It has taken 7 months but we have finally received our log in date (LID)!!! Our dossier was logged in to the system on August 23, 2007. We can officially begin the waiting process!! I have listed the steps below to give you a better understanding of where we are in the process. Step 1 and 2 is complete and we will be stuck in step 3 for quiet sometime.
1. Our dossier was sent to the China Center for Adoption affairs (CCAA) by the Children’s Hope Int. Beijing Office. COMPLETED
2. Dossier enters the office and can wait for up to 1 month to be logged in. Once you receive your log in date (LID) your wait officially begins. COMPLETED
3. Your dossier waits to begin the process. WAITING AND WAITING AND WAITING... THIS MORE THAN LIKELY WILL TAKE A YEAR.
4. The CCAA administration passes your dossier to Bridge of Love where they verify your dossier’s translation. This process takes 2-3 months.
5. Your dossier waits for its turn to be reviewed by department 1.
6. Your dossier is passed to Department 1 for review and approval (2-3 months).
I AM SURE SOME MORE WAITING HERE TOO!!
7. Your dossier is passed to Department 2 for matching. This too can take many months. Your dossier is matched several weeks before step 8.
8. Your referral is sent to the administration office to be signed by all of the CCAA directors and then mailed to CHI. This can take several weeks.
9. You receive your referral. (A very happy day!) A referral is a picture and brief medical history of the child CCAA has matched you with. You send your letter of acceptance to CHI who then quickly sends it to CCAA.
ALMOST THERE!!!
10. The CCAA sends you travel approval to come to China and complete the adoption. This process takes about 1 month.
11. You travel to China to meet your child and complete the adoption. This is approximately 6-8 weeks after the referral.
Once again, we ask for your prayers throughout this long process. Pray specifically for: 1) guidance for our family during this process, 2) for the orphaned children in China and around the world, 3) the biological family my daughter will come from, and 4) the finances needed to complete this adoption.
We are so thankful for how the Lord is working in our lives. Even in the early stages of this adoption we have seen His handy work. Because of His perfect timing we have been ahead of schedule. We have received money when we were least expecting it, we received our I-171H a month earlier than expected, and we got our LID (log in date) 3 months earlier than expected. Thank you sweet Jesus!! Now, we begin the hardest part of all and that is the long wait!!!
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
