Growing our family in faith, hope and love

So much is happening with the adoption and with our family of 4, soon to be family of 6 (well, hopefully soon!!!). This Christmas season we have a theme for our family and it is simplicity. Celebrating the birth of Christ - pure and simple. It is such a great blessing for our family to have made the choice to not overschedule and to enjoy a few holiday festivities while also being home and experiencing Christmas without the exhausting things "to do" While all the acitivities are fun, we are truly enjoying the activities we have picked and teaching the girls about the birth and the amazing journey Mary took on the donkey and then delivering in a barn.
We are also expanding our family and feel at peace and very led in our adoption journey. We are being stretched in our faith and believe with all our hearts that God would not lead us down this path and then not provide not only financially, but in every other need that comes our way on this journey. We are also filled with hope and joy as we anticipate the arrival of our girls. Mackenzie and Sydney are also very excited and can't wait to meet their little sisters.
To date, we have our homestudy for the China program done and ready to be delivered tomorrow. We also have all our dossier documents either finished or in the process of being completed. Upon completion they will need to be authenticated and translated and sent to China.

The twists and turns in the journey

We have decided through prayer, thought and lots of discussion to go forward with a concurrent adoption in China. This means our paperwork will remain in Vietnam and we will wait for the country to open back up, as well as move forward with an adoption in China. We have the choice of taking which ever comes first or taking both. We are going forward with bringing 2 girls home - one from Vietnam and one from China.

In Jeremiah it says I know that plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, give you hope and a future. Wow is that ever the case. God is so good and faithful and we had know idea going into this that we would end up on this route. But he has had it mapped out from the beginning.

Where exactly is Ava - Could she possibly be in a completely different country?

Family and Friends,

It has been awhile since we have had any updates. Today we got confirmation that the talks in Vietnam are postponed. There was a miscommunication with the DIA and the Dept. of State and due to that there is nothing officially scheduled. They are hopeful they will happen starting in December, but that is not for sure. In talking with our agency today, she mentioned it could be a long time before Vietnam opens up again to adoptions. Once again we find ourselves revisiting the question of "Is Ava really in Vietnam?" Our agency has encouraged us to either pull our dossier out of Vietnam completely or do another country in conjuction with Vietnam. We could decide to go with whatever country sends us a referral first if we did the latter or take two children. Of course the blessing of 2 children would be wonderful, but that is also double the fees. So Rich and I will be talking, researching our options, and praying about this. On December 3rd we will be talking with our agency. In the meantime we have our agency mailing us some packets of information on 2 different countries.

Thank you to everyone who is following our journey of adoption. We appreciate all the feedback, encouraging words, and prayers.

Love,

Rich and Jill

Still no definites

We have received several updates from our agency just keeping us posted, but I haven't included them in the blog as there wasn't any new information. They were just confirmations that talks are still in the works. Here is an excerpt of a recent email with a bit of new information:

USCIS and DOS have issued a joint statement with the government of Vietnam announcing that the processing of new adoption cases will not resume until both countries sign a new bilateral agreement. Please see the press release, below, as well as the attached releases, FAQs: Adoptions from Vietnam to the US and the Joint Statement, for more information. This information can also be found on Joint Council’s website, www.jcics.org.

The United States government is committed to supporting Vietnam in its efforts to establish practices necessary to appropriately process intercountry adoptions. We have therefore expressed our willingness to begin negotiations on a new bilateral agreement with the government of Vietnam that addresses the deficiencies in their current system. We cannot predict when a new bilateral adoption agreement with adequate safeguards for all parties will be concluded.

As indicated in the joint statement, all dossiers that have not been matched with a referral will be picked up by our agency representative and held in our office in Hanoi. Please know that this is merely a matter of where to store the dossiers during the interim. It is Faith’s understanding that the DIA and the U.S. Embassy have set Monday, October 27^th as the date to officially begin negotiations toward a new agreement. We will continue to monitor the progress toward this agreement and send out any updates as we receive information. Again, the returning of dossiers to each agency representative in Vietnam does not necessarily indicate a step backwards towards a reopening, but is rather a logistical step of where to store the dossiers while a new agreement is worked on. Families will remain in the same spot in our queue during the interim.

