Often the first question I am asked when I meet a new mom at the park or the gym is, "Where is Henry in school? And I say, "He is not in school." Most people look at me funny and then say, "Oh". Then I proceed to explain, "We cannot afford it right now, preschool is just so expensive. I was a teacher, so I have enjoyed teaching him at home. Of course, some days are hard and I wish he was in school, but overall, it is going well. I just realized he is going to be in school for the rest of his life...so I am glad our circumstances have pushed me to have him at home."
Yes, it took me six months to fully embrace this perspective...God has given me his eyes for where I am in life...Anyway, if I have more time to talk to one of these new moms, I will then explain.."We are actually in the process of adopting a child from Africa." Then the new mom will usually say, "That is so nice!..What a wonderful thing to do!...That is so great!" Yes...I am from the south, can you tell? There is nothing wrong with this response, but you know she is processing what I just said and just not sure where to place this information. I have never gotten a rude response from telling someone that we are adopting from Africa, people are very polite. God is the one that moved our hearts to adopt and hopefully God will use our adoption to open other peoples eyes to the hurting and suffering of the world. Occasionally, someone will ask me, "What made you want to adopt? Why Uganda? and I am sure they are also wondering, "Why a black child?" So I thought I would answer some of these unspoken questions.
Why do we want to adopt a child into our family?
1. We are adopted as sons and daughters in Christ. Adoption is a perfect picture of his love for us. We are compelled to show this love by adopting an orphan and making him or her part of our family.
"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." Ephesians 1:4-6
2. There is such a need with 147,000,000 orphans in the world today. God has given us a heart for the less fortunate. Yes, it might seem that we are the rescuers, but God is rescuing us by allowing us to be involved in his work. What a blessing this child will be to our family.
Read more about how our journey started here:
Why do we feel called to adopt a black child?
1. God created all men and women in his image. We want a family that looks like Heaven. God is pro-diversity.
"And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." Romans 5:9
2. We long to see racial reconciliation among blacks and whites.
3. Black babies are so, so, so cute!
Why are we adopting from Uganda?
1. Uganda was the first place we felt called to adopt from for many different reasons. There is such a great need.
*90% of Uganda is rural and very poor.
*Uganda has a population of 24.7 million people and an orphan population of 3.5 million.
* The poor healthcare infrastructure leaves 51% of the population untreated. So the HIV/AIDs epidemic is getting worse and affecting more people.
*Northern Uganda has had 19 years of ongoing civil war between the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) and the government which affects 2.3 million people. It is often described as a war of "children against children". Many more problems have stemmed from this conflict, which have resulted in more orphans.
*It is less expensive to adopt from Uganda than other African countries. This is a plus for us! God even uses money to show us his plan.
You can read more about this here: Is our child in Uganda?
Adoption for Life posted this article several weeks back about adopting other races into your family. Jesus Took Transracial Adoption to the Cross
Melissa, I loved this post. It's a great summary of where you are and why you feel called to adopt your precious child...I can't wait to meet him (or her)!
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