- Compiled from the June 2010 issue of Adoption Today magazine.
Haiti
Haiti is now accepting adoption applications for children who were documented as orphans before Jan. 12 or who have been relinquished by thier birth parents since the the earthquake.
Kyrgyztan
All intercountry adoptions have been suspended and the U.S. State Dept. has issued a travel warning about traveling there.
Kazakhstan
All intercountry adoptions have been halted by Kazakhstan until the government implements a system that is in compliance with the Hague Adoption Convention (goal: September 2010). This does not affect adoptions that are already in process.
Liberia
Liberia has suspended all adoptions due to finding of corruption. It is not accepting any new applications nor making any referrals for existing applications.
For more information: http://adoption.state.gov/
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Role of the Church In Adoption
Churches Adopt Adoption
Churches are getting real about adoption's challenges—and helping families after the child arrives. By Carla Barnhill
This article is part of Christianity Today's July issue which focuses on adoption and orphan care.
In 1962, my parents picked up a 3-month-old boy from a Minneapolis children's home. Instead of a shower or welcoming committee, they came home to silence and sideways looks. They were adopting at a time when the decision was considered a response to an epic reproductive failure, something not discussed in polite company.
And then there was the baby. At just three months, my older brother showed signs of institutionalization. My mother remembers how he lay in her arms like a board, never able to snuggle. Psychologists were only beginning to form theories on attachment disorder, and no one, including my parents, fully understood how even a few months without parental nurture can impact a child.
Thank God that attitudes about adoption are changing.
The Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAO) held its sixth annual summit on orphan care this April at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Featuring keynote addresses from John Piper, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman, and Al Mohler, the summit drew more than 1,200 attendees, most of them ministering to orphans through their home churches. Watching those gathered, I knew this was not my parents' generation.
Continue with article here.
Churches are getting real about adoption's challenges—and helping families after the child arrives. By Carla Barnhill
This article is part of Christianity Today's July issue which focuses on adoption and orphan care.
In 1962, my parents picked up a 3-month-old boy from a Minneapolis children's home. Instead of a shower or welcoming committee, they came home to silence and sideways looks. They were adopting at a time when the decision was considered a response to an epic reproductive failure, something not discussed in polite company.
And then there was the baby. At just three months, my older brother showed signs of institutionalization. My mother remembers how he lay in her arms like a board, never able to snuggle. Psychologists were only beginning to form theories on attachment disorder, and no one, including my parents, fully understood how even a few months without parental nurture can impact a child.
Thank God that attitudes about adoption are changing.
The Christian Alliance for Orphans (CAO) held its sixth annual summit on orphan care this April at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Featuring keynote addresses from John Piper, Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman, and Al Mohler, the summit drew more than 1,200 attendees, most of them ministering to orphans through their home churches. Watching those gathered, I knew this was not my parents' generation.
Continue with article here.
Jedd Medefind's (the President of Christian Alliance for Orphans), Top 5 Books on Orphan Care
This article is from July's Christianity Today, focusing on adoption and orphan care.
1. Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches
by Russell D. Moore (Crossway)
With deep theological moorings, Moore builds an inspiring case for why adoption carries special priority for Christians. Even readers who don't agree with Moore on all points will find it difficult to escape the power of his conviction that God's adoption of all believers is the wellspring for Christian action to "defend the cause of the fatherless."
2. The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family
by Karyn Purvis, David Cross, and Wendy Lyons Sunshine (McGraw-Hill)
Built on research and medical expertise, this accessible book provides both compassionate insight and concrete practices that any parent can apply to nurture and connect fully with children coming from difficult backgrounds. Purvis's new study guide and other resources are also invaluable.
3. There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
by Melissa Fay Greene (Bloomsbury)
Greene opens unforgettable windows into the plight of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS with the true story of one Ethiopian widow and the children she took in. Her well-crafted account is both haunting and hopeful, exposing both aching need and the complexity of responding wisely, alongside the beauty found when we do.
