Several people have asked why we chose to adopt internationally instead of domestically, either from Minnesota or elsewhere in the U.S. It is true that there are many children in Minnesota and all across the country that are waiting to be adopted. Some have been born already, others will be born soon, and many are waiting as frozen embryos. My prayer today is that God would be raising up more families to be open to the call of adoption- maybe even yours!

Let me share a little bit with you about our journey to international adoption. When we first seriously entered the process of adoption, we weren’t sure where or how to begin. We had heard the name of several agencies and began to do some internet searches, probing deeper into these agencies and many others. As we dug further, we found one agency nearby that was hosting an informational meeting. Though we didn’t end up using this agency as our own, we are thankful to the agency for the abundance of information that they provided us with. Specifically, they laid out the variety of adoption programs, including foster to adopt, domestic adoption, international adoption, and embryo adoption. The informational meeting exposed us to the beauty of adoption and also the current state of adoption at this present point in Minnesota, in the United States, and globally.

Although we did not have a miraculous sign or audible calling that the international program was the path we should travel down, Markus and I decided that we would begin our adoption story here. There were several factors that contributed to this decision, most notability the shorter wait time and the need in certain countries. Ultimately, we are excited to reflect the family of God – from every tribe, tongue, and nation – in a small way in our own family. We believe that this is the best choice for us.

We do know that international adoptions can be very risky and extremely unpredictable. A country could break out in a civil war, and government elections could occur in either our country or the adopting country that could break down relations for us to complete the adoption. Also, we may not have accurate information on the child/children that we will be adopting. At the same time, domestic adoptions have very real risks too. In truth, any adoption is risky and difficult no matter which path you take. But, as we have been assured by those who have been through this before us, adoption is absolutely worth it.

As we continue to post on the blog we would like to share with you some answers to prayer that we have seen as we have gone throughout the process as well as some prayer requests that we have as we continue on in the process.

Praise:

• Our dossier is in Missouri and being thoroughly looked over before it gets sent to Nigeria! We are hoping it will be any day now!
• We have been able to connect with an adoption support system close by and are excited for the opportunities to connect and be involved in a great organization.

Prayer Requests:

• For our future child/children: that the Lord would, in his divine sovereignty, watch over them and protect them.
• For the Haff family: the first family from our agency adopting from Nigeria. They are there in Nigeria now just waiting for the visa to be issued so that they can bring back their daughter to the U.S. Pray that this process would go quickly.
• Adoption costs: this past week we were made aware that the cost of our adoption would be raising just as our dossier payment is due. We are trusting in God’s provision – pray that he would provide and that we would trust him fully.

Waiting with great anticipation and confidence,

Sarah (& Markus)