You really never know how things will turn out when you are faithful to what God wants you to do. But in the end, it’s always worth it.

Last October Laura and I officially submitted our paperwork to start our adoption process. We felt that God was calling us to adopt a child for a long time, but finally we felt that the time had come to actually start the main process. We really felt that it was a calling rather than a response to not having children of our own yet. Shortly after we completed our home study where a social worker basically does an interview of us and evaluates whether the way we live is consistent to being an adoptive family. We got through the initial process very quickly since Laura already knew the ins-and-outs since that’s what she does at Bethany Christian Services.

Once the home study was done and we got approval from Korea we started to think about how we would ease into telling our families about it. Of course we had mentioned to our families that we were interested and we got those general responses like “oh, that’s a good thing to do” and expected comments like “you should have your own children first.” From the time a home study is completed, families usually have at least a year before receiving a referral (when you are matched with a child and they provide detailed information of the child) so we planned on breaking our families in over the course of the year.

Now I must admit that we did get pressure from our families to have our own children first and both parents started pushing us to get tested to make sure there aren’t issues with getting pregnant. So to appease them we were in the process of going through those tests. We never really thought that there was anything wrong with us, but thought that it just wasn’t time for us since we felt that we were to adopt first. Nevertheless, my tests came back fine and we were in the process of getting Laura tested.

Everything changed on Christmas eve…

Keep reading here: http://www.jasonjeong.com/adoption/

Related posts:

1. The Adoption Journey

We are nearly done with our home study portion of the adoption process and it feels like we’ve been in the process for a very long time! There’s been lots of paperwork and talking with people to say the least. There’s lots of “white space” too. There’s plenty of time to wait for things to happen such as paperwork processing and appointments, but the best thing about the wait is that I’ve had the opportunity to really learn about adoption in a deeper way. I’ve been reading tons of material on everything from the theology of adoption to how Muslims are working in orphan care and adoption. To say the least, my perspective has certainly broadened and really do see adoption in a different way than I had seen it at the beginning of my adoption journey. So, for the remaining course of our journey, I will be sharing with you the things I’ve learned about the doctrine of adoption, the history, and about the worldview on adoption. Most of all, I hope that you will truly come to understand what it is to be adopted by God.

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1. Our Adoption Story Update: God’s Ways Are Higher

Can you believe it! A Chimp taking care of a puma orphan! Nature is a reflection of the character of God!

Read the article here!

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Here’s a quote from an article by South African, Bilal Randeree:

Each year, millions of children are orphaned due to war, famine, and diseases. In poor communities, when parents die or a surviving adult is chronically or terminally ill, children face having to care for themselves and their siblings. Losing one or both parents is traumatic for any child in any situation.

South Africa has almost 4 million orphans, children who have lost either a mother or a father or both. There are an estimated 1.8 million orphans in South Africa infected or affected by HIV and/or AIDS. These orphans are living in poverty, and some have lost both their parents and live alone. Most of these orphans in South Africa are between 7 to 17 years old. Even with the expansion of antiretroviral treatment access, it is estimated that by 2015, the number of orphaned children will still be tremendously high.

Many orphans suffer from malnutrition and are forced to drop out of school. They have no money for food, shelter, healthcare, education and clothing. These children face a future of neglect, abject poverty, despair, and often suffer physical abuse. They sometimes seek refuge on the streets, begging or are coerced into crime for survival.

This guy really telling it as it is. Perhaps what he is talking about is moving you. Perhaps the cause for orphan care really breaks your heart.

Here’s the deal though, what’s the difference between orphan care between Christians and countless so many others doing the same thing? You see, the excerpt above comes from a Muslim who is dedicated to orphan care. There are countless number of people who are doing the same thing as Christians (and it’s not just in orphan care but in all kinds of social justice causes)!

So what sets Christians apart? What’s the difference?

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As well tell more and more people about our plans to adopt a child it seems that there is a common misconception people have on why we are choosing to adopt. This is just an opinion, but it seems like most people believe adoption to be the last resort to having kids. It’s the choice to make if you can’t have your own biological kids! So we get comments like “we’re praying that you’ll have kids of your own” or “we’re praying that you’ll get through this difficult time”.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with adopting because you are unable to have biological children, but this mentality has to change if Christians are to answer the call to care for orphans. So to set the record straight, my wife and I are adopting because we feel called to adopt and care for orphans in that way. We do desire to have biological children, but our greater hope is to raise up God-honoring and God-fearing kids!

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27

So what is your understanding of why people adopt?

photo credit: SSTEC

Related posts:

1. The Adoption Journey