No, not yet.

Most all of our conversations here recently have begun with "Have you heard anything?". And, unfortunately, our answer is always "No, not yet.". It has been 5 weeks since the Ethiopian court approved Julie and I to be the parents of Jeremiah. (And boy have these 5 weeks been long!) However, we are still waiting for the US Embassy to issue him a Visa so we can bring him home. Home to a community that is anxiously awaiting his arrival...home to a house that has been prepared especially for him...home to a family that can't wait to care and provide for him.

All along, we didn't really think that we would have him home for Christmas. But, deep down we were praying that we would! The waiting is definitely more intense now that we have met him and know that we are literally days away from heading back to Africa to bring him home. There is an aching in our hearts that something is missing from our lives...and that something is Jeremiah. It has even been a little concerning here recently as we have received word that Jeremiah has been sick. Even though he is our son, we feel so helpless knowing that we can't comfort him and nurture him back to good health.

Understandably so, our life is about to get a spin...however, it is a spin that we are ready for and willing to endure. Hold tight Jeremiah! Mommy and Daddy will be there soon.

He is ours!

Much has happened since our last post! We have traveled to Ethiopia, met Jeremiah, appeared in court, and officially adopted our son. During the week of Thanksgiving, while most Americans were eating turkey, watching football, and shopping, we were making the long trek to Ethiopia and visiting the orphanage that has been Jeremiah's only home for his short life. On Friday, November 25th, we appeared in Ethiopian court to finalize the adoption...and much to our joy, the adoption was approved! This means that Jeremiah is legally our son. Unfortunately, there is still the process of receiving a passport and Visa from the U.S. Embassy, which takes a few weeks. So, we headed back to Indiana to wait in anticipation of the call allowing us to return to Ethiopia to pick Jeremiah up.

In just a few weeks, we will be able to bring Jeremiah home to his forever family! Now that we have met him, it makes the waiting much harder. However, meeting him has also confirmed how blessed we are to have been paired up with this marvelous little boy. He is perfect...with his huge eyes, long eye lashes, and cute smile. In just the short time that we were allowed to spend with him, we have already picked up on his adorable little traits - such as the way that he sticks his tongue out sideways. Our trip could not have been anymore enjoyable or smoother! For this, we thank you for the prayers. Prayers of safety, travel mercies, and for all of our paperwork to be in order and approved. Your prayers were felt throughout the entire trip and for that we are truly grateful. Please continue to pray for Jeremiah and his health, for the other children in the orphanage, for the other families that are in the process of adopting children, and for patience during our last few weeks waiting. God Bless!

One Week From Today!

It's hard to believe that after 24 months, we are finally going to meet the little person that has been in our prayers for so long. A little boy that we were praying for long before he was born. Prayers of protection, love, and comfort. In just 7 days, all of our waiting and anticipation will be over as we are introduced to Jeremiah for the first time. Although our meetings will be short lived and we will have to return home from this trip without Jeremiah, the reality of our dream is coming to fruition and he will be with his forever family very soon.

Currently, Jeremiah lives at Help For The Needy, an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He has spent his entire 7 1/2 months of life in the care of the workers that dedicate their time to caring for orphaned children. The majority of his life has been spent inside the walls of the orphanage, unable to see (and too young to understand) what lies beyond those walls.

Then here we are...clear across the world. Blessed beyond imagination with more than we need. Able to see the world and experience all that this physical life has to offer. However, sometimes these blessings create blinders...preventing us from seeing inside the walls of the orphanage; unable to see and experience the physical life that abandoned and orphaned children are living.

As I think about our physical life and the many blessings and challenges that we all experience throughout our existence, I can't not think about the temporariness of our time on Earth. How one simple decision to allow Jesus into our heart can open up blessings beyond our imagination for an Eternal Life. One that will provide more than we need and one that will not allow sorrow and despair.

Soon and very soon...Jeremiah will get to see what lies outside of his current home. The increased opportunities, blessings, and challenges that he will encounter by leaving his surroundings are unknown at this time. However, one thing that we do know is that Jeremiah will be loved, protected, and most importantly he will be introduced to a Savior that will offer him a life that he never would have imagined.

Black Friday

Much to our suprise, we received a court date yesterday! This was about 2-3 weeks before we were expecting to hear this news. (Notice that I said we were expecting to hear. All along we have learned that we don't know much and are not in control.) So...now it looks like instead of going to Florida for Thanksgiving and eating turkey and dressing we will be traveling to Ethiopia to meet Jeremiah and eating injera and wot. Our actual court date is November 25th. We are so excited!!

