Waiting in the Hallway

I really wanted to call this one "Waiting in the Hallway for the Stupid Door to Open" but I decided that was a bit too harsh...

You know that phrase?  "When God closes a door he always opens a window."

I submit to you that phrase is not always true.  I believe that sometimes God closes a door and asks you to wait in the hallway with no guarantee of when he will open the door.  I believe that sometimes we are so desperate for answers that we try to pry open the window, when really God just wants us to sit in that hallway and wait...and wait...and pray...and wait...

So I think I should probably give you guys an explanation of what has been going on in our adoption lately...it is messy, so hold on.  I'm afraid this will be a long one.

Remember in February when I told you that Azerbaijan wasn't passing out any referrals?  Well after a month or so of waiting, I decided to do a little research.  In March I found this article here and this one here that both talk about new legislature being passed in Azerbaijan in regards to international adoption.  So I promptly sent an email to our agency asking if we needed to file any new paperwork.  I was emailed the next day and told "Things really are that bad in Azerbaijan. They have enacted new legislation that prevents families not from Azerbaijan from adopting.  We are asking all of our families to allow us to move their files to other countries because Azerbaijan does not appear to be a viable option for US families to adopt right now. "

...devastated.

So I immediately started prying open windows..."What about India?  We could adopt from India, Kyle!"

Kyle is a good deal more steadfast than me.  He knew that I had been doing research and had noticed that adoption.state.gov didn't have any updates indicating that Azerbaijan was essentially closed to most Americans.  After a few days of me begging him to make some kind of decision, he said we needed to figure out what was really going on.  I knew of an agency in Atlanta, Georgia that also had a adoption program in Azerbaijan.  I decided to call and ask them some questions.

Turns out Azerbaijan isn't closed.  All that those articles say...all that they mean...is that paperwork has to be approved by an additional group.  We also learned that the agency in Georgia is the only agency that is actually accredited in AZ to facilitate adoptions there.  The only one.  While our old agency didn't necessarily lie about accreditation, they weren't totally forthcoming with the truth either.

So we decided to switch agencies.  But before switching, we needed to find out the location of our dossier and translations.  So our new agency  (Illien Adoptions International) set up a meeting with the State Committee in Baku, AZ to inquire about our dossier.  They were able to find out that yes, our dossier had been there, and yes we were in fact eligible to adopt from AZ...but that they didn't have it any more...it had been sent back to our agency.

At that point we contacted the old agency and told them we were ready to part ways and would like to have our dossier and translations sent back.  Unfortunately, we only received the original dossier.  We are not sure what happened to the translations, and are hoping to get some money back since we paid to have them translated.

We are currently working on a contract with Illien...I have to say, it amazes me that they have helped us so much already and we still haven't paid them a dime.  We got pretty nervous about them because they have taken a while to get certain paperwork to us, but after some investigation over the past few days we have found that Illien is a part of the Joint Council, which means that in adoption world they are trustworthy.  The director of the agency is working directly with us (rather than the director of the AZ program), and she is a busy lady.  *Patience*  We are going to have to update the home study and the documents that go along with them, so it will still be a few months before we can get back on track.

I have to confess...I am a roller coaster of trusting God and questioning Him.  One day I am certain that this adoption will eventually be completed with a new child in our home...the next day I am ready to give up.  I've been reading and rereading the chapters in Genesis about Abraham and Sarah.  Remember them?  God told them to move to a new place but didn't tell them where.  Said He would make them into a great nation (aka...you will have kids). They went.  Abraham was 75.  Abraham promptly screwed up in Egypt.  God reminded him of the promise...Abraham worshipped Him.  God promised Abraham again that he would have children.  The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.  Real Faith.  Of course on the very next page of the Bible Sarah tries to pry open a window by convincing Abraham to have a baby with another woman instead of her.  Yikes...But I am so glad that Abraham can have real faith one day and totally screw up the next...makes me feel a little better, ya know?  Abraham was 86 when Ishmael was born to Abraham and Hagar (the lady friend)...11 years after he was first told he would have a child.  But God wasn't finished.  He came to Abraham when he was 99 (yes, 99 is old) and told him he would have a child with his wife.  Finally, a year later when Abraham was 100, Sarah had a son...the one who actually fulfilled the promise.  Isaac.

Can you imagine waiting in the hallway for 25 years?

I know this is long, so let me wrap it up.  We are working on getting our home study updated.  We hope to resubmit our dossier in the fall sometime.  We could use your prayers and encouragement...alot.  We are asking God to move the mountain that is international adoption.  We are asking for faith, faith, faith.  We are trying to trust that "in the silence, in the waiting, still we can know You are good.  All Your plans are for Your glory, yes we can know You are good." (song...The Lord Our God.  It's a good one).

Now that we have a plan and a direction, you can expect more updates and more pictures of the puzzle. Thank you for your continued support through this VERY LONG process!  We appreciate it so much more than we can express.