Thursday, March 17, 2011

Ethiopia Update

I have been reading for the last two weeks that the recommendation letters needed from MOWA (Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Women's Affairs ) to pass Court (which is needed to be able to finish the adoption process) could slow down by 90%.  This was a little discouraging since we just got ourselves on the waiting list.  Many families in our adoption group have been praying since then and yesterday we received some uplifting news...

P.S. our Dossier arrived to Ethiopia with no delays!


Dear Jason & Janna,

We are writing to update you on the current situation in Ethiopia.  While meetings between Ethiopian government officials continue, we have seen positive steps.  Within MOWA, there have been significant and positive personnel changes which have resulted in overall staff turnover and changes in the adoption unit.  This unit is now called the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth Affairs (MOWCYA).  We are hopeful and expectant that the new leadership will not only support processing an adequate number of favorable recommendation letters, but also implement policies that will best serve the children.  Due to the staffing changes, we anticipate much transition over the next few weeks.  However, we expect that once everyone is settled into their new positions, MOWCYA will work to process a higher number of recommendation letters than they currently are able to process.  

We have continued to receive optimistic feedback and have seen that the Ethiopian government is very committed to adoption.  I hope this information is an encouragement to your family.  We will continue to update your family with any confirmed information we receive. 

Saturday, March 5, 2011

We are DTE!!

As of 3/4, we are finally DTE!!  For those who dont' know adoption lingo, that means are documents are in the mail to Ethiopia and we are on the official waiting list!  It sure feels good to have the 'paperchase' done!!

If you would like to track the package with us, it is on Fedex: 794495755477