{"id":109,"date":"2009-01-25T17:09:19","date_gmt":"2009-01-26T01:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/averillnet.com\/?page_id=109"},"modified":"2009-08-11T07:34:51","modified_gmt":"2009-08-11T15:34:51","slug":"us-adopt","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/?page_id=109","title":{"rendered":"Us, Adopt?!!!"},"content":{"rendered":"

…look after orphans and widows in their distress… <\/strong>James 1:27<\/em><\/p>\n

How It Began<\/h2>\n

In September 2008 God began to tug at our hearts individually.\u00a0\u00a0 We each spent a lot of time in prayer asking God what He had in mind for us to do; specifically we believed He wanted us to serve children, but didn’t know precisely what He had in mind.\u00a0 Although we had earned our Foster Parent license, it seemed clear that He didn’t want us to be fully involved in that.\u00a0 As we – individually – prayed about it and asked God to give us direction, we kept coming back to adoption, which was something we had talked about on occasion over the last 25 years.\u00a0 We both had largely given up on the idea of adoption – after all, we’re 50 years old with grown children.\u00a0 But the more we spent time with God, the more strongly we felt His call in this direction.<\/p>\n

Individual Searching<\/h2>\n

Without discussion for fear that the other would think we’d lost our minds (or, more accurately, confirmation that we’d lost our minds), we each began to research adoption.\u00a0 Our research followed similar paths as we narrowed our choices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, we were inclined to foreign adoption, but from where?\u00a0 There are many countries from which to adopt children in need.\u00a0 Sary-Jo speaks Spanish and there are spanish-speaking kids in need of adoption.\u00a0 Why would we keep being drawn to Africa?\u00a0 And why, when we thought of Africa, did we keep coming back to Ethiopia?\u00a0 Janel has ministered in Uganda; we sponsor World Vision <\/a>children in Uganda and Kenya.\u00a0 There are lots of other African nations.\u00a0 Why Ethiopia?\u00a0\u00a0 It didn’t really make sense – we couldn’t even find a nearby agency that does Ethiopia adoptions.\u00a0 But isn’t God wonderful?\u00a0 When He’s got plans, He can make them known.\u00a0 All He wants from us is obedience.<\/p>\n

Coming Together<\/h2>\n

Finally, in mid-November, Randy asked Sary-Jo, “So… what would you think if I suggested we consider adopting one or two children from Ethiopia?”\u00a0 Instead of, “Are you INSANE?” she replied (after a few minutes of recovery from the shock), “That is exactly what I was thinking!”\u00a0 So we had a good cry, talked about it and finally prayed together on this subject.\u00a0 We asked God to\u00a0confirm whether this is what He had in mind for us.\u00a0 We don’t handle hints very well so we asked Him to be clear and specific.\u00a0 Two days later we received a Thanksgiving card from our friends who are affiliated with Adoption Ministry of YWAM;\u00a0its primary function is to help place the babies from New Beginnings Home for pregnant teens into adoptive families.\u00a0 Their card said that the Adoption Ministry is now doing international adoptions, but only with… (can’t you just feel the excitement?)… Ethiopia!\u00a0 So we cried again and praised God for providing a local agency while answering our request for “clear and specific confirmation!”\u00a0<\/p>\n

We still had some doubts and questions, but we committed to move forward.\u00a0 This time, we asked God to close doors if he did NOT want us to proceed with this adoption.\u00a0 But we were pretty sure we were following His plan.<\/p>\n

It Costs How Much?!!!<\/h2>\n

We met with the director of the Ethiopia adoption program in early December.\u00a0 We had a wonderful discussion and left with another question – where will all the money come from?\u00a0 The cost is staggering.\u00a0 So we asked God if He would please show us what He has in mind regarding this particular concern.\u00a0 We could think of miraculous ways He could provide the money (bank error, like in Monopoly maybe), but we were anxious to see specifically what He had planned.\u00a0 We were confident\u00a0that if He wanted us to adopt two kids from Ethiopia, He would provide\u00a0for every detail.\u00a0 So we did all we could do – we prayed about it, we asked others to pray for us, and we\u00a0tried to listen to what God was telling us.\u00a0\u00a0Two days later,\u00a0Randy\u00a0decided to check on the tax implications of adoption.\u00a0\u00a0His thoughts were that, if it’s deductible, tax benefits would\u00a0cover about 25% of the cost – it’s a start.\u00a0 It turns out there’s an adoption tax credit <\/a>that will cover almost 100% of our needs.\u00a0 Once again, God demonstrates that He will equip us for everything to which He calls us.\u00a0 We’ll depend on\u00a0Him for physical strength and wisdom in our “second round” of parenting.<\/p>\n

What Do Ethiopians Think?<\/h2>\n

I (Randy)\u00a0had one other nagging question – what do Ethiopians think when Americans adopt children from Ethiopia?\u00a0\u00a0 I’m not sure how I feel if we’re viewed as the “ugly Americans stealing our children.”\u00a0 So, once again, we asked God to give us assurance about this.\u00a0 And once again, we only had a couple days to wait for an answer.\u00a0 I went into a store in Southcenter and the clerk just happened to admire my jacket (micro-suede – very comfortable) and said he’d like to take one to his father.\u00a0 He said he’d be going back to his country in January.\u00a0 So I asked him what country that might be.\u00a0 Don’t get ahead of me here, let me say it… Wait for it… E-thi-o-pi-a!\u00a0\u00a0He\u00a0told me he is gratified when Americans adopt Ethiopian children because the situation seems so hopeless there.\u00a0 After a few minutes of conversation with this man, I realized that God had once again answered prayer – this\u00a0time by arranging\u00a0a meeting that others might call “chance.”<\/p>\n

What Do Our Kids Think?<\/h2>\n

At Christmastime we discussed this with Sarah & Kyle, and with Janel.\u00a0 They are totally supportive and have been a tremendous encouragement to us.\u00a0 It’s exactly what we expected, but it’s been gratifying to actually have the conversation and receive their support.\u00a0 Plus, they’re open to babysitting!\u00a0 They want to come with us to get the kids if possible.<\/p>\n

What’s Next?<\/h2>\n

We’ve spoken with several other couples\u00a0in various stages of foreign adoption, most from Ethiopia.\u00a0 We are amazed at the wonderful stories and are encouraged that we will have a support system in place for our kids and us.\u00a0 We still have much to learn, and we’ve been trying to read as much as possible.\u00a0\u00a0We’ve completed our application packet and our homestudy forms.\u00a0 There’s a long way to go and much of it will be spent waiting.\u00a0 But we know who’s in control and we trust Him completely!\u00a0<\/p>\n

Check the News page for updates periodically.\u00a0 We covet your prayers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

…look after orphans and widows in their distress… James 1:27 How It Began In September 2008 God began to tug … Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-109","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=109"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":132,"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/109\/revisions\/132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/averillnet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}