DOS Update - July 2nd

Yesterday, I received an email from the US Department of State. It doesn't say much, but this is the most news we've gotten in a while:

Dear Kyrgyz Adoptive Families:

I am writing from the Office of Children’s Issues to provide you with a brief update on recent developments regarding the pending adoption cases in Kyrgyzstan, following the visit of Kyrgyz officials in late May.

On May 27 three officials from the Kyrgyz government, Deputies Gulnara Derbysheva and Damira Niiazalieva, and Child Protection Expert Ekaterina Khoroshman, met with adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and government officials as part of a U.S. Government-sponsored international visitors program. The visit succeeded in helping these officials better understand, first-hand, the intense commitment that U.S. families have for their prospective adoptive children. The officials also learned about the standards and protections for adoptive children that are built into the U.S. intercountry adoption process.

After they returned home, these officials held meetings and interviews to address some of the questions and concerns that people in Kyrgyzstan had raised about intercountry adoptions. These officials are clearly following up on the promise they made to work for release of the sixty-five cases.

In June, the State Department also sponsored the visit of a U.S. adoption expert to Kyrgyzstan. This expert met with Kyrgyz government officials, private organizations, and individuals to answer questions about U.S. adoption law and to explain the support and protections available to adoptive children in the United States. During these presentations, the expert emphasized the importance of resolving the sixty-five adoptions currently pending for the well-being of the children.

Recently, the State Department received promising news that proposals regarding these sixty-five cases may be presented to the Kyrgyz Parliament in the coming days. As of this writing, no official action had yet been taken. It is not clear what concrete effect these proposals might have, since the Parliament itself apparently does not have the authority to resolve these cases. Further, Presidential elections are scheduled for July 23. Nevertheless, we welcome this interest and are optimistic that if the proposals are introduced and passed, they could initiate a more positive shift in momentum on the sixty-five cases.

I cannot yet report any specific, concrete developments either in Kyrgyz adoption policy or on any of the pending adoption case files. We, in the Office of Children’s Issues, will continue to follow this issue closely and will make every effort to report to you if there are any new developments.

Gerry W. Fuller
Adoption Division Co-Chief
Office of Children’s Issues

We're continuing to pray for good news!!!

One Year

It was one year ago today, on my birthday, that we accepted the referral of a beautiful baby boy in Kyrgyzstan. We were beside ourselves with excitement. Who knew a year ago we'd still be waiting for him to come home...and could love and miss him so much!!!


Lots of things happening in the past few weeks, I just haven't had it in me to post until this morning.

May 29th - Six PAP's and AP's travel to Washington D.C. to meet with three Kyrgyz delegates about our pending adoption cases. The meeting went very well, and the three women left in touched and inspired to go back to Kyrgyzstan and fight for our children. They tell the families that they are committed to do "everything possible and impossible" to united the 65 waiting families and their children. They said they would go home and start advocating for the children. They sincerely want these children to come home. Upon their arrival home, they immediately visited orphanages and begun working on our behalf.

Well no decisions, votes or approvals yet but there certainly has been a lot of positive press about international adoption and the 65 waiting families and children in Kyrgyzstan. The delegates who recently visited the US continue to advocate for us. They have had several press conferences and meetings with officials. Furthermore, a lawyer from the US Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Irene Steffas who has successfully advocated in many countries for international adoption is in Kyrgyzstan at this time and will be meeting and presenting to various officials throughout the week.

Also, in the news this week was Parliament's vote to allow the US to renew its lease at Manas Air Base, just outside of Bishkek. A positive relationship between Kyrgyzstan and the US can only help.

In other news, I have surgery scheduled next Thursday, July 2nd. Remember my "booty" issues a few months back? I recently saw a specialist and it turns out that I tore 15% of my abductor tendons (hip). The surgery will re-connect the tendons to my truncator (hip bone). Hip bone's connected to the...knee bone...

I will not be able to walk for 8 weeks, and will at some point have to begin physical therapy for quite some time. I have been concerned over this, because what if we get "the call"? I can't walk for two months!!! If this is what it takes to get "the call" though, I'm all for it! Time is winding down and it's coming real fast. I just learned yesterday that I actually have to stay overnight in the hospital, which I'm not exactly excited about. Stay tuned...

Making the Adoption Tax Credit Permanent

May 2009 Update: The following article was first published in RainbowKids.com in mid-April. Since that time, 3 additional congressional supporters have joined, making our total 79. There are still NO supports from 16 states. Please act today!

The federal adoption tax credit has helped thousands of families say "Yes!" to adopting a child. It's vital that this financial support stay in place to help families offset the costs and fees associated with adopting a child. Unfortunately, the tax credit is set to expire in December 2010 unless Congress votes to continue it. It's time to take action!

The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009, H.R. 213 , will keep the adoption tax credit from being repealed, and may make the tax relief measure permanent. It only takes a few minutes to email or call your senators and congressmen it's important for them to hear from families impacted by the tax credit.

Currently, there are 76 State Senators and Representatives cosponsoring H.R. 213. However, there are 16 states that currently have no sponsors of this bill, including eight on the East Coast* (one of the largest areas of the US with internationally adopted children). H.R. 213 is currently in committee, where most bills die. It imperative that adoptive families, and all friends of children waiting for families, act now.

It only takes a few minutes to write, call, or email your representatives. Please do so today!

Email Representative: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Email Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Currently, the following states have no cosponsors or commitments of support for H.R. 213:

West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, New Mexico, Arkansas, Hawaii

The two states offering the greatest support are Texas & Georgia with 6 cosponsors each, closely followed by Pennsylvania with 5. Honorable mentions: Florida , Indiana , Illinois each with 4 sponsorships each.

