Cost of adoption

Several people have made some reference to me regarding the cost of adoption. Some have asked me straight out how much will our adoption cost and others will say, "Isn't it expensive to adopt?!" OR "Why does adoption cost so much?"

First of all I will not give out a figure for the total cost of our adoption unless I know that someone is genuinely interested in adoption themselves.

Secondly, I don't think people realize that there is a huge tax credit ($10,000 +). Also, there are several organization who have grants available for families for financial assistance.

Aside from the assistance or how much the adoption process taxes your finances, if God has chosen for you a path leading to adoption, God will provide your needs.

Why does adoption cost so much when there are so many orphans in the world? Adoption is a legal process and there are many resources and processes that are necessary to complete this legal process. For example, background checks is just one of the many steps a family has to take. This step is very necessary and will help cut down on human trafficking, a reality that is growing in all parts of our world, even in our own state.

In addition, the Ethiopian government specifically asks adoption agencies to give back to their country in some way. Our agency has provided much relief to much needed causes in many ways. Just to name a few, they have built a school, a stadium and a hospital in the capital city, all of which help generate money for their economy and provide needed schooling and health care for those who before have gone without these services.

We are not adopting to 'save' a child as many people like to assume. And our son will not be the lucky one. We are the lucky ones. We do hope to provide him with a better living environment. But regardless of his current environment, we know that God would choose his first family over us. Even if his family has nothing, being raised by his first family would be God's first choice for him.

We are adopting because we want to add to our family through adoption and since we see one of the biggest needs in Ethiopia, we have chosen to pursue adoption through this country. To us, this child's life is priceless. To his birth family, it is a much bigger price to pay.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from becoming polluted by the world." James 1:27