March 29, 2013

Summit 9 Blogger Contest

I am writing this post as part of the Summit 9 Blogger Giveaway. Check out all the details at www.summit9.org.

Nick and I have always been passionate about adoption and have always known we would adopt.  Of course, we didn't foresee infertility playing into the timing of our adoption, but here we are, adopting earlier than expected.  And, I am so glad.  Now that we are in the process, we are so convinced that this is the right thing for us and exactly where God wants us.  We are learning so much and becoming more and more aware of the world outside our sheltered life.  And now that we are here, there's no going back.  We can't see the faces of these innocent children who are being denied the basic human rights of family and love and attachment, and not feel compelled to do something about it. When I think about the difference that Christians could make in the lives of orphans across the world,  it's mind blowing.  It's exciting, but it's also disheartening.  There are approximately 13 million orphans in the world and 2 BILLION Christians.  Do the math.  There's no doubt that God has called Christians to care for the orphans.  I don't know if that means adoption for everyone, but it certainly means that the church should be a part of supporting and encouraging adoption and orphan care.

Since Nick is a pastor at our church, we feel a burden to bring more awareness about adoption to our church body and to help create a culture where adoption is supported and celebrated and encouraged.  Summit 9 offers workshops that could help us make an adoption ministry a reality at our church.  We feel passionate about raising awareness and want the people in our community to share God's heart for the orphan.  We would love to get some practical tips for making this happen in our church.

There are also many personal reasons why we would like to go to this conference.  We will most likely be a multi-racial family (yay!) in the near future, and we have a lot to learn about providing for the needs of our children who will look nothing like us and who will be in the minority.  We also still have a lot of fundraising to do, for this adoption and for future adoptions, and would love to get some new ideas and be able to share them with others who plan to adopt. We also want to learn more about international adoption, older child adoption, and foster care....all things we would like to be a part of in the future.

Nick and I went to see the movie Stuck on Wednesday night when they came to Laguna Niguel, and our minds have been racing ever since.  We are so ready to jump into adoption and do everything we can in our little corner of the world to make a difference for orphans and to inspire people to action.

I am so excited for the future God has for us through adoption. Adoption is God's heart, plain and simple.  And, it's good, and humbling, and a privilege to step into the rhythms of God's love for the world through adoption. 
It would be awesome if we had the opportunity to attend Summit 9.


4 comments:

  1. I'm here reading as part of the CAFO blogger contest team. Thanks for sharing your heart! -Megan

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  2. This sounds awesome! Hope you guys get to go!

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  3. I'd love to see you guys start an adoption group at work!

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  4. So excited to be a part of this journey with you guys! I hope that you are able to bring lots of adoption resources to our church as I know it will be received with open hearts. Who knows what change our little church could make??

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