Today's Hearing.....

. . . . . was suspended. Yup, because the lab in Spain made the mistake on the DNA test submitted in June, the judge called for new samples and a new hearing date. We don't as yet have any idea when they plan to take the samples or if it will take another 3 months to process. We also still don't know if our attorney will get permission for anyone to visit Olivia. A lot more uncertainty.

So we continue to wait.

Thank you for all your prayers, please keep 'em comin'.

DNA Results Are In........However............

After 3 months of waiting for the results of the DNA taken between Olivia and the woman claiming to possibly be her biological grandmother, we learned last night that our attorney had just received word from the Court clerk, (a week and a day before the hearing), that the results were in. The test came back negative, which is great, however, apparently the folks at the lab in Spain that were doing the testing, ran the test as though they were testing for a mother/child relation and not for grandmother/grandchild! Unbelievable. Apparently the test is conducted differently for different relations.

As you might imagine, we are in utter disbelief that a mistake like this could have been made, especially at this pivotal point in our case. All throughout this process, when there is a foot to be gained by the next progressive step, we gain only an inch at the most. "Frustration" cannot accurately describe how we feel.

So our supposed "final" hearing is next Thursday, one week from today. With what we know now, the judge will more than likely assign yet again, a new "final" hearing date. We've been told that 'the understanding is' that they probably won't have to run a new DNA and that they will try to determine if the results can be analyzed to look for markers that would rule out this "grandmother" lady. If not, and they have to do a whole new test, you guessed it, more months of waiting for results. We've been told that a new hearing date would most likely be dependent on the Court calendar and that can vary quite a bit.

Meanwhile, our little girl has been away from everything and everyone she knows and loves for 3 months without any contact or explanation. Our attorney was trying to get permission for her foster family to visit, but apparently that hasn't happened and we're not clear on why. The only glimmer of hope we've had in all this time is a photograph posted by the orphanage on their Facebook page, showing Olivia during an outing to Pizza Hut with the other children a few weeks back. She's playing and is smiling. I won't post the picture because I don't want in any way to jeopardize the "no contact" rule.

There has been some buzz recently among other adoptive families still waiting to bring their children home, that the remaining 300-400 cases might be completed by the PGN, (the original processing agency in Guatemala before the government shut down adoptions at the end of 2007). That would actually be good, considering the new process, the CNA doesn't really have a concrete process in place. However (again), we've been told that our case, should we be allowed to proceed, would fall into the abandonment category, therefore we would definitely have to complete it through the CNA. More hoops to jump through. Our attorney, Beyla is trying to get a jump-start on the necessary next step in that process, so at the next hearing, we'll be ahead of the game.....a little bit.....maybe.

So that's where we stand at the moment. Hopefully there will be something more to report after the hearing on the 9th.

Please continue to join us in prayer for a quick solution to this mess and for our sanity and patience, (the latter two have really been under fire of late). Please pray that God would touch and soften the heart of this judge and that he might have mercy on this situation. And please pray for Olivia, that she would be at peace and that God would protect her heart and mind through all this and that someone would be able to visit her soon and explain to her that we're all still here and love her very much and are trying very hard to get her home. Thank you.

I'll update again as soon as I hear something.