Adoptions are often characterized by waiting. You wait for people to get paperwork to you, you wait for a referral, you wait to travel, you wait for your child to adjust. For most international programs, the majority of wait time is wrapped up in getting a referral. In our area, there’s actually a decent wait […]
Category Archives: Adoption and Orphan Care
{#33} All agencies are not created equal
Now that we’re a couple months into our second adoption process, I can say that not all agencies are created equal. In our case, I can’t qualify one as better than the other…yet. They’re just different. Our first agency has been around for 60 plus years. They’ve been doing international adoptions for over 30 years. […]
{#32} Know a Notary
*****PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***** There is a giveaway going on until midnight. Don’t forget to enter. ******************************************* You’d think since we’ve adopted before that we wouldn’t be daunted by our second paper chase, right? Wrong. Korea’s process is drastically different than most other international programs because the family does not adopt in-country. Instead the trip is pretty […]
Sometimes you have to be "that" mom
*****PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT***** There is a giveaway going on until the 25th. Don’t forget to enter. ******************************************* It’s really my goal in life to never be “that” person. Since having kids, I strive to not be “that” mom. You know the one who thinks her little angel can do no wrong, or the one who […]
All roads lead to Ethiopia
Road #1: Derek’s Calendar all started when our friend, Derek, served for a couple years at MTW’s AIDS project in Addis Ababa. Between book club and our Global Outreach [GO] Team at church, we see a lot of Derek and he still has a lot of Ethiopia connections. Road #2: The president of the non-profit […]
Moving past the material
What is poverty? I often think it’s lack of material resources. I conjure up mental images of third, world, African countries. It’s more than lack of material resources. Brian Fikkert, co-author of When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… and Yourself, spoke last night at SUMMIT VII and said the most […]
Slowing down for best practices
As expected, our time at Summit VII has been empowering, encouraging, overwhelming, educational, and exhausting. We are at a large church in Louisville that is home to 25,000 people! One main theme that keeps popping up in the sessions I am attending is “best practice” in international orphan care. Thoughts: We (westerners) do not have […]
Orphans on the brain
As I’m running around tying up loose ends before Patrick and I head to Summit VII, I can’t get last night and this morning out of my mind. Last night Mia cried all the way home and probably cried herself to sleep. She wasn’t pouting or tantruming. She was grieving. You see, last night was […]