This is kind of hard to answer because it's mostly a matter of heart, so maybe not everyone can understand our reasoning behind it. We are just passionate about a China adoption and feel like it's something we are meant to do! Yes, we are able to have children of our own and we adore the 2 we have. But we also want to give another child, who wouldn't have the opportunity to know what a loving family feels like, a chance to grow up in a caring, nurturing environment. We also see it as a beautiful opportunity to show a picture of the love God has for us, in how HE ADOPTED US into HIS family and offers us eternal life through His Son Jesus Christ!
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"
1 John 3:1
We would be open to adopting from any country, but here is a short list of reasons why we are choosing China:
- Nikki has always been in love with Asian kids. Maybe God wired her that way for the purpose of a future adoption. Or maybe it's because they are just so stinkin' cute!
- We enjoy cross-cultural experiences and are excited to bring that element into our home. We have both traveled to nearly 40 countries around the world and we love learning and exploring new cultures. We plan to make Chinese culture a part of our family and let our adopted child keep a part of their heritage.
- There are over 700,000 orphans in China. Maybe it's partly because of China's one-child policy? It doesn't seem fair that a child should be without a family simply because they are not the "one" that the parents hoped for, or because they are a second child and the parents cannot afford the fines to keep them. (Of course there are many reasons that a child might be placed for adoption, but this is probably a big one. And we are not experts on this policy or who it applies to.)
- There is a large Chinese Christian Church nearby that could be a great support for our adopted daughter as they have a large youth group made primarily of English-speaking Chinese-American teens. If she seems to have trouble relating to her peers, I'm sure this would be an encouragement for her to meet others that look like her and understand what it's like to grow up in America with a Chinese background. (We actually visited this church when we moved back to Michigan about 6 years ago, and we loved it!)
- The school system that our kids will attend teaches Mandarin even during their elementary grades. Bonus! Although we may never be fluent, we would like our family to learn as much as we can.
