Why Adopt?

It's been a week since we shared God's call to adoption and we feel we need to make an effort to address some questions we've heard...

Why adopt when you can have kids of your own?

There are 147 million orphans in the world. Now stop and read that sentence again. One Hundred. Forty. Seven. MILLION. That's 147 million precious children that will never have a Mama or Daddy tuck them into bed or kiss away their tears... unless someone steps up. Every 18 seconds another child is orphaned. How many more children will become orphans in the time it takes you to read this post? We have been given so much. We are blessed beyond belief. Jesus Himself said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48) We can't bring home 147 million, but we can start with one.

God has made it abundantly clear that he has a heart for the orphan. For starters, James 1:27 says "Religion that God the Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." The actual practice of those words "look after" can manifest in a lot of ways: prayer, support, donation, missions. We know in our case, however, those words clearly mean adopt.

Why international adoption? Don't we have orphans in this country?

From the beginning, it has been our hearts' prayer that God would direct us in each and every step of this process. There is most certainly a great need in this country for parents to step up and adopt as well, but God has made it clear that our journey is elsewhere. For some reason, He has drawn our hearts beyond this country's borders and we will go where He directs.

So what country are you pursuing?

It was not a decision made lightly. We didn't spin a globe, close our eyes, and poke our finger at a country. Most importantly, we didn't want to cross any country off our list of possibilities until God clearly crossed it off for us. Prayer and discussion and research kept bringing us back to one country: Ethiopia. And once we had decided, it was as if the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place in our hearts and we couldn't even consider anywhere else. That is where our child is.

Ethiopia is a country beset by years of war, famine, and epidemics. UNICEF actually makes note that the country's population cannot be accurately calculated because of the "excess mortality due to AIDS". All of this combines to give Ethiopia one of the largest orphan populations in the world - almost 5 million children. In choosing our adoption agency, All God's Children International, we were particularly impressed with their obvious passion for orphans. Not only do they work diligently to build families through international adoption, they have taken initiative to care for the orphans left behind. In Ethiopia, they have started Hannah's Hope Children's Home to provide love, shelter, and safety to orphans still waiting for their forever family. (Click here to find out more.)

How are you going to pay for this?

By saving, by spending less on frivolous things that aren't necessary, by applying for adoption grants, by fundraising, and above all: by relying on God's provision. We trust that if God has called us, He will provide the means.

We have already seen Him work in amazing ways. When I discovered I was pregnant with Janelle more than 4 years ago, I felt certain that the Lord's plan for my life was to be a stay-at-home mom. I distinctly remember Andy and I sitting on our couch working up a budget to determine how we would live on one income. Our brainstorming session left me sobbing into Andy's shoulder because the numbers just didn't work. We were going to fall short - very short - every month. Four years, some creative cost-cutting, and another baby later I am blessed to be able to say that God has provided abundantly more than we could have imagined and has met our needs each and every month. He has already proven Himself to be the Great Provider. And, as a friend reminded me last week, "The Lord funds what He favors."

Please pray for us as we follow Jesus down this new road in our lives. We are excited. We are terrified. We are determined. Click here to view a video that has us proud of our choice of adoption agency and our hearts heavy with the suffering of the children of Ethiopia.

“Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.” For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.” (Proverbs 24:12)