Evolving Circumstances

In our previous post, we mentioned some recent developments that could potentially impact the adoption process. Last week, we were informed that these concerns are merited. Apparently, the U.S. government has discovered some illegal activity involved in some of the adoptions taking place in Guatemala. The State Department issued a warning for prospective American adoptive parents contemplating adoption in Guatemala to "carefully consider their options at this time." The statement goes on to state that all pending adoptions will be carefully scrutinized by U.S. officials and could likely cause the process to slow considerably. It also said that the U.S. Department of State is not planning to shut down the program at this time. Here is a link to the statement: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_3147.html
So, what exactly does that mean for us? Our adoption agency feels that anyone who has currently received CIS approval of their home study will probably be able to complete their adoption. Our home study was sent to Alabama DHR last week. Once approved (approximately 3-4 weeks), it would be forwarded to CIS. Once in CIS, approvals typically take approximately 3 months to complete. Since we are approximately 4 months away from CIS approval, we are not sure where we fit into the equation. Our social worker called last week to inform us of these concerns and to tell us that we could transfer all of our work to another program (country). There appears to be a tremendous amount of uncertainty as to how these events will affect the program later this year.
So, right now we are trying to come up with several questions to ask and are trying to fully and accurately assess the situation. We are then planning to talk with our social worker about all of our options at this point. We are surprisingly at peace because we know that God is in complete control of this world. This has not caught Him by surprise. So, we are praying that He will continue to strengthen our faith in Him and that He will lead us according to His plan, whatever that may include. We'll continue to update as the situation develops.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28