Why China?

Over the past several months as our family has been telling others about our latest adoption journey, we have received a lot of questions about the process—how it works, how long it takes, how much money it costs, how much paperwork is involved, picking an agency, etc.  However, the question we seem to hear the most is “Why China when there are so many kids right here in the US that need a family too?”. 

I must admit that the first few times I heard this question it made me feel a bit defensive and my initial response (although I never did voice it) was to want to reply with “You are right, there are so many kids  here in the US that need a home—how many of them have you adopted?”.  However, as this question continues to come up, I wanted to seriously address it because I know that most people that ask this question aren’t asking it in a mean spirited way but are just truly curious of our thought process and reasons.

If you followed our adoption journey with Olivia and read our story then you know that the short answer is that we felt led to China.  As a Christian, I believe that God speaks to us in a variety of ways.  No, I never heard an audible voice telling me this is what we were supposed to do, but over a period of months the topic of adoption and specifically adoption from China began to show up everywhere I turned—conversations I had with friends, shows I watched on TV, magazine articles I read, radio shows, etc.  It was like I could not get away from it until it finally just pierced my heart and I knew that I knew that this was also meant to be our journey.  And for those that are not religious, you still have certain areas in life that speak to you—things you are passionate about for whatever reason.  This was adoption from China for us. 

Since traveling to China and brining Olivia home, China has become a very special place for us and is where our heart is.  We love talking about China, reading about China, praying for the people of China and we even joke that some days Brian thinks he is Chinese. 

When deciding to adopt again, it was without question that we would adopt from China.  We always knew we would go back one day—those little hands reaching out to me and faces looking up at me still haunt me.  And we knew it would be especially meaningful for Olivia to have a sibling from China—someone that would look like her and be able to share her story. 

Even with all this said, I think it boils down to a child in need of a home is a child in need of home whether they are from here or abroad.