Hiccup At Court

I am on my lunch break but because so many of you wrote with concern about and good wishes for court, I thought I would briefly report what happened this morning.  The agency driver was late to pick me up when he did, he sped through Addis like a complete mad man.  Ethiopians are incredibly good natured but I could see that he was really pushing their limits.  Since the seat belt was broken, I just held on and practiced my yoga breathing. 

When I arrived at about 9:45 am, all the other families were in the waiting room with Mr. Alemu.  They were all a bit on-edge and some miscommunication in the morning with regard to court time and picks-up exacerbated the situation.  They looked at me wide-eyed when I walked in late and I told them I overslept (I was joking).  At about 10:15 am Mr. Alemu was called in and spoke to the judge privately for less than a minute before he opened the door and let us come in.  I was the closest to the judge's chamber but at first he told me to wait while the others filed in and I thought I was going to be left out for some reason.  My heart stopped.

I went in last and we all sat down--the three single women together and the two couples on the other bench.  The judged asked us if we have any children at home.  One woman from Eugene, OR has a 2-year old girl at home that she adopted 1.5 years ago from Ethiopia.  The judge asked her if there are any problems and you could tell from Susan's response that her daughter is completely thriving and the judge smiled. 

The judge asked us if we have learned more about Ethiopia and told us that it is her wish, and that of the Ethiopian government, that we will continue to educate ourselves and help to keep the children connected to their Ethiopian heritage.  We all affirmed that we would.  She also asked us if we had seen our children yet, which we all have.  She then asked us if we understood that this process is permanent and irrevocable under any circumstances. Are we sure we still want to adopt?  We all responded "yes." 

Then she looked at all the files and one by one called the names of the babies and told each parent that they passed court.  Except me and Bamlak.  She said that she had requested the letter from MOWA but that it had not come back yet.  She smiled and said that it could be there this afternoon or tomorrow but not to worry.  We all walked out and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could.  Some of the parents were congratulating each other but I knew that there were relinquishing families around and wanted to be senstive and respectful. 

When we got outside, everyone was visibly relieved and happy and yes, more tears.  We took a picture together in front of the court house with Mr. Alemu and we all went off in various cars back to the foster home.


Mr. Alemu took me alone in his car. (I am SO over the special treatment:)  Before we drove away, he made a phone call to his contact at MOWA to check on the status of our letter.  She or he was in a meeting so he couldn't speak to them but he promised me that he would call me later.  I asked him what happens if MOWA declines the petition and he said that if they decline, a reason will be cited and Mr. Alemu can address each specific issue.

We had decided yesterday that we would all go out to dinner tonight to celebrate at Yod Abbysinia, an Ethiopian restaurant with traditional dancing.  Who knows, maybe by then I can breath easier and Team Bamlak can celebrate too!

So, to sum up, I am still in limbo. I did pass court but without the MOWA letter, the adoption cannot proceed. I hope to have more news by evening and will post again before bed. 

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GOOD WISHES!!!!!!!

Until later,
--Jen
xoxoxo