April 15

Happy tax day. [Insert groans here.] But it was also supposed to be “dossier day” for us – the day our dossier is welcomed in Nepal.

Alas, the latest updates from our agency say that they are not done processing the 2009 families yet. Not a huge surprise at all, honestly. We also learned that the person in charge of the Matching Committee in Kathmandu is no longer in that position, so they are looking to rehire. The new estimated date of completion for the 2009 families is end-May. Then we should be ready to roll.

For one more month, our dossier will remain at our agency. As much as I wish this doesn’t affect so many families and countless orphans in Nepal, this time will be useful to us as we await news of our adoption loan. We applied for 1 loan earlier this month and should hear in May whether we are approved or not. Prayers would be appreciated for the approval of this loan.

God is in the details.

Time Sensitive Prayer Request!

We are closing the gap on the magic date of April 15th – the date our paperwork will [hopefully] be sent to Kathmandu, Nepal!

Friends, we need your prayer for our adoption finances. We have used our own savings account, we have fundraised, we have applied for grants (and have been denied 1 of them), we have used our ’09 tax return (to complete the fundraising ticker above). We now find ourselves needing $7000 before our dossier can be sent overseas. This is part of our first "Foreign Country Fee."

We have applied for an interest-free adoption loan. However the timing of this loan from application to approval is 6-8 weeks. Please pray that our request would be granted sooner than that! If necessary, we will go to the bank for a home equity loan, but we’ve been told that the adoption loan is the first way to go. We are also considering sending out another fundraising letter to local businesses for their support.

Please pray that we can raise the $7000 we need just in time for our paperwork to go overseas and we aren’t delayed any further!

Grant #1 Denied

Thanks to those of you who were praying for us to receive the adoption grant we applied for on February 1st. Today we received notice that we were not approved for the first grant we applied for through Katelyn's Fund. The demand was simply greater than the supply. But God is good and He is still on the throne! And we still have the second grant application out there. We should hear something about that by mid-June.

We're starting another mound of paperwork for an adoption loan. Please continue to pray for our adoption finances. Find ways to give if you can! Help an orphan girl come home to her waiting family!

Nothing to Report

I have debated writing anything new here following last week's meeting between the US Dept of State and the Minister of Nepal. We really haven't learned any outcomes of that meeting. The same old promises are reiterated. Here's what we know...

• The US will still issue “strong warnings” to prospective adoptive parents to avoid adopting from Nepal
• The US will not close down current Nepal adoptions (yes, that’s good news)
• The US Embassy in Kathmandu states that they are happy with their adoption program and their processes. The issue seems to be with the US DOS as they tend to follow those orgnaizations against international adoption
• The US Embassy in Kathmandu is still promising to finish all 2009 files by the end of next month
• The US Embassy in Kathmandu is still accepting 2010 dossiers (that’s us) on April 15
• There were 60 referrals sent out over a week ago and only 2 of those have been actually received by the representing adoption agencies. Where the others are is unknown. (Huh? Yeah, we don’t get that one either, so don’t ask!)

We have heard these promises before and yet we’ve seen no movement on the Nepali adoption front. Even though we hear that the US will not close down, our spirits aren’t exactly lifted.

So, how can you specifically pray for us? Pray that the promises (2009 files being completed by end April and 2010 files being received on April 15) will be kept. If we start to see progress being made, we won’t give up on a country we have fallen in love with.

Thanks to all of you who have lifted us up in prayer last week. The power of prayer was palpable and it really amazed me. Even today as friends say they are still praying for Nepal, tears well up in my eyes. We (our little girl included) are indebted to you. The words thank you will never fully express the gratitude we feel for each and every one of you walking this journey with us.

March 9-10 Meetings

We have received news that the government official overseeing the Ministry of Women and Children in Nepal is on US soil and is planning a meeting with the US Department of State on March 9-10 to discuss the future of Nepal adoptions in the US. We know that John Kerry is a strong advocate for adoption and he has been working with Hilary Clinton towards the continuation of adoptions in Nepal. Regardless of your partisanship, please pray for these individuals as they make decisions that will affect so many families and children in need.

Please join us in prayer over these 2days for the continuation of adoptions and that our paperwork could be sent to Nepal soon and we can bring our daughter home before the end of the year!

The results of this meeting may not be made public until later this week or next, so bear with us as we await news.

No News but a Call to Prayer

Honestly, there is no news to share since my last update. We did get an email from our agency today confirming all that we have heard from friends and fellow bloggers. Our agency's opinion (if it really matters or not) is that the reports and findings causing multiple countries to pull out are flawed. We know that our agency, many others and other adoption advocacy organizations are urging the US Department of State to refrain from putting a halt to Nepal adoptions.

That's what I know. So, we wait and see what happens.

I'm calling on all of my praying friends and family to ask God for His mighty hand for the following:

• A quick, expedited investigation in Nepal and the continuation of the Nepal adoption program.

• Sure signs of movement in Nepal this spring including the issuing of travel dates, referrals of children and families actually travelling to Kathmandu to bring their children home!

• Our dossier to be sent to Nepal this spring and a quick referral of our daughter so that we can bring her home before the year is up!

• A quick referral for our dear friends J & A and our fellow bloggers who have been waiting for a LONG time for their referral of their Nepali children.

Important Update

Thanks for bearing with us as we go private. This had nothing to do with personal security or unknown people leaving less than desirable comments. You’ve all been wonderful! But there is news out of Nepal that gives us reason to keep our story private.

Recently, Germany, Sweden and Canada have stopped allowing their citizens to adopt from Nepal. Organizations such as UNICEF and others have urged Nepal to keep their children in their home culture. They have specifically stated that there is “a lack of child protection mechanisms in place” in the Nepal adoption program. From what I have read personally, they do not elaborate on that statement. Nepal continues to monitor their adoption program and insists that things are running up to par.

Does this mean the US will soon follow and close us out? Not necessarily. We suppose there is the possibility. (Please Lord, don’t let that happen!) Yet from what we hear from various adoption agencies, the US has no plans to pull out and Nepal has no plans to shut down.

So why go private? We have known that Nepal is monitoring blogs, news groups and any public information about the Nepal adoption process. If we were to write anything misleading, untruthful or confidential, we could complicate the adoption process for ourselves and other waiting families and Nepal could make the decision to shut down. We clearly don’t want this as there are so many children in need of loving homes and so many families that have opened their hearts to the cause of the orphan! So, if I may interject my own advice to you Nepal adoptive families: make your blogs private and help these children come home without giving the Nepali government any hesitation or reservation.

Obviously, this is cause for concern and we'd appreciate all prayers for continuing in the Nepal adoption program!