In everything that we have completed for the adoption to date and all of the milestones that we have put behind us, this is the first time that it feels real. Not only do we know what Jeremiah looks like, we now have an actual date that we are going to be able to hold him in our arms. It doesn't get much more real than that! I'm not saying that all of the past experience hasn't meant anything, it's just that nothing can compare to seeing him in the flesh and counting all of his toes and fingers, kissing on his cheeks, and looking into his eyes and knowing that he will soon be with his forever family.

We now have about 7 weeks to make travel arrangements, complete more paperwork, and prepare for the long trip 20+ hour trip to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Please continue to pray for Jeremiah and that he is receiving loving care, pray for Jaden and Justin and a smooth transistion from a family of 4 to a family of 5, and for our preparations to meet our son for the first time. Black Friday will never have the same meaning in the Sutliff household!

Just the Opposite

Well, we continue to wait for October 10th...which is when the courts re-open so the judge can assign us a court date. We are getting pretty excited as we anticipate our court date, our first trip to Ethiopia, and most importantly meeting Jeremiah for the first time. We continue to get monthly updates on Jeremiah's progress. He just turned 6 months old on September 28th and weighs almost 13 lbs. Every update shows progress and his photos portray him as a very happy and healthy young man!

During conversations with people about the adoption, a constant comment from people is that Jeremiah is one lucky kid. They always mention the opportunities that he will now have, the fact that he will be a part of a loving God-centered household, and being part of a family that will embrace him. However, Julie was recently having a conversation with someone about Jeremiah and they stated how we are so lucky. Lucky that God is entrusting us with Jeremiah, and the many blessings that he is sure to bring to our family.

Throughout this entire process, I have never felt that we were not supposed to be adopting. From the point that a decision was made, it has become part of our life. Almost a normancy of sort...a calling of faithfulness and obedience. There have also been thoughts of changing the life of a child by bringing him into our home. It's the least that we can do! Right? Or is it? I believe that our mindset should not be to change Jeremiah's life...but to change our life. We should be learning that God is changing us through this process as He shows us how to live a more Christ-centered life. A life that involves listening to, following, and obeying God's word. This is just another step in God's plan for us and we should understand that there may be many more to come.

This looks great in writing, but application is difficult. Sometimes, we have to go into things with our eyes wide opened, our ears fully listening and our mouths closed...and just let God direct us. Personally, there are many times that I forget this and have patches over my eyes, cotton in my ears and all the while my tongue is just a flappin'. Just remember - this isn't about what you are doing for someone else, it's about what God is doing for you. Blessings are abundant and we don't ever want to loose sight of that!

Submitted to Court

As we continue to wait, we did receive word a few weeks ago that we have been 'submitted to court'. Basically, that means that all of the required paperwork has been gathered and sent to the Ethiopian court. Normally, the next step would be for the judge to assign a court date...however, since the courts are still closed, the judge is not there to assign a date. So, once the courts reopen on October 10th, and the judge gets caught up, a court date will be assigned. We are being told that it could take a few weeks for the judge to get to our case and assign a date. From there, court dates are usually scheduled 6-8 weeks out. It looks like we will probably have our court date before the end of the year, but won't be bringing Jeremiah home until after the first of the year.

Jeremiah will be 6 months old on September 28th! It is amazing how receiving our monthly updates and pictures can be so excited. As we anticipate our next update, and can't wait to see how much Jeremiah has changed...it makes me appreciate all of the long range relationships that people endure daily - such as parents in the military and grandparents that live several states away from their grandchild. It helps put into perspective that we are truly blessed and God is in control.

Levels of Emotion

One of the 'benefits' of international adoption taking so long, is that we have much more time to mentally prepare for the arrival of Jeremiah than the traditional 9 month pregnancy. As we go into our 22nd month of the process, our emotions have been all over place. Many of our emotions have included (in no particular order): hope, concern, frustration, love, suspense, peace, excitement, and anticipation.

