Brian and I have felt we would have some type of involvement with adoption for several years. In 2013, we felt God specifically calling us to adopt from China and we moved forward in obediance.
Here is a section from our very first blog announcing our decision to adopt:
So, how long have you considered the idea of adoption?
Many of you know that we had some issues conceiving before Brooklyn was born and we had looked into domestic adoption at that time. Even though we were blessed with Brooklyn, Brian and I still felt we would be involved with adoption in some way.
Why adopt, though? Can you not have more children?
Brian and I feel like this is our calling, adoption. It is not our second choice. We are really excited about expanding our family in this way and we feel we are just being obedient to God's call to our family.
Ok, but aren't there children in America to adopt? Why China?
Children in need are children in need, regardless of where they live. There are several reasons we have chosen international adoption over domestic adoption and several reasons we have chosen China specifically, however the main reason is we feel called to China.
In the 1970s to control population growth, China implemented a "one child policy" which allows families in urban areas to only have one child. This has translated into thousands of babies being left in public areas by their parents for a variety of reasons which may include those who already have a child, are unwed, want a different gender of child, or cannot afford medical care for that child. I can only imagine how gut-wrenching it has to be to leave their baby and we pray for our child's birth parents often.
Unlike some other countries that allow international adoption, China is very stable. They have a set system of rules of how adoptions should be done and there are few deviations. You do the paperwork and meet the requirements, and you can end up with a child. Some other countries involve a system of bribes and government officials making decisions about whether you can have a child from their country and it can change on a dime.
China also has, we hear, decent medical care for the children in the orphanages. While their living standards are far below anything we would accept, the orphanages, for the most part, take good care of the children. This is not the case in some other countries.
You mentioned a special needs child. What does that mean?
In the past, people could adopt healthy children from China, mostly girls. However as the economy has improved in China, more people are adopting healthy children domestically. This leaves orphanages full of special needs children, of both genders, waiting for a forever family.
However, in China, a special need means something different than in the US. In China, a special need means that the child has any medical issue that could make raising them more difficult. In our case, in consultation with the International Adoption medical team at Children's Medical Center in Dallas, we have said we are open to adopting a child with minor, correctable medical issues. This could mean things like cleft lip/cleft palate, club foot, or minor heart defect. These issues are typically correctable with surgery or surgeries.
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