There's Nothing My God cannot Do!

Our God is so GREAT

So strong and so Mighty

There's NOTHING my God cannot do!

(a favorite song of my kids)

It sounds like there is more positive news circulating about adoption in Ethiopia.  From what I have gathered, it seems like they are trying to reform the adoption program in Ethiopia, but not completely shut it down-PRAISE GOD!  The government and officials there certainly still need your prayers.

As for our specific case, we got some updates yesterday.  MOWA has asked for an updated signature on one of our documents.  I guess it was over a year old while Endale was in the orphanage.  The in-country representative from our agency, who is so diligent and wonderful, is working to get the new signature on that document.  He's hoping to have it back to MOWA by next week; however, January 7 is the day Ethiopia celebrates Christmas, so that may slow things down a bit.  Once MOWA has this updated signature, they SHOULD issue our court date!  So we are praying to get there some time in January to kiss our boy's sweet face and make him a Sellers forever! 

Please continue to pray for the following:

-Our agency director and other employees that have been bombarded with crazy adoptive families like us anxious over the news the last few days.  They have handled the situations with grace and continue to put these children needing homes as their top priorities.

-Our Endale who is smiling the days away having no idea that a family across the world is anxiously awaiting his homecoming.

-The Ethiopian government officials that will be making decisions in the coming days to reform their adoption process and the millions of orphans that need a home and will be affected by their decision one way or another.

-Continued peace for our family.  We know that God is with us and Endale and that His timing is perfect.

Thank you for praying for us!

Everything is YOURS God

I have been waiting to get a little more information before I posted anything about what I was learning with the Ethiopian adoption process.  We were told before Christmas to get everything in order, because it was very likely we would travel before Christmas.  Well, Christmas came and went and we still didn't have a court date.  Then, we got an email from our agency stating that the Ministry of Women Affairs (MOWA) was closed.  MOWA needs to issue a letter for our case to the Ethiopian court so they can give us a court date.

Well, now we have more pieces to the puzzle.  MOWA has been shut down for a few weeks.  December 26th MOWA met to end all Ethiopian adoptions.  You can read more here.

We were able to have an online chat with our agency this evening to get a better grasp about what this means for everyone in the process.  Basically, it seems that no one really knows.  In our particular agency, we are the farthest along in the process.  When asked what would happen to the families that are already matched with children, they said they really don't know.  In some other countries, matched families have been grandfathered in and completed the process; however, we know that hasn't been the case in all countries.

Here are two things you can do:

Contact our Senators to join the Children in Families First Bill (CHIFF). 

But first and foremost, we ask that you pray.  Please pray for the Ethiopian government.  Pray for the Prime Minister who will have to approve anything that might be brought before him.  Please pray that MOWA would open up this week and issue our court date, so we can get over there and get our boy!  From what I understand, they haven't stopped anything yet; however, MOWA has not been working in the last few weeks due to these meetings.  We need MOWA to come back to work!  Pray for the orphans in Ethiopia.  This would mean that no one could bring them home...to deserving, loving families.  Pray for our sweet little guy. We are ready to go see him.

As all of the news starting coming in about the meeting in Ethiopia, God reminded me that Endale is HIS.   The Almighty has gone before us.  I am simply a vessel.  Endale is Yours God.  His Glory will continued to be revealed in this story that He is writing.

  Steven Curtis Chapman's song,"Yours"says it best:

And I hear children's voices singing,
Of a God Who heals, and rescues and restores
And I'm reminded
That every child in Africa is Yours!

CHORUS
And its all Yours, God, Yours God,
Everything is Yours!
From the stars in the sky,
To the depths of the ocean floor!
And its all Yours God, Yours God,
Everything is Yours!
You're the Maker and Keeper,
Father and Ruler of everything!
It's all Yours

Thank you in advance for storming the Throne on our behalf. 

All I wanted for Christmas was a court date

While I did not post it due to it not actually happening, we were told about 3 and a half weeks ago to get everything in order, because we could have a court date BEFORE Christmas.  We put everything into high gear getting ready for the possibility of leaving.  Well, Christmas came and went and we still don't have a court date.

We heard from our agency yesterday.  They said that MOWA (Ministry of Women's Affairs in Ethiopia) is on "evaluation".  I'm not certain what that means, but their employees are off during this time and not expected to return for a week.  MOWA needs to issue our "letter of favorable determination" to the court so that they can give us our court date.  Until they are back and issue the letter, we won't be getting our court date.  Ethiopia celebrates Christmas on January 7, so I would imagine it will be at the very least two weeks out before we'd even know our court date.

