Our Call to Adoption

Last fall I was sitting at the kitchen table, everyone was eating and busy chatting about their days......and I felt this very strong impression that God was telling me, "Someone is missing". What? I had no idea what that meant. Adoption didn't even enter into my mind. So I thought, well I'll tell "M" about it later and I'll just pray about it. There wasn't time for several days and I just kept praying. Still adoption wasn't entering my mind. So finally after several days went by, I said to him that I needed to tell him something, but that I had no idea what it meant. Anyway, when I told him, he immediately said that he agreed and had been thinking about it as well. What? What did this mean? We sure didn't know so we agreed to pray and ask God to make it clear if he was leading us to something we had no plan for. I heard He works that way! :)

After praying and praying we started to realize adoption was in the plan. As I researched I saw that Steven Curtis Chapman's website had many, many resources. That was where our eyes were opened wide to the huge need for orphans in this world. I knew there was a need but now I'm overwhelmed by it. Here are some of the statistics I learned....

The World
132 million children in the world have lost one or both parents.
87.6 million orphans live in Asia.
43.4 million orphans live in sub-Saharan Africa.
12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Almost 1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe.
25,000 children “age out” of the foster care system each year.

More than one-third of Americans have seriously considered adopting, but no more than 2 percent have actually adopted. Only 4 percent of families with children (1.7 million households) contain adopted children.

When Christians adopt we demonstrate love to the watching world. We show love not only in word, but also in action. When we adopt, we choose to give our life away. After all, adoption is expensive; it is inconvenient; and finally, it lasts a lifetime! Why would we do this? Very simple: "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19). Isn't it is time for Christians to realize that our lives are not our own?
Now is the time for the Church to rise up and take seriously the Biblical mandate of James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress..."
More and more followers of Christ are choosing to adopt. They do so carefully and intentionally after counsel and much prayer. It is not an easy decision for many believers, but it is very often the right decision. Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers you did it for me." (Matthew 25:40).

WOW. As we have tried to simply be obedient to this calling, to pray constantly, to be wise and do research, to talk to others or read their blogged experiences, we know that something has to be done. One child at a time.

Please pray with us.....

The three songs playing below are especially moving, challenging and inspiring to us as a family, as is this video link you may click on.

http://www.allgodschildren.org/about/videos/ "Come Near and Rescue Me"


EVERY 90 SECONDS AN ORPHANS DIES FROM MALNUTRITION......