This was the day of the informational meeting at CHI. I felt like a fish out of water going to this meeting. I just knew that my husband and I would be the oldest couple there, and that all the other couples would be there because of infertility. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m glad my doubts didn’t keep me from attending.
We sat in our car in CHI's parking lot until about five minutes before the meeting was suppose to start. When we went in, each couple signed in and was given a teddy bear that had been donated through the James Fund. Each bear has the James 1:27 verse on the tag. People donate $5.00 for each bear to be donated to an orphan. I felt awkward accepting one.
Not only were we not the oldest couple there, but most of the couples there already had biological children, just like us. We were, however, the only couple there today that wanted to adopt from China. Most there were adopting from Ethiopia. This seemed more to do with meeting the requirements, than a specific call to adopt from that country. All countries have different requirements for adoptive parents. You can find out those requirements on CHI’s website if you are interested.
The meeting was great. We were super impressed with CHI and felt reassured that we had chosen the right agency for us.
We turned in our application, but did not receive a country guide. The lady that handles the China adoptions was not there. We were told that we should hear whether or not our application is approved within two weeks.
Also, we learned today that the wait for a healthy child is now five years. A special needs child is really the only option at our age. The reason that the wait is so long is that China considers any child that is less than "perfect" to be a special needs child, and most of the children in the orphanages have some sort of need.
Lori
0 comments :
Post a Comment