Exploring Adoption

Mega Book Giveaway: 'The Adoption Network'

I'm passionate about helping churches and faith-based organizations start adoption/orphan care ministries.

In the November issue of Adoption World e-zine, I announced that I am donating copies of my book, The Adoption Network: Your Guide to Starting a Support System, to churches, denominations, seminaries, para-church organizations, and faith-based adoption events.

What a response! During the past two weeks, I have shipped out over 700 books! People have ordered anywhere from one to 200+ copies at a time. Several church denominations have requested copies for every church in their region.

Now that I'm relatively caught up, I thought I'd let the rest of the world know about my mega-ministry book donation.

A bit about the book:

The Adoption Network is a 112-page, softcover workbook for those who want to start a face-to-face community of support for adoptive and foster parents, first/birth parents, and/or adopted people of all ages.

The book provides step-by-step instructions and worksheets for how to:

• develop a mission statement
• plan a budget
• recruit leadership
• create workshops, support groups, social events, mentoring programs, and more

While The Adoption Network specifies how to create faith-based ministries, it is generic enough that it can be used for any type of adoption network. The book retails for $9.99, so getting multiple copies for the price of shipping/packaging is deal that can't be beat.

The generosity of some dear friends enabled me to purchase several thousand copies of The Adoption Network (yes, authors have to purchase our own books!).

I'm "paying it forward" by donating copies of my book to ministries. Do you know people who could use this handbook? Whether it's one individual, a planning team of 20, a regional governing body of 200, or a conference of 2,000, I will donate copies of The Adoption Network.

I request two things:

1. You pay shipping (let me know how many books you need and I'll calculate actual shipping costs).
2. You "pay it forward" by giving the books to those who can use them. Feel free to use the books as door prizes (not door stops), as small group study guides, and as gifts for church leaders and others interested in adoption/orphan ministry.  
   

Contact me today: laura@laurachristianson.com, and we'll set up your book shipment.

Tell everyone you know about the ministry giveaway of The Adoption Network, and feel free to link to this post or reprint it on your own blog/Web site.

Together for Adoption Sponsors Regional Adoption Conferences

My blogging buddy, Dan Cruver, recently launched a new ministry called Together for Adoption (T4A). The group sponsors regional adoption conferences that focus primarily on vertical adoption (i.e., God adopting us in Christ), with a secondary focus on its implications for orphan care and horizontal adoption (i.e., couples adopting children). 

Dan says:

"We believe that these conferences will help serve the church in fulfilling its responsibility to visit orphans in their affliction."

Their first conference will be November 1, 2008 at Southside Fellowship in Greenville, South Carolina. The fee is $20 per single; $30 per couple.

Here's a peek at some of the sessions:

Adoption in God’s Story of Redemption
Dan Cruver (Listen to one of his sermons: From One Generation to Another)

God’s Joy in Adoption
Russell Moore (Listen to one of his sermons: But Are They Brothers? The Spirit of Adoption and the Unity of the Church)

The Good News of Adoption (Ephesians 1-2)
Rick Phillips (Listen to one of his sermons: How Shall We Now Live?)

Adoption and the Multi-Ethnic Family of God (Ephesians 1-2)
Carl Robbins (Listen to one of his sermons: Union with Christ)

Christian Alliance for Orphans
Maridel Sandberg, Alliance President and Director of MICAH Fund (Maridel will present the Alliance’s vision for orphan ministry)

Our Adoption and Visiting Orphans in Their Affliction (Romans 8:22-23) 
Tullian Tchividjian (Josh Harris interviews Tullian about his book Do I know God? -Listen to one of his sermons: What the World Needs from the Church)

To learn more about the conference and order tickets, visit T4A

Starting an Adoption Support Network (YouTube Video)

Want to learn some easy, low-budget tips for starting an adoption support community? Watch this 10-minute video. During my appearance on the TV talk show, The Harvest Show, I explain:

• Why it's critical to start an adoption support network for adoptive families, birth families, and adopted people.
• Tips for how anyone can start an adoption support community.
  
• Low-budget suggestions for how to start a ministry in your church.
• Forming healthy relationships between birth & adoptive families in open adoption.

Adoption Books: Start Your Own Low-Cost Lending Library

My book, The Adoption Network, includes ideas for starting an adoption support community in a small town or small church—one where there are few foster or adoptive families. One of my low-budget recommendations is to start a resource lending library.

Gracie, a foster mom who blogs at “The Journey of a Lifetime,” took that suggestion to heart and joined BookMooch, a free, online book trading service. Gracie writes:

The only cost involved is the shipping cost of books people mooch from you. I've been able to get some of my adoption books this way, which definitely helps with the expense.

