Although it's several weeks old, it's still fresh in our hearts and minds. We are thankful for the progress that has been made since we received this email, and we are grateful for new opportunities (more on that later!)
Amby and I received word today (March 3rd) that our Home Study report was sent to India and the Indian representative for our agency (Rajeev) reviewed it... He said that, because of the increased number of Indian citizens adopting Indian orphans (what a great thing), the restrictions for folks outside of India are increasing. In other words, it was Rajeev's opinion that Amby and I would, ultimately, not be permitted to adopt a child from India. He said that his thought is that we would be allowed a referral and we would most likely match with a child (they were very encouraging about our Home Study report). However, he thinks that we would get well down the road and then we would be denied by the Indian government because we already have 3 children. Although this is not a current limitation, Rajeev feels that the trend (as far as he can tell) is that adoptions will not be approved for families who already have 3 children (at this point, 3 is the max # of children allowed). He feels that the governing body for adoption in India (CARA) will not approve our adoption, as he has not yet seen an approved adoption for a family in our situation. And, truly, we have started to receive information about more and more restrictions and changes for Indian adoption. Although none of these limitations are currently official, it's definitely the direction that CARA is heading. The director of our agency wanted us to know asap, so that we can begin processing the information...his recommendation is that we begin to think about other countries and other opportunities. He said that he would hate for us to get 12-18 months down the road, only to be denied. Clearly, we are disappointed. Thankfully, Amby was home when we received the email from our agency's director. There is a lot to discuss and pray about and think through- Will y'all please pray for us? We are confident that there is a child, somewhere out there, who is going to be a part of our family. We simply want to be faithful. Please pray that we would be faithful. We are still very hopeful. Really, this is the first real "hiccup" that we have experienced thus far. It's a little bit of a roller coaster of emotions- and we desperately want to be in the "here and now." We have a long way to go on this journey. Thanks, friends- Grateful for y'all... jenny ps- I know- it's hard to think about all of those orphans in India... And Amby and I are definitely thankful that Indian citizens who live in India are beginning to embrace adoption- but I want to acknowledge that it's still so hard to know that there are thousands of Indian children who will go to bed tonight without mommies and daddies to tuck them in, sing to them, read to them, and pray for them. But, I know that God loves those boys and girls as much as he loves my girls and your kids. I know that I have already shared this with many of y'all, but I think I need the reminder- One of the main things God reminded me of when I was in Africa is this: He's got the whole world in His hands. |
