But, first of I must report the great blessing - Jeremy has been promoted to an assistant store manager. We have been praying and waiting for this for a long time! Over the past two years, there have been many lessons in patience and persistence when it came to his career. He has grown a lot as a manager and we are so thankful for this promotion. Every time he interviewed for a position we committed to give God praise whether he got the promotion or not - and we did - but, oh how awesome it is to give thanks and praise as we celebrate his new position!
On the adoption front, we moved three spots. Movement is movement, and we are thankful, but this movement was not related necessarily to referrals (I think some families have dropped from the Ethiopia wait list - for different reasons I'm sure, but the wait with no movement has been grueling). We are hopeful to see movement in the next two months or so. From our understanding, over the past several months Ethiopia has been conducting an investigation among their orphanages and the overall orphan status of children to determine if international adoption is still needed. It has been reported that Ethiopia affirms the need for international adoption is very prevalent, but they also want to ensure that it is the last option when necessary. Upon concluding the investigation, a new policy to advertise each child for local adoption via the newspaper, radio, or any media outlet for at least two months has been implemented. So, overall we are thankful to receive some clarification on what has been happening in Ethiopia over the past several months and what to expect in the months to come. There seems to be anticipation that referrals will pick-up in a few months, but I am still approaching it all with a very tentative outlook.
In the meantime, we are gearing up for Secret Church tomorrow night. We have two couple friends coming over to join us for the intense bible study and we are super pumped about what God has for us to learn.
And, in light of Easter this weekend... take a minute to listen to this song, it's so beautiful!