We continue to pray and trust that God will work it out in His timing. Sometimes this is proving to be easier than others. Somedays I sit and know she will be here and dream of what it will be like to look back on this journey and praise God for the wonderful blessing she is to our family as well as all He taught us along the way and somedays it is just a bit discouraging and sad to be waiting and waiting and waiting.......

At peace knowing God is in control

No new information regarding the adoption from our agency. We have been sent information that talks are still in the works to get an interim agreement between Vietnam and the US. The following excerpt is from our agency:

Joint Council continues to be in close communication with officials at the Department of State to ascertain the progress of diplomatic efforts between the United States and Vietnam on a new Memorandum of Understanding. As stated previously, only those families who received a written letter of referral from the DIA on or before September 1st, 2008, will have their cases processed to completion.

According to the latest numbers released by the Department of State, 524 families were matched with a child by September 1st, and of that number, 247 families have filed an I600 petition with USCIS.

Joint Council will continue to release more information on the processing of these cases as we receive it from the Department of State and USCIS.

We feel a deep sense of peace over this situation. Several people have asked us - and we are grateful for all the people following the journey and all the prayers and support - and we have come to know that our God is bigger than all of this and we will look back on this someday knowing exactly why it didn't go quite like we thought it would. Our plans are definately not His plans and we serve a mighty God.

Encouragement from the Word

This verse was in my morning study and it spoke so profoundly to me that God is control and His love is still as big as before for us and for Ava. He is in control. This was such a huge reminder that God is in control, that He still cares for all the orphans over in Vietnam that are waiting for loving families, and that His love is deeper, wider, longer, higher than I will ever be able to humanly comprehend. How good it is to regain perspective and lay it at the feet of Jesus.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide, and long, and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3 14-19

Cautiously Optimistic/Hopeful

We received and email from the adoption agency stating that things are still in the works for getting that interim agreement to improve the adoption process and hopefully soon be able to resume adoptions.

Here is a portion of what we received from the adoption agency:
Approximately two weeks ago a meeting took place at the US Embassy between DOS officials and officials from the Vietnam Ministry of Justice. This meeting went very well and both sides extended their desires to begin the negotiations on a new bi-lateral agreement.
Last week in Hanoi there was a meeting between the Ministry of Justice, DIA, Provincial Justice officials, MOLISA and directors of the orphanages that are approved to participate in inter-country adoption. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss proposed changes in the policies and procedures for inter-country adoption in Vietnam.

Significant steps have taken place in the last several weeks in an effort to commence negotiations on a new bi-lateral agreement. The proposed changes being considered by Vietnam are welcome changes that we believe are in the best interests of the children of Vietnam and will greatly improve the practice of inter-country adoption in Vietnam.

The DIA has yet to make a formal announcement regarding the returning of dossiers not matched with a referral prior to September 1, 2008. The DIA is currently holding onto these files, as there has been recent movement on negotiations toward a new agreement. If a new agreement is not put into place in a reasonable about of time it appears that these dossiers will be returned to the agencies. If this is the case, Faith will hold these dossiers at our office in Hanoi until they can be resubmitted.

The ups and downs of this adoption process has been huge. We are trusting that God's plan and will for our family is to bring home Ava. We are also trusting that His plan if far better than ours. God's plan is for all children to have loving homes and we thank God that we are being obedient to his calling to open up our hearts and have Ava be part of our family. What a huge blessing!!! Through this journey of adoption and through parenting God is refining Rich and I as parents/spouses/children of God. I thank God for all that even in the midst of emotional pain it brings. I know when Ava is finally home we will look back and see the perfect plan and the reasons that it went the way it has. Instead of looking at the problems of this adoption looking so huge, I am being challenged to change it around and remember that God is bigger than any problem we may encounter.

Expected news, yet still difficult to hear...

News from our adoption agency was as we expected, not full of new information and left it still hanging in the air as to when Ava will get to come home. Basically the only thing we do know, is God knows the exact time and day, and we have to be patient and trust for his perfect timing. Her is a bit of the email that was sent via our adoption agency:

Today, September 1, 2008, the current Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the United States and Vietnam expires. As a result, intercountry adoption is effectively suspended until a new MOA is signed and implemented by both countries. Joint Council sees the suspension of intercountry adoption as a tragedy for children and for the families willing to provide a loving family to Vietnamese orphans.

