Think Summer!

So, its official; our paperwork will arrve in Colombia sometime this week and begin the translation process! We received an email over the weekend saying that our paperwork arrived in Oregon in excellent condition and was turned around the same day and sent to Colombia!!!!!

Julie said that due to the holidays, the paperwork would not be delivered to the ICBF until January 10-15. This is still moving much quicker than we anticipated! We were thinking that translation would not even take place until then, although now understand that CHI representatives in Colombia will do the translation in the meantime so that the paperwork is ready for the ICBF review.

So, many of you have been asking what sort of timeline we are looking at then....this is what Julie has shared: "Since you didn't
specify a city in Colombia for the child assignment, your dossier will most
likely be sent out for assignment as soon as the review is complete. This
won't happen overnight, but I'd be very surprised if you didn't have a baby home
by summer, and possibly much sooner. But think summer!"

For those in need of a more practical timeline...from everything we have gathered, the review process could take 4-6 weeks, assignment to a region could take 1-2 weeks, and the official referral of our son or daughter would take 6-8 weeks. The referral is what would provide us with our child's pictures, biographical, medical, and developmental records. We are setting our sights on hearing of a referral, at the earliest, sometime in mid-March, for those of you who need a more clear timeline.

We are told to plan on traveling 3-4 weeks following the acceptance of our referral. Again, and at the earliest, that could mean sometime in April/May! We are absolutely tickeled to say the least! So as to guard our hearts from the annoying disappointment of a lengthier wait, we are more setting our focus on Julie's "think summer" comment. It is better to have a more realistic focus and be absolutely suprised if things move much quicker, knowing that holidays (and there are many in Colombia) as well as government changes, etc. can have an affect on timeline.

We had many things to be thankful for in approaching this holiday season...and now, an additional huge thanks with the paper chase being complete! God has been so clearly evident in the paper chase; we look forward to how he will reveal himself in the wait!

Praying that you and your family would equally sense the hand of God at work in your life and the lives around you this Christmas!

Much Love,
The Derrs