Suffer the Little Children: Orphanages

When someone adopts a child from overseas there is always at least one person who indignantly asks something along the lines of "why would you do that when you can help a kid in your own backyard?" i.e. why didn't you adopt an American baby?

There are so many aspects that go into adopting a child. For many people, it is easier and takes less time to adopt a child from a foreign country. The United States has a waiting list a mile long for infants to be adopted. Unless you can find a pregnant individual actively searching for a loving couple to adopt her baby, chances are the wait will be long.

The wait for babies in other countries can still be long and arduous. My pastor and his wife, after being told that they will never have children, chose to adopt their little girl from Ukraine. The process was difficult. They lived in a tiny apartment for an entire month with very little contact with the United States. They did not speak the language and they knew no one. It certainly was not easy, but it was the best option for them.

Why? Take a look at what orphanage baby rooms look like in other countries.

This is a baby room, and a relatively small one at that. Baby rooms can be huge, with very few workers. The babies spend all of their time in their cribs. When my pastor and his wife met their daughter, she was 10 months old. She weighed 10 pounds, could not sit up or stand up, and had the functioning of a newborn. She would obsessively watch her hands because that's the only entertainment she had for those first 10 months of her life.

In the United States, the majority of infants born and given up for adoption will find good homes. That does not mean all babies will wind up in a loving environment, but most will. In many foreign countries, this is not the case. "

For that reason, many people chose to adopt children from countries outside of the United States. It is not because they do not love America or American children, but because they know that these other babies need them.

And so, today, if I had we all had a million dollars a month we could completely eradicate the entire concept of these orphanages. They wouldn't have to exist. These children could all have a chance at life.

Check out this youtube link. It is not for the faint of heart. This is just 1/4 of the clips for the documentary "The Dying Rooms." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Uq3z7KOjM

So what can you do? Many people do not have the means to go out and adopt a child from another country. But that doesn't mean you can't help. If you know someone who is adopting from another country, help them through prayers and financial support if possible. Pray for the children that they can find homes. Increase awareness so that people recognize that there is a problem out there and it needs to be solved. Remember, Jesus said "Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matthew 25:40

Mark 10:14
But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.