questions and answers

Hunter had the good idea to do a list of FAQs regarding our adoption process. Here are some of the questions we usually get asked when we tell people about our journey (and our answers as of today):

Q: Do you know what country you’ll be adopting from?
A: Yes, Rwanda, which is in Eastern Africa. We both visited in 2006 and we cherished our time there. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth...despite the intense poverty experienced by many. I'm sure we'll tell you lots more about what Rwanda is like in the months to come.

Q: Boy or girl?
A: Either.

Q: How old?
A: We’re requesting a child anywhere between newborn and one year younger than Lucy. So, likely he or she will be no older than 12-15 months when they come home (or at least we hope so since neither of us can imagine waiting longer than that for #2!)

Q: How many?
A: One at a time, Adrianne; one at a time.

Q: Will you travel to Rwanda? How many times?
A: If all goes well, we’ll both make one trip to Rwanda to pick up and bring the child home. We’re not really sure how long the trip will be, but we think it will be 2 weeks, give or take.

Q: Will you bring Lucy with you?
A: We're not sure. If the planned trip is longer than 2 weeks then we probably will. If it is more like 7-10 days, we'll probably leave her at home with friends and family.

Q: When do you think you’ll bring the child home?
A: Honestly, it’s all conjecture at this point, but it seems like sometime in late 2009 or early 2010.

Q: Why are you adopting?
A: This is a little more complex and we’ll hopefully spend some time on this blog sharing some of our thoughts on the subject, but the short version is: there’s a kid in Rwanda somewhere, made in God's image just like you and me, who doesn’t have a family to care for them and we want to be their family.

Q: Do you have names picked out?
A: No, not yet. So, bring on the suggestions. Lucy got her name, in part, from a suggestion from a family member, so you never know how your ideas could have an impact.

Q: Will you know anything about the birth parents?
A: Probably not. Most of the children who have been adopted from Rwanda are abandoned because families are so poor they cannot take care of another child.

Q: Will you get a medical report for your child?
A: Yes. All adopted children are given a full medical examination. Before a child will be referred to us, they will be tested for HIV, hepatitis, TB, etc. Most adopted children are developmentally delayed as a result of being institutionalized. Studies say that for every 3 months you're in an orphanage you are developmentally delayed 1 month.

Q: What does the process look like?
A: It is a LONG process filled with lots and lots of paperwork. If you're really interested--and it is totally okay if you're not!--here's a summary of what international adoption requires:

Step 1: Choose an agency who has experience in Rwandese adoptions, apply, get accepted to
their program (done)

Step 2: Sign their adoption agreement and send initial payment. (done)

Step 3: Be assigned a family coordinator who will work with us throughout the adoption process. (done)

Step 4: Simultaneously compile paperwork for the home study and dossier. The dossier is the main adoption packet...made up of 3 lbs of paperwork...that is approved first by the U.S. government and then by the Rwandese government. These documents must be submitted to the homestudy agency before you can begin the in home homestudy process (we're done with all of this):
1. Autobiographies (3 pages for each of us detailing info about our lives)
2. Certified copies of birth/death certificates
3. Certified copy of marriage license
4. Notarized medical forms, with AIDS, TB and Hep bloodwork and clearance
5. State police clearances- Virginia
6. Child Protective Services clearance (Virginia)
7. FBI clearance
8. FBI fingerprints
9. Child Protective Services clearance (North Carolina)
10. Sworn Statement of Affirmation for all adults in household
11. Notarized employment letters for all claimed income
12. Notarized financial statement
13. Notarized copy of most recent federal tax forms (Federal 1040—1st 2 pages)
14. Signed guardianship statement
15. International disclaimer
16. Duty of Candor Form
17. Residential History Form
18. Reading agreement 19. America World Intercountry Placement form
20. 3 Agreements: AWAA, Home Study, Post Placement
21. Recent Pay Stub for Hunter
22. 3 Reference forms

Once you complete all those forms, you have 4 visits with the home study social worker who, during those visits, will spend 5 hours with you discussing your background, your reasons for adoption, your emotions towards the child's birth parents, your parenting style, etc. Our social worker was WONDERFUL. She visited our house twice and we met with her up in DC to sign off on our 10-page homestudy.

Here is a list of items we need to compile for the Rwanda Dossier:

1. Application letter (notarized and certified)
2. Hunter’s birth certificate (certified in Missouri)
3. Adrianne’s birth certificate (certified in Ohio)
4. Our Marriage License (certified in North Carolina)
5. Adrianne’s Medical Form (notarized and certified)
6. Hunter’s Medical Form (notarized and certified)
7. Medical Insurance Copy (notarized copy of an original and certified)
8. Medical Insurance Card Copy (notarized copy of an original and certified)
9. Financial Statement (notarized and certified)
10. Hunter’s W-2 Statement (notarized copy of an original and certified)
11. Adrianne’s Non-employment letter (notarized and certified)
12. Our homestudy (notarized and certified)
13. Adrianne’s declaration of intent (notarized and certified)
14. Hunter’s declaration of intent (notarized and certified)
15. Hunter’s police department record (notarized and certified)
16. Adrianne’s police department record (notarized and certified)
17. I-171 H (notarized copy of an original and certified)
18. Power of Attorney (notarized and certified)
19. Family composition letter (notarized and certified)
20. Agency Post Adoption letter (notarized and certified)
21. Adrianne’s passport (notarized copy of an original and certified)
22. Hunter’s passport (notarized copy of an original and certified)

Step 5: Both of us complete 10 hours of Hague online pre-adoption training (done)

Step 6: Apply for a visa for our baby (I-600 Application to the USCIS) (done)

Step 7: Once our family coordinator approves the home study we submit the final copy to the USCIS. (done)

Step 8: Certify dossier documents based on the state in which they originate. (done)

Step 9: Make 3 full sets of the dossier

Step 10: Send completed dossier to AWAA.

Step 11: AWAA reviews it and sends it to the Rwandese embassy (likely in the next 2 weeks)

Step 12: They write a letter of recommendation and then send it to Rwanda (probably in the next 4 weeks)

Step 13: WAIT FOR WAY TOO LONG!

Step 14: Receive approval by the Ministry of Family and Gender. (We've seen this taking anywhere from 2-5 months)

Step 15: Once we're approved, the caregivers at the home from which we'll adopt will pray and choose a child for us. We'll likely be approved to adopt from Mother Theresa's "Home of Hope" in Kigali, Rwanda. Then our child will go through a bunch of medical tests and then we'll get our referral which will include lots of pictures of our child, their given name, their "story" of why they are orphaned, etc. (that takes somewhere around 4-6 weeks once we receive our approval)

Step 16: Travel and Court. Once we accept our referral, we'll receive our court date in Rwanda, when the child will be legally ours. We'll schedule our travel and GO!

Step 17: COME HOME!!!!!!!

Please pray for us and walk with us on this journey!!!