Sunday night I went to sleep very anxious - wondering if tomorrow would be the day. I had done this every weeknight since the courts re-opened back in October. This week would be 18 weeks since we signed our referral paperwork for Chaltu. I haven’t been able to sleep well the past few weeks, and I have been getting more and more frustrated and discouraged. I mean, there is nothing we can do but wait and trust that the Ethiopian authorities are going to sign the paperwork we need, to declare Chaltu abandoned, rather than relinquished. Because I haven’t been sleeping well, I decided on Sunday to take 2 Benadryl (helps me sleep, too).
Monday morning I was blow drying my hair at 7:40am, Adam came running into my room with the phone. It was still ringing, and he was very excited. “It’s Children’s House!!!!!”
I hesitantly answered, waiting for Jessica to give me some bad news. I was prepared.
“We have a court date for you!” was what she said, instead!!!!!
JANUARY 1
So, on January 1, 2010 (if all of the paperwork is in order on the Ethiopian government’s side) Chaltu will become a MITCHELL!
I am assuming that she will be home around the 20th or 27th of February. A full year after seeing her picture for the first time.
FAQ
Now for the FAQ’s - I know there are a lot of questions, so I will try to answer as many as I can and make them as easy to understand as I can. This process is long, drawn-out and has a lot of bumps in the road.
When did you first know Chaltu was going to be your daughter?
Last February we got a picture of Chaltu. Joy, the adoption director with YWAM told us about her. She sent us some pictures and her medical information. We said YES!
Well, when can we see pictures of her?
As soon as we get the call that the court date was successful, I will be able to post pictures and video that we have received. Just a warning... she’s absolutely adorable. Seriously. She is. Like, the most adorable baby ever. And the video... it shows just how well she will fit into our family. She’s got some personality! :)
Why has it taken so long since seeing her? I thought usually once you see pictures and have medicals, that the baby/child is home in a few months.
Um, that is what we thought, too. However, we knew that we were waiting on one piece of paper from the Ethiopian government when we said yes to her. In March, that paper was ready and we were supposed to get the official referral paperwork. However, that was when YWAM found out that the orphanage where Chaltu lives did NOT have the proper license to do adoptions. So YWAM petitioned the Ethiopian government to grant them the license. There were 18 children matched with families who were not able ot move further because of this situation. In June, we were placed back on YWAM’s waiting list because the Ethiopian government informed YWAM that they would NOT be granting any licenses. In August, on Chaltu’s first birthday, Joy called us and told us that the Ethiopian government had changed it’s mind, and decided to grant the license. Later than same day we received the official paperwork we needed to sign to make Chaltu our daughter. We signed, notarized and sent it back to our agency.
Each fall the courts close for 6-8 weeks. It was our luck that our paperwork arrived in Ethiopia just as the courts closed. So we waited until October when they were to open - only to have them delay the opening by another week. Again, we waited to be assigned a court date. Other families with YWAM received their court dates, and I was very very hopeful.
At the end of October, we found out what the hold up was. Chaltu’s birthmother could not be located. YWAM had tracked her to Saudi Arabia... but then nothing. They couldn’t find her. The problem here is that the person who relinquished the child has to appear at the court to testify that there was no coersion. So, with her unable to be located, she wouldn’t appear for the court date - and our case would be delayed further. So YWAM and the orphanage petitioned the local police to reclassify her case - adding more time to the already lengthy process.
Now that paperwork is all completed and her case has been reclassified. So, we have been assigned a court date of January 1.
Where is this court? and do you have to be there?
The court is in Ethiopia. No, we do not have to be present.
What happens at this court?
Paperwork is presented to the judges, and they decide whether or not Chaltu can be adopted by our family. Paperwork will include (but not limited to) our homestudy, immigration paperwork, Chaltu’s files, all the reclassification paperwork, etc.
There is always a possibility of a court date being delayed, or of the paperwork not being complete. Our agency and YWAM have done everything in their power to get the paperwork that is their responsibility complete. However, there can be delays - and they are not uncommon.
When is Chaltu legally your child?
As soon as the judge says that we can adopt her. As long as the Ethiopian government hsa all of their paperwork in order to present the judge on Jan 1, we should have a successful court date - meaning that she will be legally our daughter that very day!
When can you go get her?
About 6 weeks after the court date we can go get her.
Why so long?
The legal paperwork has to go to the US Embassy in Ethiopia. They need a certain amount of time.
What will happen to Chaltu after the court date but before you go get her?
Shortly after the successful court date she will be moved from her orphanage in Adama (where she has lived since she was just a few days old), to a transition orphanage in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The transition orphanage is called the Thomas Center, and it’s run by our agency (Children’s House International). We have heard wonderful things about the Thomas Center and it’s staff and nannies from families who have traveled.
Who is going to pick her up?
I am.
My BFF, Kristan, will be going with me, too. She is one of those friends who is like a soul sister. She knows my heart, she understands me on a level most other people don’t. We were expecting our 4th children at the same time, shared that pregnancy, had similar births (baby came too fast for the midwife to be there!), had the same midwife, got our daughters’ ears pierced together... but more importantly, Kristan is a God fearing woman. I would trust her more than anyone else (other than Shawn) with my children.
We had hoped that Austin could go. However, I am really waffling about taking him. The week we will be there will be spent sitting around - not going out and exploring/sight-seeing. I think he would get a better experience of Africa through a mission trip in a couple of years. He has AD/HD so a working trip would be MUCH more beneficial for him. Also, the cost is a very real factor. Tickets from Honolulu to Addis Ababa (through Seattle, to pick up Kristan) are going to run us about $2000 each. We have raised right around $1000 for him, through the Santa vacation postcards $350), a yard sale ($510) and sale of extra furniture $200). That money will be used to get the bins of donations I have to Ethiopia.
