Because nothing out of the ordinary Wednesday (see last few week's posts) happened today, I am going to discuss a question I get quite a bit from those people I come across back in the United States, whether it be coworkers, people who attend the same church as me or other acquaintances that know about my time here. And the question is,
HOW CAN I COME DOWN HERE SO OFTEN AND NOT END UP ADOPTING A CHILD???
So let me take you all the way back to my decision to come to Emmanuel over some other orphanages I had researched back in 2007 and early 2008. I knew from the beginning that this decision to use my summers (at least for the time being) to spend in a Spanish-speaking country serving at an orphanage in whatever capacity I can was what God had planned for me. Every trip I have made since 2008 (minus 2020 and 2021 due to COVID Honduras not accepting outsiders) has been a true blessing for me and each of the family members that have accompanied me. I have learned so much while here from working in a medical clinic to working with toddlers to teaching math in Spanish and so much more, and each year this experience leaves me fulfilled to begin my school year back in the States in a right frame of mind.
When I first did my research in finding an orphanage, there were 5 orphanages in 3 different countries that had garnered my interest. I purposefully researched the ability to adopt from each of those 3 countries, because I knew that international adoption was quite expensive for me as a teacher. Of course I am going to get attached to the kids that I work with, however as I tell those who ask, if I were to adopt every child that my heart goes out to?...my husband would stop my trips to the orphanage because we would run out of funds to do so! And I know God's purpose for me is to serve these children in where they are right now in life.
Anyway, out of the 3 countries, Honduras had the most rigorous requirements to adopt at the time. In the year I researched Honduras (2007?) there were only 6 children who were adopted into families from the United States. Adoptions from this country to the United States are rare. If you'd like to know more about the requirements, feel free to Google "adoption from Honduras" and check out any agency's listing on those requirements.
What I am about to say next is solely my perception...one of the biggest hindrances in adopting from Honduras is the amount of time it takes to adopt a child. Depending on the age of any special needs of the child, the time frame from referral is 1-6 years! And simply put, the younger the child, the longer it will take. For many Americans, we are so used to getting what we want as soon as we want it. Many (not all) from my generation and those younger than me no longer use time to wait and research and exercise patience in what we would call BIG decisions. We just jump right in. Want a new pair of tennis shoes? Go out and buy them now, or better yet go to Amazon and you don't even have to leave your house AND they will arrive tomorrow! We don't like "inconveniences" (things that take time) that weren't even called inconveniences 20-30 years ago. I could go on and on, but the moral of the story is, many Americans if they make the decision to adopt get frustrated at the aspect of how long it will take to adopt from here, especially if they are particularly interested in infants.
Anyway, back to where I first started...yes, I love the children here. Yes, I love being here. Yes, I feel that God calls me back here year after year to serve. But God's purpose for me has remained steady since the late 1990s...to serve in any capacity that I can, plain and simple. It took me around 10 years to figure that initial purpose out. Perhaps one day, His purpose for me will change. And when that day comes, I hope I answer "yes" a lot more quickly than I did when He initially put what I am currently doing on my heart. 💗
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