Slooooooow

Slow.
That's how I would describe our wait for a referral. Very slow. Every week we get an update from our agency and it seems that more things keep happening in Ethiopia to slow things down even more.
I won't list all the things that have happened, except for the most recent which is the sudden death of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
This is big (or so our agency is telling us).
We have been asked to pray for the stability of Ethiopia and to pray that policies concerning inter country adoption aren't negatively influenced.

Many people ask about our adoption and we feel so loved when they do. We are encouraged that people are praying for us and truly interested in our journey.

We are coming up on one year on the waiting list for a referral. This means that it's been one year since our paperwork (a.k.a. dossier) arrived in Ethiopia.

We know that God is faithful and He can work through all the issues and seeming turmoil.
If we're honest...(and I usually am honest) it feels like we may never get a referral. These are the feelings and thoughts we fight.
We know satan wants us to believe that it's pointless and that we should give up. Maybe he's convinced you of that too. Maybe he's trying to tell you that there's no point to adopt, that the wait is too long.
But he is a dirty liar.
We will continue to wait. We will continue to trust.
BUT... We are asking you to join us in praying for a referral.
Not because it makes us happy
Not because it's what we want
Because John Owen has a brother half way across the world
Because we have a son half way across the world
Because a little boy is waiting for his family to be able to come and get him.

Pray, pray, pray and then pray some more. (please)