Going...going....almost gone!

Thursday is a big day for our family....  the day we have been looking forward to for many months! Four members of the family are leaving for Ethiopia to meet our boys and attend our court case on Tuesday, April 5. Two younger members of the family will be having an adventure of their own here in town, staying with friends and grandparents. We ask that you would keep us all in your prayers for good health, for courage, safe travel, and for our court case- we are praying we pass court this first time. We will be trying to update our blog with pictures and stories while we are traveling if we are able to get internet access. At the very least we will be sure to post updates and pics once we get home. Thank you for your support, prayers and encouragement!

With Hugs and love..the Grant Family

The eager travelers

Here are the eager travelers taking a self-portrait during their travel conference call with America World. Perhaps we should have paid closer attention rather than take this picture, but hey...you want to capture these fun moments, right? Now...what did they say we should bring?!?

Good news, good news....

We had our pre-travel conference call yesterday, which was an exciting time and makes it feel like our upcoming trip is real and actually going to happen! We are so excited!  We are in the midst of shopping for last minute things and beginning to pack. Hurray!

Today we received more good news from America World...an update on the MOWA situation which stated:
 

We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia.  While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps.  Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit.  This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA).  We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children.  Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks.  However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process. 

Another huge blessing today was receiving an update from Lifesong. We opened our email to find both large and small donations which will now cover our entire airline expenses for this first trip. We thank you and praise God for your generosity!! What a mighty God we serve -  One who works in hearts, minds and pocketbooks to bring blessings to others.
 
We are praying our case will have favor with the Ethiopian officials (especially those at MOWA who need to write our final approval letters) and we look forward to bringing the boys home as soon as possible. Once we pass court and officially become the boys' parents we can post pictures. Brace yourselves for the upcoming onslaught of pictures from this proud momma!!

Well...I'd better get packing!

Possible Problem

We have been receiving word the main agency in Ethiopia that oversees adoptions is about to dramatically reduce their caseload. At this time America World is unsure how this will affect the timeline of those of us already matched with kids. We ask for your prayers with regards to this issue...for our hearts to be at peace and rest in God's perfect timeline; for our boys to be well cared for and loved in Ethiopia. At this time we are still planning on flying to Ethiopia at the end of this month, but we are unsure when we will be able to return to Ethiopia in order to bring the boys home.

Here is what we learned today:

Government of Ethiopia Plans Major Slow-Down in Adoption Processing

March 9, 2011

Citing the need to work on quality and focus on more important strategic issues, the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women, Children, and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA)  will reduce to a maximum of five the number of adoption cases it processes per day, effective March 10, 2011.  Under Ethiopian adoption procedures, MOWCYA approves every match between prospective adoptive parents and an Ethiopian child before that case can be forwarded for a court hearing.  The U.S. Embassy is working with Ethiopian government officials and adoption agencies to learn more about this change in procedures.  We will continue to share information as it becomes available.

Given MOWCYA's current caseload, the U.S. Embassy anticipates that this change could result in an overall decline in case processing of some 90 percent.  If this change is implemented as proposed, we expect, that parents who have begun the process of adopting from Ethiopia but have not yet been matched with a child could experience significant delays.  It is not clear if this change in procedures would have any significant impact on cases in which MOWCYA has already approved matches. 

Prospective adoptive parents should remain in close contact with their adoption service provider to obtain updates on individual cases