Pass this on to friends and family, and ask for their help in writing, calling, and posting on blogs and facebook. To gain momentum, we must have an absolute ground swell of families lifting their voices together for the well-being of children throughout the world.

You can find this article and others like it at Rainbowkids.

Call to Action - May 26th

Dear Friends and Families,

As noted in Joint Council's President & CEO's communication yesterday Joint Council has worked closely with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) to secure a 15 minute meeting with Congressional Staffers and the six families traveling to Washington D.C. to represent the group. The meeting will occur just before the Kyrgyz delegation meets with Congressional staffers. In order to ensure that as many Congressional Offices are in attendance at the two meetings Joint Council is initiating a Call to Action requesting the 65 families contact their Senators and Congressmen. Joint Council requests that all families contact their U.S. Senators and Congresspersons on Tuesday, May 26th. The purpose of your call is to request they attend the meetings on Friday, May 29th. Please note that Friday, May 29th is during a Congressional Recess.

On Tuesday, May 26th we request that you do the following:

1) Call both of your U.S. Senators and your representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives:

You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov

You can find your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov

2) Include the following in your calls and emails:

"As constituents, I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to attend the meeting with Kyrgyz officials hosted by Senator Landrieu and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute on Friday, May 29th."

If they have not heard about the meeting, ask them to contact the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute at (202) 544-8500 or Joint Council at (703) 535-8045.

3) Send an email to everyone you called:

The email is important, but the phone call should be placed first.

Additionally, feel free to forward this request to your friends and family, asking them to contact their Senators and Congresspersons requesting they attend the meeting.

Thank you!

Rebecca Harris
Government Relations and Communications Manager

14 Months!!!

Here we are, 11 months later still waiting for our son. Who would've thought?!?! Yesterday he turned 14 months already. My goodness he's growing up so fast!!

We Love You!!!!

Girls Weekend

This weekend I went to the Twin Cities with a few girls for some shopping and fun! We spent the day at the Mall of America and then headed out for dinner and drinks. We ate at a really nice Italian restaurant downtown and then we ended up at Shout's (I think). It is a dualing piano bar and it was totally fun!! I know I'm totally a dork, but I think it is so cool that you can pretty much request any song in the world and those dudes know it! I think that would honestly be my dream job!

Anyway, it was nice to get away from everything and have fun! I prescribe that everyone do that once in a while :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Today has already been one of the hardest days for me. Still no news. Still no word when we'll get news. Nothing.

Happy Mother's Day to all those beautiful mother's out there!!!

A - Momma loves you. I'm blowing you kisses from way over here. I hope that you can catch them. Know that I love you more than anything. I cannot wait until you are home. Muah!!

13 months

That's right, today A turns 13 months. We love you more and more every day!!! Hold on tight - pretty soon, we will be together and loving on you more and more every day!

Soon, soon, soon!!!

Mommy and daddy love you very much!

Prayers

I don't have any real news from Kyrgyzstan. All of the pending families had another conference call with the US Dept. of State on Tuesday this week. They still don't know anything and don't know when they will know. The call was focused on what's being done to get the 65 matched, waiting children home, and we stayed very much on point. This is the Embassy's priority at the moment. The Embassy currently seems to be in education mode - educating the public and officials as to why Americans want to adopt Kyrgyz children - yes, it's that basic. They are using the Kyrgyz media to present our side of the adoption argument. They are sharing the stories that all the adoptive families sent in with officials. All this appears to be working to open minds and hearts, but it's slow going. The US Ambassador is meeting with key decision makers, and at every opportunity, brings up the adoption issue.

There are currently 9 criminal cases of past adoptions under investigation, all having to do with alleged corruption on the orphanage director/MOE/judicial level. None of these cases involve children who were wrongfully removed from their families. But still, they have to be investigated, and those who were responsible need to be prosecuted.

We talked about our next steps, and it looks like another round of stories will be collected and sent over to Kyrgyzstan. This batch, from the waiting families.

More on the prayer tree...

When I got home from work last Tuesday night I was watering my plants and bringing them outside on the deck for some nice spring weather sunshine. While outside, the Boys and Girls Club van pulled up and a bunch of kids came running up to our prayer tree holding big brown ribbons! They were so excited to add them to our tree!! When they left, I got the ladder out and moved the ribbons up on the tree. It is a very old tree and it's on a hill so most of the branches are hard to reach. Most of the kids tied the ribbon to the end of very tiny branches and I was afraid we'd lose the ribbons once the tree started blooming. While I was moving the ribbons higher up, I noticed they all had little messages on them. Here's what some of them said: Can't wait to see you!

Can't wait to see you!

I'll pray for you every day

Come home soon

Can't wait to see your family grow!!

Stay strong - soon you'll be Ryan, Jes AND Arsin Scheel

Praying!!

I don't know, but I think that is just about the cutest thing ever! These teenage kids really do have good hearts :)

I also got a letter in the mail from Shelley Nelson. In the letter, they expressed that it would have taken a long time to drive to our house, so they mailed a ribbon and wrote a little prayer. Thank you Shelley!! Anyone else, feel free to mail your ribbons and prayers and I will pull out my ladder and tie them suckers on!

Prayer Tree continued...

The other day when I got home, there was an envelope on my counter that just said 'Jes and Ryan'. Inside was a letter from good friends of ours, Jon and Angela. They started a prayer tree in our yard! How awesome is that??? Here's the letter that was left on the counter ...



Angela and Jon - thank you so much. This prayer tree really means a lot to us!!

If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by, say a prayer and tie a piece of string, yarn, ribbon or fabric to our very own prayer tree :)