So Here It Goes...

It's been a very emotional year. I know it's been for many families tangled in their adoption journeys with Vietnam. When we adopted from China three years ago, it was so effortless compared to the nightmare we've experienced this year. The reality of corruption, unethical agencies, baby trafficking, politics and abuse of power...it's all too much to digest. When did bringing home a child in need become so difficult? When did they become commodities? Am I just clueless? Has it always been this way? So sad, so tragic. I don't regret our journey to Vietnam. I don't understand why, but someday I pray that God will shed some light on this time period. Part of me feels that it isn't over yet. Is one of our children in the country that I'm so deeply rooted in? It's hard to let go and the only way that I can deal with this right now is to close the door, but not lock it. In fact, I will always keep the key close to my heart. God knows the answer to that one. I've enjoyed following other Vietnam adoptions over the last year. Some of you have brought your children home by the skin of your teeth. I'm truly elated that your children made it out before the shutdown and I pray your children grow up healthy and happy.

Each day brings healing, each day gets a little easier. I'm so grateful for the family and friends that surround me. They've been my rock through all of this and I can't thank them enough. And of course, to my friends in blogland, at times, you've been the only ones that understand and you've given me so much support and encouragement. I am so blessed. I've taken the last few months to sort out my feelings, reconcile my thoughts about international adoption and begin to gather a healthy mindset to begin a new journey.

After much prayer, my husband and I have decided to adopt from Ethiopia. The decision was not an easy one. We've had discussion after discussion about being a multi-racial family and really had to dig within us to find out if we are prepared to handle what life has in store. Once we felt that we could, we made the decision to go ahead and begin the process and we haven't looked back. We are beyond excited about our new adoption!!! God is truly amazing and is full of surprises. So...that's our big news! We're jumping continents and heading to Ethiopia!!! Our sweet baby is in Africa!

So why Ethiopia? Here are some facts:

• 1 in 10 children die before their first birthday
• 1 in 6 children die before their fifth birthday
• 44% of Ethiopia's population is under 15 years old
• 60% of children in Ethiopia are stunted because of malnutrition
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years
• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone
• There are approximately 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
• Half the children in Ethiopia will never attend school
• 88% will never attend secondary school
• Ethiopia’s doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000

Please keep our family in prayer as we set out on this new adventure. We are in the beginning stages of paperwork and a whole new dossier, but it should go fast and we hope to have our dossier in Ethiopia by the end of the year.

Oh, by the way....the clue I gave in my trivia "It's in the gift" had to do with coffee. Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee! Cool, huh?

Much love to all.