Guatemalan Adoption Changes.........

Guatemala IS changing. This is a given. I guess the question at hand is what these changes mean for everyone adopting or considering adopting from Guatemala. This is still unclear, but here is what I am hearing.

Now, I don't want to be the "rumor weed," so I have held off on posting some things, but there are some things happening that I think are worth mentioning.

First off, we are hearing about an April 1st cut off date for a person's Power of Attorney to be registered in Guatemala. POA is the first thing you do after you accept a referral. I "think" the general assumption is that those with POA after April 1st will be subject to new laws (or not accepted?) while those with it before will be grandfathered in under the new system. If this is true, this would be good for us. Obviously. Also, it would seem to imply that those with POA will proceed with their adoptions.

Here is the Dept. of State's most recent post regarding Guatemalan adoptions:
http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/convention/convention_3170.html This post has caused a little bit of uproar because it is somewhat inflammatory and really only creates more questions.

Bush visited Guatemala right before arrived and he did discuss adoptions. Here what was said about adoptions:

From the White House Release..."We also talked about adoption. I don't know if my fellow citizens understand this, but there are a lot of U.S. families who adopt babies from Guatemala, thousands of babies. This year it is very important for the United States and Guatemala to implement the Hague Convention on adoptions to help protect children and families during the adoption process. We found common ground on that issue. And I appreciate your strong stand, Mr. President, and I assured the President we would follow through, ourselves. "

There's speculation that they did indeed find some common ground, but time will tell what that means for us.

So, all in all I think things look a little more positive for us, but please continue your prayers. Now that I have spent time with my kids, the thought of not bringing them home is even more devastating. I really can't even bear to think about them not coming home. Also, could you pray for a friend of mine, also adopting from Guatemala. Her name is Maureen and she just is having trouble getting DNA done for her daughter. Maureen is a real sweetie and the baby girl she is adopting is 1 day older than Maddie. Maureen has visited this baby and she is just a doll. If DNA cannot be done, the case would have to turn into an abandonment case. Abandonment cases take an extreem amount of time and effort. So, please just pray for them also.

Thanks guys, it is such a blessing to know you are lifting us up in prayer!

Julie