The Process Begins

God is amazing.  I cannot even begin to fathom how He works.  Over the past several months many people have asked me questions about the adoption process.  I guess people think that I know a lot about it because we have adopted a child before.  Honestly, I thought that I did know a lot about adoption.  I know that it is a long process.  A hard process.  And I also know that God blessed my family immensely with our first adoption.

Our first adoption was in Japan, through a private adoption.  Japan is not a Hague nation... I didn't even really know what that meant a few months ago.  God has now laid it on our hearts to adopt again, this time from the Philippine islands.  The Philippines islands fall under the Hague convention, which effectively means that everything that I thought I knew about adoption can be thrown out the window.

Here is how things have been going on this adoption:
I have spent the last several weeks researching adoption agencies.  Trying to find one that is a good fit for my family.  Some things that I have had to take into account are our location, where we are adopting from, where the agency is located, where their social workers are located, what their policy is with other children in the home, ages of children that they adopt, how well they work with Inter-Country Adoption Board (ICAB), what type of reputation they have. etc, etc, etc...  Most people don't realize that these are all questions that must be addressed before you can even fill out an application.  The problem is, once you fill out that application (which cost $$), you cannot apply with another agency without cancelling the first one.  So, my advice:  research before you apply!

Of all the families that I have talked to about adoption, not one of them was excited about the cost.  In fact, every one of them felt discouraged and wanted to stop before they started because of the cost.  Every time I talked with people, I would tell them not to let the cost scare them.  Satan is going to use the finances to get you to give up.  It is such an easy way for him to attack us.  I would tell these families that they can fund raise and apply for grants.  There is money out there for adoption!  Now that I see the cost personally, it is scary!  I know that there is money out there, but it takes work to get it.  So, my family has been researching different fund raising options and grants that we can apply for to help cover the cost of adoption.  Even this task can feel overwhelming, but do not be discouraged.  Spend time in prayer and research.  There are tons of good blogs and websites that will help with this part.  Read them! (I wonder what would have happened before Google)

So, to sum things up, we have spent a lot of time researching adoption so that we will have a well informed process.  We know that it will be long a trying, but we also know that God is faithful.  He follows through with His plans, and when He has called us to do something, He is going to provide a means to get it done.  I will keep everyone updated on how things unfold throughout our process.