The Last Wait (we hope)! (or let's go to Ethiopia anyway...)

The Hardest Part: They say the hardest part is the waiting. I'm not sure who "they" are, nor am I sure exactly for what they were waiting, but waiting is hard. That's not new. From your first cognizant Christmas, or for a visit from Grandma, or the end of 5th-period math, we learn early on that waiting is hard. Even Tom Petty agrees, sometimes the waiting is the hardest part.

For us, the waiting continues. Two months ago, we hoped our timeline would be 2-16 weeks. That timeline seems to have extended. Realistically, we are still 4-6 months from having the boys come home. In the meantime, we wait. That's the hard part.

But we do have good news. We are (theoretically) in the final wait. In January, we were waiting for two final pieces of paperwork from Ethiopia so that we could submit all the papers to US Customs and Immigration (the PAIR) process. That process took a little longer than expected in part because the Ministry of Women, Youth and Children’s Affairs underwent reorganization. For nearly a month, they were without a director or anyone who could sign the approval letters to complete the paperwork. However, things started to move again two weeks ago.

We received the final documents and signatures, and USCIS has received our paperwork. We are now in the final wait (we hope). If all the papers are approved, our next step will be a court date in Ethiopia – hooray! Unfortunately, PAIR approval by USCIS is taking an average of 4 months – (ughhhhh). The wait could be longer if USCIS requires additional documents or seeks to clarify materials in our packet. Such requests for evidence are not uncommon. They usually resolve but add to the timeline. Hopefully, we won’t need any more documents.

So that puts our court date most likely in summer. With another 4-6 weeks from court date to embassy date, it is probably another six months until the boys come home. While it is still a long time, it should be the final wait.

Going to Ethiopia: From the beginning, we had intended to take Austin, Caleb, and Micah with us on the court date trip in order for them to meet their brothers and experience Ethiopia. (I've been saving all those frequent flyer miles for a few years - one perk of international travel). However, as this process has dragged on, we realized that the court date is going to be unpredictable. We may have only a few days to get to Ethiopia once we get the news. So, in light of the changed timing, we decided to head to Ethiopia for Spring Break. Traveling now gives us a known timeframe and a chance for Becky and the boys to meet Hamdali and Masad much sooner than the 4+ month wait.

To say that everyone is excited is an understatement. We will spend 12 days in Ethiopia. We will visit the rock churches and ancient monasteries in Lalibela. (The background photo on this blog is one of these famous cross churches, carved out of solid stone). We will visit friends in Addis. And, most importantly, we will see the boys. It will be a glorious Easter for the Hunter family. We will share all about it in our  next blog post - it should be quite exciting.

Prayers and Thoughts Appreciated:  First, keep Hamdali and Masad in your thoughts and prayers. Just as we decided to go to Ethiopia, we received another piece of difficult news. The boys had been moved out of the Transition Home, back to the orphanage in Assosa (far western Ethiopia).  For our visit, this adds a minor complication of travel as we will have to add another trip to see them. For the boys, however, this is the fifth time they have moved since July. It is the third time they have moved to this orphanage. The reason for the move is purely political and tied to the pressures against international adoption in the country.

Legally, the orphanage is responsible for them until their court dates. Historically, they would transition children who are being adopted to the agency run homes. These moves were generally good for everyone. For example, at our agency’s home, the boys received better care, had daily access to nurses and a doctor, had better facilities and more education opportunities. Because of some of the political maneuvering, the orphanages required that all the children in process be relocated back to their original place.

This is hard as it is a step backward in both care – and I’m sure the boys’ sense of the process. However, we see a couple of positives in the negative. First, as with their move back to the orphanage in October, they are with a group of children who have been moved together each time. Therefore, they have some friends in the journey (in addition to each other as brothers). Second, the orphanage in Assosa is a place they know. This is the same place I visited in November. At that time, I was pleased with the care they were receiving. The facilities are spartan but adequate. While not as nice as those in Addis, we know they are receiving care. Finally, for our family, it will give us all one more window into their world. Becky, Austin, Caleb, and Micah will get to travel to their region and see a little more of their part of Ethiopia.

Pray for their hearts as they undoubtedly struggle with being moved around, as they try to understand the process, the wait, and what is happening to them at this time. Pray for their health as they live in the group setting, with all the challenges of so many kids together.

Pray for us as we travel. Pray that our time meeting Hamdali and Masad will be a special one for building lasting bonds and beginning the connecting process as a new family of 7.

Pray for all of us as we wait. It is hard. But, hopefully, we are truly in the final wait.

With gratitude,
Evan, Becky, Austin, Caleb, Micah, Hamdali, and Masad