Why the DRC?

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." - James 1:27

The Democratic Republic of Congo is the second poorest country in the world. In the United States, 1% of all children die before the age of five. In stark contrast, 52% of all Congolese children die before the same age. It is estimated that 15 percent of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s under-18 population are orphans - 770,000 of them orphaned through AIDS alone.

Two out of every ten Congolese children orphaned.
5 million orphans.

Most have become orphans as a result of the ongoing conflict, termed “Africa’s World War,” that has endured through decades. This war has “left more than five million people dead, over a million displaced, and many more, particularly in the east of the country, living in daily fear for their lives.”

Orphans who can’t be cared for by extended families are faced with a future in institutions or for many, life on the streets.

This year, between the months of April and June alone, there were 71 attacks from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which is the party responsible in part for igniting the country’s bloody conflict. The Democratic Republic of Congo reported being on the receiving end of 62 of these attacks. The LRA is known to use rape and dismemberment to intimidate victims.

The LRA is also accused of abducting children to use as fighters and sex slaves.

What a troubled nation in need of God's love, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The information above only scratches the surface, yet it's enough to break our hearts for the people of DRC.

In January of this year, we were given an opportunity to visit the beautiful continent of Africa for the very first time with Medical Mission Outreach's Kenya team. To make a long story short, the trip solidified in our hearts a personal burden for Africa, especially its most vulnerable - the children.

Shortly after arriving home, we completed our home study for the country of Ethiopia. It has been an extremely popular country from which to adopt, and our local agency has an established program there.

However, God had other plans.

In the midst of my adoption research, I had stumbled upon information about the Democratic Republic of Congo and its orphan crisis. Most of what I found was troubling. For a glimpse into the life of many Congolese orphans, I urge you to read this blog post from an adoptive mother who brought home her son from DRC in 2010: Despair

Soon after the completion of our home study, we found out we were expecting Adeline. :) Because of this, we were told by our agency that we had to wait several months to continue the adoption process. This seemed understandable, but during our wait, the agency decided to change its Ethiopian program guidelines. Only families interested in adopting children over the age of three would be accepted as applicants. Because of this current phase of our family, because our children are very young, Calvin and I had already felt led to adopt a child from infancy up to the age of two. This change in our agency's guidelines was certainly a closed door for us.

Around the same time, through a random connection, we discovered DRC Adoption Services, an organization which helps to guide adoptive parents through an independent DRC adoption (with an in-country attorney, not an agency). To list only a couple of the pros - it will be cheaper, and the process will move more quickly when we decide to move forward. Everything now seems to be falling into place, and we couldn't be more excited.

In conclusion, please pray with us for the hurting country of DRC. Pray that the believers there would be strengthened in Christ. We hope that we will be able to connect with some of them during this adoption process.

And please, pray for us to have patience, wisdom, and provision as we continue this journey to grow our family for His glory alone.

Any Questions?

Q. Why are you adopting?
A. God called us to adopt. It was a desire He planted into our hearts - based upon a principle planted in His Word over and over again:
Psalm 10:14 "...thou art the helper of the fatherless."
Psalm 68:5 "A father of the fatherless ... is God in his holy habitation.
Psalm 82:3 "Defend the poor and fatherless..."

Q. I thought you were licensed foster parents. Why not adopt domestically?
A. We are still licensed foster parents in our county, and we plan to keep our license current. In fact, we are open to placements in the future.Obviously, there is an enormous need for sincere love and quality care for children who find themselves in unfortunate situations. However, the goal for a child in foster care is almost always reunification with his or her biological family. Provision of foster care for a child (especially an infant or toddler, for which we are currently licensed), although vastly important and still a burden of ours, does not guarantee an adoption. We will continue to keep that door open, watching to see who God sends through in the future. Whether it results in adoption or not.

Q. Where are you adopting from?
A. We plan to adopt from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - a country in Central Africa. There are numerous reasons why we chose this country (or it chose us!), and I will try to fully expound upon those in future posts. But for now, I'll leave you with a visual of its location.

Q. Is international adoption expensive?
A. Yes. International adoption is a technical process with many layers to it and numerous people involved (on national and regional levels). The cost varies by country. The approximate cost of a DRC adoption with an agency, including travel expenses, is $30,000.

Q. How will you pay for this?
A. This is the "recklessly-jumping-out-of-the-boat-into-the-sea-of-faith" part. We have no doubt that God equips His called. He has already provided what we have needed so far in this process (international home study, application fees, etc.), and we are trusting Him fully for the rest.

Q. How long will it take?
A. According to the agency we've communicated with, the process for a DRC adoption (usually) takes 8-12 months. We have already checked the first step off the list by having our international home study completed. However, per the agency and their DRC representative, we must wait until Adeline is six months old before we can actually begin the process in country. This could put the arrival of our child from DRC well into the year 2014.

If you have any other specific questions for us, please feel free to ask in a comment or an email. More to come!

Faith-Steps

Someone once told me that God will provide for every step along His journey for us. Under one condition.
He only provides as we first take the step.

This idea reminds me of Peter when he desired to walk on the water with Jesus. First, Peter's desire became action. Only then, Christ met him with the full ability. It would have been one thing for Peter to privately, sheepishly request "water-walking" lessons from Jesus. Maybe at a time when they were alone, when "the guys" couldn't see him struggle in the waves. Maybe at a more "appropriate" time, maybe when the waves weren't so high. But instead, Peter swung his leg over the edge and jumped out the boat, in front of those nearest and dearest to his heart. He cast himself and his reputation into the sea of surrender, straight into the arms of Jesus.

Of course, I can't leave out a crucial part of this story: Peter's faith did falter, and he sank in fear. But Christ's hand was close, and His footing was sure. The point is this: Peter could have never known the full extent of God's provision or his own ability to be used... if he hadn't jumped out of the boat. In front of others. I believe Jesus planted that desire in Peter's heart to show ALL the disciples what could be done with a recklessly surrendered heart. It was for His glory. Christ was magnified.

That's what our desire is for our family. That Christ would be showcased in all that we do. Which is why I'm making this blog public. This is the story of our adoption, the story of our family, and the story of God's family - all overlapping into one.

Several months ago, God planted a desire in our hearts - to pursue an international adoption. We stuck our toes into the sea of faith, tested the waters, and completed an international home study. God placed His seal of approval upon this "faith-step" by reimbursing the cost - to the dollar amount.

Shortly thereafter, we found out we were expecting Adeline! We were, and still are, ecstatic about the gift of our girl. But we've never forgotten about our child to come. Our child from across the world. I truly feel as if I'm expecting two - one in my womb, but both in my heart. One is due in October. The other is due in well over a year. Both of them eagerly anticipated. Both of them just as much a part of who we are as Blaine (our almost-three-year-old) is today.

So here we are. Perched on the edge of the boat, ready to jump, in front of all of you. Making our "faith-step" public. So that Christ might be glorified.