Last Wednesday, countless adoptive families around the world were still dreaming about and preparing for their future children.

They were completing homestudy visits.

Applying for background checks.

Hosting fundraisers.

Praying for their Chinese-born superheroes.

And in a split second last Thursday, everything changed.

I spent what I thought was any other summer day at the lake with my superheroes and my friends, and by the time I dried off and picked up my phone that afternoon, my iPhone screen was overflowing with notifications.

Missed calls. A never-ending log of unopened texts. Facebook messages.

Contacts from devastated families.

Totally unaware of what had thrown countless families we know and love into total chaos, I went to our agency’s website … and found this.

A notice that on Thursday morning, the CCCWA in China had sent an announcement to all international adoption agencies that work inside China notifying them of new eligibility rules for adopting families.

Effective immediately.