October Update

Today was another conference call with Gladney.

For those of you who only have a minute the short version is: there is really no new news on the wait time.

For those of you wanting the full story: The government has apparently informed several of the officials that they need to enforce the one child law. The doctors/nurses/hospitals have been informed that they must notify the police if a baby is abandoned. Many have taken it upon themselves to find good homes for the babies which is illegal in China. It is also illegal for someone who finds a baby to raise it as there own. This has made an impact on the number of babies available for adoption. The real problem comes when the children are of school age and are not registered with the government and therefore cannot attend school. In the long run this will perhaps make more babies available down the road but I am not sure if it will impact my group or not.

Next, we were informed that China was on a holiday from October 1st through October 7th which means no paperwork will be processed this week. I took the liberty of searching the web to find out about the holiday and here is the scoop:

Oct. 1st is China's National Day. It is a festival of great importance to the people nationwide and they celebrate it with great felicitation. In the early morning, numerous people arrive at Tiananmen Square in Beijing to see the ceremonial raising of the national flag. This is followed by a great ceremonial review of troops on the Tiananmen Square and various festive activities are held in different regions. When evening comes, fireworks are set off to illuminate the sky brightly and gallantly.

In 1999, the Chinese government decided that the three days designated for the National Day celebration be combined with the two weekends on either side, thus giving people a seven-day vacation. Also because of the great indulgences during the week, it is regarded as another Golden Week for the Chinese people when they can go out to visit some long-cherished tourist attractions or doing other things people like to do.

So, we will continue to wait for our paperwork to be matched and more news on Abby. Until then, keep praying.