More answers to my questions

This week, we received more information on our adoption journey process. On our first trip, we will probably fly into Khabarovsk by way of Seoul, Korea. It seems that most adoptive parents adopting from Russia go through Russia by way of Europe. Since we are on the far east coast, we get to travel a bit differently. There is a hotel in the city where many adoptive parents stay, and we will probably do the same.

On the second trip to Russia (when we finally get to bring our child home), we will enter the country through Seoul, but we must go to Moscow for our final adoption court hearing. For this reason, we will be traveling home by way of Europe. We will not be able to stop and enjoy the sites of Europe as we travel home because our child will have a Russian passport and an American visa. This makes traveling difficult, and it is best to get to the US as soon as possible with the least amount of stops (especially in other countries). The second trip will be the longest. We must remain in the country 10 days after the court hearing. This gives us time to get our child's visa, finish all the paperwork, and complete any other hoops.

In the best possible scenario, we will receive a referral that contains the child's gender, age, some brief medical information, and maybe a photo. We will also get our travel date for trip 1. Once we arrive, we have to meet with the Russian Dept. of Education. They will go through the formal process of selecting and offering a child. If we agree, we are allowed to go to the orphanage and meet our child in person. At this time, we can receive more medical information, and we can ask more specific medical questions. We are able to accept the referral at this time. If there are concerns, we can refuse the referral and the staff will do everything in their power to find another child. If we accept the referral, then we fill out more paperwork. For the next few days, we will be able to visit our child each day for brief periods of time. We fill out more paperwork to set up a court date. The child can not stay with us, and must remain in the orphanage.

The second trip, we will be able to have possession of our child after our court date. We will travel home shortly after that. All of the courts are different in Russia. Judges do not have to request the same paperwork, and often change their minds about what documents they do or don't want. This is part of the reason that is takes so long - sometimes you have to phone the adoption agency and get them to send more documents. We are just praying that our judge will be less demanding than others. Please say a prayer for us that our pathway is clear of unforseen obstacles.