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!
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