Some Great News but PRAYERS NEEDED!!!

I am happy to say that there are some very good things happening for some of my friends who are adopting from Guatemala. But unfortunately right now is a very scary time for others.

First of all I want to PRAISE GOD that things are moving:

PGN O-U-T-S:

Steve and Jessica and Felix!!!!!!

Jerry and Stacie and Allie!!!!!!!!

AND.....

Bella FINALLY has her birth certificate. After an incredibly hard journey - Amanda and Jeff are her LEGAL parents. She IS COMING HOME!!

Kristen and Greg are in Guatemala RIGHT NOW with their sweet Madelyn!!!

It is so great to see some GOOD news coming from Guatemala because as many of you have heard - things are not looking good there.

Please be prayful for those still waiting. Right now there are concerns that those cases not finalized before Jan 08 will be terminated. This would be a complete tragedy for the nearly 5000 referred children and their families who love them and are waiting to bring them home.

PLEASE PRAY that these families who are in-process will be able to bring their babies home!! Pray for peace and grace for them during this uncertain and scary time.

It could have been us if only a few months later... That thought sickens me yet many of my dear friends are facing this very thing. PRAY....

There is another way to help.

I got this email from friends who are trying to adopt 3 sisters from Guatemala.

Dear Families~
The following is the Call to Action provided by the Joint Council on International Children Services (JCICS). I know many of you will want to participate in advocating for your families. We have a conference call scheduled with our staff and the lawyers this afternoon and Debbie and Anyra will be sitting in on a national conference call with agencies with JCICS. We are in prayer for all of you and your children.
Please see below:

Dear Friends,
Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to suspend all intercountry adoption with American families on January 1 2008. Joint Council strongly opposes such a suspension and asks for your support in our efforts to ensure that all children retain the right to permanency through Intercountry Adoption.
President Berger’s plans also call for the suspension of adoptions currently in-process. Such a suspension would be extremely detrimental to the children referred to adoptive parents. If President Berger’s plan is actually implemented, up to 5,000 will unnecessarily remain in foster care or orphanages indefinitely.
This situation represents a pending crisis for the adoptive families who have lovingly chosen to provide permanency, safety and love to a child in need and most importantly a crisis for 5,000 children of Guatemala.

What can you do? Make six simple phone calls and one email.

1. Call your U.S. Senator.
· You can find your Senators’ phone numbers at http://www.senate.gov/
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.
· You can find your representative at http://www.house.gov/
· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff


4. Call or fax the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues
· Their number is 202-736-9130
· Their fax number is 202-736-9080

5. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarter
· Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director
· Their number is 212-326-7000
· Their fax number is 212-326-7758

6. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala
· Ask to speak with Manuel Manrique
· Their number is 011-502-2327-6373
· Their fax number is 011-502-2327.6366

7. Send and email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org
· Write briefly or at length

Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption


What should you say? Speak from your heart and give them the following information.
· The Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008.
· Their announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.
· If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
· Your office must get involved and sign the CCAI sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to processed to completion under the existing notorial laws.
· Your office should contact the Office of Children’s Issues at the Department of State. Their number is 202-736-9130.

Can you explain the problem behind the pending crisis? Here is some additional information…
· Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to effectively stop all adoptions into the United States including those children who have already been referred to adoptive parents
· Over 5,000 children have been referred
· The birthparents for these children have already relinquished their parental rights. As a result, they currently have no family and the Berger suspension will result in these children having no prospect for a permanent, safe and loving family
· The government of Guatemala currently does not have the finances or facilities to even provide housing for these 5,000 children
· The Berger plan is a crisis waiting to happen