More great news

This past Friday our agency issued five referrals!!! And, they might pass court by the end of July. Let me explain why this would be so wonderful:

Every year, the Ethiopian courts close for about two months, Aug-Sept. Orphanages/agencies continue to issue referrals during this time, but with courts closed, the adoptions cannot be finalized until Oct (at the earliest). So, if the families who've already received referrals beat the court closures, they will be able to go get their children sooner. Our family coordinator from AWAA is actually in Ethiopia right now trying to expedite families waiting to pass court...she's amazing!!!

The courts close in Ethiopia during this time in observance of their New Year -- and this year is especially exciting because they are celebrating their millennium. Yes, we celebrated our/USA millennium eight years ago -- but Ethiopia, on the other hand, observes the Julian Calendar so Ethiopian dates fall 7- 8 years behind western dates and have done so since early Christian times. The discrepancy results from differences between the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Churches to the date of the creation of the world. Interesting, huh??

There is a slight possibility that we could receive our referral during the court closures, or shortly after....so, of course, we are beginning to get very excited!!!