El Salvador’s Adoption Officials
Posted September 20th, 2008
Thought you’d like to see this photo.
It’s the decision makers involved with adoptions in El Salvador, taken at an AWAA Adoption event in Washington, DC this week.
This photo contains 2 top decision makers — and 4 extremely important people to us. (I’m batting .500, because I know two of them very well.)
From the left, I’ve already told you about Carmen Elena Balzaretti whom I met personally last month. Next to her is Geraldine Figueroa, Director of OPA, who’s office has approved us. OPA is responsible for reviewing families, including their complete dossier and psych evals. (Musta missed Daryl’s.)
Then there’s the Procurador of El Salvador (Attorney General) Marcos Gregorio Sanchez Trejo (never met him, but heard he’s nice). He’s the top official involved with adoption; his office oversees all the other folks, so to speak. And of course, there’s Alexis Castro (far right), AWAA Staff Member in San Salvador who works on behalf of us and the other families (met him in August).
Now… Here’s probably what you’re wondering: Which of these people refer the children?
Meet Jose – An El Salvador Orphan
Posted September 16th, 2008
Imagine for a ’sec, not knowing your birthday…
Part of the problem we’re learning with international adoption is the lack of identity for most of the kids. In El Salvador, for example, most orphans are abandoned. Their parents let them go at an early age. No one knows really knows that much about them.
Kids like Jose.
Jose looks like he’s about 10 or 11 (same age as Matt).
Watch as he tells you his story, and you’ll understand the partial roadblocks.
Adoption Waiting: Part 1 – Completed
Posted September 13th, 2008
What would you wait 22 months for?
Would you even make a decision to wait that long… by replying, ‘Uh… yeah, I’ll wait…’
What if someone told you,… “You know, the wait is probably going to be about 22 months. Do you want to wait or not?”
Before you answer… How about if you had to make a decision… but no one would even give you a reasonable time table for your wait?
“How can that be?,” you’d replied. “There’s gotta be some time range here. We talkin’ 6 months, a year… what…?”
“Not sure,” comes the vague reply. “We’re hopeful, but you’ll just have to wait.”
And so… against the fvery nature of common sense, by faith alone, you decide to go for it.
No compass. No direction. Just an eager heart, faithful prayer, and a winsom witness.
Fools!, the world thinks… they’re flyin’ blind settin’ themselves up.
Rewind to October 2006, and that decision.
What would you have done? Would you taken such an enormous leap of faith?
Well today, we were rewarded for saying yes and being obedient and patient (though it’s been hard at times). I received an email from AWAA that said…
Adoption Vapors
Posted September 9th, 2008
“Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.” — James 4:14
Posted by: Daryl L.
So I’m reluctantly hijacking the blog away from Beth today (without her knowing)… so here goes.
Max Lucado is someone I really dig. He had an interesting daily devo today, riffing on the above scripture.
Honestly, I’ve seen that verse from James about a thousand times; read it that many times (it seems), too. I’ve even spoken and taught publicly on it. But today, the thing stopped me straight.
Here’s why.
Photos from El Salvador Trip
Posted September 4th, 2008
Hey All,
Finally got around to the download-thing from my camera. The shot above is one of many I’ve posted here for you.
Above: One of six Catholic Nuns, with several of the children, outside the orphanage in San Salvador.
Here’s where you can see all the photos.
Our El Salvador Dossier at OPA
Posted September 3rd, 2008
In talking with AWAA’s attorney in El Salvador (Alexis Castro),… I understand that our dossier is currently under review at OPA. According to Alexis, once the dossier is presented to OPA, the process goes something like this:
New Blog Changes
Posted September 1st, 2008
I’m adding several cool functions to the blog to make it easier for everyone to read and comment.
If you get any weird messages, I apologize in advance.
Peace. –BBL