Sept. update

It's the 22nd day of September and nothing has been mailed out from China yet to let agencies know what referrals were matched this month.  It looks like September will be a big, fat goose egg!!  I guess we'll have to wait for October to see what families will be matched with their children.  Bummer!!  The CCAA (China Center for Adoption Affairs) is here in the States meeting with agencies so that's probably why they haven't done referrals this month...there probably isn't anyone in the office in China.  The CCAA is meeting with agencies to go over things face-to-face.  I've "heard" that they want to receive post-placement reports until the child is 14 years old.  Of course, that would be at the cost of the adoptive family.  I'm totally fine with that, especially after hearing about the recent treatment of two adopted children here in TN.  One being put on a plane and sent back to Russia, the other beaten to death by her parent.  I think there should be more face-to-face meetings with the social worker and families once the child is home.  I'm sure it's hard for a social worker to determine a sleep-deprived parent who is doing well with their child, and a sleep-deprived parent who seriously needs some intervention, over a telephone interview.  The social workers have so much on their plate already that I know asking them to do personal visits until the child is 14 is nearly impossible.  So many people think that the adoption is "over" once the child is home, but in reality it's a long and difficult road for some children.  I hope these families will be willing to seek good, Christian counseling.  I know we will be so excited when we travel to China and bring our daughter home, but sometimes I have to make myself think of it from her point of view.  I try to imagine M2 who is 18 months old being picked up by a stranger and taken 1/2 way around the world to a culture she doesn't know, a language she doesn't understand, and faces she doesn't recognize.  How traumatic it must be for the child who has already been abandoned and institutionalized for most of their life.  I pray for love and patience for our family as we first come home with her because I know it won't be easy.