Value

We spent some of our night last night and most of our day today, with people that LOVE children. We are a part of a  ministry at our church (Praise Adopts) that serves as a support system for adopting families. Today, we did a huge yard sale at our church to help raise funds for three families in the process of adoption.  Ourselves ( you know our story), a sweet family with one son, adopted in '11 from China, that is adopting from China again, and another amazing family with 3 little girls, 1 baby boy, and two sons waiting for them in Uganda.  And we were surrounded all day by people that genuinely love our families. They were out there all morning and afternoon digging through other peoples stuff, moving boxes, sharing our stories with shoppers, smiling, laughing with all of our kids, doing what they could do to help us bring our kids home. Not because anyone told them they had to. But because they value children.  Because they love Jesus.  And I stood there today in the sunshine talking to an adopting Mama about upcoming fees......and while she was talking I was watching at least 5 kids riding bikes in the parking lot, one on a pogo stick, one on a trampoline and one literally sitting in a pile of clothes on the ground and my heart broke......"how can you possibly put a price tag on that?"

And I look at this MONSTROUS amount of money that is needed between these three families to get their babies home, and I have full faith that God will show up with every single necessary penny because God sets the lonely in families........but that doesn't make the idea any easier to tolerate.

In this world, our moral radar has fallen so far off the edge, that we have started to"value" children so little that they now have a price tag. Think about that.

We value children so little, that close to 167 million of them, must now be purchased. 

A Russian adoption today can cost around $70,000.00. For one child. A Ugandan adoption, $25,000.00. A Dominican Republic adoption, $33,000.00.  And people will say "then why don't you just adopt in the US. We have plenty of orphans here. We need to take care of our own."  See, in the US, the children are valued so little, that parents that do awful things to children, are still given the benefit of the doubt, and custody.Children, who are given a second chance and adopted by a family, are still able to be taken away when bio-Mom decides 5 years down the road that she changed her mind. Because it takes OVER A YEAR for state run child protection agencies to certify a home as a foster home and then who knows how long until you get your first placement. Because kids in the US, whether in foster homes or group homes throw temper tantrums on Christmas because they didn't get an Ipad. Children in International orphanages cry at night because their stomachs have been empty for days because there are too many children to feed and not enough food.  Because two weeks ago, Putin signed a bill that bans Americans from adopting children from Russia and to date, the great president of the USA has remained silent.  SILENT. The same president that wants to pass 22 different weapons bills in the name of protecting our children, doesn't have even a single word to say about the 700,000+ children in Russia that just had a door closed for some of their futures?  The same president that wouldn't fight for the adoption tax credit to also be a refund so that more families would be able to afford the exorbitant cost of adopting, whether domestic or international. 

To the people out there that still love and cherish all of the little children of the world enough to not care about the price, to the ones that weep at the sound of pitter pattering feet or belly laughs and are willing to fight to hear that sound, for the foster parents that love children only for a short time and then are forced to let them go, for the ones that say "the more the merrier" and go without just to make room for one more, for the ones that realize that God will provide where He has called you.....thank you. For seeing the value and not the price tag. For teaching kids that they are loveable.

Adoption agency fees - $15,000
In country fees - $10,000
Travel expenses - $7,000
The moment your child realizes that you are the one that will love them, when they thought they were unloveable, that you fought for them, that you value them - priceless.

*If I'm wrong about the President not making a statement on Russia, PLEASE correct me. I've looked everywhere and I can't find it. I also understand that everyone has opinions on this. I'm not trying to start any arguments. This is MY blog.....so this is where I express MY opinions.*