FAQs about our adoption:

1.  Why Uganda?  It is so expensive! Why not adopt from the US?

      Well Doug and I have always felt called to adoption and when we heard about Texas' Foster/Adopt program (which is very low cost, quickly completed, and a pretty simple process)  we just assumed that we would do that.  We were starting to pray about moving forward with that process when a friend lent me a book called, "Kisses from Katie".  This book is so inspiring! It is about a teenager who moves to Uganda and does ministry there.  This book affected me on such a deep level.  I knew God was giving me a heart for Uganda and by the end of the book I was convinced He was telling us to adopt from there.  So I reluctantly told Doug, thinking he would tell me I was crazy but his response was, "Yeah.  I pretty much always thought we would adopt internationally."  So he read the book and God gave him a heart for Uganda as well!
     We still know there is a great need for children in the US to be adopted, and we are not completely taking that out of our future either.  We just know that right now we are supposed to adopt from Uganda.  Orphans in the US at least have food and medical care, where orphans in Uganda are not so fortunate. 
     We know it is expensive, but really can you put a price on a child's life?  These orphans need help and more people need to step out on faith to do so.  I believe the cost of international adoption stops a lot of people from ever even considering it.  We are stepping out on faith and trusting God will provide because He placed this on our hearts and has called us to do it.

2.  Who will you be adopting?

     On our application we filled out the age range 0-7 (because Logan asked to remain the oldest), boy or girl,  open to a sibling set and open to a child with mild-moderate medical needs.  It will be quite some time until we receive a referral though because we chose an agency that is very careful to make sure the children they place are true orphans.  One of the things you have to be careful for in international adoptions is unethical adoptions.  Orphanages will offer parents money for their children are coerce them in some way to put up their children for adoption.  We did not want to be any part of this "baby buying" so we did a lot of research on agencies. 

3.  How long will it take?

     Good question! I wish I had the answer or a crystal ball to see that day! There are so many crazy factors in international adoption.  Uganda could decide to close their country to placing children internationally.  They could change their laws at any time about who can adopt or who can be adopted.  And then there is the factor of our agency finding true orphans and all the people who are already with the agency waiting for placements.  The agency we have chosen currently has 29 families waiting.  We are hoping that with our age range, and openness to either gender it will make this part a bit quicker but we have no idea.  The whole process could be as quick as 18 months or it could be much longer.  We are figuring it will take about 3 years.  Which is crazy because we are so ready to have our child now! Just thinking about our child having to go 3 years without us just breaks our heart.

4.  How does the process work?

     Uganda is very unique.  They do not actually allow you to adopt from their country unless you have lived there for 3 years.  What they do though is they will grant parents legal guardianship of the child.  Then the parents take the child back to the US and adopt them here.  So basically whoever the judge is will decide our fate.  Kind of scary but we know that God is really in control, and not the judge.  Doug and I will both have to be at the initial court hearing and then Doug will be able to come back to the US and I will have to remain in Uganda for about a month until the next court date.  The awesome thing is, is that the entire time we are there our child will get to be with us!