4. Fields of the Fatherless: Discover the Joy of Compassionate Living
by Tom Davis (David C. Cook)
Weaving together Scripture and compelling narrative, Davis paints a simple yet powerful picture of what it looks like when Christians come to share God's passion for orphans. Fields of the Fatherless offers not only inspiration and provocation, but also practical steps for action.
5. The One Factor: How One Changes Everything
by Doug Sauder (4Kids of South Florida)
Focusing on real stories of children from foster care, this slim volume delivers its punch with dozens of poignant reminders why the number one matters more than all the statistics in the world. Sauder helps us turn the tired adage that "one person can make a big difference" into a vibrant, vivifying confidence.
1. Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches
by Russell D. Moore (Crossway)
With deep theological moorings, Moore builds an inspiring case for why adoption carries special priority for Christians. Even readers who don't agree with Moore on all points will find it difficult to escape the power of his conviction that God's adoption of all believers is the wellspring for Christian action to "defend the cause of the fatherless."
2. The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family
by Karyn Purvis, David Cross, and Wendy Lyons Sunshine (McGraw-Hill)
Built on research and medical expertise, this accessible book provides both compassionate insight and concrete practices that any parent can apply to nurture and connect fully with children coming from difficult backgrounds. Purvis's new study guide and other resources are also invaluable.
3. There Is No Me Without You: One Woman's Odyssey to Rescue Africa's Children
by Melissa Fay Greene (Bloomsbury)
Greene opens unforgettable windows into the plight of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS with the true story of one Ethiopian widow and the children she took in. Her well-crafted account is both haunting and hopeful, exposing both aching need and the complexity of responding wisely, alongside the beauty found when we do.
4. Fields of the Fatherless: Discover the Joy of Compassionate Living
by Tom Davis (David C. Cook)
Weaving together Scripture and compelling narrative, Davis paints a simple yet powerful picture of what it looks like when Christians come to share God's passion for orphans. Fields of the Fatherless offers not only inspiration and provocation, but also practical steps for action.
5. The One Factor: How One Changes Everything
by Doug Sauder (4Kids of South Florida)
Focusing on real stories of children from foster care, this slim volume delivers its punch with dozens of poignant reminders why the number one matters more than all the statistics in the world. Sauder helps us turn the tired adage that "one person can make a big difference" into a vibrant, vivifying confidence.
Adoption And Orphan Care is the Focus of the July Issue of Christianity Today
Adoption Is Everywhere
Even God is into it.
by Ted Olsen
In December, Christianity Today editor at large Collin Hansen put evangelicals' growing attention to adoption as number six on his "Top Ten Theology Stories of 2009" for our website. It made a lot of sense: The Blind Side put the spotlight on adoption for moviegoers, while Russell Moore's Adopted for Life created buzz among Christian nonfiction readers.
The way 2010 is going, adoption is likely to rank higher than sixth place by year's end. Rick Warren devoted this year's Saddleback Civil Forum to orphans and adoption, joining popular conferences like Together for Adoption, the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit (which will be posted next week), and Moore's own Adopting for Life.
The trend goes beyond dedicated gatherings, however: Nearly every conference we've attended recently devoted attention to orphans, adoption, the fatherless, and so on. Church leadership conference Catalyst gave a major push to adoption at its main gathering in October and continues to highlight it at regional meetings. The keynote presentation at Q (a conference for Christian culture leaders) focused on fatherlessness, with calls to establish foster-care ministries, support adoptive families, and build orphanages abroad.
Adoption even became a main issue at this year's Wheaton Theology Conference, which was somewhat unlikely since it focused on the work of N. T. Wright. But theologian Kevin Vanhoozer argued that the theology of adoption was the key to reconciling Wright's views on justification with his Reformed critics'. The law court that finds us justified in Christ, Vanhoozer said, is less of a criminal court than a family court.
Socio-political reasons abound for why we're hearing more about orphans and adoption today. I have friends who, faced with the seemingly countless ways to pursue social justice and compassion, are starting with the "orphans and widows" of James 1:27. Other friends praise the focus on adoption for being an important family issue that sidesteps the ceaseless debates on "gay stuff." Then again, other friends see adoption as the new battleground over homosexuality.
