Pop singer Madonna's adoption of a boy from Malawi has created a lot of controversy lately. But it's also put the spotlight on a trend that's been growing in recent years: American citizens adopting children from other countries -- most of them living in poverty -- in hopes of giving them a better life.
The U.S. Sate Department reports that international adoptions have jumped from about 10,000 thousand in 1996 to nearly 23,000 last year. Most of the children came from China, Russia, and Guatemala.
CBN News anchor Lee Webb is among the thousands of U.S. Christians who have adopted a child from another country. Lee shares his experience on this week’s Christian World News, and he talks about the risks and costs involved.
He also shares how the experience taught him about the heart of God, and about the great effort that our Heavenly Father made to adopt us into His family.
Consider the similarities:
--Traveling a great distance and sacrificing time and resources to meet his new daughter and bring her home to be part of his family.
--Furnishing and decorating her room, literally ‘preparing a place for her’ before bringing her home.
--Arriving in Ukraine, filled with anticipation at meeting their new family member and having to wait through interminable bureaucratic delays before actually meeting her.
Imagine how God must feel, eager to share His love and blessings with us, only to be put on hold until we finally wake up to the reality of our need for Him.
In the end, Lee says, it was all worth it to bring his new daughter home and to discover at a deeper level how much our Father loves us and wants us to become part of His family.
Sadly, Ukraine no longer allows international adoptions and other former Soviet Republics are making the process harder all the time. But there are many countries that still encourage it.
There are many organizations that help facilitate international adoptions. Below is a partial list of some of those agencies for those interested in pursuing it further.
Buckner Orphan Care International
Child’s Hope International
Alliance for Children
