Why China?

So this week, I spoke to a social worker and she seemed really nice and helpful. She asked me the inevitable question, "So, why China?" My answer, our answer, is not real definitive but I will try to explain.

There has always been something about adoption from China that has attracted my attention. The plight of their orphans has always been on my heart. I could not imagine living with a one child policy, and finding myself in the predicament of having to risk jail to abandon my child because it would not be able to care for me when I got older. These birth mothers, are somewhat heroes in my opinion. They risk so much, with the hope that someone... some foreigner would adopt their precious little one and give them a loving home and most importantly a LIFE. How better to honor their sacrifice, then by giving their child what they could only hope/dream to give them?

Little Wu, your birth mother is a wonderful person. I hope you grow to appreciate the sacrifice that she has made. I am sure, she desperately wished to keep you, but found herself in a predicament where she could not. We will always teach you to and hope that you will cherish her forever.

Some people ask why not adopt in the United States? And our answer, is that we believe whole-heartidly that God does not draw boundary lines between orphans or races. We are all loved, and we are all cherished by the Lord equally. He made us as we are, an image of Him... all beautiful in each our own way. He designed us all to be unique... no two the same. He took so much care and thought in creating each of us, and He wants us to do the same for each other. God does not delight in the fact that there are orphans. He wants us to care for orphans and widows especially.

Is this adoption a mission? NO! By no means, do we consider this to be a mission trip. It is simply a way for us to have another child, and we feel that this is the way that God wants us to do so. We strive in so many ways to let God plan our family. This is the way that we feel He is calling us to do so.

Do you think you could love another child as if it were your own? YES!! There is no doubt in our minds that we could. You are our child. DNA does not make you a family. LOVE does.

So these are some of the "hard" questions that some people have asked. Some we will have to fill out the answers for on forms. I wrote the answers here for you, to know that we have chosen to love you, just as we have chosen to love your siblings. We have allowed God to lead us to you, just as we have allowed Him to lead us to your siblings. You have each grown in our hearts... true gifts from the Lord. And we cherish each of you the same.

Love you,
Momma

Beginning the Journey: Contacting References

So recently Mommy and Daddy have made the decision to find you, our precious little Wǔ (five). There are no guarantees in this journey as of yet, except for the fact that our family yearns for the day when we shall see your face, learn who you are, and cherish you for the rest of your life.

We have applied to several agencies for their information packets. Our top pick arrived with several references. We have contacted every single one, and each of them have such positive things to say about this agency. I think this will be the one we use.

We are still trying to figure out who to use for the home study. There are a few to choose from, and we have heard conflicting information about our top choice. You see little Wǔ, not everyone likes the idea of big families, but we love it! We are trying to find an agency who loves big families as well. You will soon see, big families mean that there is more love to share. That's not to say that there aren't crazy times; every family has those. But we will take the crazy times anyday if it means that we get to rejoice in all of the love we share for each other.

Baba, or Daddy, just turned 29 this week! That means that we can start our paper trail in just 6 months!! And, it also means that in hopefully less than a year, we will be able to submit our dossier and receive our log in date (LID). Our goal is to have it submitted on Baba's birthday next year. Mama has already started to fill out the application for the adoption agency. We pray that it will be approved!

We wonder if you are already out there somewhere. Are you in an orphanage? Are you in your birth mother's womb? We are praying for you. We love you. We can't wait to share with the world that we've found you. Right now, only a few people know that we have started this journey. We are waiting until our paper trail has officially been started. Hopefully by March of next year, we will begin.

Until we meet,
Baba, Mama, Emma, Silas, Lucy, and Joseph