Today, September 1, 2008, the current Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the United States and Vietnam expires.

John and Connie met each other at church during their college days at Oklahoma State University. What started out as a very casual and comfortable friendship steadily grew into much more as they spent more and more time together in church/ministry, and hanging out with friends--less than 14 months after they met, they were married! […]

Over at the conservative website Townhall.com, John Stossel (formerly of 20/20) writes an eyebrow-raising piece called USA Makes Adoption Harder. I want to be very clear that some of Stossel's statements make me uncomfortable, and this is not an endorsement of Stossel's article. But much of what he says is a simple reality, however unpopular […]

I'm passing this request on from another adoption agency. If you have a friend who has faced this problem, please point them here. Personal adoption stories are an extremely effective force for policy change. Please help me collect stories of families who have had difficulties changing incorrect birthdates on Certificates of Citizenship. If your child […]

The following information is adapted from the post-adoption support files here at Carolina Hope. Note that this information is directly applicable only to SC residents who have adopted from overseas. The information provided here should not be construed as legal advice, for which you should see a qualified attorney. Once you are home with your […]

On January 11 the U.S. Department of State issued a warning (dated January 9) about the status of Guatemala adoptions. (As mentioned in a previous post, Carolina Hope has put its Guatemala adoption program on hold pending new standardized procedures for adoptions in Guatemala. Of course, cases registered under the old system are still being […]

Tomorrow, January 17, Carolina Hope's Director of International Programs, Lisa Prather, and Director of Ministry Outreach, Dan Cruver, will be traveling to Ethiopia along with a professional camera man (on loan from another ministry, which has generously made him available to us). The purpose of the trip is to conduct research for Carolina Hope's Ethiopia […]

As the result of one of our first adoption interviews, I had the opportunity to meet (via e-mail) a missionary who serves in Ethiopia. It did not take much interaction for me to sense a kindred-spirit. Anthony Mathenia is passionate about the gospel and loves the people of Ethiopia deeply. He and his wife, Amber, […]

The Joint Council on International Children's Services has posted copies of the letters sent by the U.S. Congress to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger and to UNICEF. If you participated in lobbying your congressmen to sign the letters, thank you. The announcement (and link) from JCICS are below. Dear Colleagues, Joint Council has posted copies online […]

This morning, Thomas DiFilipo, President of JCICS, sent out this update of the Guatemala 5000 initiative. (I've previously blogged about this initiative here and here.) Joint Council Update Program: International Relations Initiative Date: October 31, 2007 Regarding: U.S. Congressional Letters – 203 Signatures Dear Friends and Colleagues, Through our collective efforts, the Guatemala 5000 Initiative […]