An attempt to be thoughtful

I get asked the same questions a lot these days. They are great questions... and ones that deserve a thoughtful answer. So, I'll attempt to be thoughtful! :)
I was asked some wonderful questions recently by someone I love, for her own curiosity and to be able to share my explanation with others who will inevitably ask her. I so appreciated talking with her about it all, and I realized that I sometimes forget that other people care to know the details and the "whys" of our lives & decisions! So, here is a compilation of some questions from various people, as well as some that I anticipate people may wonder, but not want to ask.

Why Africa? Why, when we decided to go international for our adoption, did we decide to go for Africa? Why not try to adopt children who share common roots or nationality with us? Some of you may be wondering, "Why not try to 'blend in' a bit more and add children to our family who will not "stick out" and be noticeably different from us in some obvious ways?" It's a fair question...

Our main reason is that God gave me a draw toward Africa and beautiful black children long, long ago. I remember thinking that I wanted to adopt from Africa someday... back when I was in middle school. I wanted so badly to go to Africa when I was in highschool on a mission/work trip, but it was just too costly. I can't really explain it... I can only tell you that I believe with all my heart that the Lord put a love in me for a very specific people-group... because he knew what my future held. We assumed that if we found kids within the foster care system, they would most likely have been African-American. Then God closed doors and directed us elsewhere. That is why Africa... we didn't even think about any other continents... God had already directed our hearts.

It struck me yesterday as I thought more about this, that as people who love God, we are not called to "blend in". Life's purpose is not to do the easiest thing, or make the least amount of waves, or to be comfortable. In fact, we are called-out & set-apart from the things of this world... we are asked to take the narrow road. Why? For the glory and honor of God.
Now, was our "goal" to become a trans-racial family just to proove a point? Not at all. It just never bothered us that we may look different from other families. We are not naive... we know that many people will judge us and some will even hate what we stand for. I will feel the pain of that in my heart, mainly as I grieve for the things I will have to teach my children about their fellow human-beings, and what those things will cause my children to carry in their lives. But I don't want to let our decision be about the ability to blend in to those around us. This is not about my ease and comfort... it is about one thing, and one thing only. God tells us to care for the orphans and widows. We desire to obey that directive because it was important enough for God to repeat over and over and over to us in his word. Kinda makes me think it's important. :) Not everyone can/will adopt children, but everyone can care for them in some way. There are almost unlimited options as to how that may be done... our way is to bring them into our family, to be their parents, to love them and provide for their needs, & to teach them, above all, that God intensely loves them.
Who knows, maybe God can use us to visibly demonstrate his kind of love to others; a love that accepts and lavishes care upon us because we need him, and more simply... because he delights in us. These children we adopt will be given the full "rights" that come with being our children. If God can choose to adopt us as his children, and freely offer us redemption, forgiveness, and an incredible inheritance... then surely, we can choose to extend love and hope and family-ties to those who are in need, even though they are strangers to us right now... no matter their color or language, or situation.

Why Liberia? Out of all the countries in Africa... why Liberia?
Well, there really aren't all that many countries within Africa that are open to adopt from. We really knew only of Ethiopia and Liberia to be ones that our agency worked with, and that were still actively adopting their children out. We saw a great need in both places, but were drawn to Liberia for several reasons. There were many, many children...400 plus...in this one orphanage (which is one of many in the capital city of Monrovia), and they were already living there and waiting for families. In Ethiopia, we would most likely wait longer to be matched. We actually were able to see pictures of many of these children... and seeing the numbers of children waiting was incentive to act! Aslo- adoption is expensive internationally, and we felt we could adopt a sibling group in Liberia, but that it would be more difficult to do the same in Ethiopia, for monetary reasons. (Obviously, that wouldn't have deterred us if we had specific direction to go to Ethiopia, we know God would have pulled it all together... but we were open to either country.)

Is it really a good idea to take children away from all they know and bring them to America? Is that what is really best for them?

Great question. No easy answer here. I absolutely do not think that adoption is the end-all answer to the world's problem of poverty and disease. No way. It is a solution for a relative few... but does not solve the huge, tragic state of things. We have to step-up and open our eyes to the immense need outside of our tunnel view. I heard Beth Moore convey that, if we have the means to own just one book... and we have the education & ability to READ the words that are within it, then we are among the absolute wealthiest people in the world. We (and by "we", I also mean "I") just do not have a clue what extreme poverty is like.

I struggle with the idea of removing these kids from their place of birth. I would much prefer that they have some wonderful options for care in their native country, so they would not have to make huge life-adjustments. I wish that we could mend the brokenness of Liberia. I wish we could see them have food supplies each day, have medical care so that the kids could expect to live beyond childhood, to have drinking water that is safe and won't give them diseases, and to have jobs and more opportunities for education. That is just something I cannot make happen. Our adoption raises the question of if it is really best for these kids to be taken away from their native country. It is not the ideal. Ideally, their birth parents would be alive and healthy and able to feed them a meal each day. Ideally, they could be raised in Liberia in good health and not have a pretty good chance of dying from dysentary or malaria, or yellow fever. So, no... it is not ideal, but it does offer some hope for life.

Interestingly, many birth parents or relatives who cannot care for their children bring them to the orphanages and are incredibly thankful that "the kids will have opportunity and a chance at life"- those are their words to the orphanage staff. It's hard for us to fathom bringing our children to an orphanage because we cannot care for them... but for Liberians in that situation, they are grateful there is that option. I have to try to remember that we are not taking them away from a good or hopeful situation. We are bringing them out of a place where they have no where else to be, but in an orphanage... waiting and hoping that a mommy and daddy will pick them one day.

It is our understanding that he orphanage does its best to feed at least one meal per day to the children. Sometimes the food & clothing supplies are robbed, and they go without, but for the most part, it sounds like the kids have the best care possible in their situation. There are school lessons for kids age 6 and up, and training in a trade for the many older children who will "age out" of the system... being too old to be adopted and given citizenship in the states. They are taught about the Lord and "dorm moms" try to dole out hugs and attention. They are safe, and that's a very big deal.

OK... enough from me. Hope this helps to answer a few questions, it was good for me to think it all through and record some thoughts. :)