Adoption Resources

Thanks to the HP friend who posted about Adoption Resources in a comment from yesterday. She posted a site that works through Focus on the Family: Cry of the Orphan. Thanks for sharing this! "Cry of the Orphan" represents a group of Christian organizations and churches that are joining voices to make caring for every orphan a reality. I had never heard of them, but was very intrigued by what they do.

I read on their website that:

• 143 million children worldwide have lost one or both parents.
• At least 16.2 million children worldwide have lost both parents.
• 16 million children were newly orphaned in 2003.
• Armed conflicts orphaned or separated 1 million children from their families in the 1990s.
• Two to five percent of all refugees worldwide are children living without their parents.
• The proportion of children who are orphans generally increases with age. 12% (17.5 million) are 0-5 years; 33% (47 million) are 6-11 years; 55% (79 million) are 12-17 years old.

While many of these children live throughout the world and not in the U.S., more than 800,000 children pass through America’s foster care system each year.

I read on Lesley's blog that she and Dave were considering becoming foster parents. I think this is fantastic! I truly believe there is a misconception that only the infertile can adopt or foster! I saw that my Tante Janet posted a comment about a church who committed to get all children in their county out of the foster system. This, in fact, is what the Bible commands, and yet I think it is not something that gets enough emphasis in the church. James 1:27 encourages us "to look after orphans and widows in their distress ..."

If a child turns 18, they can no longer be adopted. This means that they will enter the world without a "forever family." Imagine yourself trying to navigate life after high school without a family to provide you with guidance. Adopting older children is usually free or very little cost. Many of these children come from a troubled past, but many are just in need of a family to call their own.

Don't get me wrong. I am not telling everyone who reads this that "they better adopt or else..." This isn't for everyone, and the Lord calls us all to do different things. However, I am hoping that even just one person reading this will feel a nagging in their heart that they can't get rid of and decide to look into becoming a foster parent or adopted parent. If you aren't able to foster or adopt yourself, I also hope this encourages you to support someone else who wants to adopt but cannot afford it.

One organization that I love is: Shaohannah's Hope. If you haven't read Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman's story about adoption, visit this site! He ended up adopting three daughters from China after having three of his own children. He has founded an organization to help couples who want to adopt but can't afford to adopt. Consider helping fund someone else's adoption if you can't do it yourself.

If anyone else has any other good resources, please post a comment! Or, if anyone has anything else they think would be appropriate to share for National Adoption Month, please let me know.