We have hope in the program and pray that our decisions are God-centered.
We have concern over the hundreds of thousands of orphans that so desperately need saved.
We have concern about the care that the orphaned children are receiving.
We have experienced frustration in regard to the delays and red tape involved with international adoption.
We love a little boy that we haven't even met more than we could have ever imagined.
We love that Jeremiah has a beautiful smile and gorgeous eyes.
We love the fact that all of our family and friends are so supportive.
We are full of suspense as we await the moment that we first lay eyes on Jeremiah.
We are at peace with the decision that we have made to adopt and know that it is part of God's plan for our family.
We have a peace that Jeremiah is a healthy, happy baby.
We are so excited about the day that we bring Jeremiah to his forever home.
Not a day goes by that we don't anticipate holding Jeremiah and counting his toes and fingers.

As our emotions continue to flow, so do our prayers. Prayers for the remaining steps to go quickly, for Jeremiah's continued good health, for the caregivers that are taking care of Jeremiah, and for all of the children that are orphaned. If we could, we would help all of the children...but, we know we can't. We just keep telling ourselves, "One can't help everyone, but everyone can help one.".

Jeremiah Ashen Sutliff

Today is our anniversary...we have been married 15 years! They have been 15 awesome years, and we can't wait to see what the next 15 hold. In comparison, it's been just over a month since we received our referral and already it seems as if our son has grown significantly. We recently received some 4 month pictures and he is as adorable as ever! He has grown a little and has the cutest smile and most gorgeous eyes. It is so hard to look at Jeremiah (yes, we have chosen a name! ~ Jeremiah Ashen), but to have never held him; To see his bright eyes, but never watched him sleep; To see his chubby cheeks, but never kissed on them. As our anticipation builds, our love for him also builds.

We are still waiting to hear that we have been submitted to court and then we will have to wait for a court date. Unfortunately, the courts in Ethiopia close in August and September. Therefore, the earliest that we will have a court date is October...but, we are more realistically looking at November. From there we will have to wait another 1-3 months until we can actually bring him home. As much as we would love to have him home by Christmas, it is becoming more apparent that it will be after the first of the year.

One milestone produces another hurdle. We pray for him daily...that his care givers will love him, take care of him, and protect him. We pray that all of the legal matters go smoothly and there are not any delays with court. Most of all we praise God for all of our blessings and are honored to play a small role in His plans.

Love At First Sight

The last few weeks have been quite busy in the Sutliff household. A week after school was out for Julie and the kids, we left for vacation. Since Jaden's dance recital was on the day we had planned on leaving, we left later than usual and ended up driving all night. Since the kids were able to sleep most of the way, they didn't think the 13 hour drive was that bad! Needless to say, we had a great time at Woodloch and then headed to Connecticutt to visit Julie's best friend Katie. Since I was leaving on June 22nd for a mission trip to Honduras, I flew home on Monday, June 20th. Julie and the kids ended up staying for another week and came home on the 29th. I returned home from Honduras on July 1st.

We had a feeling that we may hear something about a referral while I was in Honduras and unreachable...but, we also knew our case manager was going on vacation from July 1st through the 15th and felt our wait may just continue on. However, Julie received a call from Bethany's home office at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, July 1st. While I was traveling home...Julie was hearing the details of our son for the first time. Yes, we received our referral!!! The excitement of knowing specific details of our son and that we are now another step closer to meeting him is making this process all too real.

Our son, was born on March 28th...which makes him 3 months old! He is healthy and weighs about 10 lbs. He has big beautiful eyes and a lot of hair. We immediately fell in love and now have a face to go along with our prayers. Even though it's progress, we are now in the next phase of waiting. We have some paperwork to fill out and then we will wait to hear the date for our first court hearing. This trip will enable us to meet him for the first time. Although we have some time before we will bring him home, we are excited to finally be matched with a child.

We will keep you posted as we learn more. In the meantime, please continue to pray that the process goes smoothly and God protects our little boy.

Red Light...Green Light

Anticipation continues to build as we await the precious phone call revealing the details of our child. Unlike a pregnancy, the physical aspects and approximate due date is missing...however, we are still experiencing the excitement and apprehensiveness that comes with being expectant parents. Although it's hard to imagine right now, we know the day is coming sooner than later.

