Korean Adoption Changes

As we are in the middle of of our paperwork stack we are hearing things have changed a bit since we began the process with Noah. Korea is a very proud country and having children being born to unwed mothers is a total disgrace to their country. They have been trying for years to promote intercountry adoptions, but there is so many kids! We were blessed that Noah's process was smooth and took 6 months from start to finish. Last year there were 30 babies that had US families identified, but stuck in the visa quota. I feel for the families that are still waiting today to hear when their baby will come home. Some families have been waiting 7 months!

Yesterday waiting families received a letter from our adoption agency saying the Korean government is still limited the number of passports given out each month. Until the agency can get all the waiting babies home they are not giving out any more referrals. This is such sad news, there are so many babies waiting and many families waiting to receive their babies first pictures and information.

We now know we will be waiting much longer for our daughter's process from start to finish and she will more than likely be at least a year old. We feel very led by God that Noah needs a sister to complete our family and she needs to be from Korea. Our agency is the only Ohio agency for a healthy child. Korea has strict rules and only allow Korean adoptions in certain countries.

Last night it was hard to sleep knowing that my plan of getting our baby girl late this summer or even early fall would not be a reality. I was rocking Noah early, early this morning and tears came to my eyes, letting go of "my" plan. As I was thinking silently how sad it was for those babies to be getting older and older everyday without their forever families, Noah reaches up and grabs my hand. At that moment, I realize that God brought us the perfect Noah into our lives in His perfect timing. Noah holding my hand will be a great reminder that God is in control and He has a perfect plan for our daughter as well.

Tabitha