The Need for Adoption

In case you weren't aware, last week was pro-life week. It has been 34 years since the Roe v. Wade decision that marked the beginning of the greatest holocaust this country has ever known.

Abortion has become an unholy sacrament in our society. No one questions it. We take for granted the "right" a mother has to kill her own children for the sake of convenience. Most of our churches don't seem to be doing anything other than encouraging their members to support so-called "pro-life" politicians - a strategy which has resulted in over three decades of bloodshed and nearly 49 million deaths. And that's just here in America.

So, you can see why those of us who adopt are so passionate about it. We know that there is no such thing as an "unwanted child."

Our hope and prayer is that we can, in some small way, serve as an example and inspiration to others. The world in which we live has never needed adoption more than it does now. It quite literally is a matter of life and death.

U.S. families puzzled by tighter China adoptions

From Reuters:

... The restrictions, to be implemented later this year, have led U.S. parents of Chinese children to question whether it is a bid by China, which has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, to shrug off a perception that it is a poor country that cannot look after its own children. ...

... When it announced the new rules in December, the Chinese government said it was a bid to shorten the wait -- now up to 16 months -- for prospective parents.

Gongzhan Wu, China program manager at the Gladney Center for Adoption in New York, said the waiting period had lengthened because less Chinese children were being put up for foreign adoption. He said around 600 to 800 children a month were currently available, down from around 1,000 a month 18 months ago.

He said China received around 2,000 applications a month, about 1,200 of which were from the United States. ...

... Wu, of the Gladney Center, said fewer children were available for international adoption because of an increase in domestic adoptions in China and a crackdown on baby trafficking.

"In the past (Chinese orphanages) tried to spread the word, telling people if they see a baby in a public place or by the side of the road send the baby to us. Now they don't do that anymore," Wu said. "They don't actively look for babies."

(Full article)

10 Months Down

Wow, it has been 10 months since we were logged in (LID 3-13-06). And we thought she'd be home by now! I used to do the posts on the 13th of each month with excitement. That was when we thought we knew, in general, the time line for our adoption. Now, I am just posting because I am simply chronicling the process.

The wait time is supposed to be "around 15 months" right now, but seeing as that the CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) has only placed children whose families had their paperwork registered before 9-27-05, I personally have little faith that the 15 month time frame will hold true. Let's put it this way, if China continues at the pace that they have maintained for the past six or more months, we will not travel to China until 2008. With the 2008 Summer Olympics being held in Beijing, there is much speculation that this has something to do with it, but China says this is not so.

Additionally, when the process has been delayed this many times, we find that it is best if we don't have any expectations about it, then we won't be disappointed again. So, please continue to pray for us, all the waiting families and most importantly, please remember to pray for the Olivia and orphans all over the world.

Adoption Update

From the China Center of Adoption Affairs:

The CCAA has finished the review of the adoption application documents registered with our office before January 31, 2006.

The CCAA has finished the placement of children for the families whose adoption application documents were registered with our office before September 27, 2005

And the wait continues...