He never will.

If you have the time, please pray for our review to go well and for our children to come home soon.

- Mark