Why Korea?

Well, sweet & simply we know this is where God wants us to adopt from. There was (& still is) a lot of prayer that went into this decision. The more we looked into adoption, the more it seemed to be God's plan. We looked into all of our "adoption options" before choosing which route to go. For several months we looked into domestic vs. international, multiple different agencies & so on. We talked to a couple of adoptive families & made our decision that international adoption was right where God wanted us. He confirmed it & continues to confirm it over & over.

Here are some reasons we decided against domestic:
The ultimate goal of foster care is reunification with biological parents. A lot of foster care children do become available for adoption, but we don't have any children yet. We didn't feel led at all to do foster care right now. Maybe one day, but not right now. Domestic & international adoptions cost are very similar. I know someone that waited over 2 years & it cost over $60,000 for their adoption in the US. A lot of people ask about the financial aspect & say, "Well, isn't that a lot of money, like 'buying' your baby?" Well, I saw this quote online somewhere & thought it very true & fitting...."Think about it: Every family finds a way to purchase automobiles, pay mortgages or rent, yet think it's wrong to finance their adoption, or find a way to pay for it. The child you adopt will be with you forever!"
Birthmothers also have up to 7 days in NC to revoke their consent for adoption. I read that 1 in 5 women change their mind at or after birth. I just couldn't go through all of that right now. The door isn't completely shut for that in our future though. This isn't to say it's not right for others either.

Now how did we decide South Korea? Because of my age at the time we first started looking, 25, we were somewhat limited. Several countries you have to be 30 or older. Korea was also one of the countries that we only had to make one trip, or could have an escort. Ethiopia was one trip as well, but now that has gone to 2 trips too. Korea has excellent medical care. It's very much like Western civilization medical care. Another reason is that most babies are in foster care instead of orphanages. The foster families are also like traditional families here. We love the idea that our baby is getting a lot of one on one time & being loved & taken care of by a special foster mother if we can't be there for their first several months of life. :)

There are more reasons that we chose international instead of domestic & Korea over other countries, but bottom line is that this is where God wants us to be. A LOT of prayer & thought was put into this. We hope that family & friends know that this isn't a decision we took lightly.
We have heard a lot that we should do foster care because it's basically free. We've also heard the question (multiple times), "Why adopt from over there when there are kids right here that need homes?" We don't see any boundaries on the word orphan. US or not...there's still 147 million orphans. We are all God's children & why were chosen to be born in the US instead of another country? Only God knows the answer to that question. People cannot help what country, race, ethnicity & so on that they are born into. It's all God's plan & we are ALL equal. God loves us all, so shouldn't we too? We can't change the whole world, but we can change the world for this one.
As Dave Thomas said "Every child deserves a home and love. Period."

We can't wait for the day that we get to see our baby's sweet face! We hope that it is in the very near future! Thank you all for the prayers & support!