Unexpected

In the adoption process we have learned to expect the unexpected. Today we received some news from our agency that definitely qualifies as unexpected. One of the reasons we felt that the Lord was leading us to Ethiopia was because it only required one trip. We felt that due to Harry’s health issues it would be wise for us to pursue an adoption in a country that only requires one short visit. Because of the cost of international travel this also cuts down on the overall expense.

The news today is that Ethiopia will now be requiring parents to make two trips. The first trip will be for the purpose of appearing in court. The second trip, three months later, will be to pick up our son. Obviously this is a big surprise on both fronts. We'll have to make two lengthy overseas trips and it will cost an additional $6,000. There will be lots to pray about in the coming days. We’d certainly appreciate it if you would join us as we seek the Lord’s direction for moving forward.

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What's Next?

The most overwhelming challenge of adoption is the cost. By the time all is said and done it will cost between $25,000 and $30,000 to bring our little boy home from Ethiopia. We started the process because of a generous gift from a dear friend that covered the initial fees. We are now trusting the Lord to provide the rest. We’re working hard to get the money together, applying for grants and doing some fundraisers, but we have a long way to go. We know that providing a loving Christian family for a child who would otherwise grow up in an orphanage or on the streets is worth the cost. Here’s what we still need:

We need $5,600 more to take the next step. It’s been five months and our paperwork is finally finished. That’s a huge step, but we can’t send our dossier to our agency so it can be sent to Ethiopia until we’re able to send a large check with it. Once the money and our dossier are submitted the wait to be matched with our son can begin.

Once we are matched with our child we will need about $12,000 so that we can go meet him and bring him home. This amount will cover what remains of our adoption fees (about $5,000) and the cost of travel to Ethiopia and back (about $7,000).

We will continue to work hard to raise the necessary funds but we still need help. We would be grateful if you would consider contributing to our adoption. America World has a program called “Eternal Family” that allows our friends and family to give tax-deductible gifts towards our adoption. If you’re interested in this we can e-mail you a form to send to America World and they’ll send you a receipt. You can also donate directly through Pay Pal using the “donate” button at the top of this page.

Thank you for your interest in our family’s adoption. We’ll keep you posted.

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Black Children an Endangered Species?

This image is appearing on billboards around the metro-Atlanta area. Dr. Mohler has an excellent article about the effects legalized abortion has had on the black community and one woman who is trying to do something about it. Here is a shocking statistic: 18,870,000 black babies have been aborted since Roe v. Wade. That is a staggering loss of humanity.

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Video for Dads

Don't know this guy but I like him:

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Why Ethiopia?

• 1.5 million people are infected with AIDS (6th highest in the world)
• 44% of the population is under 15 years old
• 720,000 children have been orphaned by AIDS alone, and there are 4.6 million orphans in Ethiopia.
• 88% will never attend secondary school
• Ethiopia's doctor to child ratio is 1 to 24,000
• Half of the children in Ethiopia will never attend school
• One in six children die before their 5th birthday
• One in ten children die before their 1st birthday
• Per capita, Ethiopia receives less aid than any country in Africa
• The median age in Ethiopia is 17.8 years

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I-171H

Yesterday we received some good news. A rather unspectacular envelope (I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting but I definitely thought it would be larger) came in the mail containing the document that gives us permission to bring a child born overseas into the United States. The name of the form is I-171H. This is a huge step forward and is the culmination of about 4 months worth of work.

This document puts us into a time when we’re only waiting for funds so that we can send it off to Ethiopia. We need about $6,000 to take that next step and we would invite you to join us as we pray for God to provide. God provided the money for us to get started and I know that He can provide the money we need to keep moving forward.

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Arno Pet

This is the most recent post from Dr. Albert Mohler. This story about adoption in Haiti isn't the story you think it is going to be and it certainly doesn't end the way you expect it to end. But it is a sad and beautiful picture of adoption. As Dr. Mohler says in his final paragraph, in the rubble of a hotel in Haiti we find a picture of the gospel of Christ.

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Still Waiting

This is a long overdue update on our adoption process. We’ve finished the hard part of the home-study and we’re now waiting (and waiting and waiting) for the home-study to be finished by the home office. I say finished because we’re not positive what’s taking so long. It was sent to Atlanta two weeks ago and as far as we knew it only needed some signatures before we could move on with the process.

I already made the point in the last post that adoption is all about hurrying up so you can wait some more. I actually just re-read my previous post before writing this one and was somewhat encouraged. I’ll be sure and use this as an illustration next time I’m preaching about the value of journaling.

The waiting thing is expected and we’re getting through it. The bigger issue recently has been related to finances and for that we covet your prayers. We started this process after much prayer and because someone generously provided a large gift to us so that we could begin the process. We had an amount in mind. This person called and wanted to give us exactly that amount. Well, we’ve hit another wall and we’re waiting to see what the Lord does.

Adoption is an expensive process. I’m sure most of you know that already but you might be surprised to find out how many people haven’t given the cost of adoption much thought. Because of the foster care system some have even thought that the adoptive family gets paid to adopt. By the time all is said and done we’ll have needed between 25 and 30 thousand dollars to bring our son (or daughter) home from Ethiopia.

We have another payment due in the near future and it has turned out to be twice what we thought it was going to be. So we’re trusting God to provide. We named the blog, “He Sets the Lonely in Families” because we believe that when it’s all said and done it will be God who has placed this child in our home.

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Hurry Up and Wait

Erika keeps reminding me to update the Adoption Blog. We’re definitely in a holding pattern right now as we wait for our home study to be rough drafted, redrafted and then final drafted. So the update is: we’re still waiting.

That the adoption process is slow and often uncertain is not new to me. The process of international adoption has just brought a whole new level of things to go slowly. Once the home study is completed then we’ll rush around to move onto the next part of the process and then we’ll wait there for a while.

The key in the waiting is to constantly remind oneself that the child God has for us isn’t going to be skipped over because the process took too long. Years from now when our little guy (or girl) is someone we know and love we definitely won’t be sitting around wishing the home study had come in a week or two earlier. God’s timing will have proven itself to be perfect.

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143,000,000

According to UNICEF that's the number of orphans in the world. Here's a video to put that number in perspective. It's overwhelming to think about. Every single one of those orphans represents a person created in God's image. Every single one, if adopted into a Christian family could be exposed to a father and mother who could teach them diligently the words of God as they sit, as they walk, as they lie down and as they rise up. Every single one of them has only two possible destinations in eternity: heaven or hell.

How can we think about helping 143,000,000 orphans? The answer is to help one at a time. People do overwhelming things all the time. How do we pay down overwhelming debt? We do it one month at a time. How do we get in shape? We take it one day and one pound at a time.

When I went to seminary I quickly came to understand that I was way behind everyone else when it came to the books that I needed to read. I was overwhelmed by the amount of material I needed to cover just to catch up. But I resovled to do it one book at a time and one page at a time.

I've been asked how adopting one child is going to help the orphan problem. Who am I to think that I can make a difference in such an overwhelming situation? I am convinced that for one child I can make a difference. For that one child I can help in a situation that must seem far more overwhelming than reading books or losing weight.

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