wait: \wāt\ v., to remain or rest in expectation

I’m not sure I’ve ever felt quite as distracted as I do these days.  It’s been 10 days since we got our referral for our little boy, and my mind seems to constantly spin thinking about him, his birth mother, what time it is in Ethiopia, how long it will take for our file to be opened in court, what he must be feeling, whether he’s adjusting okay to living at Hannah’s Hope, etc., etc.  We’re part of the listserve for our agency (a yahoo group for AGCI families adopting from Ethiopia), and I’ve been getting to know some of the other families and reading lots of their blogs.  I’ve tried and tried to figure out our timeline from here, but as I should already know by now, that just isn’t possible.  I’m learning {again} to rest in the promise that God is writing this little one’s story, and I am not in control.

The most common question we get these days is “So, when will you bring him home?”  While that’s certainly a valid question, we don’t have an answer quite yet.  What we do know is that our “Acceptance of Referral” documents arrived at AGCI and will be processed on Monday.  Our dossier is making its way to Ethiopia and will get there toward the middle of next week at the earliest.  At that point, the process of opening our file will begin.  Some preliminary information has already been sent to get the translation started, but the dossier is needed to move forward completely.  (Typically the dossier is in Ethiopia well before a referral is given, but our situation is a little different since we got our referral the same day that our dossier was approved.)

Also, as I mentioned in an earlier post, our timeline could be affected by the court closure for the rainy season.  I don’t know yet when they’ll close (it seems to vary from year to year), so we’ll have to wait and see how quickly everything moves along.  At this point, I’m thinking it’s unlikely that we’ll get in beforehand.  However,  if I’ve learned anything in this process, it’s to never make assumptions about time frames!  I definitely trust God’s timing, but there’s also a longing in my heart to get him home as quickly as possible.

Speaking of getting little ones home, my friends Andrea and Marcy are in Ethiopia RIGHT NOW getting ready to meet their kids for the first time!!!  I have had butterflies in my stomach for them all day, and I’m so excited for both of them!   Brad and I went to high school with Andrea, and it’s been so fun to reconnect with her on this journey.  She and her family are adopting a 10-month old little boy named Isaac.  Marcy, on the other hand, I’ve never met.  She contacted me when she heard about our referral to let me know that she’d be sure to love on our little guy some while she’s at Hannah’s Hope (SO sweet!).  She and her husband are adopting two little boys, ages 2.5 & 3.5.  It’s likely that her oldest son and our guy are buddies!  It means the WORLD to me to know that both of these sweet friends are checking on him and loving on him.  I can’t wait to hear what they have to say about him, too!  Well, that’s it for tonight.  I’ll be sure to post an update when we know more.