Adding Color...

You all are so encouraging – thank you so much!

When we share that we are adopting, the first question is always, “from where?”

I've had many conversations over the years about where there is the greatest need for adoption… I have no doubt that the answer to that question can be debated and varies for each family. There are kids in every town, state, country and continent who are in need. However, we decided to focus on Africa for a few reasons…

First and foremost, I am meant to have a multi-cultural family. Silly, I know. Probably not politically correct to say… but I have always wanted black children. Put me in a room with a bunch of kids, and I will end up holding the child who is black. We are drawn to one another! I fully believe it's part of that early seed God planted in my mind regarding adoption. When Chad and I were dating, this came up in conversation and his reply was simply, “You do realize I am white, right?” J

Chad and I have both been on mission trips to third world countries and been significantly impacted by the level of poverty… We spent time together in Nigeria on a mission trip in 2006 working with Engineering Ministries International to develop plans for a new hospital that would focus on AIDS and also pre-natal education to women. We so enjoyed the people and culture… and were exposed to areas that were more remote than anything we had imagined. One specific “village” stands out in my mind. After driving hours on a dirt road, passing nothing but jungle, we passed a hut IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. There was a man on the front porch and naked children running around… and I wondered, and continue to wonder, what happens to those kids if that adult dies? Where do they even go for help??

 

 

When we returned from that trip, we sent a letter out to friends and family summarizing our experience. Here’s a little blurb:

“The huge change that we have experienced from this trip is letting go of the guilt we have both felt over being Americans and living in the top 3% of the world's wealth. We've learned and talked much more about why Americans are so blessed and why other countries are stuggling. There are so many factors that impact a nation's standard of living. It's not so clearly black and white.

We understand now that it was God's intent that we were born and raised in America and well educated. With that background comes a higher level of responsibility and conviction to serve and give, but not guilt. That's freeing!”

Fortunately, Nigeria does not have a high population of orphans due to the strong culture of family. A relative will nearly always take an orphaned child. So, we looked to other African countries and learned that the families in Ethiopia do not necessarily have that “luxury.” When a parent dies, there is often no one who has the health and resources to care for another child. 

I can’t escape the thought of a child not even having access to water or medical care – and that is the harsh reality in the rural areas of Africa. Ethiopia, specifically, has had a history or famine, drought, civil war and disease. (Interestingly, it’s the only African country that was not colonized by another nation (France, England, etc.). So, it has been able to preserve it’s own culture from the beginning of time… with that comes 90+ different languages and it’s own challenges of uniting and progressing forward.)

So, we’re adopting from Ethiopia!

Their adoption process has slowed down significantly in recent years. Unfortunately, like with everything else in our fallen world, there are unethical practices in the world of orphancare and adoption… and in order to take more time addressing each child and potential family, Ethiopia now limits the number of adoptions processed each month. Obviously, I understand the importance of this change, but it’s extremely frustrating knowing our children could already be orphaned and just waiting their turn in line before they have a “forever family”…

 

The standard perception is that international adoption is an expensive and long process. Very true. Very frustrating. But as we get further into the process, we better understand the why's and how's of the fees and time frames. More on that another time... 

If you have a minute, check out this video. It’s not our video or story, so I can’t vouch for all of the statistics, but it sums up where my heart is…

 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSaHNzWTLmA