Whiplash

Back and forth with the Embassy today but no news about the status of our cases and when we might be able to leave.  The Embassy now tells us that it will be next week until it has an answer about the certification of the orphanage.  Mr. Alemu (our lawyer) was nice enough to come by our hotel to explain to us that according to the Ethiopian Constitution, there is no special license for international vs. domestic adoptions.  He says that if an orphanage is licensed as an orphanage, then, by constitutional law, it is certified for the care of orphaned children and for international and domestic adoptions.  The Embassy claims it now needs to confirm that with the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MOWA).  Sounds like a lot of busywork by the Embassy as Adoption Avenues is a U.S. accredited agency licensed for international adoptions and which has placed over 100 children in the US in the last 6 months alone. 

It does not feel good, to say the least, to have our fate dragging out like this.

At least some people are having a good time:

Love and Goodnight from Addis,
--Jen