Why Adoption? Why India?

We’re fairly early in the process of adopting but we’ve already been asked… why are you choosing to adopt? And why India? Those aren’t bad questions – people are genuinely curious. So we thought we would share a bit of the journey that led us to adoption.

Adoption was something Brady and I both desired to do even before we were married! We had many conversations when we were dating about what our family might one day look like and the children we prayed God would bless us with. Both of us had personal experiences with orphans on mission trips we had taken and we knew that adoption was something we wanted for our family. Before Ezra (our oldest son) was even born we researched adoption from Kyrgyzstan very seriously. For a variety of reasons we didn’t adopt at that time, but it left us with an even greater passion to pursue adoption in the near future.

Fast forward a few years to May 2018 and now with 2 little boys at home, we had a conversation about starting the adoption process… only this time from India. We were maybe a little crazy – after all – we had a 22 month old and a 3 month old and we were definitely plenty busy! But God was nudging and leading us to do some research and check out different adoption agencies. So we moved forward slowly… talking with families that had adopted, calling adoption agencies, reading about special needs we might potentially see in adopted children, looking over fee sheets and praying BIG about where that adoption money was going to come from… and God continued to open doors in His perfect timing.

We sensed God leading us to India first of all because we met the requirements for adoptive parents (married at least two years, 25 years old, open to a child with special needs, etc.), but more importantly because we thought that it was an awesome opportunity to be a part of sharing the Gospel. India is a country with over 1.2 billion people. Only about 2.3% of those people identify themselves as Christians. There are approximately 20 million orphans in India. That number is staggering in and of itself. But it is even more heartbreaking to think that a large majority of those children will never hear the Gospel. We think it is a huge opportunity for our family to get to share the Gospel with the child that will one day join our family! We also see adoption as an amazing display of what God has done for us in adopting us into His family! Please pray with us for the country of India and also that our adoption story would point others here and in India to the message of the Gospel!

Fast forward again to this month, November 2018… through some really cool God ordained circumstances, we filled out the application to begin the process of adopting a child from India through Lifeline Children’s Services! This happened faster than we originally planned which means we’re also starting out with less in our adoption savings than we originally planned. We wish we could tell you every little detail of how God has brought us to this point (and we would LOVE to chat with you more in person if you want to know!) but essentially God has asked us to step out in faith… with less time and less money than we planned on having… and TRUST Him to lead and provide for our family. We have witnessed God’s faithfulness in our own lives in so many ways in the past, and we’ve also been able to hear amazing testimonies of God’s provision for other families who have adopted. We know He wants our child home with his/her forever family even more than we do and we are trusting that He will do it in His perfect timing We are nervous, excited, anxious to meet the sweet little one God has chosen for our family, and praying for a lot of grace and patience for what could be a long process (our agency estimates 12-24 months). There is a LOT of paperwork to be filled out and that can feel a bit overwhelming as we start out. But a sweet adoptive mom said something really amazing in a phone call the other day… she said “Do it afraid and watch how God shows up!” So… that’s what we are doing. We can’t wait to see how God works through this process! 

Please pray with us for these things in particular:

1) For the little child God has chosen for our family. For our little one's health and for the Lord to already be preparing our child’s heart to join our family. Pray for our child as he/she grieves the loss of his/her birth family and also as our child will make a huge transition to life in the United States… far from what our child is familiar with.

2) For our child’s caregivers. For strength for them as they care for many little ones! For Christian caregivers who love Jesus and impart that truth to the children they serve.

3) For our child’s birth family. For the loss they have experienced. We pray for their hearts as well.

4) For our agency. Lifeline Children’s services has been WONDERFUL so far and we feel very blessed to get to work with them. Please pray for our caseworkers and everyone at the agency as they do the hard work behind the scenes day in and day out to welcome children into families!

5) Pray for our boys, Ezra and James. They are young and obviously don’t understand much about this process (although Ezra can point to a map and show you where India and his sibling are!). Pray that their hearts would be prepared to welcome a sibling!

6) Pray for Brady and I and our marriage as we work on stacks of paperwork and fundraise and fill out grants. Pray for strength, perseverance and patience for the process. Pray for financial provision ($40,000 seems like a BIG number!). Pray for times of refreshment and also pray for wisdom as we raise two little boys in the middle of a process that requires a lot of time and energy!

WE SO APPRECIATE YOUR PRAYERS!!! One of the ways we have already seen God’s provision is that He has surrounded us with such an amazing group of family and friends who have been an encouragement to us as we start this adoption journey! Thank you for being a part of our story!