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It is 10:45 AM and I’m sitting here wishing I was blogging about Guatemalan President Oscar Berger’s press release. Apparently today is the day he is going to officially announce his stand on in process adoption cases and clarify some of the cloudier issues I’ve been discussing.
Whether or not Senor Berger decides to endorse the grandfathering amendment to the Ortega Clause which should be voted on after the elections in early November is not life or death to the amendment, but it is very important to many of us in the adoption world. Senor Berger and his wife Wendy have not been friends to the international adoption world; at least not when it comes to adopting children out of their country. Actually, I’ve not heard him endorse domestic adoption either, but will try to research that pronto.
A few years back I heard a rumor that his daughter had adopted from an Eastern European country, and recently I received a comment about this from a reader. I have no criticism of this: I’m adopting from Guatemala when there are children available for adoption in the US. However, the orphaned children in his country don’t have any of the social welfare services made available to American born children who don’t have someone to parent them, and he made no effort to change that situation during his presidential term.
All in all this has been a rather quiet week in the “Guatemalan Adoption Crisis” world. I know that many people are still signing petitions and sending emails, faxes and letters. Here is the link to the petition if you can get more signatures added; to date there are over 38,000 signatures but I’m sure we can get up to 50,000 if we put our minds to it.
In addition, PLEASE seriously consider emailing Vice President Eduardo Stein about his article on adoptions where he claims that some adopted children are used for their organs and other body parts. Just writing that makes me sick to my stomach and intensely angry and sad. As I’ve said before, that labels those of us adopting from Guatemala as murderers at worst and organ harvesters at best. Here is his email webmastervice@vicepresidencia.gob.gt and here is the link to my blog quoting his speech. If you are comfortable with the idea, send along a family photo. I did but to date have had no response; I’m just waiting and waiting for so many things these days.
Usually I physically (although not mentally) start writing the final draft of my blog after Ella is in bed for the night. The post time is noted at the top of the blog, but it is Mountain Time and I am two hours ahead in Eastern Time; yup, I’m a night owl. Today Ella’s babysitter is here for a couple hours and I’m blessed with some daylight blogging hours. As a result, I’m actually going to have the time for a second blog today, when I’ll let out a big secret I’ve been saving for a long time!
photo credit: Google Images
Lisa, I just recently found this blog and I love reading it! We received our referral Sept. 7th and have made it though DNA and Family Court and are awaiting USE Pre-Approval and Family Court Soc Report so that we can go into PGN. I just want you to know how much appreciate your knowledge and research in to all matters and your humble honesty. God Bless and Keep it up!
Since we are introducing ourselves, Lisa my husband and I have been reading your blog for a while now, and I enjoy it. We started our adoption in January of 2006, we lost that referral in December of 2006 due to a lost Birth mother. Then we started with another boy named Leo in December 2006. Now we recieved Orange this week and are waiting on Pink!!!!
God Bless
Dear Sferrick,
Thank you for your kind words! It sounds like your adoption is moving along at a really great pace. Good luck getting through PGN quickly and bringing your little one home (boy? girl?)
Keep us up to date!
Hi Hunybear,
I’m so sorry about your first referral loss and terribly sad for that little boy who is doomed to an orphanage until his mother steps forward to do the paperwork and/or DNA. How tragic.
However, now you are waiting on another little one who will be home very soon. I’ve yet to hear the term “Orange” and some of the other readers probably haven’t either, so maybe you can let us in on this? Thanks.
I’d love to hear more about you, my readers, and I never ever lose interest in hearing another Guatemalan adoption story, or stories about their childhoods.
Great to hear from you,
Lisa S.(Ella’s doting and devoted slave!!)
oooohhhh….what’s the big secret? huh?huh?huh?
Orange is the permission from the US embassy to run the 2nd DNA test. This is the step that has just recently been added to make sure that the child tested earlier is still the same one. It has added about a week on to the process. But we are so happy to finally be at this step it is a small price to pay.
Thanks for all the kind words….