Some News....

We still eagerly await our referral call (and Vicki was secretly hoping it would come in time for Dave to really celebrate Father's Day), but we thought we'd share a little bit of news. Please read the excerpt from an email we received from our agency today......at least it is movement in the right direction! :-)

Dear Families~

We are happy to report we received word that MOWYCA (Ministry of Woman's Youth and Children's Affairs) decided to increase the number of new cases they will approve to ten per day. (as opposed to the five that they were doing) They also stated that they plan to increase this number to 15 per day, over the next few months. It is our understanding that this is in addition to the backlog cases they continue to work on.

Other pieces of information that we have been told:

-The courts are opposed to a dramatic decrease in cases approved and recently demanded that MOWYCA review more than five cases per day.

-The courts are scheduling approximately 20 hearings per day.

Family and friends - please continue to pray for the children in Ethiopia and around the world who need a family! Thank You!

No News....

Well, we've come to the beginning of another month with no news....we thought we'd share the update that we rec'd from our agency today.

For the month of May, they were able to offer 9 referrals of children - most of these were infants/very young (under 3 years) kiddos. If you remember....we are waiting a preschool aged child.

The MOWYCA's long term plan is still unknown, but for now, they continue to process only 5 cases a day and are clearing the backlog of court cases. The processing of only 5 cases a day will definitely continue through September. This continues to sadden us, as there are reports of still almost 5 million orphans in Ethiopia who need homes......and still they wait.

It looks like Court Closure will begin on August 8 - September 30 (due to rainy season). Referrals can still be given during that time, but court cases will not be able to be opened during that time.

As I reflect on some of the pieces of the puzzle that brought us to Ethiopia, some of the reasons were because there seemed to be many preschool aged kiddos ready to be adopted and because the time between referral, court date and bringing our new family member home was relatively short in the big picture. But, as God does, He reminds us that He is in control and His timetable overrules any plans we can make or even hope for. And, that He is in control is what we rest in each day, even as we wait some more.