The Deadline Approaches

Oh boy. Just a few more days before our signed renewal agreement needs to arrive at the agency, if we plan to continue with them in the Ethiopia program. And we still have not done it...but that doesn't mean we are not going to. It's mainly the long wait for a referral that is giving us pause, but not enough pause to seriously pursue another agency and program, so I suspect we are just waiting for the last minute, during which we will feel that we had better get that renewal agreement in the mail to keep our options open with Imagine...

The reasons we initially chose Imagine's other Africa programs had nothing to do with a lack of desire to adopt from Ethiopia - in fact, when we chose Imagine, that was the only Africa program, and we were ok with that. There were just some things that steered us toward the Zambia and Ghana programs at the time - at first thinking that during a trip to Zambia we could meet our World Vision sponsor child and visit children's homes affiliated with folks we know here was one reason. By the time we realized Zambia would not work out, Ghana seemed like a great option because the wait time seemed nice and short (particularly appealing after months in the Zambia program), whereas Ethiopia's wait list had grown substantially. In the end, though, it looks like we are coming full circle - hard to say if we should have just gone with Ethiopia in the first place, but certainly if that is our decision now, we may be able to say more confidently that it was meant to be...after our decisions ruled out other options, we may be heading in the direction we needed to be going in the first place.

One of the great things about the Ethiopia program is that there are so many other families in our area who are also adopting from there - a ready-made adoptive community in which these children will be able to grow up with others in the same situation. There is also a bit of an Ethiopian population in our city - two Ethiopian restaurants, actually, which says something. We recently attended a fundraising dinner in the city for an Ethiopian NGO and its Canadian partner. It was great to learn more about the country, its needs, and work being done there. I have started seeking out more information on Ethiopia, as we did two years ago when considering this option. I find its history and culture quite fascinating - the ancient roots and traditions, and uniqueness from neighbouring countries. There will be much more to learn (which means books to buy - always exciting) and explore if this is our final decision. Won't be long now - we will let you know!