I heard today that for those who adopt from Ethiopia in the future, TWO trips will be required. This was SUPER disheartening. Brandon and I were almost positive that we would adopt from Ethiopia next. I am not saying that we have changed our minds, but this is something that seriously changes a lot of things about the appeal of the Ethiopian program.
I will say that the MOST appealing thing about the opportunity to adopt from Ethiopia is the fact that Ethiopia has the highest concentration of orphans, therefore the biggest need for adoptive families. The next 2 things that made the program appealing were...
-It is less expensive than almost any other International Program
- You only have to take 1 short trip which is very appealing especially with a child at home now. Not to mention, we do not like the idea of meeting and leaving our child for months before we come again to bring them home.
With the new law, both of these things change. We have our very own testimony of how God provided for every need during Harrison's adoption so we can't really say that money is going to hold us back.
The reason for this new law is that families were arriving in Ethiopia after their newly adopted children were legally theirs and then deciding the children weren't "right" for their families. These families would leave the country without the child/children. Once this happens in Ethiopia, the children are never allowed to be adopted again. So, we see why this is necessary, it is just going to require a little more consideration and prayer on our part before moving forward.
I would love to hear you thoughts on this if you are adopting from Ethiopia, have adopted from there, or plan to!!
Please don't get me wrong, I do think there is great merit in being familiar with your childs birth country and taking 2 trips will definitely add to the familiarity!!
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12 comments:
April, I know of 2 families at our church who are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia right now. Email me & I'll put y'all in touch if you'd like to talk to them.
Hi April, my husband and I are currently working on domestic adoption and we are in our final stages. There is a desperate need for families to adopt african american babies, especially little boys. Our hearts were for international adoption for so long that we had a hard time adjusting our thinking to domestic. The bottom line is that an orphan is an orphan no matter where they are from or the popularity of their program. Hopefully we will have a little baby in our home soon whether they are red, yellow, black or white. I've been blogging about our journey for the past month or so.
Wow! I will be praying for your friends...My husband and I are also adopting domestically. We are in the process right now....I'm praying for your friends...
amy[www.theprikazskys.com]
My husband and I chose Guatemala several years ago because, like Ethiopia, the travel time was just one week. We never even considered the countries that required a longer stay. We had no desire to stay longer than a week. Then, God called us to adopt a 13 year old from Ukraine and hopefully within the next month we will be spending 4 to 6 weeks there. Yes, I am extremely nervous (we will be taking our 2 and 4 year old with us), but I would do anything for my new son. God will equip and sustain you for whatever He calls you to do. We have also adopted domestically and are blessed every day with that decision.
What agency were you looking into using? We just brought home a son from Ethiopia.
Praying for clarity for you and your family! :)
I am a long time lurker, but thought I'd let you know that I was reading another blog about how the Democratic Republic of Congo just opened to int'l adoption. There was a statistic about 6 out of 10 children dying before they reach age 6, so sad and evident that there is a great need there. It is a non-Hague country so quick trip I think. Just thought I'd pass along the info.
We are in the process now of adopting from Ethiopia (prior to referral). Our agency is telling us that the change is still in the proposal stage. Our understanding is that the International Adoption Network of Attorneys is working to try to keep the requirement at one visit. However, we've heard from others that the rules have changed as you described. We're praying that God would connect us with a little girl, whether it's one or two trips, soon. We're learning patience in a whole new way.
It is a huge cost to many adoptive families...but it is the best interest of all Ethiopian children and the longevity of the whole program. It is not put into place solely because families have not wanted to take children home...it is because families have been lied to about children. There are a lot of really unethical agencies operating in Ethiopia right now and it is our hope that these new restrictions will help put these agencies out of business. It is also a hope that families will do their research and stop using agencies that exploit Ethiopian women and children...but unfortunately...too often we have seen that people sell their ethics for the shortest and fastest road to get what they want without a thought to the impact their actions will have for the rest of ET needy children.
So I support this change! So do many many others that want ET adoptions to be above board and ethical for the sake of all children adopted from this beautiful country.
We just came back from Texas adopting our son domestically. We were discussing doing Ethiopia next, but now that it requires two trips, I am afraid that it will be too expensive for us. We were pretty bummed about that. chances are, we will do another domestic.
Ali
My God Given Mission Field
For those of you complaining about the extra cost... Your talking about what, an extra $4k when you are already paying $16k. And you have years before you will have to get the travel money. That is a poor excuse.
Jcombs, I don't think anyone is using it as an excuse....just a concern! We know VERY well how the Lord can and will provide :o)
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