Delays at the consulate...

This is an e-mail that I sent out to all our contacts concerning the adoption on July 8, 2008. I decided to copy and paste this e-mail to the blog as my first post.
So, here it is:


Hello to my family and friends....
It is absolutely amazing to me as I sat down to write out this e-mail even the list of contacts who have asked to be a part of our updates.... when this whole process started back in last Sept... I only had a few contacts... about 5 (our closest family / friends)... over the months my contacts have grown... and I now have to send the updates in 3 batches due to exceeding the number of recipients... wow! Thank you for caring about our family... and thank you for being a part of this journey we have embraced!

Well, this isn't a jump up and down.. yippee.. update... we received word on June 30th from our adoption agency that the consulate @ NY is very overloaded with dossiers at this time.. (if you remember we were at the consulate for the entire month of May, only to be rejected and told that we could possible resubmit at the end of June.... we frantically redid basically our entire dossier, updates, notaries, apostilling.. etc...) (approximately around $800 total) to only then hear a few days later on June the 30th that the consulate is not accepting any new dossiers until the overload can be worked through.....

Below is a portion of an e-mail regarding this issue from our agency:
"Unfortunately, the Consulate still has not been able to process the dossiers which were submitted previous to May. The NY Consulate will not be accepting anymore dossiers until they are able to resolve this situation and process the dossiers they have already accepted. This could possibly be at the end of August or even longer. The Consulate will not release a definite answer as to when they will begin accepting dossiers again or if there will be a limit to how many dossiers they will accept at a time. This is an issue that is affecting all agencies, not just America World.

The primary reason for the dossier overload is that more China families have been switching to Kazakhstan based on the recent China restrictions. China also permits concurrent adoptions which has allowed families the choice to adopt from China and another country at the same time. Kazakhstan has been a popular option due to the ability to adopt Eurasian children. Vietnam is also not accepting dossiers from American families, so many of those families who were in that process are also switching to Kazakhstan."


So, there are various reasons behind this overload of dossier.... so we are now waiting to be resubmitted... so out go the chances of traveling anytime soon.....
I have to say that the news has been hard to take.... and Phil and I know beyond a doubt that God's timing is so perfect... I was just telling my mom today that I know I'll look back on this time in the process... (after I'm home with the kids and we are settled and well....) and I'll say.. wow, my baby wasn't even born last July, when I was so down and disappointed that things weren't moving at all... I know that God sees the whole picture and he knows when, how, where, and why... and basically I know nothing!

After receiving that e-mail on June 30th, I was extremely disappointed. Let me just explain that morning to you: .. let me just say that when a message comes in my in-box from our family coordinator... my stomach drops... I am immediately overcome with anxiety... (and I know I'm not alone in this feeling... see in our world (the international adoption world) our family coordinator and AWAA hold the key to our babies...) yes, I know God holds that key.. but, we don't receive e-mails and info. from him via e-mail... ( I wish we did... it would make things so much easier.. I think!) so, I immediately think.. oh yeah... we are submitting our dossiers again to the consulate..... and quickly begin to read the e-mail.. thinking we are one step closer to our babies... only to then read... as you know that this was not the case.. and it was bad news....
It was and is so hard to hold back the tears... you see we are talking about getting around the world to my babies.. the babies God has called me to.. the babies he has for my family.....

So, I immediately after reading the e-mail went to prayer... and I asked God to please help me to be patient... and all the scriptures that we have been standing on for weeks came back to my memory... "God places the lonely in families..... The steps of a righteous couple are ordered of God... whom he calls he equips... I can do all things through Christ.... whomever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me, the one who calls you is faithful and he will do it!" So as I pray and God brings those scriptures to my memory... I begin to feel better... but, as an hour goes by I cannot shake the feelings of disappointment... so I say.. OK lord... I am turning to your word... so, I get my bible out.. and it falls open to Matthew 8:23, and that's where I began reading... in that passage of scripture Jesus and the disciples are in a ship.. and while sleeping a storm came up... the disciples got scared ( in the midst of the storm) and ran to Jesus, crying Lord help us, etc... and Jesus spoke to them and said, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith!" I totally felt like God was speaking to us through this passage.. to not lose faith in the midst of a storm... and he was reminding me once again.. that he is in control..... and not to lose faith in him!!! I also shared my story with you after we were rejected at the consulate and how that God spoke to me that he had it under control... and that we needed more time to share the story.. and reach people for him through our adoption story... We've been amazed and blown away at how God has allowed us to use our adoption story as an amazingly effective way to share the Gospel with others.... it's been truly one miracle after another...

After having a few days to digest, ponder, pray, think, and pray some more... Phil and I also know that we've been given more time... more time with our girls... more time to get closer to God, more time to pay down debt, more time to prepare to become a family of 6, more time to fund raise, and more time to seek God for all that he truly is!

The fact that we will not be traveling for a few months means we have time to have some more fundraisers... I have a few ideas turning in my head, but would welcome any help and or thoughts anyone has... I'm open to anything (basically) at this point...
God knows we don't have the remaining $40,000, but he knows where it's coming from and maybe we are supposed to use this time to work and raise more funds.... God will supply!

So, I'll wrap this update up..... Please continue to keep us in your prayers... We know you are... we feel them!
Thank you...
I am also in the process of setting up a blog for our adoption so I'll be sending out information about that soon....

Hope everyone is having a great summer....
God bless... and praying God pours out his blessings on your family tonight!
Thanks for being such a special part of our family!
Lanetta
www.freewebs.com/gobblefamilyadoption