Bad Movie...

I feel like I am the main character in a really bad Lifetime Movie of the Week. The Ortego Law was approved today in Guatemala and that is NOT a good thing. On Tuesday, there will be the 4th and final reading. At this time, they will decide if and what amendments are going to be allowed for current adoptions. Here is an explanation that I found on a friend's blog (thanks Krystal!):

"The Guatemalan Congress has passed the Ortega Law. Birthmothers currently have the right to relinquish their child for adoption, to know who will care for the child during the process, and to know that the child is going to America. This law takes those rights away. Also, unless an amendment is passed, this law says that our adoption is now null and void. This law also says that the home in which Bella is currently receiving care, will no longer receive any funding from adoptions --it is currently 100% funded by adoption fees. The law provides no place for them or the thousands of children in this situation to go. The implementation date has not been set, but it could be as soon as 30 days. There is still hope for the amendment, that the Children's Committee is working on, to allow our adoption to be processed under the law in which it was initiated, but this is a huge knock against us and other in-process families."

Since we don't yet have Bella's birth certificate (she was supposed to try to get it today, but I am unsure if she was successful, given this occurring), we are still considered an "in-process case". If the BC is not issued, the passport done and we get to the U.S. Embassy before the law goes into effect (which could be at least 30 days), then we may not get Bella home.

I am not sure how I am "digesting" all of this. When my friend called to tell me that this had happened, I felt an overwhelming peace. We have been through SO much this year. We hit EVERY possible snag and overcame some IMPOSSIBLE scenarios. To think that all of it was in vain and my baby girl may not make it home to us, is not something I want to ponder for any length of time. I am still believing that Bella is coming home. We just are so close, yet so very far away.

To all my readers, please be in prayer, not just for Bella, but for ALL the families in process. This is a very scary time for all of us. For those of you that are not adoptive parents, imagine for a minute that your child- your heart- was trapped in a foreign country and you could not get him or her out. How would you be feeling right now? We may not have given physical birth to these children, but I assure you, we have been in LABOR for a long time. We have held these precious children, fed them, taken care of them... fallen head-over-heels in love with them, and then left them numerous times, to continue with our daily lives here. They are OURS and it is just too hard to go down without a fight.

And, I don't know if you remember my friend, Jane, that I told you about in August. She is trying to adopt Lucas. She has been visiting him for a year and he knows her as Mommy. She is at the Appeals Court waiting to get a Certificate of Abandonment to begin his adoption officially. Please pray for her. She is scared that she will never get him home with the passing of this law. She is not considered "in process" because she does not yet have a COA for him. She is devastated, as you can imagine. This is the little boy that carried around his photo album of his family in America-- their pictures, pics of his new home, etc- the ENTIRE time I was with them in Guatemala in July. Keep her and him in your prayers, please.

To quote my friend Krystal (http://www.braydenboy.blogspot.com/):

"We will not stop fighting for Bella, but the battle just got bigger!"