08/27/09 - Our "On Deck" Email

This email actually arrived on the 26th but we didn't see it (in fact almost missed it!) until the 27th! Amy, who hadn't even told Mike what an on deck email was because she thought it was so far in the future, had to stop her heart from racing to read through it!

An "On Deck" email is sent when a family is getting close to the top of the referral list. It asks the family to verify their age and gender request and make sure phone information is up to date.

So what does this mean? It means that we "could" receive our referral in 1-3 months! What does that mean? It means that in the next few months, we could know who are kids are!! We are still thinking it's a few months away, but it sure is exciting to be on deck!!!

So what happens after the referral call [that is when our agency calls, begins by saying the words every waiting-to-be-adoptive-parents are longing to hear, "This is your referral call!" and tells you about your child(ren)] - We would get an email with their pictures!!!!!!!! Then we would sign the acceptance letter and return it to America World. They will then be able to petition the courts in Ethiopia for a court date, which would come approximately 1-2 months later. A judge in Ethiopia will look through our paperwork and we will either pass court or something will not be quite right (something wrong on paperwork, judge doesn't come in to court that day, witness not able to show up due to car problems, the list goes on and on) and we will not pass court. If we pass, and 40% of families do not pass the first time, we will receive travel dates of 2-4 weeks later. If we do not pass, our agency will work to fix the error and we will receive another court date. So that's a summary of the journey ahead!!

NEXT STEPS: We will email our Family Coordinator Nicole at America World to verify that we will wait for a sibling referral but that we would be open to children aged 0-5. Then we will email our Social Worker Faith to ask about beginning the process of updating the age range on our home study. This will require Faith to change the age range to o-6 years old (in case we as referred a 5 year old who turns 6 before arriving here in the US). An updated home study will be sent to DCFS Intercountry Coordinator for approval, then USCIS (United States Citizenship and immigration Services), along with a fee, for approval. Then the updated paperwork is sent to Ethiopia.

PRAISE AND PRAYER: Praise God that it took such a short time to be moved to "On Deck!" Three months from DTE (Date to Ethiopia) to being in the top 16 (that we know of) is really, really quick! Please pray that everything, and I emphasize EVERYTHING, would go smoothly and quickly with the paperwork update and that God would give us the grace to survive any challenges that may arise.