Why Adoption?

I asked permission from Jenny Groothuis to share her post entitled “Why Adoption?” with my blog readers. For those who aren’t familiar with Jenny’s story, she and her husband adopted 4 daughters from Liberia - which in addition to their 5 biological sons at home gave them 9 children ages 10 and under!

While in Liberia to adopt their children, the twin sister of one of their infant girls unexpectedly died in Jenny’s arms. Tragically, this occurs on a regular basis in a country that lacks the resources to provide even the most basic of medical care. God then allowed them to bring home the infant cousin of their twin daughter. Upon arrival in the States, both girls immediately went into NICU care and they are now healthy, happy toddlers. The Groothuis family has since added another baby girl to their family the “old-fashioned” way!

I love reading Jenny’s blog because she is so real, and I am constantly amazed at how her kids really “get” the gospel even at their young ages. One of her boys already dreams about being a missionary and reaching the people of Liberia with the gospel. Yet their passion for souls is not only for people overseas. As a family, they seek to minister in tangible ways to the most broken and overlooked people around them in their own community.

All that to say, I thought Jenny’s post was excellent and I know you will too!

Occasionally I hear people wonder out loud if adoption is really the most "efficient" way to help the orphan crisis. It may seem like a lot of time and resources are poured into a relatively small number of children, when in theory more could be helped by contributing to some type of institutional setting that could numerically care for more.

I believe Jesus was on to something though when He took just 12 disciples under His wing. I also believe He knew what He was doing when He designed the family. Relationships, not institutions, change people. And relationships are rarely efficient, they are time-consuming and costly.

Psalm 68:6 says that God sets the lonely in families. There are a lot of lonely "orphan" people in this world, and they are not looking for a ministry or an institution, they are seeking a friend, some type of family to belong to.

I started crying while reading Song of Solomon yesterday and in chapter 5 her friends kept asking her, "Why is your beloved better than others?" and after describing all his loveliness she says, "this is my lover, this is my friend." That's Jesus! Our relational God, our Father, our Friend, our Bridegroom. He is the author of adoption.

Another beautiful thing about the family is that people are committed to you for the rest of your life. Here are some revealing numbers as to what happens when a child ages out of an institution:

"143,000,000 Orphans in the world today spend an average of 10 years in an orphanage or foster home

Approximately 250,000 children are adopted annually, but…

Every YEAR 14,050,000 children still grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system

Every DAY 38,493 children AGE OUT

Every 2.2 SECONDS, another orphan child AGES OUT with no family to belong to and no place to call home

In Ukraine and Russia 10% -15% of children who age out of an orphanage commit suicide before age 18.

60% of the girls are lured into prostitution. 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.5

Many of these children accept job offers that ultimately result in their being sold as slaves. Millions of girls are sex slaves today, simply because they were unfortunate enough to grow up as orphans."

Pray! www.adoptuskids.org and www.rainbowkids.com as well as www.untilallhavehomes.org or Chances by Choice (HIV positive adoption) have listings of children waiting for homes. You can pray over the situations you hear about, bringing each child before the throne of God. In our own neighborhoods there are children living on the `fringes' of foster care that need a family to unofficially adopt them. You can also support families that are adopting and you can spread the word to others who are thinking about it.

I pray that there will also be more family situations established in third world countries. My sister was telling me about an "orphanage" she visited in Venezuela that was more like a family. It had 10 children living with a married couple who cared for them and were supported by local churches. I would love to see more of that in Liberia, where kids are off the streets and out of run down orphanages and into a family situation where they are cared for by parental figures, a mom and a dad.

May God give us His heart for the orphan!

Love, Jenny

The Impact of One Life

When a stone is dropped into a lake,
it quickly disappears from sight-
but its impact leaves behind
a series of ripples that broaden
and reach across the water.
In the same way, the impact of
one life lived for Christ
will leave behind an influence for good
that will reach the lives of
many others.
-Roy Lessin