Ecclesiastes 3:1

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."

These words from Ecclesiastes (and from the 1965 hit song by The Byrds) seem especially important right now for us in our adoption journey.

Without going into too much detail, let me just say that right now, the adoption scene in Vietnam is in total chaos.

The suggestion of some worries of child trafficking combined with some overly zealous officials in the U.S. Immigration office in Ho Chi Minh city have created some serious threats toward the completion of adoptions that are currently in process...that means ours.

As some of you may recall, the USCIS had implemented a change in the adoption process around November last year and we asked for help in contacting senators, representatives, etc. and we were thrilled with the responses we got on our behalf from family and friends.

While that change seemed like it would be the best thing in the long run, the implementation of this policy has been a bit of a catastrophe, especially in certain provinces of Vietnam, one of which if Quang Nam where our little Juneau is.

One particular high ranking official in the Ho Chi Minh USCIS (OUR OWN GOVERNMENT) office (who is responsible for processing approval for U.S. citizenship for all adoptions) has made it known that she intends to close Vietnam to adoptions by U.S. citizens and as a result there appears to be a pattern of acting outside of U.S. Department of State policies by USCIS in regards to Vietnamese adoptions. It seems that USCIS is trying to "make a point" to the government of Vietnam but those who paying the price are our children waiting in orphanages and U.S. citizens.

The result is that right now, no one is sure what is going to happen and a group of U.S. adoption agency directors (including ours) are working to find a way through this mess. Our director, Christine (you can see her holding Juneau in the original pictures we posted) is in Washington D.C. right now in meetings attempting to get some answers. We are awaiting her return.

A TIME TO PRAY and WAIT:

Now is NOT a time for action. There are people like Christine working to solve the problems at hand and make sure Juneau gets home. Now is NOT the time to rile up an already explosive situation and we do not want our case to be specifically raised to USCIS. This is why we have not solicited our congressmen for help in our specific case. In essence, we want to stay off of anyone's radar unless it becomes necessary. Action at this point could only serve to make enemies that we do not need.

We have decided, in consultation with Christine, to allow the current efforts to play out.

We know there are many prayer warriors out there from whom we would like to request help in praying for the following:

1. Christine and other agency directors efforts in resolving the current conflicts.
2. The officials at USCIS who are blocking legitimate progress for so many families
3. U.S. Congressmen and VP Cheney: The offices of VP Cheney and a few Congressmen are actively involved in this process and are attempting to help resolve the issues.
3. The many children in orphanages in Vietnam who are waiting for their families in the U.S. to come get them, obviously including our little Juneau.
4. The families who are waiting and longing to go rescue their sons and daughters from an orphanage. We obviously we need your prayers in this respect. The waiting is hard.
5. Prayer for what might lie ahead...

A TIME for ACTION?

The end of verse 7 in Ecclesiastes 1 says there is..."a time to be silent and a time to speak."

Now is the time to be silent and pray but a time to speak may be ahead.

In the adoption community, there is already talk that a time for action may lie ahead. If this time comes, Emilie and I have already decided that we will be at the head of the charge to prevent our daughter from being stuck in an orphanage forever. If that time comes, we will be looking at bombarding Senators, Representatives, even the President for help on behalf of all families of Vietnam adoptions. As are many in the adoption community, we are ready to pursue legal action as well on Juneau's behalf.

We know that many of you are "doers" and if that time does come, we will call on you for help.

If you would like more specific information, you can visit: http://www.bringourchildrenhome/ for more information.

Also, if you want to DO something now, there is a petition on that sight that you can sign. It is a general petition in show of support for uniting children in orphanages in Vietnam with their families in the U.S.

Again though, for now, we ask for your prayers.