Q & A Part 1:The Basic Questions

(Since I am sick, I'm just going to post this as is, because I wrote it a couple of days ago, and because I don't remember where I put my camera, and I don't feel like looking for it. So, sorry for the lack of photos.)

Why are we adopting?

We have 3 beautiful, wonderful children, and we could most likely just have another one. And its usually around the 1 year birthday that we start to think about when we will have another one. But we know that we have not been giving control of this area of our lives to God, we have been trucking along at our own pace, by our own desires, saying that we are surrendered to the will of God, but not actually letting Him be in charge ( as if we can let Him do anything.) So in the conviction that we were, in essence, stealing from God what was rightfully His, we prayed and asked Him to show us what His idea for our family is. And He is doing that. We believe that this is His will for us, that this will bring Him honor and glory, because it will have to be all His working to accomplish this.

Why Ethiopia?

(In order of importance)

1. We feel this is where God is leading us-this is where our daughter is.

2. There are lots of children in the U.S that need stable, loving homes and families, and it is great to adopt children here. But there is foster care here. Children who have nothing are taken care of better here than anywhere else in the world. There are more opportunities here for growth and success. Children who age out of orphanages at 15 ( the maximum age in Ethiopia which is also the median age of the population) are left to take care of themselves on the street- most girls end up in prostitution.

3. Ethiopia is the country with the greatest need in the world. There are 5 million children without parents. That is more than the population of Alabama.Can you imagine if Missouri, or your own state were nothing but orphans?

4.Ethiopia is the cheapest place to adopt from internationally, and has the fewest restrictions.

4.Why not?

What does it cost?

Alot- I'm not going to lie. We know the financial aspect seems insurmountable. It doesn't seem fair that bringing a child into a loving, stable home should cost so much when so many babies are killed every day because they get in the way of someone's American dream. But our God is bigger than any amount of money. He is greater than a deadline. He is more powerful than our greatest ambitions. We are going to work hard at this, save our money, cut out what we don't need, and pray like crazy. We don't think we are just going to sit back with our feet up and wait for a check in the mail. But we believe that the Lord will bless us throughout this whole thing-through our hard work and our reliance on Him. We are not going to be asking anyone for financial help, so don't worry about that! Sometime soon, we will be having a yard sale, and my hope is that it will be a big one. I'm going to be opening a shop on Etsy, and we will be applying for grants from ShowHope among others. I believe that the Lord will astound us and all will see just how faithful He is. We trust in Him alone to see this through to completion, debt free.