We originally had only wanted to adopt from Latin America because of our experience there and because I speak spanish. When realizing our child would be 3 or 4 years old at the time of adoption it has allowed us to research our other options. At first we were fine with the age, but when we look at all of the issues of language barrier (Jon's biggest worry) and issues in parenting a child that old without having the language, etc., we started to question and ask God what he is trying to tell us. We also realized that saving $30,000 is a huge task and that it would be close to impossible to do that without having to take out a huge loan.
We looked at the other countries that Imagine Adoption works in: Ghana, Zambia & Ethiopia. Both of my parents have been to Ghana, my mom has been to Zambia and will be continually going over the next few years. We have friends from Ghana and we have some friends who are moving to Zambia next year. In thinking of maintaining culture it would be easier than we thought! Because none of our family has been to Ethiopia and we don't have any Ethiopian friends, though we LOVE Ethiopian food - we have chosen for that not to be an option for us. We then compared this to Ecuador. Even though I have been to Ecuador - we don't know one Ecuadorian here in Canada.
We also looked at the poverty of each of these nations and the statistics about the need for adoption. With Zambia being one of the 4 top countries with the highest percentage of HIV/AIDS infected people on the planet - we thought, does it make more sense for us to adopt from where the need is greatest? Not only does that make the most sense, but is that is what God is calling us to do as Christ-followers?
In addition to all of these thoughts over the last week we decided to ask about adopting a sibling group. First of all, Imagine Adoption does not charge anything for adopting a sibling group. That is amazing. In Ecuador, the cost does increase slightly as you have to have 2 different court dates, 2 different hearings, etc. Also with the youngest possible child being 3, a sibling would automatically be older. In Ghana, Zambia and Ethiopia there is no extra charge for adopting a sibling group and they both have infants & toddlers available for adoption. The only thing that changes is you have to pay for 2 immigration applications ($150 extra) and then you have the extra travelling costs. This was another factor in deciding that maybe God is leading us to adopt from another country.
Luckily we have about a full year to make a decision on where we would like to adopt from. Please pray with us as we seek out God's plan for our family!
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