More Turmoil in ET

It saddens me to share more bad news about ET. The adoption process is continuing to experience more and more turmoil due to changes in regulations, government investigations, etc. Things began to take a turn for the worse around February and here lately, it seems it's always more bad news from ET. We did learn on Monday, that our agencies court cases can resume (they have been on hold for 7 weeks due to an investigation but everything turned out fine with them and all other agencies involved). That was very welcome news however, we have now also learned that over the past week, 40 orphanages have been closed unexpectedly by the government and the children have all been taken to an unknown location. No one is sure if this is a temporary thing or why this has happened. The orphanages are all privately funded so it's not a financial thing. There is much speculation for why the orphanages have closed, stemming from investigations into how much they contribute to required humanitarian aid chairities to living conditions, etc. It is all very overwhelming and confusing. We've been told by our agency's in country rep that he is hopeful that the adoptions of these children can still take place eventually and he expects this to blow over soon but again so much is unknown.

All of the orphanages that have closed have been in the southern region. Our girls have NOT been taken, Praise the Lord. They are in an orphanage which is 2-3 hours north of the capital Addis Ababa. We are praying that there are no more closures and this is not a trend that will continue northward. Chris and I were on a 6 hour conference chat with our agency and other families last night. Almost half of our agency's pending cases that have referral children have had their children taken as a result of the closures. Over 250 kids in all have been taken so there are many other agencies and families affected by this as well. There were families who showed up at court in ET yesterday for their court visit only to find out that the location of their child(ren) is unknown due to these unexpected closings. It is heartbreaking and we know many of these families. They are devastated. It is still our hope that the in country rep is correct and things will resolve soon and the adoptions can still occur but it is a frightening time for all of us. Please continue to pray for Hannah and Abekeya. Pray that they will remain safely in their orphanage and that we will receive a court date soon. Pray that when we do, all of the paperwork is complete and available so that we can pass court the first time and bring them home soon. Please also pray for these other families who are hurting and waiting to find out about their children.

Blessings,
Valerie