Well...at least we would have been early!!!!

Since October, I have thought that our hearing is next Wednesday August 10th. My husband reminded me it is on the tenth... but that is next Tuesday. Sooooo, I changed our pre-plan of drivers, translator, and childcare to next Tuesday. Well guess what??? It is Wednesday the 11th! Thankfully, we would have been a day early! Having to be there by 8:30 a.m. means leaving our house by 7:00 a.m. because of traffic. So, we are really happy to only have to do it once on the right day!

We left our house today at 2:15 and arrived at the hotel at 3:15 (15 minutes early) because traffic was bad. Our attorney then showed up late because he forgot which hotel he told us and went to a different one. Thankfully he remembered and showed up a bit late. The meeting was very informative...specifically the date! He explained some things in detail of what we should expect next week and what we need to do to proceed after that. I will do my best to explain.

First and foremost, I was concerned that PGN would ask to delay the resolution again and ask for another hearing. They are notorious for delays so I sort of had that in the back of my mind. Our attorney reassured me that will not happen. He read our official court decree where the judge specifically stated that they had failed to do their job prior to the hearing in October when they were told to provide reports to the court regarding the search for the birth mother and family of Cintia. She put in the resolution that this hearing will be a final hearing, and if they don't provide the reports that she will file legal charges against them for contempt. On top of that, he spoke with them last week and the PGN apparently has done their job. They sent someone to each town mentioned on Cintia's birth certificate and no family has loooked for Cintia. There is also a registry that was started by the first lady (I believe...or some govn. entity) where orphanages register kids and where birth families can list their names when looking for a child. Again...Cintia's case was clear. Basically, the abandonment hearing should be a formality. Since our judge ruled in Cintia's favor in October, I don't expect that she will have changed her mind. She said that Cintia's rights have been violated and the only way to restore those rights is to enable Cintia to have a family through the process of adoption. The PGN attorney was the one who said no...not yet. Even if the judge rules in our favor and grants the adoptibility (which is the same as the legal abandonment), this does not start the adoption process. This court cannot do that. However, this is the court that determines custody which we fully expect to keep and they also grant adoptibility. Really good news was that once she is deemed adoptible (which means getting positive resolution in court on Wednesday) we have to wait 3 business days and the resolution will be completed. We can then submit it with our paperwork to the Central Authority or CNA (who does have control over the adoption). That will be when and where the adoption process can begin.

Back to court on Wednesday, we are suppose to present all of the specifics of Cintia's care to the court during the hearing in order to build a case. This will include a report from us and DVD to show some of the therapy and medical things Cintia has to do each day. This is not to convince them to let her be adopted by us but rather to impress upon the minds of PGN how important it is to support the adoption. Apparently, the CNA can ask PGN their opinion and it can help expedite the process for special needs or at least confirm the match of our family with Cintia. The CNA has to be the ones who match her with our family but they can ask for opinions from people involved in the case. Which brings me to how the process should move forward....we will be proceeding as a special needs case instead of a normal adoption under the new law. The new law is now published, but Cintia's case is too complex to really fit there. So for now, it looks like she will fall outside the new cases and outside the old cases as well (those are the ones that are being grandfathered in under the old law because they are adoptions started prior to Jan 1, 2008). International adoptions have not resumed although they were suppose to start around 40 test cases in July...yes last month. It did not happen...no surprise there. He said the laws that were just published were (by law) suppose to be published in 16 days and that was over 2 years ago ....they were just released. Ugh! Do you get the picture of how things run here????Sounds scary doesn't it? As a special needs case, Cintia will be considered as a special case adoption (something even the Hague treaty allows). This means that it will not be processed like an in country adoption or an international one. They require similar paperwork but the process is different as is the visa. His words to us today were that cases that medically don't compare to Cintia's have been approved as special needs, and for lack of a better way of saying it...this is a no-brainer in his eyes. He said not only would Cintia not have the financial and medical care she needs in Guatemala, but she would not have the love of our family who she has taken as her own. It would be cruel to take her at this point. He said the love we have for her is shown not only in how we have cared for her but our willingness to do whatever it takes to continue doing that. It is not going to be an easy process but it is one we can proceed with in faith....one step at a time.

In the same way we have walked through the last two and a half years, step by step we will move forward. Faith and patience.....that's all it will take! Faith to walk the path in front of us when we don't know the next step. Faith that Cintia will hang in there medically while we go through the process. Faith that God will guide the process and show us the way. We don't no how to do what has to be done....but God sure does and we are trusting Him to do it in His perfect timing!

Blessings!
April