Many people have asked the question "why did you chose to adopt internationally?" That question often comes as a result of people sharing their heart about the Foster care system, domestic adoption, and/or the huge cost of International adoption.
I love and welcome this question because any time it's asked, it gives me an opportunity to share God's heart in regards to the orphans and adoption!!!
First and foremost, let me start out by sharing that God's heart is for ALL the orphans!!! He sees the hurting, He sees the need and He calls on His people to action!
James 1:27 says, "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and fautless is to looks after orphans and widows in their distress."
When I read this verse, and especially given the context of the book of James, I realize that this verse is truly a call to DO something. It is our faith lived out through action!
While this verse and many others call us to action, I also acknowledge that this verse doesn't mean we all need to adopt! (As a side note: we need to also ask ourselves what we can do to help the widows in their distress). There is so much we can do to support those who are adopting (not just financially). This is the very reason we have invited anyone who desires to "Join the Journey!!"
So back to the question, "Why adopt internationally?" To make it simple... We asked God to break our hearts for what He wanted for our family, and He broke our heart for China! Our daughter is in China, and we will work as hard as we can to bring her home!!
I also want to let you know that our hearts break for all the hurting and all those in the world that need a family!! There is much work to be done and so many children that need homes where the love of Christ is modeled so that they can come to know their Savior personally!! May we never settle until God's work is accomplished!
With that being said, I thought I would share some things that God has taught us so far during this process! First of all, in China, the gospel is not allowed to be shared without a great cost!! The chances of an orphan hearing the great message about the love of God is pretty slim! Second, in most countries, if a child is not adopted by the age of 16, they usually leave the orphange and are left to fend for themselves! What then ends up happening is that they turn to usually the only thing that can make fast money... drugs and prostitution... that breaks our heart!!
When God took ahold of our hearts for us to adopt, and broke our hearts for China, we asked Him to close the doors quickly if he had another place in mind that would be a better fit for our family. After starting the process, we thought the doors were going to close for us in China due to the strict regulations they place on adoptive families, but God miraculously kept them open! We also had no clue about the cost of international adoption when we started the process!!! We prayed and sought counsel and everyone we talked with shared that we shouldn't let money be the thing that stops us from adopting internationally, so we haven't! We continue to trust God to provide financially, and He has so far! We have a long way to go, but we know that we serve a faithful, loving God who is truly in control!
So, for a quick summary... Why internationally?.. God broke OUR heart for China, miraculously opened the doors (given the strict qualifications), and we are seeking to serve and follow Him in every aspect of our lives... so here we are on the journey!
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