The Guatemala 5000 Initiative

Today we are asking and giving you the opportunity to speak on behalf of the fatherless. There has been and continues to be much turmoil going on in the country of Guatemala. International adoptions always hold some level of risk and we do not feel like that level of risk has increased even with the laws changing in Guatemala. However there is a possible time of suspension in all adoptions from Guatemala to the U.S. beginning Jan. 1, 2008.

To avoid these delays and suspensions we are asking you to be a voice advocating for these children who we feel should be home with their forever families as soon as possible! Please check out how you can help our baby girl and so many others be able to come home quickly: www.jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm

I also want to caution you to not get sucked into some of the rumors going around that these adoptions will be terminated. I have spoken with our agency(who has been doing Guatemalan adoptions for 30 yrs.), the US State Dept., and our IL congressman....all of who say that the worst case scenario is that these adoptions will be delayed by several months. The Guatemala government will be voting on an ammendment in mid-Nov. to "grandfather" the in-process adoptions to avoid delays....please pray.

Lastly, I want to express that David and I have total confidence and complete peace over this situation. We believe God is the TRUE advocate for the fatherless and that He will bring justice! We know without a doubt that Darlene Nicol Juan Salvador is our daughter and we can't wait for her to be running through our house with her two big brothers!

love, Marianne
ps. just realized we've never posted her name before.....this name was given to her at birth, we plan on giving her a NEW name but that will be revealed at a later time : )