We spoke with our social worker last Friday. Anna answered our many questions to the best of her ability. She seems to think we are far enough along to not be affected to terribly much if everything continues to go smoothly. The process might take a little longer because of the scrutinizing of the paperwork. She also seems to think if the program closes, it should only be for a couple of months.
After speaking with Anna, Casey and I feel much better about the program. Our hearts are in Guatemala and it was difficult thinking about facing the fact that we may never get our Guatemala baby. But we know God's plan is perfect and He knows what is best for our family. We just continue to hold on to His promises.
Thank you so much for your prayers. We would not be able to go through this kind of "roller coaster" process if it were not for family and friends who pray for us.

In our previous post, we mentioned some recent developments that could potentially impact the adoption process. Last week, we were informed that these concerns are merited. Apparently, the U.S. government has discovered some illegal activity involved in some of the adoptions taking place in Guatemala. The State Department issued a warning for prospective American adoptive parents contemplating adoption in Guatemala to "carefully consider their options at this time." The statement goes on to state that all pending adoptions will be carefully scrutinized by U.S. officials and could likely cause the process to slow considerably. It also said that the U.S. Department of State is not planning to shut down the program at this time. Here is a link to the statement: http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_3147.html
So, what exactly does that mean for us? Our adoption agency feels that anyone who has currently received CIS approval of their home study will probably be able to complete their adoption. Our home study was sent to Alabama DHR last week. Once approved (approximately 3-4 weeks), it would be forwarded to CIS. Once in CIS, approvals typically take approximately 3 months to complete. Since we are approximately 4 months away from CIS approval, we are not sure where we fit into the equation. Our social worker called last week to inform us of these concerns and to tell us that we could transfer all of our work to another program (country). There appears to be a tremendous amount of uncertainty as to how these events will affect the program later this year.
So, right now we are trying to come up with several questions to ask and are trying to fully and accurately assess the situation. We are then planning to talk with our social worker about all of our options at this point. We are surprisingly at peace because we know that God is in complete control of this world. This has not caught Him by surprise. So, we are praying that He will continue to strengthen our faith in Him and that He will lead us according to His plan, whatever that may include. We'll continue to update as the situation develops.

I spoke with our social worker, Anna, today. She has finalize our homestudy and will be placing it in the mail tomorrow to go to DHR. They will take about 30 days to process and then immigration will process it, which will take 3 months or less. Seems like all the paper work is going well on this end.

There have been a few things that have happened within Gautemala regarding adoptions that had us concerned about whether or not we would be able to complete our adoption process. As of right now Anna says we do not have anything to worry about other than the usual unexpected complications that always have the potential to arise. Pray that we will trust in God and not worry about tomorrow. We know God has not brought us this far for nothing. He has a plan for us that is far beyond our understanding and we are trusting in him.

Once again, we thank you for our prayers. They are greatly appriciated. We continue to pray for our child God has chosen for us. We are excited about what God is doing and is going to do.

Trusting in Him,
Stephanie and Casey

Praise God! I just checked my email this morning and I had an email from our social worker, Anna. She received word yesterday that our fingerprints clearance letters are in the mail! Once she receives her copy, she will finalize our home study and send it to DHR to be processed. Praise God for answered prayers! One more step closer to bringing our child home forever!