Nearly every country that allows international adoption has different policies and protocols involved in the process. Jenny's country didn't allow parents to meet children until a custody court date was set. N's country, conversely, wants prospective parents to meet their child prior to committing to the referral and moving forward to finalize the adoption. This is lovingly referred to as the "Meetcha Trip" (As opposed to the "Gotcha Trip" which will come next when we travel again to pick him up as an official Etter.)
It makes sense on many levels. There were times when we wished we had gotten to meet Jenny so that we could better prepare for her arrival into our home. What was her favorite color? Shoe size? favorite food? Would she need an overnight nurse? (On the flip side, we're infinitely glad we never got to meet her because we're certain our hearts would never have been able to recover from the loss.)
We'll get to meet N and ask all of these questions and more when we're there. We'll get to spend time with him each day for a week, getting to know his likes and dislikes and his habits, tendencies and routines. For the Etters, who are proud Type-A's, this will help us to at least have a tiny glimpse into what we can expect when he comes to his forever home in four to six months.
So now we're packing, setting up Airbnb accounts and trying rather comically to learn an Eastern European language. Vivien will be staying with our friends from church and school so there won't be any break from her normal routine, except for missing mommy and daddy.
As we embark on this journey, we ask for your prayers: for us as we travel to a small Eastern European country - it's not easy to get there from here, so pray for travel mercies! Pray for us as we meet our little guy for the first time. Pray for N as he meets us and pray for the adoption workers who will be orchestrating the meetings and translating between us. Pray for Vivien as she spends a week away from mommy and daddy.
But most of all, pray that God would be honored by this trip in everything that we say and do. We are His light and may we shine into the darkest parts of the world for His glory.
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