October Adoption Update

We received some potentially devastating news in the past two weeks. The Guatemalan government is threatening to shut down all adoptions on January 1st, 2008 including those that are in process. When I heard this I was speaking at a Fall retreat for the University of Kansas and there was a part of my heart that shut down. All that went through my mind was "this can't be happening." I even found myself purposely distancing myself from Cristian and Gabriella because I was afraid of the pain of not getting them.

Since that time some things have developed. First, we are writing our congressmen and women in order to bring political support to block this action. I am not sure of how this all works but there is precedence of this type of action working. There is a good chance of a grandfather clause being entered into the bill that will allow those in the system currently to finish out their adoptions. If you want to participate with us in writing your congressman let us know and we can send you the information.

Second, we are working extremely hard to have our children's documentation pushed through the Guatemalan system before the new year. We are not sure what to do, but we are considering going to Guatemala and working along side our lawyers in Guatemala to hasten the process. Please pray for wisdom for us in this area.

Finally, many of you continue to ask how you can help. We are so thankful for the way that people have rallied around us during this time.

We obviously need your prayers, and assistance with the political system. Financially we are on the right track for now, we will not need the last amount of money until we go to Guatemala and pick them up. However, if any of you would like to donate United or other miles to us we can use those miles to fly back and forth we would appreciate it greatly. Please email me and I can walk you through how to do this.

Thanks for your love and care of us and our children! We are grateful for you.