Return of the Magi

In the past hour or so, BDO Dunwoody (Imagine Adoption's trustee in bankruptcy) posted an update about progress being made with regard to the restructured agency.  On Monday, a three-person delegation travelled east from Ethiopia back to Canada after spending about ten days working there on behalf  of families adopting from Ethiopia.  Here are the key results of their visit:

- The Ministry of Women's Affairs (MOWA) in Ethiopia is pleased to be working with the new Imagine - no obstacles have been presented.  This is such a huge relief, since the relationship with MOWA was an uncontrollable piece of the whole bankruptcy puzzle - regardless how much work could be done on the Canadian front to restructure Imagine, families never knew whether MOWA would want to work with the new Imagine. This is a significant relief to me.

- Key staff have been hired/re-hired by Imagine in Ethiopia

- The location of a new Transition House has been secured to replace the former three properties that Imagine occupied in Addis. The Transition House is where the children are transferred to from the orphanages they come from; once in the Transition House, the children are cared for by Imagine staff and this is where they stay until the adoption process is complete and parents are able to travel to pick them up..

- Best of all, two-year contracts have been signed between Imagine and two key orphanages in Ethiopia (and one of them is very large, comprised of three different regional orphanages).  These orphanages have indicated that referrals should start sooner than expected! This confirms previous information that there are children waiting to be referred...we just have to get the agency running again!

When I read this information a few minutes ago, I could hardly contain my excitment.  My heart was pounding so loudly I thought it was going to come right out of my chest.  I danced my way around the room afterwards, the papers clutched to my heart.  It became very clear to me in that instant that any reservations I have had about our adoption are, in fact, what others have been telling me they are also feeling:  a need to protect against the possible pain of things not working out.  I am so excited at this moment about the prospect of someday meeting my Ethiopian-born children that I simply don't have the words to express it.

So now, we just have to wait until November 30th to ensure that the critical number of families (200) have signed their new retainer agreements and sent in their money.  Now, more than before, I am certain that the eighteen days remaining until November 30th are going to crawl by at a pace significantly slower than the out-pouring of molasses.  Breathe, Ruth, just breathe...