Why Korea?

On Sunday I shared some thoughts about the heart and thought processes leading up to our adoption decision. Today I thought I would share some specifics on why we chose the particular program we did and how we made the decision, in hopes that it will be helpful to someone else someday.

A few short months ago I was overwhelmed by the amount of information and options. There are millions of orphans all over the planet who do not have basic necessities and do not know the love of a family. The need is astounding. I was standing at the foot of a giant mountain trembling with fear and anxiety, paralyzed and afraid to take the first step.
To say there was some kind of methodical, formulated process to making our decision is kind of laughable. When our decision to adopt in general was made, we prayed that God would close doors and make it obvious - and He did. One day and one decision at a time, with His Word and His workings, we came to some conclusions.

As we processed it together we were both in agreement that China would be our top interest. A trip there together and a knowledge of the spiritual climate prompted us in that direction, but we knew we were too young and might fall short of the financial requirements. Though I did some checking, we found that the government would not budge on the age minimums, so it ruled it out for us. We filled out pre-applications to a few agencies and found that my thyroid condition ruled out several other programs, leaving Korea as our only option in Asia. Doors began to shut.

Other doors remained open or untried but our hearts began to incline toward Korea. We have had the pleasure of working with a handful of Korean students on campus over the past five years and have always enjoyed them so much. We happened to meet new friends last spring in the process of bringing home their precious little girl from Korea and have been able to see their story unfold (and you can go here to watch it in pictures!)

One Sunday morning I was especially thinking about all these things and our church happened to introduce a candidate for a ministry position, one that had been open for a long time. That morning a man I had yet to personally meet shared a two minute story of his life and at the end of it referenced Isaiah 43:18-19.

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland. "

My ears perked up. My heart was stirred so I jotted it down to look up later. (I met Bill Wade right after and I am so thankful God brought him and his wife to join our family at LHBC!)

A few days later I was rifling through my Bible, skimming through a few Psalms to get me through the morning, when my eyes landed on my scribbled reference to Isaiah. "A new thing!" "Streams in the desert!" Water to my thirsty soul. So I wandered from the Psalms to the prophets and found Isaiah 43. I knew what I was looking for was later in the chapter but I started at the beginning, not knowing that God was about to take my hand and show me the way. This is what I found and it took my breath away.

But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
² When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
³ For I am the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
nations in exchange for your life.
⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west. ⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth— ⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
(Isaiah 43:1-7, emphasis mine)

I would never want to advocate for taking Scripture out of context, but in that moment in His mysterious way, the Spirit said "This is the way, now walk in it." He said just what I needed to hear. "Do not be afraid. I am with you. I love you. I made you, broken womb and all. I am gathering the nations from the ends of the earth to be my sons and daughters. There are sons and daughters that do not have earthly mothers and fathers. Go get one. From Korea, even. It is ALL for my glory."

And so I called my husband in an excited flurry and mumbles and tears and told him I knew what we needed to do. That narrowed down the options for agencies and we settled on the one that made most sense. From there we began the practical steps of making it a reality.

So where are we now? Next week we should be able to turn in everything for our home study application and get the process on that rolling.

I hope that even if you're not on an adoption journey and you don't even care where we are in ours, that you will take time to go back and re-read that precious word from the Lord in Isaiah. May it comfort and restore your soul no matter what road you're walking today.