Never have I been so excited to have a court date....

We were registered in court on March 26th, so the SAA (orphanage) filed a petition to transfer custody of S**** to Brandon and I. We now know the Judge has our paperwork and is reviewing our file, which a massive stack of every document ever attached to Brandon or myself and our girls. She ( yes, we have a female judge #girlboss) will then accept us as S**** parents or schedule an other date. We have been told in our district it is mostly one court date then you are done. So, on April 11th in India we would appreciate your prayers for us to pass court. Then, I will be able to show you his sweet face and post his name. This is called "Verbals" in adoption slang. Which means the judge agreed in court, but has not typed and signed the documents yet.

I. AM. SO. EXCITED.


So, then what?

Well, like all parts of this our next steps are laced with red tape and waiting. After court we will need our SAA and agency in the states to receive the written report from the judge with the official seal on it. Translated into adoption slang "Writtens". This is a big deal, because then the ball can start rolling for us to get our boy in our arms.

Next, Certificate of Conformity of Intercountry Adoption (Article 23) with CARA. This is a document that CARA will issue back to the orphanage stating that the adoption court case conforms to all of the adoption regulations set forth by the CARA guidelines. 

Then, the orphanage can file for the child’s Birth Certificate/Birth Affidavit. Which will be a birth certificate with our names and his new full name on it. 

Which will allow the SAA to file for the child’s passport. This can take a while because the SAA must drive the child to the nearest passport office in person. In a place were people are already stretched thin this can be a trail in it's self. However, we have heard and seen the prompt responses of our SAA and the director so we have faith he will work quickly for us. The documents will be sent to our agency here. 

THEN, at long last we will get the call to book our flights to meet your son that we have loved for almost a year from half the world away. 

Yikes, it feels like we are so close yet so far. However one of the many things I have learned in this process is that you celebrate the small steps, because progress is progress. We continue to ask for your prayers that we are able to be with our son on his birthday at the end of May. It's pushing it but not impossible. God is sovereign and reigns over all things.

We love and adore our tribe that has love us and our son through this process.

Prayer requests:
Court date on 4-11 that we pass and receive writtens quickly that are correctly spelled.
Fast approvals and documents for S****
Us to be with our son on his 4th birthday.

Agency Switch Update

        In the beginning of 2019 we felt like we were finally on the road to wrapping up our adoption that has been two years in the making. Well, we quickly found out our story wasn’t done with the twists and turns just yet. We received and email that our agency was merging with an other agency that lost accreditation with India in 2017. We were informed we needed to find a new agency before April 1st and we would only be recieving a small portion of our fees we had paid. We were overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions. I was not able to understand why this was happening. We were so close!

     So, I started the frantic race of calling every agency I could find to accept us and not charge us an arm and a leg. We were paid completely at our previous agency and now were looking at $5,000 or more in repeat fees. With God’s grace we were able to speak with several very wonderful agencies and picked the one we felt best matched our needs and our non-existent budget. We decided on Children of the World located in Alabama. The first time I spoke with our social worker she just felt like a friend. We are still unsure of how the fees will transfer, but we know that God is sovereign.

     Shortly after we received news that we were in need of a new agency, we received some of the most exciting news in India adoptions; NOC!! These beautiful letters shared that CARA approved us as S**** family. It is equivalent to guardianship in domestic/foster care placement. We could go to India and live with him, but could not leave the state with him. To be able to leave the country with him, we must get a court approval for our adoption and then his birth certificate with our names listed as parents (I am glowing with excitement as I type this). Then we can get his passport for him to travel to the USA with us. This process is so long and full of red tape, but we know that they work to insure that children who are adopted are kept safe by these steps. Our timeline for travel can vary still but we are praying to be there on his birthday in May.
   
    Please pray for us to be registered in court and to receive written approval quickly. This will allow us to be able to share his name and sweet face with you all, as he will be legally our son.
Also, please pray for S***** to be with his family for his fourth birthday and his first birthday party.

    The love we have for our amazing tribe is truly overwhelming. We treasure our church family, friends, and family who allow us to share with them our triumphs and the lows of this process. We treasure each one of you dearly!