Guatemalan Congress- May 15th session

Well, we are back from a very restful trip. We read a lot and wrote a lot (yes, we each brought our own laptop and were often typing away- restful typing). And we looked at the ocean a lot.

This morning I wanted to ask for you to pray for the Guatemalan Congress who meets tomorrow (Tues the 15th) for their last session until August. There is much going on in the world of Guatemalan adoptions- mainly centering around the implementation of the Hague Convention. The hope is that reform will be best for children and their safety. However over the last few months there have been varied reports and suggestions that some of the nuances of law being voted on would not be best for children or would bring future adoptions to a halt.

Our adoption is at a point in the process where it would continue, but could feel the effects of extra scrutiny that may cause delays. That has already been the case, for when we first looked into Guatemalan adoption, it was typical to hear of babies coming home when they were 4 or 5 months old. Now 6 months is the youngest and 8-9 months more "typical". So thanks to a wonderful agency, we entered the process knowing there would be bumps and delays as new laws were sorted out.

There were a few weeks in Feb that we were concerned if we would be able to adopt- and while that "fear" has passed, there is great concern for the future of Guatemalan adoptions. We would love Samuel to have a sibling from Guatemala and hope that adoptions remain open.

The US has given Guatemala until the end of this year to become Hague compliant...and hence the vote in Congress tomorrow. They are moving in that direction- and it will be needed for future adoptions.....pray that:

• the laws will be implemented in such a way that brings life and safety to children's futures
• personal agendas are removed as obstacles
• those who vote have wisdom and discernment
• God protects the process from things that distract, distort and cast doubt
  

This is a really brief overview and there are many more intricacies to the whole process. If you would like to read more, check out one of these links:

http://www.guatadopt.com/ (written by adoptive parent advocates)
http://jcics.org/ (Joint Council on International Children Services)
http://www.adaguatemala.org/English/news/ (ADA is a Guatemalan attorney advocate group)
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/intercountry/intercountry_482.html (US government)

Also note that each of these sites has their own slant or purpose in writing. But in reading all of them I feel I have been able to have a balanced perspective.

Happy Monday.