Why are we pursuing international adoption?

First blog post ever.... drum roll please....

We've had a number of people ask us about how we decided to adopt internationally, so here are some thoughts along that line...

Both Jamie and I had an interest in orphanage ministry when we were young... um... well... when I was young anyway. I don't know that either of us ever thought that our interest would lead to anything in particular, but I suppose now it has in a way. God seems to have awakened that heart in each of us again, and we are working toward that end, albeit not exactly George Mueller style. Three things happened last year to move us to the place of pursuing international adoption.

One - I was studying through a great little book by John Piper, entitled "Don't Waste Your Life", and desire for something more than standard temporal pursuits began to gnaw at me again. The reminder that "Life is Short, Eternity is Long - Live Like It!" began to grow and bear fruit in my heart. If our lives are to count, we had better be about the things that God is about. As Jamie and I talked and prayed about this, we grew more and more confident that God is not so interested in "stuff", but in people.

Two - Jamie's pregnancy with Lana was a very difficult one, with 9 months of daily hugging the porcelain throne, a few trips to the hospital, loss of weight, lots of medicine, etc. By the end of that pregnancy, Jamie and I agreed that her body needed a break - not permanently necessarily, but for a few years at least. But, we were still interested in having more kids in the near term. This consideration sparked the adoption conversation anew. We had considered it before as a way to love a needy child, but we hadn't been thinking of doing anything along that line until later in our marriage.

Three - Some friends of ours were in the process of adopting two special needs kids from the Ukraine (see their blog at the Finding Zoe link in the sidebar). We followed their exploits with interest, and suddenly it dawned on us... you know, we could do that! We hadn't considered international adoption until that point. There is a HUGE need in some countries, and the desire to demonstrate the good heart of our good God by giving of our resources to one (or hopefully more later) truly needy child from overseas loomed ever larger in our hearts and minds.

At this point, the proverbial ball began to roll...

Anyway, lots more to be said, but it will have to wait for another post. We appreciate your prayers as you think about us.