As mentioned in the last update, there have been some delays within the Ethiopian government as it relates to adoptions. Official (as official as anything in a third world country can be) word came a few weeks ago that the agency that writes the approval letters for court will be reducing the number of letters per day to 5 (that's from 40-50 per day). The reasoning that this was changed is not known, however other areas of the government did not agree with this change and replaced all of the workers in that specific department. Recently, we received word that they are now processing around 20 letters per day...which is good news, but not 40-50 as before. Some of the background is due to illegal/unethical adoptions taking place and the need for more investigative and thorough work - which we are 100% in favor of as long as it doesn't make the process cumbersome and so long that the children are directly affected. We are not getting too worked up about all of this because we know that it will probably change again.

As we are already 8 months into the referral waiting process, the time since our entire adoption process started is 17 months...which seems like an eternity. However, it really has passed quickly. I'm afraid that the closer we get, the slower time will move. People are always asking us if we have any updates or if anything new is going on ~ and we keep giving the same response...not yet. The day is coming though, that we will be able to share specific details of our little guy. Details like how much hair he has, how old he is, and of course how beautiful he is! Please continue to be in prayer for the entire Ethiopian adoption process, the orphaned children in this world, and patience for all of the adoptive parents.

A Milestone (at least on paper)

It's hard to believe that it has already been 6 months since we submitted our dossier. Although there are days that the waiting is painful in regard to the adoption process...life continues to happen which helps keep us focused and determined to accept God's timing.

According to the adoption agency, the average waiting time for an Ethiopian referral is 6-9 months after the dossier is submitted. So...here we are! It's been 6 months and the excitement is building. Unfortunately, in keeping up with the forums and blogs from Bethany and other families, we have learned that the waiting period for Ethiopian adoptions has been getting longer - not in all cases, but nonetheless families do appear to be waiting longer. From what we understand, this is due to some concerns about illegal adoptions from the Ethiopian government which has caused increased investigations and the growth of adotions from Ethiopia. We just continue to pray and trust that God has a plan.

I thought that I would leave you with a few facts about Ethiopia that may surprise you:
The Calendar There are 13 months in the Ethiopian Calendar! Each month has 30 days and the last month has only 5 or 6 days. New Year's is celebrated in September and there is a 7 year difference with the western calendar. For example, in 2011 it is actually 2004.
The Clock/Time of Day The Ethiopian clock begins & changes time at first light or at 6am rather than at midnight. When you ask an Ethiopian what time it is, although, it's 12 n00n because the sun is right above your head, they would tell you that it's 6:00 o'clock (in the morning) which is also when the date changes; at 6am rather than 12 midnight. It can be very confusing!
Literacy Rate The literacy rate in Ethiopia is 43%...compared to 99% in the United States.
Average Income US$200 per year
Orphans 4.8 Million

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Disheartenment

Today I listened in on a conference call set up to help families understand the current situation in Ethiopia. Apparently, there have been delays with families getting court appointments and embassy dates for travel caused by some corruption within the Ethiopian adoption process. Unfortunately, with anything good...comes bad. When greedy people see a good thing happening, they immediately want a part of it and cause havoc. There have been suspicious activities with some of the adoption agencies and orphanages within Ethiopia as it relates to unorthodox adoptions. People trying to make a quick buck by finding children meeting certain criteria that are not abandoned or orphaned and getting them 'into the system'. There have also been reported cases of parents selling their children to certain orphanges...which for a family in despair and desparate to support themselves is a very enticing proposition. I want to clarify that this is a very small part of the entire adoption process in Ethiopia and that Bethany Christian Services is not a part of the investigation, however one bad apple causes the entire system to go into gridlock.

I know for us, a family that is awaiting the day that we are presented with a referral of a child, the waiting is very difficult. However, as I listened to the other families today asking questions, I realized that most of them already had referrals and were waiting for their court date or embassy date for travel. I quickly realized how hard it must be for them...already knowing who their child is...seeing photos of them...perhaps already meeting them...and then hear about possible delays. Knowing that you have already prepared a place in your heart and home for this child, only to receive reports and photos of your child's development...of your child growing up thousands of miles away. At the ages of most of these children, a couple of months makes a big difference. The difference between crawling and walking; the difference between making noises and talking; the difference between bonding with a nanny or their forever family. I can't imagine the disheartenment that they must be going through.

Please be in prayer for this entire situation. Specifically for the Ethiopian adoption process and the investigation to conclude and the timing of the court dates and embassy dates to improve. For the families that have received referrals and are waiting to travel to Ethiopia to either meet their child or bring them home. For the children that are in the orphanages that they continue to receive good care and are safe. And for us...that we will remain faithful to our commitment and know that God is in control and His will be done.