Process Update Oct'09 & Updated prayer requests

We got our adoption process update today:
*Our dossier will be sent to MOI this coming Monday, correction has been made on adoption decrees.
*Our lawyer/processor is going to request the birth parent interview for Josephine's father with USCIS and will let us know the date.
*As for Elijah's birth mother, she went to the country and is not back yet. They're hoping she shows up at the orphanage any day.

Also, we heard that the orphanage director is working on photos and height/weight updates - I can't wait! ...but I will.

It is wonderful to get a more specific update, after not having one at all for two months. We also never knew why we were waiting 3 ½ months to get into MOI - thought we were waiting on abstracts - but good to know what the delay was. We'll be praying that all goes as planned for submission into MOI Monday (and quick turn-around in that office with no errors found on our dossier) and for Josephine's father's interview to be completed successfully. Will also continue praying for Elijah's birth mother to resurface and for her interview to be scheduled and completed successfully. Please pray these things with us.

FHG has gone through some major changes in their leadership in the last few weeks. They have a new President, VP, and Secretary/Treasurer. Also, our adoption liaison has stepped down to have more time with her three little girls at home. The new President is doing a wonderful job trying to get up to speed on everything, with no records to start from. Thank goodness for email, Yahoo groups, and Facebook, or it would be near impossible for her. She already is providing more information and transparency in her leadership, and for that I am thankful. I pray that this continues and for all the leaders as they learn their new roles and press on towards a positive future.

I know of many families struggling financially or process-wise with their adoptions. If you feel led to help other families financially in their adoptions, please let me know. Also, many families are preparing, with late notice, to travel to Haiti later this month, to "appear" before a judge. It is families who are 1-2 steps behind us in the process, so luckily we are not being asked to travel. Though not part of any adoption law, the judge has started requiring families to travel to Haiti to prove that they do want to adopt, before he will sign their dossiers out of his office (I think he signs the adoption decrees). He will not accept photos and copies of passport stamps from prior trips. Many families are scrambling to make arrangements with employers, for their children at home, and to pay for an unexpected trip due to this sudden additional step in the process. Please pray for them as they prepare and travel. And, there are many other prayer requests that are still quite relevant to Haitian adoptions here.