Patience is Not One of My Virtues

I just wanted to give you a quick adoption update and prayer request.  As you've probably surmised if you've read my other posts, the process of adopting internationally is ever-changing and incredibly uncertain.  Over the past few weeks we have learned that the Eastern European country we are hoping to adopt from is planning to temporarily close to adoptions in mid-June.  We were hoping to travel at the end of June or beginning of July, so obviously this changes our plans.

THE BAD NEWS: We have all of our paperwork done except for one paper from U.S. Immigration.  Most of our papers have already been sent to the country and translated by our facilitator there.  Unfortunately, our one paper from Immigration is not getting any closer to our mailbox.  Our application was officially received by Immigration on April 5, but we have yet to be assigned to the officer who will process our case.  (Basically this means that our application is sitting in a gigantic stack of other applications - doing nothing.)  I have begged, pleaded, and called my congressman with no luck.  My weekly calls to Immigration get the same response every time, "You have not been assigned to an officer.  We cannot estimate how long that will take.  Our processing time is 75 days."  Does SEVENTY-FIVE DAYS sound like eternity to anyone else?  (Okay...okay...patience is not a strong point for me.  Thus, the title of this post. :)

THE GOOD NEWS: As of right now, our country is estimating that the adoption closure will only last 90 days.  That means they should reopen to adoption sometime in September.  If our long-lost Immigration approval shows up and we are able to get our paperwork turned in before the June closure, there is a good likelihood we will be able to travel shortly after they reopen (in September or October).   Yes, NINETY DAYS really sounds like eternity, but it's better than an indefinite closure.  If our Immigration approval doesn't come in time, we can still submit our paperwork when the country reopens.  The downside to this is that it would bump back our travel time (and we are REALLY hoping to travel this year because we are SO READY for our kids to come home and because there is an amazing adoption tax credit that expires at the end of 2011).  The other downside is that our paperwork begins to expire after six months.  We started compiling papers in March, so there are A LOT of things we'd have to REdo, REnotarize, REapostille, and REFedEx across the Atlantic Ocean if the closure lasts until October.  REally not fun.

So...please pray for us in this time of waiting (and for the many, many other families who are in a similar situation with this country).  Pray that our Immigration approval would come in time for our paperwork to be submitted.  (We would probably need to receive it by the middle to end of May in order to have enough time for mailing and translation.)  Pray that God would bring the right kids home to our family.  And...pray that through all of this uncertainty, I would learn patience, trust in God's timing, and to slacken my grip just a little on the reins of my life.  Thanks!