spring

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Family News!

Well, it's been a long time! We have some exciting family news that I wanted to share and I plan to continue blogging. This spring our family made the decision to start an international adoption. After lots of prayer and research we decided on Buckner/Dillion International as our agency and chose Korea. We have had lots of different reactions, but mostly positive from people when we tell them that we are planning to adopt. The biggest question is "Why? Especially when you already have 3 children!" I hope this will answer some of the "Why" questions!


About a year ago, the Lord opened our eyes to a great and overwhelming need. There are over 143 MILLION orphans worldwide today. As we started thinking and praying about the possibility of adoption, the subject continued to come up in Bible studies, sermons at church, books we were reading, and conversations with friends. It very quickly became clear to us that God was specifically calling us to adopt.

"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands." - Deuteronomy 24:19

"Because I delivered the poor who cried for help, and the orphan who had no helper." - Job 29:12

"Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow."
- Isaiah 1:17

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27


The Lord has a great love for orphans. We were faced with this reality and with a calling and a choice. We decided to obey. Now comes the hard part - the paperwork!!

Here's where we are in the process:
After a lot of thought, research and prayer we have decided that Korea is the best match for us. We will adopt a toddler, probably between 18 months and 2 years old. They told us that about 80 % of the babies adopted out of Korea are boys. We will most likely be matched with a boy, but we can't specify gender. The children live with a foster family and have excellent medical care while we are waiting. We have been told that it takes anywhere from 20-27 months to complete the process, but of course that can change at any time. Recently, our Step 1 application was approved and we have officially been accepted into the Korea program. We just received Step 2 in the mail and we have a LOT of work to do!

Thank you for praying for us on this crazy journey!