1) paperwork 2) raising funds 3) personal preparation.
The entire process can be intimidating as there is so much to it. We officially started our "Barnick Adoption Fund" today with the sale of our piano (a grad gift from Mom in '04... th
anks Mom). We are going to be growing that fund with the sale of the truck I won in the raffle last month (see photo) and the 
Ford Thunderchicken.
We are also adding to it the gain from selling our house and some of our savings. In case you were wondering, yeah, it is an expensive process. We are also going to embark on some ambitious fundraising throughout the next 6 months. Wish us well. Well, sure, of course we will give you a way to get involved; just be patient :)
English is spoken in Ethiopia, but not by everyone. Melissa, Bonnie and I are making plans to learn some basic Amharic as that is the language our kids will be speaking if they are old enough to do so. We are setting the age limie at 4 and under.
FAQ
I wanted to do a section on Frequently Asked Questions and points of interest. It may continue through several postings.
Q: Why adoption?
A: Melissa and I have always dreamed of and looked forward to having a large family. We have no medical reason to believe that we won't have biological children, but after a couple years of "trying" we decided to jump start the process.
Q: Why international adoption?
A: Yes, we know that babies are born in the ol U S of A that need good homes, but after researching the process we opted to look abroad. Unfortanately many of the children in need of adopting in The States, are caught up in legal and political entanglements that can be heartbreaking to the little one and the adopting parents. Often the children are born drug addicted or HIV positive (we are not ready for that challenge). It is also common for the birth mother to void the adoption before or even afterwards. Lastly, there is a weird "competition" vibe among adopting parents which makes it seem more like auditioning for a role in a movie called World's Most Perfect Family.
Q: Why Ethiopia?
A: The more we learn about this amazing land, the more respect we have for its people. Most of us remember the commercials of starving Ethiopians made famous during the major famines that occured there in the 1980's. Contrary to that portrayal, Ethiopia is a majestic land full of dramatic mountains, traditional villages, vast deserts, rich history and joyful people. I intend to include a section on Ethiopia in the future.
"But why adopt from there," you ask.
The answer to this is partly practical and partly a mystery to us still. The practical reasons are that Ethiopia has a TREMENDOUS need for adoptive parents. The poverty there is extreme. The children are taken to orphanages not because of drugs, crime or disease, but simply due to lack of resources. The agency that we have chosen to trust (Children's House International) has staff permanately on location there and their own orphanage/exit site called the Thomas Center. This is a bigger deal than it may seem. The agency also has a special program that allows the adoption of siblings during the same trip. The entire adoption takes roughly 6-9 months compared to 2+ years in other areas and the cost (though still substantial) is lower than in most other regions. Also, the government is stable and ethical.
The "mystery" is that Melissa and I were both quite surprised that we felt instantly at peace and joyful at the prospect of adopting from Ethiopia even though we had not discussed specific countries before. We had been praying for guidance and believe that we were lead to this path. We are eager to see what Our Heavenly Father has lead us to, and what blessings are in store.
Sidenote: Yes, we have observed that most Ethiopians are rather more darkly complected than us. It is a great blessing to us that our families have seen past this detail and have been fully supportive. Melissa and I are confident that we can handle the challenges and questions of being part of a muti-colored home :-)
Q: Do we know our kids yet?
A: No. There's a chance that one of them may not even be born yet. We will receive a referral (invitation to adopt specific children) after we are cleared by the Ethiopian government to adopt from their country. We can say with confidence that they will be two siblings under the age of 5.
3 comments:
Very cool, Roger and Melissa! I found out about your plans to adopt from Kat's blog. I'll put a link to your blog/etsy shop from my blog to see if we can drum up some business for you. I don't think I have quite as many blog followers as Kat does, but hey, every little bit will help... :O) Good luck! Melanie & Jeff Tucker
I was just commenting on Kat's blog about what an amazing adventure you are about to have. My parents served a mission in Mozambique and were friends with a family that was the first americans to adopt from that country. It's good to know that Ethiopia is more open to the idea. They actually did a documentary on the Hallmark channel about the adoption but I don't know how to find it. There was a street boy about 9 that came to my parents house everyday, I told them they better feed him and get him clothes or I'd be mad. They told him about me and how I wanted to be his mom. I have a picture of him holding my picture. My dad paid for him to go to school but then he quit coming around and lost track of him before they left. I still think about that boy, it's heartbreaking how they live compared to what we have.
My heart goes out to you. You will be blessing two peoples lives in an unbelievable ways. Good luck with everything.
I have design skills to offer if they could come in handy. I designed Kat's blog banner and would be happy to do anything you could think of. Just let me know.
Oh why did I look at that slide show, totally teary eyed now. Those children are absolutley beautiful. Good luck with everything.
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