While I am bummed that we haven't held him in our arms yet, God has taught me to trust in His timing through the years.  I know that He knows the day we'll get to sweep our baby boy up in our arms,  kiss his sweet face and rub our hands through his precious curly hair.  For now, we pray for him and think of him everyday and long for him to be here with his family.

Thank you for your continued prayers and anticipation to meet our newest blessing!

Happy Feet

A little glimpse of our little man....I can't wait to show the world his sweet face!

We got our PAIR letter!

When we first began this process, the agency mentioned over and over again that we'd be under the "new PAIR (pre-adoptive immigration review) process" for Ethiopia.  A process they even today are still trying to figure out, because it's new.  It was implemented on September 1 of this year, so our adoption would be included in this.  It is basically changing the order of the adoption process in Ethiopia and making sure all the "t's" are crossed and the "i's" are dotted before the final court date where a child would be officially adopted.  The USCIS does a complete investigation making sure the child is truly an orphan and meets the orphan standards by the US, so he/she can be issued a visa to come to the US. It is also supposed to help avoid long wait times between the court date and homecoming.

It's hard to believe that we are here!  Our investigation is complete and pending our final court date, our baby boy can come home to live with his forever family!  We received our PAIR letter yesterday in the mail and had it in our possession a whole hour (maybe).  We scanned it to our agency and got down to overnight it to be authenticated in Washington D.C.

 Last Christmas, I had no idea how God was going to grow us and bless us this year.  I cannot wait to hold our boy in my arms.  It won't be long!!

• Apply with agency
• Home Study Process
• Home Study Approval
• File USCIS Paperwork
• Complete USCIS fingerprinting and biometrics screening
• Assemble International Dossier for Ethiopia
• International Dossier authenticated in Washington D.C.
• Accept Referral of our baby boy
• File PAIR agreement
• PAIR letter submitted to Ethiopia
• Embassy Birthmother interview
• Court issues first court date for birthmother
• First court date with birthmother
• Investigation complete
  
• PAIR approval letter issued
• Receive PAIR letter
• Approval Letter Authenticated in Washington D.C.
•  OUR court date is issued and make arrangements to travel.
• Meet our boy face to face!
• Go to court.
• Case passes court.
• Court issues adoption documents
• Agency applies for new birth certificate and passport for our boy.
• Medical appointment by an Embassy approved physician.
• Submit case to Embassy
• Clear Embassy
• GO GET OUR BABY BOY AND BRING HIM HOME!!!!

Investigation is Complete!

We got the email we've been waiting for since after the birth mother interview!  We received an email from the Embassy saying that our Investigation is complete.  Our results are sent to the National Benefits Center (NBC) in Missouri where they will issue our PAIR approval letter!  We should hear from them and/or have our PAIR letter within the next two weeks.  Once we receive our letter it will have to be sent to Washington D.C. to be authenticated.  While we're waiting, we could hear of our court date to travel to Ethiopia to meet our boy!!!  

Obviously at this stage we can't say for sure when we we will travel.  What I do know is that I have been communicating with another family who is a little bit ahead of us in the process.  Their court date was one month and one day from the day they received the email stating their investigation was complete (the one we got today).   Our situation will have to factor in all the holidays coming up that will affect the US Embassy (Christmas and New Years) and the Ethiopian Court (Ethiopian Christmas-Jan 7).  

I marked three more things off our checklist!
Here's what our process looks like in the next few weeks:

• Apply with agency
• Home Study Process
• Home Study Approval
• File USCIS Paperwork
• Complete USCIS fingerprinting and biometrics screening
• Assemble International Dossier for Ethiopia
• International Dossier authenticated in Washington D.C.
• Accept Referral of our baby boy
• File PAIR agreement
• PAIR letter submitted to Ethiopia
• Embassy Birth Mother Interview
• Court issues first court date for birth mother
• First Court Date with birth mother
• Embassy investigation complete
• National Benefit Center issues PAIR approval letter 
• Receive our PAIR letter
• Approval Letter Authenticated in Washington D.C.
• Get issued OUR court date and make arrangements to travel.
• Meet our boy face to face!
• Go to court.
• Our case passes court.
• Court issues adoption documents
• Our agency applies for new birth certificate and passport for our boy.
• Medical appointment by an Embassy approved physician.
• Submit case to Embassy
• Clear Embassy
• GO GET OUR BABY BOY AND BRING HIM HOME!!!!