Finished our Homestudy

We just finished our home study. It consisted of three meetings with our caseworker. She was so cool, and we're sad that we're not going to get to hang out with her anymore, but she lives relatively close to us, so we'll probably see her at Meijer.

In the first meeting she did an overview of the various programs for which we are eligible. Some of the countries are quite picky. Some countries require one, if not both spouses to be 30 years old or over. Other countries require a couple to be married a minimum of 5 years. Todd and I got a bit of an early start, so we're not either of those. We qualify for Ethiopia, South Korea and Kazakhstan. We are just trying to decide between South Korea and Kazakhstan.

The second meeting was split up between the caseworker interviewing Todd and I separately. When we came together, we discussed parenting and marriage philosophies. Luckily (err, I mean "providentially"), we had just attended The Weekend to Remember Conference here in Grand Rapids, so we were old hats at the marriage questions. What are "old hats" anyway?

The last meeting was a wrap-up. We have to now decide on a country. There are many things to consider:
SOUTH KOREA: is easier. It doesn't require a dossier (enormous application that is VERY detailed and picky). The children are raised in foster homes, as opposed to orphanages. There are only 5 slots left, and we got in at #3. It's also one of the cheaper countries (although none are cheap by any stretch of the imagination). The downside is we don't get to choose between genders, but you don't get to do that when you're pregnant either.
KAZAKHSTAN: is harder. We could choose the child from a bunch of profiles. The children are living in orphanages, and there seems to be a greater need to adopt from here. The only downside is the cost.

When we decide what country we're going with, we'll post the breakdowns of the fees. It is confusing, and when we first started, we were wondering where all of the money went. Through this process, we have become aware of exactly where the money goes. No one is getting rich off of adoption. Bethany Christian Services (our agency - see the link below) is against bribes and paying for documents or court seals under the table. Of course, there are always unknowns (i.e. the value of the American Dollar), but for the most part, it's pretty standard.

PLEASE PRAY FOR WISDOM AND PEACE.

Thanks,
Erica