Our agency case worker tells us our “official numbers” each month.  But as families on the waitlist, once a month isn’t quite enough.  We like to always know our official and unofficial numbers.  Our unofficial numbers are kept at all times by a designated list keeper who is also waiting for a referral.  So, lately Traci from Kansas has been tracking the numbers and posting them on the yahoo group.  I’ve noticed on her posts that a new list keeper has not been identified.  Traci is currently number 16 on the girl list.  I contacted her and let her know that I would be happy to be the list keeper after she receives her referral.  She wrote back instantly and said that I will be the next OFFICIAL list keeper.  So, these next few months, I’ll practice keeping my own list, to make sure I’m doing it right.  That way when I do take over, I’ll be able to hit the ground running.

I must confess that I look forward to being the list keeper because I like numbers and I check frequently to see if other families have received referrals.  But I also appreciate Traci for being our list keeper – and want to provide this service to other waiting families with AGCI.

Here is the description:

Moving moment for all of us when we visited the Kebebe Government Children’s Orphanage. The rooms that held the children had a thick, smell in the air of urine and feces. Some of the pics are difficult to see. All of these children are waiting to be adopted. There were only 2 caretakers for all of these kids. … When we asked for the name of one of the little girls in the picture, the caretakers couldn’t find it. I have this on my video that is coming soon. A tough day for all of us.

We also found a post from an adoptive mother who just brought home a baby boy.  Her son was in Bethzatha orphanage for awhile.  When she went to pick him up in Ethiopia she got to visit Bethzatha.  The living conditions were not as bad, but there are a lot of children.

Here are some of the things she described:

I am still processing my time in Ethiopia–there is really so much to process. . . As you may know, adoption requires waiting, waiting and more waiting. There’s red tape—lots of hoop-jumping and often programs change and even close at moments notice. With 143,000,000 orphans in the world–and almost 6 million of them being in Ethiopia–the wait doesn’t really make sense. BUT there is a wait.

Our agency’s orphanage can only serve so many orphans at a time–and one can’t come to our private orphanage to be matched with a forever family until another one has gone. SO–while our private run orphanage serves betweent 40-60 children, many are simply waiting on court dates to come and pass so families can travel and another bed can be opened for a child from bigger orphanages like Bethzatha to come in. (W)hile some (children) only spend a few weeks there, others have been there for years and years.

It’s hard not to wonder where our child(ren) are right now.  We pray that they are getting proper care and attention.  Families who are adopting from AGCI are praying that they pass courts and allow waiting children to be matched with loving families.  We hope you join us in praying for court hearings run smoothly and ethically so that we can bring home our child(ren) as soon as possible.

So what now?  I will mail out the documents tomorrow.  AGCI will then send us a binder with pre-adoption information and the DOSSIER.  I have been anxious to get my hands on that for a long time.  The average amount of time for people to complete the dossier is 2-3 months.  After the dossier is submitted to Ethiopia, we will go on the wait list and should expect to wait 3-6 months until we receive a referral (where we are matched with a child).  It will then take another 2-4 months for the government to ensure that the child is an orphan and to process the adoption.  After that, we will travel to Ethiopia to pick up our baby.  If you haven’t done the math, we have 7 – 13 months to go.  Hopefully it will feel like I’m moving faster soon!

I contacted All God’s Children International (AGCI) and asked them what the wait time was for a referral and if they would take my home study report.  (I did not want to make the change if it meant we would have to complete another home study.)  They responded immediately that the wait time with them is shorter and that they would take our home study report.  Nate and I talked about it and decided that it would be worth it to switch agencies.  Unfortunately we will lose $250 but in the long run it will be worth it.  Since we made the change I feel much better.  I trust our agency and am hopeful that the adoption will be finalized in 2010, allowing us to qualify for the current tax credit.  I am also very happy that we don’t need to wait longer than necessary.  The wait has already felt like forever.  We are ready to be parents now.