Wow what a week with many highs and lows. Last Friday our Homestudy and I-171H was sent to Vietnam. There it will be translated and then logged in their system. Translation takes about 3 weeks due to so many dossier. Monday I received the rest of our dossier, made copies and then mailed to FTIA. On Thursday I found out that our Dossier looks great and it will be sent to Vietnam on Friday. However, Mark's Employment Letter needs to be re-done When I got the state seal on it they dated it wrong and then the Embassy continued with the mistake. Praise the Lord Eli Lilly gave me more than one notarized copy of his Employment Letter. We raced downtown one more time to get another seal put on and then shipped it to the Embassy. This was an extra cost It cost $70 for the embassy and about $25 for shipping Worth every penny though!!!
Today we got our Vietnam Program Update, and we (Vietnam Adoption Program) really need your prayers. For a few months things have been up in the air if adoptions will continue in Vietnam due to the agreement. there have been many rumors. I have copied and pasted part of our 'Adoption Update Email' for you to read.
New US Embassy WarningsThe US Embassy in Hanoi also added two posts to their website today. The new Warning Concerning Vietnam Adoption (April 2008) says that the Vietnamese Government announced they would cease accepting dossiers July 1, 2008 and that only those families with official referrals as of September 1, 2008 would be allowed to continue their adoptions. The post indicated that families without official referrals as of September 1, 2008 would not be allowed to continue and would have their dossiers returned.Although I can certainly understand the level of panic this must cause for families in the process of preparing dossiers or awaiting a match or referral, we believe that this announcement by Vietnamese officials may not be the final word or official position of what will really happen should September 1st arrive without a new or renewed MOA. The next logical question is, “Why would Vietnamese officials announce such a deadline if it is not set in stone?” It is often the case that when countries who are in the midst of negotiating a contentious agreement as has been the case with Vietnamese adoptions, all involved parties may say or do things that demonstrate good faith and willingness to negotiate. There appears to be nothing in Vietnamese law that would prevent parents who have submitted dossiers to continue their adoption, even without a referral, after September 1st if a new agreement is not in place. The second US Embassy post today is an outline of Irregularities in Adoptions from Vietnam—the same content as in the AP news article (mentioned above). Again, we believe that this summary of irregularities is not truly representative of wide-spread practice in Vietnam, and it is certainly not representative of FTIA’s work in Vietnam. It is appropriate that US and Vietnamese officials work to find a solution to a situation in which abuse, fraud and corruption may happen, even if such violations occur on an isolated basis. Although very alarming, the AP article and US Embassy Warnings ignore a pivotal aspect of adoption in Vietnam. The vast majority of adoptions in Vietnam are ethical and appropriate. There remain children throughout Vietnam in need of permanent, loving homes and families. Our goal at FTIA is to find homes & families for children in such need. We will continue to serve this mission through ethical and transparent practices which respect all people involved in the process, including birth parents, adopting parents and, most importantly, the children who we serve. We are continuing things as usual—submitting dossiers, matching families, referring children and making travel arrangements for families.

Please pray for the program that it will not stop nor will they put such hard restrictions. If they put the 'referral by Sept 1' we most likely would not be able to adopt (we most likely would not have a referral at that time. We have a 15-18 month wait till referral, October - January would be 15-18 months. We were put on the list July 23, 2007 and that is when our 15-18 months start).

HOWEVER, the awesome thing is that GOD and GOD alone is in COMPLETE CONTROL. He has already picked out our little boy and knows him by name and face. I have this peace and pray that GOD's will will be done and that I would trust HIM and only HIM and not any rumors. God knew when we started this process the ups and downs that we would experience, the tears that would fall, the rejoicing times, He even knows the country, the time, and the boy. He knows it all. It is such an awesome feeling to know that I'm not in control so why worry. Pray that I will not worry. It is our tendiencies to take control or worry about things but that will get me no where !!!
I do ask that you pray:---for the country ---for the officials that they would seek what is best for these children. Living in an orphanage the rest of your life is not what is best. ---for the hundreds of families wanting to adopt from Vietnam. This can be a very stressful time and doubtful time also.(pray that we might be able to use this time to minister to those without the peace)---for our son that we would get him in God's time not my own. I know this was a long update, Sorry. We really appreciate everyone's prayers and support. Love you all, the Hess' Mark, Suzanne, Mahala, Olivia, and our son (no name just yet)