Gracie then added a cool feature to her blog: she created her own online lending library. She writes:

“Our church is small and therefore not very conducive to circulating adoption books to those outside of it. So this has become my venue for making these available to whomever I meet. I plan on writing a review on each book, and asking those who borrow a book to leave a comment on the ones they read with a short review as well.”

Gracie’s inventory currently includes the following books:

• Fields of the Fatherless : C. Thomas Davis
• The Adoption Decision : Laura Christianson  
• The Adoption Network : Laura Christianson
• The Complete Adoption Book : Laura & Raymond Godwin
• Becoming a Family : Lark Eshleman, Ph.D.
• Toddler Adoption : Mary Hopkins-Best
• Attaching in Adoption : Deborah D. Gray
• Nurturing Adoptions : Deborah D. Gray
• Dear Birthmother : Kathleen Silber & Phylis
• The Adoption Experience : Lois Ruskai Melina & Sharon Kaplan Roszia
• Real Parents, Real Children : Holly van Gulden & Lisa M. Bartels-Rabb
• Adoption as a Ministry, Adoption as a Blessing : Michelle Gardner
• Launching an Orphans Ministry : Jason Weber (FamilyLife)
• Children of Open Adoption : Kathleen Silber & Patricia Martinez Dorner
• How It Feels to be Adopted : Jill Krementz
• A Mind at a Time : Mel Levine, M.D.
• I’m Chocolate, You’re Vanilla : Marguerite A. Wright
• Acres of Hope : Patty Anglin

Gracie reviewed both my books on her blog. She wrote me: “Your Adoption Network book has been the best of its kind that I have found. I appreciated all the practical ideas of ways to get involved.”

Check out her reviews:

The Adoption Decision review
The Adoption Network review

Thanks, Gracie, for sharing a fantastic, workable idea for distributing adoption-related books!

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What it’s Like to Participate in an Orphan Hosting Program

The last two posts have introduced you to orphan hosting programs. Linda Goodnight  has hosted four children since 2005. She told me about her experiences with two hosting programs that she recommends:

URGEX, U.S.-Russian Global Exchange 
www.urgex.net

Fostering Hope 
www.hopeukraine.org

Q: Do you need to be actively seeking adoption in order to participate in the program?

A: Not with these two. Not at all. In fact, they are host-only programs, although some people do end up adopting their hosted child.

Q: What training do host families receive prior to the child's visit?

A: With both Fostering Hope and Urgex, an e-mail seminar is provided.

• Urgex also provides a world of language info and other resources to prepare the host family.
• Fostering Hope also has a close-knit group that meets to discuss the program and the coming children so that parents are prepared.

Q: How much does it cost to participate in the program?

A: Both programs were about $2,300 total. If you live on the east coast, this is quite a bit cheaper, but because I live in the central part of the U.S., the child had to be flown to me and this added another airline fare.

Q:  How long does the child stay in your home? 

A: 3-4 weeks, depending on the time of year.

Q:  What host program activities do you and the child participate in during the visit?

A: Get-togethers with the other families.Each site has a coordinator that sets up some outings that all can attend. There are also telephone translators for any problems that may arise and a caregiver from the orphanage.We, personally, never had any issues.

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of hosting an orphaned child?

A: You're probably expecting me to say “language,” but it really wasn't. There are many ways to communicate and we did incredibly well. The hardest thing about hosting is sending the children back at the end of the vacation. We know going in that this will happen, but it is still so, so difficult to say goodbye.

Q:  What is the most rewarding aspect of hosting an orphaned child?

A: The entire experience is immensely rewarding.   
Examples:

• Seeing a child's eyes when they experience something they have never seen before—something as simple as bubble bath or a vacuum cleaner or a clothes drier. 
• Hearing those first English words, spoken with a darling accent, “sank oo.”
• Giving them the attention they have craved for so long and done without and watching them bloom from it. I could go on and on about the positives of opening your heart to a needy child.
• Best of all, I keep up a correspondence with the kids, sending them little cards and gifts. They write back. I know I have touched lives forever. In fact, one child wrote about her hosting experience: “Those were the best days of my life.”

Q:  Did you adopt the children you hosted?

A: We had planned to adopt the first child we hosted through a disreputable group. When that fell through, we decided to host for the joy of it and not worry about adoption anymore.

Q:  Why do you recommend these programs?

A: Both of the programs I have discussed are professional, caring, wonderful programs who are deeply committed to the children. They do their best to keep the cost as low as possible and work hard to provide the most positive experience for everyone. They also both do humanitarian work in the orphanages before and after the hosting.

