proximal update

I've been quiet on the blog and that was never my intent. Having no concrete updates on our adoption process has had me frustrated and having the kiddos home for the summer and still working has just had me tired. I think I have a lot to say, but no words to say it.

It's July 2021. Facebook likes to send us those memories that can be so sweet to look back on, but man, they can really be painful for some. I'm not claiming they've been painful for me this past week, but just kinda bumming me out. I've been reminded that we were prepping for our fundraising garage sale, multiple bake sales with Team Orphans, and totally rocking our home study checklist, if I do say so myself.

In July 2020, I remember thinking, "I will know the name and face of our child at this time next year!"

In July 2020, I was shopping for new luggage for an international trip.

In July 2020, I was eyeball deep in paperwork and honestly kind of loving it.

For some weird reason, it felt like we were closer then than we are now. I had things to DO and gave me a sense of power and accomplishment.

Now, we are at the mercy of the Korean Government's adoption reform and it absolutely does not give me a sense of power. The new timeline is vague and vague is my least favorite thing.

I shared in a Facebook post a few months ago about the devastating death of a baby girl who had been adopted domestically in Korea. Her adoptive parents stood trial for the abuse and murder; they were rightfully found guilty. This case caused outrage and calls for reform in the matching and placement process of adoption, both domestic and international. The government's swift reaction to provide more oversight is the right thing. However, like any changes in major legal processes like taking custody in an adoption, it is time-consuming.

Our agency emailed me last week while we were on vacation. I was SO excited to see "Dillon International" in my inbox, that I ran upstairs to our room to open it, my hopes WAY too high. It was a general email for all waiting families, explaining the current situation in Korea. We learned that waiting 5-8 months (from the time of our home study submission) for our match was now considered very optimistic and we needed to brace ourselves to keep waiting. We're getting close to the 5 month mark, so as you can imagine, I was letting myself get pretty hopeful to hear something soon!

The truth is, even our agency in Korea is at the mercy of the government's new policies. Here are the deets for inquiring minds:

Beginning July 1, 2021, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the National Center for the Rights of Children and local government entities assumed many of the duties previously performed solely by the 3 private adoption agencies in Korea. This includes the adoption counseling of birth parents, accepting formal relinquishments of children, and determining the eligibility of a child for adoption.

Going forward, any birth parent in Korea who would like to consider an adoption plan for their child will need to visit a designated government office for counseling and subsequent relinquishment. Because this is a substantial change to a long standing process, we anticipate delays as they establish the procedures and train personnel.

The newly formed matching committee is now responsible for identifying and solidifying child proposals for families. While the agency will still be involved in matching children, the Ministry willnow be taking a more active role. Because of this and the slower pace of referrals due to COVID, we anticipate the waiting time for a match to increase beyond the current quoted 5-8 months. We will monitor this closely and update families accordingly when new timelines trend.

So there is that.

I've also been regularly checking the U.S. Embassy for Korea to stay up to date on their travel advisories and quarantine procedures. For months, the 14-day quarantine has been mandatory for ALL travelers, and now, even in spite of vaccine status. A couple weeks ago, it appeared that some restrictions, including the full quarantine time, might be lifted for special cases. I was starting to think we may be able to apply to receive exemption for our trips (making them MUCH more affordable and feasible for our family!), but now we have heard that absolutely no exemptions are being made for adoption purposes. That means 14 extra days of travel expenses and 14 extra days away from our kids. And if we travel twice, as planned, well....yeah, we quarantine twice. GAH!

Will you please pray with us while we wait?

Thank you for reading! And a special thank you to for those who have been loving us so well - you know who you are <3

- B