Home Visit Complete/ Why Ethiopia?

We had our home visit on Wednesday. I'm so glad it's over! The lady was very nice and made us feel very comfortable but it's always a little nerve racking when someone comes into your home to "judge "you. Steve took Madison and Carter to story hour at the library that morning so that I could clean the house. It was probably a little too clean! She asked us many personal questions regarding our marriage and parenting style. It was hard to think of good answers on the spot with Madison running around. It took three hours for her to talk with us and go through the house. She thought everything went very well and she hopes to get our home study complete by the end of April. We have everything we need for our dossier once the home study report is in. I have to wait until the last minute to have the cover letter and power of attorney letter authenticated at the secretary of state office. I'm anxious to get our dossier sent to Ethiopia! I can't wait to get a referral! I can't wait to see the little boy that God has chosen to be our son!

Many people keep asking why we have chosen to adopt from Ethiopia and not America. We have heard quite often "there are many children that need good homes right here in our own country". This is true. Their are so many children here in the United States who do need good homes but our country is so fortunate to have foster homes and not orphanages for these children to live in. I know foster care is not the same as having a family and home to call your own but it's better than living in an orphanage in Africa. The children here get three meals a day, medical care for their every need, go to school and have every opportunity they can dream of. They also have toys to play with and books to read. There are approximately 4.3 million orphans in Ethiopia alone. The children are starving, the medical care is so scarce and awful that many children never see a doctor let alone receive immunizations. The doctor to children ratio is 1 to 24,000. One in five children will die before their fifth birthday. Half of the children will never attend school. The orphanages I worked in had no toys and no books. It doesn't matter to me what country you live in. This is God's world and we are all his children. We all deserve to have a loving family, food to nourish our bodies, medical care when it is needed, and an opportunity to fulfill our dreams. There is a much greater need in Africa and I feel that God is calling us to adopt from Africa.