Great question! We have wondered the same thing ourselves from time to time. My parents and brother just recently returned from a missions trip to Kenya. Everyday, in the small villages of Bungoma and Nakuru where they stayed, they were surrounded by hundreds of children who had been orphaned due to HIV, malaria, famine, war, etc.... Surrounded by immense poverty that we as Americans could never, EVER come close to understanding. Children living in trash dumps, scavenging for anything that could sustain them from among the heap....if they're lucky.
Yes, orphans exist, and the numbers are staggering. But when it comes to adoption, both domestic and international, you are at the mercy of governments, legislation, and protocol. Things could change in an instant, or plod along for years and years....there is no way of knowing outright.
What I do know is this. Adoption alone is not the answer to the orphan crisis. Even if every single one of the 147 million orphans in the world were adopted tomorrow, in their place would come more. And more. And more. As long as we live in a fallen world, disease and heartache and corrupt governments run rampant. They destroy families and rip babies from mothers who truly love them enough to let them go. There is no escape from the devastation of sin this side of eternity. Only the overwhelming grace and hope that is offered through Jesus.
What I also know is that in the midst of it all, God is sovereign and the Great Controller of all things. He alone holds our adoption (and our little one) in His hands. What seems like an eternity of a wait to us, is only a blip on the radar for Him. His timing is perfect, and the day that we receive a call letting us know that we have been matched with a waiting child, will be perfect too....because it will be in His timing. We are trusting that only God knows the specific dynamics of our family, including the personalized needs of each of our children. Praying that at just the right time, "for such a time as this", He would open the door, and our hearts, to a child in need.
So, where are we at in the process you ask? As of the end of April, we were holding fast at #73. While I was hoping to have moved into the 60's this month, I am, again, thankful to see any movement at all. Today, we moved down three more places and are weighing in at....
#70
Thanks for continuing to pray for us! We have been so blessed by this journey, despite the wait. Thanks for thinking to ask from time to time about how things are going!! Our adoption is something we are passionate about and have LOVED sharing our experience with others. To God be the Glory!
Kirsten
