DTC!!!!!

We are officially DTC (dossier to China)!  There is a rumor that the next list may come out February 20th.  If we can get expedited log in, we may make it for a referral this month!  I am asking prayers for God's direction to those who are making the match and for wisdom for us as we are presented with a referral.  I almost feel silly asking God for these things.  I have never been more certain that God has a specific plan for us and I am confident that he is directing us to the child that will forever become part of our family.  Through this process, God has opened my heart to the needs of those that have been orphaned and found a deeper faith in a God who is bigger than all my worries.  Is life for us going to change?  Definitely!  Are there going to be struggles?  You bet!  Is that any different than adding to a family by "conventional" methods?  No way!   I encourage anyone who is reading this that has ever considered adoption to think about the statistics below and prayerfully consider whether God may be calling you to blessings beyond measure through adoption.  

Did You Know?
There are 143 million children in the world today who have lost one or both of their parents. That figure equals nearly half the United States population.
¦ Every 14 seconds, an AIDS death creates another orphan.
¦ Every year, more than 14 million children become orphans.
¦ There are currently 500,000 children in foster care in the United States. Approximately 118,000 of them are available for adoption.
¦ Every year in the U.S. alone, over 25,000 children “age out” of the foster system—meaning that at age 21, they lose eligibility for child welfare benefits—with no family to belong to and no place to call home.
¦ In Ukraine and Russia, 10 to 15 percent of children who “age out” of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.
¦ More than a third of Americans have seriously considered adopting, but no more than 2 percent have actually adopted.
(All information is from 2009 UNICEF, USAID, and UNAIDS materials.)

Interested in Adoption?

Here’s how to get started:
¦ Search God’s Word and pray.
¦ Seek counsel from others.
¦ Simplify the process by choosing the type of adoption that’s right for your family.
¦ Select an agency to help in your domestic or inter-country adoption.
¦ Surrender your plans to God, keeping the child—not yourself—as your central focus, and accessing the support and resources God has for you.
¦ Find additional important information at www.orphansandthechurch.com
"Adoption isn’t limited to child-placement, it’s not just for a few and it isn’t plan B. Adoption is at the very center of the Story of Redemption–and of the heart of God. We were all orphans without a home or hope in this world and God brought us into his family and gave us his name." —Sally Lloyd-Jones, Author of The Jesus Story Book Bible