Domestic vs. International Adoption

Ok- As I promised I have had this post in my head for a week or so now, but no time to get it written down! I will try while Aniah is engrossed in a movie and Eden is sleeping!
Let me start by saying I am so thankful that God calls some to domestic adoption and some to international adoption. We need couples called to each one and committed to each one. Now typically adoptive parents feel more passionately about the type of adoption they choose, such as domestic adoption, domestic inter-racial adoption, foster to adopt, international adoption, and a specific country international adoption. I am also pleased that the Lord gives us adoptive parents a passion for the type of adoption we chose and a commitment to that type of adoption. Now that does not mean that any option is wrong or one is better than the other, again we need people to do all types of adoption. I of course am a little biased towards domestic inter-racial adoption because that is where my passion lies, but I always try to understand that every family has to determine where God wants them and what child is best for their family. I am just happy that God gives this passion to adoptive parents and people who support adoption. With my personal bias towards domestic inter-racial adoption I still feel a nagging to someday do an international adoption from an African country. I guess we'll see what God has planned for our family.

The main differences I see in international adoption and domestic adoption are:
Domestic Adoption:
-Typically less expensive
-Typically a shorter waiting time
-More contact with biological family members
-Usually for couples who can not have biological children themselves or smaller families... but of course not true for everyone. Especially in inter-racial adoption where all types of families are needed.
-Can get an infant- up to older children
-Giving the child more opportunities in life than they may have had with the biological family, I do not think I rescued my children from anything. I know they were loved and would have been loved, but I hope we can provide them more opportunities in life than their biological family could at the time of their birth.


International Adoption:
-More expensive
-Longer waiting time
-Even more paper work that domestic adoption
-More uncertainties (as the process depends on foreign governments that adoption agencies here have no control over) Such as Liberia being currently closed to adoptions, something we wish would change, but we have no control over. Keep praying that Liberia can reopen and the families in the process of adopting a child from there may get their children and more families can help our huge orphan population.
-Older children- adopting older children is not for everyone.. I believe it is VERY hard to adopt an older child
-More of a sense of rescuing the children from poverty and providing them access to medical care and clean living conditions. And love of course.
-More for families with biological children already and have a call to head God's call for Christians to help the orphan.

Those are the main differences I see in domestic vs. international adoption. Again I am so happy that God calls some families to each type of adoption. We personally chose domestic adoption because it is cheaper and the wait time was shorter. We chose to be open to any race and either gender and any type of openness with the birth family because we didn't want to close off any doors and close off any ways for God to work and give us the right child for our family. And He of course chose the very best children for us.

The need for international adoption is great. Everytime I get the pictures of the children waiting internationally for families it breaks my heart. Our orphan populatino is huge and God calls Christians to do something about this, not just sit by and watch this population continue to grow. The need for families to adopt domestically is there, but for sure not as strong. Families are needed to adopt children of African American, African American bi-racial heritage domestically. Again one in thiry families who adopts domestically is open to a child of African American heritage. Now almost 100% of famlies who adopt domestically are open to all other races besides African American. I was reading on another blog the reasons this family chose to adopt African American children. They said if we waited for African American families to adopt these children they would all be in foster care because African Americans do not typically adopt children.. so is it not so much better for a child to have a family who loves them and provides for them even if they aren't the same race. The "excuse" I hear too often for the reasons families are not open to children of African American race is this.. we live in a community where their aren't any or a lot of African American people, or my family would not accept a child of this race, or we don't know how to teach this child about being African American.... well here is my response. How GREAT is our GOD, that He can work out all those things if we are only willing to let Him work and willing to educate ourselves and take steps to teach our children about their race and heritage and seek out other African American people for our children to know and see. Not all families should adopt inter-racial, only families who are committed to teaching their child about their race and their heritage and not families who would not 100% love their child for who they are and be proud of the race their child is. Isn't it amazing how God created the world so diverse with so many people of all different shades and colors. My kids are in a lot of ways similar to us, but we also recognize and celebrate thier differences. God could not have created them more beautiful.

Consider your call to help orphans and your call to possibly adopt a child. Your life will be blessed and you will be listening to God's call to Christians to not stand by and let our orphan population internationally grow and our number of African American children in foster care grow.