But more often, I hear people talking theologically about adoption, highlighting it as the act that most directly mirrors God's actions toward us. I don't hear many guilt trips or apocalyptic warnings. Instead, I hear echoes of one of J. I. Packer's comments in Knowing God: "Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption." Moore helps us grasp it much better, starting here.
This article can be found - http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/10.5.html
Even God is into it.
by Ted Olsen
In December, Christianity Today editor at large Collin Hansen put evangelicals' growing attention to adoption as number six on his "Top Ten Theology Stories of 2009" for our website. It made a lot of sense: The Blind Side put the spotlight on adoption for moviegoers, while Russell Moore's Adopted for Life created buzz among Christian nonfiction readers.
The way 2010 is going, adoption is likely to rank higher than sixth place by year's end. Rick Warren devoted this year's Saddleback Civil Forum to orphans and adoption, joining popular conferences like Together for Adoption, the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit (which will be posted next week), and Moore's own Adopting for Life.
The trend goes beyond dedicated gatherings, however: Nearly every conference we've attended recently devoted attention to orphans, adoption, the fatherless, and so on. Church leadership conference Catalyst gave a major push to adoption at its main gathering in October and continues to highlight it at regional meetings. The keynote presentation at Q (a conference for Christian culture leaders) focused on fatherlessness, with calls to establish foster-care ministries, support adoptive families, and build orphanages abroad.
Adoption even became a main issue at this year's Wheaton Theology Conference, which was somewhat unlikely since it focused on the work of N. T. Wright. But theologian Kevin Vanhoozer argued that the theology of adoption was the key to reconciling Wright's views on justification with his Reformed critics'. The law court that finds us justified in Christ, Vanhoozer said, is less of a criminal court than a family court.
Socio-political reasons abound for why we're hearing more about orphans and adoption today. I have friends who, faced with the seemingly countless ways to pursue social justice and compassion, are starting with the "orphans and widows" of James 1:27. Other friends praise the focus on adoption for being an important family issue that sidesteps the ceaseless debates on "gay stuff." Then again, other friends see adoption as the new battleground over homosexuality.
But more often, I hear people talking theologically about adoption, highlighting it as the act that most directly mirrors God's actions toward us. I don't hear many guilt trips or apocalyptic warnings. Instead, I hear echoes of one of J. I. Packer's comments in Knowing God: "Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption." Moore helps us grasp it much better, starting here.
This article can be found - http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/july/10.5.html
Why every Christian Is called to Rescue Orphans.
(This article is part of ChristianityToday's July issue featuring adoption and orphan care.)
"The creepiest sound I have ever heard was nothing at all. My wife, Maria, and I stood in the hallway of an orphanage somewhere in the former Soviet Union, on the first of two trips required for our petition to adopt. Orphanage staff led us down a hallway to greet the two 1-year-olds we hoped would become our sons. The horror wasn't the squalor and the stench, although we at times stifled the urge to vomit and weep. The horror was the quiet of it all. The place was more silent than a funeral home by night.
I stopped and pulled on Maria's elbow. "Why is it so quiet? The place is filled with babies." Both of us compared the stillness with the buzz and punctuated squeals that came from our church nursery back home. Here, if we listened carefully enough, we could hear babies rocking themselves back and forth, the crib slats gently bumping against the walls. These children did not cry, because infants eventually learn to stop crying if no one ever responds to their calls for food, for comfort, for love. No one ever responded to these children. So they stopped.
The silence continued as we entered the boys' room. Little Sergei (now Timothy) smiled at us, dancing up and down while holding the side of his crib. Little Maxim (now Benjamin) stood straight at attention, regal and czar-like. But neither boy made a sound. We read them books filled with words they couldn't understand, about saying goodnight to the moon and cows jumping over the same. But there were no cries, no squeals, no groans. Every day we left at the appointed time in the same way we had entered: in silence."
Read full article here.
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