Why China?

Martha ~

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Why China?
This is a question Matt & I have already been asked on several occassions since we've let it be known we're on the adoption trail again.  I guess people expect a quick one sentence, firm answer.  I can never come up with that.  So I will attempt to offer some answers here. 

The first and foremost reason is that's where our heart is.  God led us there to get our Cassidy and He is leading us there again.  When we got to the Chongqing Children's Home to meet Cassidy for the first time,  Matt & I both got a mental picture that will never leave us.  We were in the elevator with our travel group.  When the doors opened to our destination, we saw a sea of little faces either walking around or in baby walkers.  I would guess there were 20-30 kids who almost all turned to look at us when those doors opened.  That was just a fraction of the 400 children who lived there at the time.  We think often of those faces and wonder where they are now.  Those 400 are just a fraction of the estimated 500,000 orphans in Chinese orphanages. 

Some facts about China that make a difference to us ~ It is a communist country.  Freedom of religion does not exist there.  To put it on a personal level, Cassidy mentioned recently that if we hadn't brought her home from China, she might never have known about Jesus.  That means everything!
Family name and reputation is invaluable to the Chinese people.  Children "age out," meaning they are no longer available for adoption at 14.  Between 16-18, they can no longer live in the orphanage.  Without any family, family name, and many times without a proper education, the future is bleak.  There are no social services.  No one to help them up.  Poverty and homelessness likely awaits them at the age of 18.   Because of a growing gender imbalance, more and more men of marriagable age cannot find women to marry.  Young women are being kidnapped and forced into marriage.  These young women on their own are easy targets.
Since 2007, the adoption of "healthy" girls from China has slowed incredibly.  The wait for us in 2004 - 2005 was six months.  It is now 3-5 years.  This time, we plan to adopt through their special needs program.  Children in this program can have needs ranging from very minor to very serious.  Boys and girls are both available in this program.  I've heard that superstitious people there believe that people with any visible deformity are bad luck.  Think about what kind of future that promises.

I feel that I've rambled on, yet there are probably more facts that would help explain the "Why China" question more thoroughly.  Maybe I'll do a continuation later.

I know without a doubt that God loves every child He has created.  He loves them equally whether they are in China, Ethiopia, Mexico, or the United States.  Every child deserves love and a home.  God has simply called us to love another of His children that just happens to be in China. 

"I will not leave you as orphans.  I will come to you." John 14:8