Urgent Prayer Request

We learned this week that the Guatemalan government moved up the reading of the "Ortega Law", a law that would have devastating effects on the adoption process in Guatemala. In short, the law will halt all adoptions from Guatemala to the United States as of Dec 31st. Currently, there is no "grandfather clause" attached to the bill. This means all cases currently in process, if not completed by Dec. 31st, would be indefinitely tabled. There is no plan for when they would resume or what the requirements for adopting under the new law would be. There are rumors that a committee is working on a grandfather clause and will try to attach it as an amendment. Our prayer is that before the law is finalized, the Guatemalan government will add a provision allowing in-process adoptions to be completed under the current law. We are also praying that the grandfather clause will cover all the children currently in the system who don't yet have a waiting family. For instance, our agency has 21 little boys and 8 little girls who have not been referred to a family yet. We are praying that they would be allowed to be adopted under the current system. Otherwise, they may never find a "forever family." The final vote on the law will take place Tuesday October 9th.

Blessings,
Amy

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, I tell myself. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God even with my dying breath. Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When their breathing stops, they return to the earth, and in a moment all their plans come to an end. But happy are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the one who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He is the one who keeps every promise forever, who gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts the burdens of those bent beneath their loads. The Lord loves the righteous. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever. O Jerusalem, your God is King in every generation! Praise the Lord!