We had a conference call with all the families in our program through our adoption agency on Valentine's Day. The news was honestly hard to hear. Back in January our agency was expecting 8-10 new referrals sometime in January or February (a referral is a match to a child). Last Friday we learned that over half of those referrals were either lost or placed on hold. So those referrals are now down to 2-4. It's a little disheartening to say the least. I knew we were on the fence of being one of the families that could possibly get a referral....or maybe next up after the 8-10 kids were matched with families. I was also getting excited to hear about all the families in our program that would received a match. And now the referral situation is back to a trickle. One at a time, a few a month.
We recently found out where we are on the "list" of waiting families....number twelve.
The word "list" is a little deceiving, because that's not exactly how it works. Families are placed in order of when their dossier arrived in-country...ours did in July. So we are the 12th family to send our dossier, with about 32 total dossiers currently in-country. Does that mean we will receive the 12th referral that becomes available? Not necessarily.
When a child becomes available to be matched with a family, the top 5 dossiers are sent to the orphanage. The orphanage then picks the dossier (or family) that best matches that child. The remaining 4 dossiers are sent back. And then it starts over when another referral (child) becomes available. So the dossier that's been in-country the longest, number 1, will have the same chance of getting a referral as numbers 2-5. Hopefully that makes sense. So once we would get to the top 5 on the list, we would have a good chance of being matched with a child. Now you can see why I was getting so excited for those 8-10 new referrals they originally were expecting. We could have been in the top 5 and possibly been picked!
No one ever told me international adoption would be so unpredictable and emotional! Oh wait, yes, they did. :)
So now we wait. Isn't that what we've been doing for the last 7 months anyways? Nothing has really changed...and that's the hard part. I am ready for a change.
The last 24 hours, families in our program have been praying and fasting together in 1-hour time slots. I signed up for the last slot, which was from 7-8:00 am this morning. In my time with the Lord, I read these verses:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40: 31
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
Please continue to pray for the following:
- Families currently traveling or waiting for a court date
- Families waiting for a referral
- For the orphanages (workers, volunteers, children)
- For the first (biological) families of these children
Thank you for your continued prayers and support throughout this roller coaster process. :)
And as a heads-up, we will be having another rummage sale fundraiser this year during the Kingswood Rummages the end of April . I have a "rummage bin" that is already overflowing! If you would like to donate, please let me know! (jessicarwaltner@gmail.com) I will post another blog about the rummage sale details sometime next month.
