Posted in Adoption
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How God Led Us to Adopt -- a wonderful article about how and why one family was led by the Lord to adopt.
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Posted in Adoption
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I'm back bearing good news! We will finalize on Hilario's adoption in just over a week! Hilario will be changing his name to Matthew, keeping Hilario as his middle name. This is a decision that he made himself, even choosing the name Matthew. He loves that it means God's Gift. Matthew Hilario ~
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Posted in Adoption
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Wow! I can't believe that it has taken so long for me to post. It has been a very busy time of year for us! I have an update on Hilario's adoption. Late last month, his worker asked us to take him in to get a photo ID so that they can get his social security card, which they need to go forward with the adoption. Well, Chuck called and found out that the DMV needs 2 forms of ID, one being his birth certificate (which cannot be simply a xeroxed copy). Our worker went with Chuck because she hoped to convince them to use the copy. Of course they refused and then told her that they would not even be able to use the original of the one that they have a copy of! In other words, they have to get a certified copy of his state issued birth certificate, send it to us, we get the SS card, send it to them, and then we can proceed with the adoption! How crazy is that?? I am a little upset with this because I feel that they should have taken care of this 10 months ago when they told us he was available for adoption. Not 2 months after they place him with us. This could easily drag into summer God bless & Happy New Year!!!
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. Very frustrating. At times like this I hold onto the hope found in Romans 8:28, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. "
Posted in Adoption
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Please read Part One below this entry first before reading this entry. Thank you! WHY SHOULD THE BODY OF CHRIST GET INVOLOVED? Our answer to this question is, “Why not?” Let us look at what God’s Word says about this subject: -Psalm 10:14, God is the “helper of the orphan.” -Psalm 10:18, God will “vindicate the orphan and the oppressed.” -Psalm 82:3, God commands his people to “vindicate the weak and the fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute.” -Deuteronomy 10:18, God “executes justice for the fatherless.” - Deuteronomy 27:19, “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the fatherless.” -Hosea 14:3, “in you (God) the fatherless find compassion.” -James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to care for the orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Orphan Defined: Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines an orphan as “a child who is bereaved of father or mother or of both.” Further, bereaved is defined as “deprived; stripped and left destitute.” The “waiting” children who are languishing in the foster care system are our society’s orphans. God’s Heart for Adoption Gerald D. Clark, Home for Good Foundation, beautifully describes God’s plan of adoption: “God proved his love for us in a form we could understand-adoption. (Rom. 8:15-23) and as many as received Him (Jesus Christ), to them He gave the right to become children of God. Jn 1:12 Jesus loves orphan children, and He IS calling Christian families to adopt. Many families long to answer His call, but the cost is prohibitive. Adoption by a Christian family is the best way for an orphan or foster child to discover that Jesus really loves them, and they too can become an adopted child of God . . . Jesus died on the cross to pay the ransom for our adoption. If we intend to evangelize orphans of the world, we can do our part for their ransoms by sending missionaries who can bring the gospel to them in a form they can understand-adoption . . .”
Adoption is the heart of God, and that which concerns the heart of God should concern the body of Christ. We cannot continue to ignore to orphans in our own backyard. It is time for the body of Christ to send in the missionaries-those called to adopt the orphans of our society. An orphan has little hope for success in life without the care, nurturing and support of a loving family. Statistics prove it, and adoption is God's model for us to follow. Christian families are the missionaries who can bring God's love to orphans in a form they can understand - adoption. Adoption by a Christian family is the best way for an orphan child to experience the kind of love that will help them overcome feelings of abandonment, and allow them to comprehend God's love, so that they too can become an adopted child of God. (Home for Good Foundation)
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Posted in Adoption
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Several months ago I researched and wrote an article about the sad state of affairs in our country, Kansas in particular, for children who are in foster care awaiting adoption. Due to space and time constraints, I will need to post this in segments.
Part One In
Source: Child Welfare League of
Foster Care Statistics:
Source: www.fosterclub.org
Source: www.jimcaseyyouth.org Christian Adoption Fact:
Source: Home for Good Foundation
WHY THESE CHILDREN NEED PERMANENT HOMES The answer to this may seems obvious to us. These children need homes because everyone needs food, clothing, shelter, the basic items that sustain life. You may ask, Isnt the foster homes fulfilling these needs? In two words, yes and no. Yes, the government does reimburse foster families or group homes for food, clothing and shelter. However, as the previous statistics have shown, these kids still come out of foster care to bleak hopes of succeeding in life and being vital, contributing citizens of society. More often than not, the children who age-out of the system become a drain on taxpayers pocketbooks, just as they have been since they entered into foster care as children. In an article that appeared in the Newton Kansan on January 30, 1999, it costs Kansans $2,100 a month per child in foster care. An average stay in foster care for any child nation-wide is 44 months (www.childrensright.org). So in 44 months,
According to the Childrens Aid Society:
Studies of youth who have left foster care have shown they are more likely than those in the general population to not finish high school, be unemployed, and be dependent on public assistance. Many end up in prison, homeless, or as parents at an early age.
What these children need are the very things that being part of an adoptive family offers: a place to call home, parents who love them unconditionally, a family with which to spend Christmas and holidays. Someone to help with mundane things which we take for granted like help filling out college and job applications or buying their first car. Everyone needs a constant anchor in their lives to which they can turn when the storms of life tosses them about. These children deserve no less! |
Posted in Adoption
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We received an email from our social worker that it looks like it will be into May 2007 before we can finalize on Hilario's adoption. This is disappointing news, however, we are not shocked. Adoption through the foster care system, especially in Kansas is lengthly and daunting. Here is an article, http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/nov/02/foster_kids_in/ , that says that, "Kansas' performance was ranked 45th in the nation" in getting our kids out of the system and into adoptive homes. It's the kids who suffer the most
Please pray for the children who are in foster care in this country. Most of these children (which is estimated to be over a quarter of a million nation-wide) are facing yet another Christmas without a family to call their own. They move from home to home by placing what little belongings they own into garbage bags. Few stay in one home long enough to put down any roots. Every year 18,000 "age-out" of the foster care system with 3 out of 10 becoming one of our nation's homeless. Their future is bleak, even given the best circumstances, without a family. Bleaker still without Christ. We have an entire mission field just outside our door-step, yet fewer than 10% of Christians adopt them (or at all!!).
Will you pray about opening your heart and home to a child through adoption? Adoption is not for the faint of heart, but the rewards you will reap are eternal!
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