God definitely called our family care for one of His. When we started this journey we had many discussions and prayed a lot that we would be led to the country where one (or more!) of His children is waiting for us. Ever since I was little and first thought of adopting, I always imagined holding an Ethiopian child (looks like God was planting roots a long time ago--He is at work in our lives even when we don't know it!). When we started this process I was worried that our family or Bobby would suggest a domestic child (not like that would be horrible or a bad thing, but my heart was to go internationally). However, right from the start Bobby stated that his heart was to take in a child that lives in the "orphanage world" and our family and friends were more supportive than we could have imagined!
So how did God lead us to Ethiopia?? Even though I had Ethiopia in my mind, I told God I would be willing to go wherever He saw fit. Of course we both felt an inkling from the start that Ethiopia was for us, but we still wanted to look into other countries. Little did we know that every country has their own requirements and stipulations for adoption (age of parents, number of kids at home, travel requirements, etc).
When we first started looking into countries, our first thought was Uganda where our church supports awesome missionaries at New Hope Uganda. That idea was pushed aside when we realized that couples adopting from Uganda were required to stay in the country for 5-7 weeks at the time of adoption.
Then when we started talking to America World Adoption and various other agencies, we were told we'd be a good fit for Ethiopia or Honduras. As my brother Jesse is in Honduras through the Peace Corps, we felt it would be fun to do alongside him. However, the same requirements as Uganda are required and travel times of 4-7 weeks don't fit in our family/work schedules at this time in life.
It was on May 5th, 2011 after we had been looking into Ethiopia that we came across "Lucy Lane's Gotcha Day" video:
Then when we started talking to America World Adoption and various other agencies, we were told we'd be a good fit for Ethiopia or Honduras. As my brother Jesse is in Honduras through the Peace Corps, we felt it would be fun to do alongside him. However, the same requirements as Uganda are required and travel times of 4-7 weeks don't fit in our family/work schedules at this time in life.
It was on May 5th, 2011 after we had been looking into Ethiopia that we came across "Lucy Lane's Gotcha Day" video:
Watching this video with tears pouring down our faces, we knew that God had Ethiopia planted in both of our hearts.
This country that is about twice the size of Texas has an estimated 4.3 million orphans.
**For more numbers and facts about the need in Ethiopia click on the "About Ethiopia" tab**
There are varying numbers from different sources but it is estimated there are 147-163 MILLION orphans in the world (including children who have lost one or both of their parents). Every 18 seconds another child becomes an orphan without a mother or father. That alone is too much for one person to fathom. Of those orphans, 43.4 million live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million live in Asia, and 12.4 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the United States there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. Of those children approximately 120,000 are waiting to be adopted. On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for almost 4 years.
Imagine...
There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and knows them by name.
If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans.
Number of caring adults it takes to make a life-long difference for an orphan: ONE!
James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress
Hosea 14:3In you the orphan finds mercy.
This country that is about twice the size of Texas has an estimated 4.3 million orphans.
**For more numbers and facts about the need in Ethiopia click on the "About Ethiopia" tab**
There are varying numbers from different sources but it is estimated there are 147-163 MILLION orphans in the world (including children who have lost one or both of their parents). Every 18 seconds another child becomes an orphan without a mother or father. That alone is too much for one person to fathom. Of those orphans, 43.4 million live in sub-Saharan Africa, 87.6 million live in Asia, and 12.4 million live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the United States there are over 500,000 children in the U.S. Foster Care system. Of those children approximately 120,000 are waiting to be adopted. On average, those children waiting for adoption have been in foster care for almost 4 years.
Imagine...
There is One who infinitely loves each orphan and knows them by name.
If only 7% of the 2 billion Christians in the world would show hope to a single orphan, looking after the child in their distress, there would effectively be no more orphans.
Number of caring adults it takes to make a life-long difference for an orphan: ONE!
James 1:27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress
Hosea 14:3In you the orphan finds mercy.
These numbers have been taken from the following websites which have more information on the need for foster/adoption parents: Christian Alliance for Orphans and Show Hope
~Love from our family to yours~
~Love from our family to yours~
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