An ABC reporter interviewed our attorney, Curtis Bostic, on January 22.  We have posted the interview in it’s entirety for our families to watch, listen, and make their own conclusions.

You may read our agency’s written statement here:  http://www.cwa.org/ethiopia-statement.htm

And you may view the video series here: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChristianWorldAdopt

CWA’s mission has always been to help place orphans into permanent, loving families.  By God’s grace and help, we intend to continue doing just that.

Christian World Adoption

The following post was originally posted  by CWA adoptive Mom, Kristin Pichura/Ethiopia Program, on her personal blog site.  It is re-posted here with her permission.  You can read more about the Pichura adoption journey at www.justtheclay.blogspot.com Thank you, Kristin!

If you are interested in allowing us to post your CWA adoption-related story, please let me know!

As I close out my “adoption week” of posts, I am not sure that I ever took the time to share with you my thoughts on the financial aspect of our adoption. One thing that we were reminded about over and over again is that what God calls you to do, He makes a way for you to do it and HE deserves all the praise and glory. I remember starting this whole process feeling as though it would be foolish or unwise to even begin unless we had a fair amount of resources to “carry the load” ourselves. I think some of it was actually based in fear of what others would think if we started something with absolutely no means to see it through on our own. Fear that they would see us as unwise or foolish or presuming on the Lord. The more we got into this whole adoption process, the more God kept showing both of us that HE OWNS IT ALL!!!!!!

There is no bank account on any continent on all the earth that God does not claim full ownership of. Whether the boy had 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread or 200 fish and 500 loaves of bread it still was not enough to feed over 5,000 people! It still required the mighty hand of Jesus, God Himself, to do what only He could do to satisfy the hungry. And, whether we had only a penny in our bank account or enough to pay for the whole adoption nothing would have been possible without the mighty hand of our Savior! And, because of Him, nothing is IMpossible, either!!!! It is when we are weak that He is strong and His power is perfectly seen, it is when we have little and He turns it into much that HE is seen as great.

George Muller, Gladys Aylward, Adironam Judson and so many more have the most unbelievably beautiful stories as they served the Lord because, so often, they had nothing BUT Christ…and, because of Christ, they had EVERYTHING and His provision in their lives and ministries is so gloriously seen!!!

Please don’t think I am going “wacko” on you:)…do not go and sell your house and live on the streets, don’t give away all that you have and expect the Lord just to give you more…but DO listen hard to the Lord’s calling and obey, even when it seems there is no way. You will see our awesome God do things that take your breath away and work in ways that are beyond your scope of imagination and you will fall deeper in love with Him as you get to know Him more and see more of His attributes and character on display!!! Our $32,000 adoption “bill” has been satisfied and our hearts have been blessed over and over again watching God work!

In closing, I read this quote from the book “Crazy Love” and was reminded that the perspective God has given us this past year through our adoption needs to be the way we continue to see things every day of our life…not just in adoption but in whatever the Lord calls us to do…I don’t want this to be said of us:

“I fear there are some [professing] Christians among you to whom Christ will not say “Come Thou Blessed…inherit the kingdom”. Your haughty dwelling rises in the midst of thousands who have scarce a fire to warm themselves at, and have but little clothing to keep out the biting frost; and yet you never darkened their door. You heave a sight, perhaps at a distance, but you do not visit them. Ah! Dear friend! I am concerned for the poor but more for you. I know not what Christ will say to you in the great day…I fear there are many hearing me who may know now well that they are not Christians because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally, not grudging at all, requires a new heart; an old heart would rather part with its life-blood than its money. Oh my friends! Enjoy your money, make the most of it; give none away, enjoy it quickly for I can tell you, you will be beggars throughout eternity.”

Robert Murray M’Cheyne Scottish pastor to Edinburgh (who died at 29)

Emily Beddingfield/Administrative Assistant-Ethiopia Team

Working with a waiting children’s program has its joys and its challenges, as I’m sure you would imagine!  The joy of seeing children finding families… the struggle of heartache for those who still wait.  The only peace is knowing that God is in control of each one of their lives.  He knows the plans that he has for each child—whether their future will be in America, or if they are to remain in Ethiopia.

God never ceases to amaze me in the way He’s always working “behind the scenes!”   Last year, I had a family accept three older children—children who I was beginning to despair of ever finding a home for.  One of the children was not even siblings with the other two—but they were best friends.  It was amazing to me that a family wanted all three kids and that the kids would remain together even though they did not legally have to go to the same family.  Then, all of a sudden, the family stopped the adoption process.  I was devastated and just lost all hope for these children.  Silly me!  Shortly thereafter, these children were accepted by another family—All three together again!!  The children are now home with this family and doing great in their new family.

