Ethiopia

Some sad facts about our son's birth country...

* One out of every 20 children born alive die in their first month of life

* One out of ten die before reaching their first birthday

* One out of six die before reaching their fifth birthday

* There are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia

* The median age in Ethiopia is 18

* 1.5 million people in Ethiopia are infected with AIDS

* Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa

By the way, we are now #44 :)

Ups and Downs

    We received some more news this week. AWAA has officially extended the expected wait time for referrals. For an infant boy it used to be a 6-8 month wait from DTE but due to the decrease in referrals being done per day it is now 10-16 months. So, if that stays true are looking at anywhere from March 2012 to July 2012. In order to protect my heart, I am telling myself May 2013 (I know that seems extreme but with wait times increasing, you never what could happen and this way it will be a pleasant surprise if it happens before that). The email also shared that they have now increased from 10 referrals a day to 15!! I truly don't want them to get back to 50 referrals a day unless they have found a way to ensure all adoptions are being done correctly. That being said, 5 a day seemed a bit extreme so I'm hoping they'll settle somewhere around 30 a day. Just wanted to share that news with you all. We were told to expect ups and downs, delays and more delays- I just didn't realize there would be this many! For now, we are enjoying our time together and preparing for our mission trip in November to Togo (I can't wait to go back!). I hope you are having a great week!

 Love,

Rachel

I know you have been wondering and I hate to tell you this but we have not moved, we are still at #47. Actually, we dropped to 48 and then a referral went out so we moved back to 47. See how slowly this list moves? (I can hear Jessie right now going "Are you serious??" haha). On a good note, they did report that they have increased the number of referrals from 5 to 10 a day- yay! Still no where near 50 a day but we'll take whatever increase we can get to subside our human impatience. I trust in God's timing with all my heart, I just get a little frustrated at my small picture view sometimes!   
    Africa's seasons don't run like ours do. They have rainy season and dry season. During the rainy season, most things shut down. The biggest reason they shut down is because the roads become impassible and so people can't get to work (remember, most roads are dirt there). During rainy season in Ethiopia court shuts down but MOWYCA doesn't and, of course, AWAA doesn't. So that means that they will still be matching children with their forever families but no one will be traveling to get their children until it's over. Basically, it doesn't change anything for us but there are several families that have recently been matched and so please pray that they get their court date/embassy date before the court closures so they aren't stuck just waiting for the season to be over. Court is closed from August 6th until the end of September/beginning of October. That's all for now, I have a 70lb dog trying to crawl in my lap because of a thunderstorm.

Love you all,

Rachel