Court Update (Again)

Ok, where to begin….

First, thing I heard today (Monday, June 24^th) was that there would be no update for us.  As of 11:00am our time (7:00pm in Ethiopia), the staff in St. Louis hadn’t received any emails from Ethiopia today at all and had even tried calling and couldn’t get through by phone, so they assumed the CHI staff in Ethiopia was having issues with their electricity, as happens sometimes. 

Then, suddenly a couple hours later (somebody in Ethiopia was working late!!!), we did get an update, via St. Louis, on the court hearing that took place on Friday:  The orphanage director appeared in court with the police document noting that the birth mother cannot be located.  The court ordered that a notice be posted in the newspaper to search for her.  So, the notice will be posted and another court date was issued for July 2^nd, at which time the orphanage director will appear and provide the documentation showing the ad ran in the newspaper.  (Still don’t know anything about that other letter from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs…I sent back a question about the status of that). 

And in a separate little paragraph after the court update, our adoption consultant relayed the following to us:

“Our staff also said that they don’t think the courts are going to close on July 6^th.  It looks like they are going to stay open longer.  They haven’t received an official closing date from the courts yet, but it looks like they are going to be open longer.” 

What excellent news!!  This, very frankly, was not on our radar screen as a possible solution to our situation.  But, isn’t it just like God to answer in a way that is beyond what we expect or ask.  I don’t really know what this means for us, other than we’re going to wait again to hear what happens in court on July 2^nd and keep praying like crazy that we’ll have the opportunity to hightail it over there before courts close for the summer, whenever that occurs.  Wheww!!  What a marathon.

Court Update

Just a quick adoption update.  There is another hearing this Friday (June 21st) in Ethiopia regarding our girl. 

The birthmother cannot be located and has effectively disappeared.  Apparently the protocol in this situation is that the orphanage director takes a letter to the court from the police stating that they cannot locate the woman.  The judge may be satisfied by this letter or she may ask for further information, documentation, etc.  Please pray for the former.

In addition, there is one other important approval letter that needs to be presented to the judge from the Ministry of Women’s and Children’s Affairs.  This letter was not completed and ready at the first birth parent hearing on June 10^th.  And, we’ve since heard that this agency has been “in meetings” and is behind on the completion of these letters.  Please pray that ours is complete and that it is presented to the judge this Friday.    

If these two items are in place on Friday, perhaps there is a chance that the judge would see fit to push this adoption through by granting us a hearing in Ethiopia prior to the July 6^th court closure.  We would like nothing more.  Please pray that the judge might be sympathetic to the situation and inherently aware of what it would mean for our baby to be united with her family as soon as possible.  Please pray that she might be compelled to schedule an adoptive family hearing now before courts close. 

Father, if it is Possible…

The good news- We were delighted to receive word yesterday, that our birth family has a court date this coming Monday (June 10^th) in Ethiopia, to finalize their part of this adoption.  That’s the last step before we travel for court.  Traditionally, the adoptive family (that’s us) has been given a court date about 4 weeks after the birth family appears in court.

 The bad news- Our anticipation and excitement was short-lived.  Today, we received word that the Ethiopian courts will close on July 6^th for the rainy season.  This is an annual closure, though our adoption agency noted that the closure is unusually early this year.  Apparently roads wash out and there’s flooding that makes it impossible for people from outlying regions to get in to the capital city for court business, so the courts just close.  We knew the courts would close this summer for a couple months.  However, it traditionally happens in late July or at the beginning of August.  When we got the notice about our birth family court date, we thought surely we’d get our court trip in before things shut down for the rains. 

 The synopsis-

• Birth family court date scheduled in Ethiopia-06/10/13
• Approximate date we would have court scheduled in Ethiopia-07/08/13
• Confirmed Ethiopian court closure-07/06/13

 Problematic discrepancy-2 Days

 Are you kidding me??!!  Two Days!  You’re telling me that a couple days may cost us months with our daughter?  Without going all clinical and psychological here, they are some precious, critical months.  I want those months.  A couple months more of attachment.  A couple months more of healthcare, of enough formula, of met needs.  A couple months less of developmental delays to be addressed.  A couple months less of being an orphan.  I don’t want to be ugly.  I’m trying to be patient.  I am certainly a more patient person now than when we began this adoption journey.  But, here’s how I do NOT want to spend my summer…waiting out rain and knowing that our girl is spending another day without a mommy and daddy!  No more backgrounds to be checked, no more forms to complete, just rain.  As my friend Chris Carter on ESPN would say, “C’mon man!”

 The request- Would you please join us in showering the throne of heaven with persistent supplication to this end?  Please, God, that the birth family would make it to court on Monday and that all would go smoothly.  Please, God, that there’d be no hiccups or hang ups or missing paperwork.  Please, God, that we might be granted a court date prior to the court closure on July 6^th.  We know it is possible.  We know He’s big enough for this.