This story is such an inspiration to me and confirms my belief that God is always in control!  He had a special plan for these children that went above and beyond all my earthly expectations.  He loves these children even more than I do and He knows best.  I rejoice for each life and encourage others to consider adopting a waiting child or children, and to pray for those who wait.  If God calls you to it, He will get you through it!

Visit the CWA Ethiopia Hope Project site for more information.

Our journey of adoption began in an unlikely place – the plains of Dire Dawa Kezira in Ethiopia.  In February 2005, we began sponsoring a child named Henok from Ethiopia through Compassion International.  Compassion is a wonderful ministy that has the mission of “Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.”  At the time, Henok was 5 years old.  On August 17 of this year, he will turn 10.  This will be the 5th birthday we get to celebrate for Henok!  At that time, we were pregnant with our second child.  I thought great – all we need now is a dog and we’re done.

We received periodic magazines from Compassion International.  Through learning more about the state of the rest of the world—poverty, orphans and sickness—our hearts began to dwell on adoption.

We began to talk about adoption with our children.  Our son was hoping for several brothers.  Our daughter just wanted to make sure she got a little sister out of the deal.  We would go weeks without discussing adoption, and one of them would bring it up… wanting to know when they would be here.  It took us a season to pray about it, but ultimately we knew this was a precious path we should head down.  In the summer of 2008 while on a business trip with my husband in Huntsville, AL, we met with another CWA Family.  This family has adopted nine children – two from Texas and seven from Russia.  After meeting with this family, we felt both a peace about using CWA as our agency and selecting Russia as our country.

On October 26, 2008, as a family of 4 at Pizza Hut, we decided to become a family of 6 – well, 7 if you count our dog Major and they always do.  That night we submitted our application online to CWA and by the next night I had our neighbor and friend notarizing documents.

On Thanksgiving, our six year old son surprised the family by telling them he was thankful for his new brother and sister from Russia.  By Christmas, we had finished our home study.  By January, our initial Dossier was complete.  As of April 3, 2009, our documents are in Krasnoyarsk, Russia and have been translated and given to the Russian authorities.  For now, we are just waiting patiently (most of the time) to meet and bring home our children.

]]> http://www.cwa.org/blog/index.php/357/feed/ 1 http://www.cwa.org/blog/index.php/melissas-myth-busters/ http://www.cwa.org/blog/index.php/melissas-myth-busters/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:57:53 +0000 Mark Lucas http://www.cwa.org/blog/?p=180 Melissa is a CWA seminar facilitator, home study provider, wife and loving mother to two adopted daughters.  We first posted Melissa’s Adoption Myth # 1 on Facebook several weeks ago.  Before posting Myth #2,  I wanted to allow anyone who missed Myth #1 an opportunity to catch up.  Myth #2 WILL be posted next week.

Myth 1:  When you adopt a baby, they will have no issues or problems because they are young.

I love this one…as if babies are immune to their early experiences or that they are somehow numb.  If we relate this to the old computer adage GIGO (garbage in, garbage out), our early adopted babies are influenced in great part by their early experiences (good or bad), and can behave accordingly (good or bad) later in life.  Contrary to the myth, baby’s brains are more vulnerable.  From before birth forward, God wired us to be relational beings, and baby’s brains are wired and ready to grow correctly through wonderful, nurturing, sensory-rich experiences.  These experiences wire the baby brain for success later in life.  When the baby brain does not get these wonderful experiences the brain then begins faulty wiring.  Why…you may ask?

The human brain develops from the bottom up.  The brain stem develops first, and then up until four years of age a child’s brain is 90% adult size.  As Dr. Bruce Perry said, “The organizing brain is very malleable and responsive to the environment.  This means that of all the experiences throughout the life of an individual, the organizing experiences of early childhood have the most powerful and enduring effects on brain organization and functioning!”

There is so much hope and help for our children.  God’s miracle of the human brain is malleability.  Is God calling YOU to help a child heal?  From my personal experience, it is so hard, but truly one of the greatest miracles I’ve ever experienced.

Everyday we work with families  struggling with financial fears, timing, discouragement, family dynamics, and more.  Yet for every story of struggle, we  hear two examples of how God uses these same struggles to help families grow in their faith and trust in Him.  It is not unusual to hear about donations for the exact amount  needed arriving at the just the right time.  We  hear how God uses a document or travel delay to ensure a families are available for a high school graduation, better ticket prices, family emergency or other important event that may otherwise have been missed.

The Lord has chosen you to embark on a journey of blessings and personal and family growth.  Are you trusting Him, His perfect timing, and His provision; or are you fretting, worrying or otherwise allowing the devil to distract you from God’s joy in adoption?  When you are feeling discouraged, turn to Proverbs 3:5-6 for encouragement:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Have a great Monday!