What is it with the letters?

When we were involved with Nepal adoption program it had not developed a system of doing adoptions yet. We had 3 simple things that we hoped for. We waited for our number to tell us where we were in the order of submitting our dossier, (which really didn't matter because they gave referrals in whatever order they wanted to) for our referral and then travel approval. We never got past step one. We were number 13 for 2010. We were so excited. I had a friend give me a card with a picture of a very excited lady with the number 13 all around her. I think that is when I dropped my guard and started really believing that I was adopting from Nepal. Then it came to a crashing halt.
When I started with the China program I started to see all these letters. DTC, PA, LOA, LOI, LID, etc. I now know what they mean the the order they are suppose to come in. I hope that I can check each one off as we go along. The crisis in Ethiopia is a reminder that you just don't know what might happen next on this journey. I am seeing people in the China program going through these letters, but from someone who knows that anything could happen along the way, I still have my guard up. I let my gurad down before. I want to believe that this system of the China program is working, but it is scary. All I really care about is that TA! But I will play this game. (that is sure what it feels like)

I was very excited to hear that friend of mine who has family adopting from Ethiopia just received their court date. It is March 19th! Praise God! It is so good to hear that there is some movement. I pray each day for Ethiopia. I think too often we can get in our own little world when it comes to adoption. We can not ignore what is happening in other countries. We just can't do that. It could be our country that is affected next.
Friday we go for our fingerprints for the 2nd time. This week I want to get our local back ground checks done for the 3rd time. I also need to get a letter from employers for the 2nd time. I will keep plugging away on my list and hopefully mid April I will be taking two road trips. One to Indy to get our certifications done and then on to Chicago to get everything authenticated. Then I can start the game with the wonderful letters.