Joint Council and its Member Organizations remain committed to the children and families of Vietnam and continue to work closely with both governments. Completing existing adoption cases and putting a new MOA in place remain the top priorities.

Joint Council remains confident that a new MOA is achievable especially in light of recent events. Joint Council’s A Child’s Right Campaign, the subsequent letter from Members of the U.S. Congress to the Department of State, arrests of corrupt practitioners in Vietnam, a discussion of the Hague Convention by Vietnam’s National Assembly, a joint statement by President Bush and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the U.S. Department of State’s official request for a lead Vietnamese negotiator and other recent events, all demonstrate that both parties take this seriously and are interested in resolving this crisis.

The adoption agency continues to seek clarity on all aspects of the adoption process in Vietnam and have suggested that the DIA refrain from returning family dossiers to their respective adoption service provider at this time. Unfortunately many questions remain such as when a new MOA is in place, will existing dossiers be considered valid. When this and other determinations are made, the adoption agency will notify us promptly.

Rich and I have been encouraged by the adoption agency to keep our dossier in country and that they are still hopeful an agreement can be reached by the end of 2008 or early 2009. So, as before, we are just waiting and looking forward to the day we get our referral as well as get to go and get Ava.

What is the purpose for our blog?...........

In thinking about what to write and what the purpose is for the blog, I came up with several reasons. Two main reasons is to keep family and friends up to date on what is happening. (We appreciate all your prayers and encouraging words.) But it is also a keepsake that someday I hope will be so special to Ava. I want her to know that she is chosen by God for our family, that we can hardly wait for her to get here and how special she is. I want her to see the journey we went on to bring her home, the anticipation of finally meeting her and holding her for the first time, the mountain tops and the valleys we went through on this journey, the growth that took place in us as a family as we stepped out in faith and are truly trusting God to provide financially, emotionally, spiritually on this journey. And also how everyone around us is also anticipating the newest family member!!! We have gone through tears, gloominess, excitement, anticipation, and so much more. And it is all worth it. By naming her Ava Victoria (Victoria is after Rich's grandma) it has made it so personal for us and we have a love for her already that is unexplainable. I can't wait to meet her for the first time and cradle her in our arms. Rich and I are so excited to have another daughter and pray that she feels loved, secure in who she is, and loves Jesus. We pray that God prepares us to help her know who she is as a person and where she came from and embrace that culture as well as know that she is so dearly loved and a treasured family member of our forever family. I pray for the birth mom to know that Ava is in a special family, dearly loved. I pray that she will be comforted and have peace as she hands her baby over.
As September 1st is approaching, we know it isn't going to be a day of celebration of the interim agreement, but we prayerfully ask for God's hand to be on that day and that the Vietnamese officials and the US would come to an agreement. As hard as it is for us to be waiting and not know a time frame, I have been reminded through other adoptive families in recent weeks that the journey of others has been so much longer than ours, sometimes years.

Praying for encouraging news for September 1st......

After a weekend "away" camping in our backyard, we are feeling a bit more accepting of the news in Vietnam. We talked with the adoption agency and went over possible other options and all other doors were closed. The agency highly encouraged us to wait until September 1st as there should be more information even though there will not be an interim agreement.

The Journey of Baby Ava

August 15, 2008

Our journey for adoption officially began in December 2007, although we felt that we were led to do this for quite some time. Before we got pregnant with our first, we felt God had called us to this. But we didn't do that and now have 2 beautiful daughters and are now in the process of being obedient to God's calling for our family. The girls Mackenzie (age 7 1/2) and Sydney (6) are very excited and can hardly wait for Baby Ava to come home as are Rich and I. The journey thus far has been a wild ride of ups and downs, and this week has been a bit of a downer. We have received news that indeed there will be no interim agreement met by the September 1st deadline and now we just wait.

I have received a few encouraging verses from friends that they are praying over us. The first is:
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Isaiah 55: 8 & 9

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.