Related posts:

• Orphan Hosting Programs: New Horizons for Children
• Orphan Hosting Programs: The Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project
• Cultural Programs for Adopting Russian Orphans
• Pros and Cons of Hosting Programs for Soviet Bloc Orphans
• The Foundation for Orphans - links to many orphan hosting programs

Other posts in the Orphan Care series:

• 7 Reasons Why 90% of the World’s Orphans Will Never Be Adopted
  
• Orphan Care Organizations

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

Orphan Hosting Programs: The Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project

In my last post, I introduced you to a program that brings orphans from other countries for short-term stays with host families in your area. Here’s another:

 

www.lhproject.com

Lisa Smith, program director, says this is “a Christian older orphan vacation hosting program for orphans from Russia. We have done 33+ trips since 1997 and I myself have helped more than 800+ Russian orphans become adopted. I lived in Russia for 10 years and am also a facilitator.

Their Website states:

Through 10-day vacation bible school trips to the US to prospective adopting host families, we have helped over 350 Russian orphans find Christian 'forever homes'.

A fee of $600 for the first child you host is required to be paid by host families to defer the cost of the transportation of the children. In the case of sibling groups (related or unrelated sibs), parents are given the option of hosting a second child at an additional cost.

Lisa says she is looking for new hosting cities for her program. If you or your church is interested in having a group of older Russian orphans visit your area, please contact Lisa via her Website.

Related posts:

• What It's Like to Participate in an Orphan Hosting Program
• Orphan Hosting Programs: New Horizons for Children
• Cultural Programs for Adopting Russian Orphans
• Pros and Cons of Hosting Programs for Soviet Bloc Orphans
• The Foundation for Orphans - links to many orphan hosting programs

Other posts in the Orphan Care series:

• 7 Reasons Why 90% of the World’s Orphans Will Never Be Adopted
• Orphan Care Organizations

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

Orphan Hosting Programs: New Horizons for Children

If you're thinking about adopting an older child internationally, you might consider participating in a program that brings children from other countries for short-term stays with host families in your area.
In the next few posts, I’ll be introducing you to several programs.

New Horizons for Children, Inc.
www.newhorizonsforchildren.org

Regional programs operate in the Northeast, Southeast, Central Texas, and West Coast. The deadline for applying to be a summer 2008 host family is April 30, 2008.  Le Ann Dakake, Director of Hosting Programs, told me a bit about their program:

Q: Why did you start New Horizons for Children?

A: I started it after my husband and I adopted an older teen from Russia in 2000. Now he is 21 and his prayer has always been for God to help his friends and other orphans find families, too. We have now adopted 5 times… most recently after becoming a last minute backup family to a little boy age 5 with mild Cerebral Palsy… we weren’t expecting to adopt nor ever considered a handicapped child… he is now home and we can’t remember life without him in it! In all, we figure about 80% of our host families don’t expect to adopt, but 70%+ do.

Q: You are a non-denominational Christian ministry. Do your host families need to be Christians?

A: Our host families are of a Christian faith, and our aim is to share the love of Jesus with kids who may have never known or realize they do have a Father! The same one we all have, in Heaven, who loves them very much.

Q: Do you need to be actively seeking adoption in order to participate in the program?

A: No.

Q: What training do host families receive prior to the child's visit?

A: Full day in Atlanta area or Philadelphia area, host parent training manual, telephone and email support and access to past host families.

Q: How much does it cost to participate in the program?

A: Cost of the child’s travel: $1,950 presently.

Q: How long does the child stay in your home?

A: 4-5 weeks (4 weeks at Christmas—mid-December through mid-January, or 5 weeks in summer—late June through early August)

Q: What host program activities do you and the child participate in during the visit?

A:

1. Group events if the family lives within the program radius on some weekends, usually 7-10 days apart.
2. Welcome party: America 101. This is a Christian experience with crafts and games.
3. Farewell party. Out of program families who live more than 2.5 hours from core programs in Atlanta or Houston or Philadelphia do not attend these and have other connection needs with email of photos, calls to chaperones etc.

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of hosting an orphaned child?

A: Expectations of family and child not being equal. Keeping in mind the child is an orphan, and became that way from something that happened to them. They don’t “look like” orphans, so families tend to forget and raise expectations beyond what a child is ready for.
The farewell at the airport is really tough. But, all kids come as a group and must return as a group, or the program will end.

Q: What is the most rewarding aspect of hosting an orphaned child?

A: The blessing of experiencing life through a child’s eyes and teaching love from a family perspective, realizing communication is 20% verbal and 80% non-verbal and connecting with a child who came into your home not speaking your language or being familiar with your schedules, culture, meals, living conditions, ways of showing love, etc.

Related posts:

• What it's Like to Participate in an Orphan Hosting Program
• The Russian Orphan Lighthouse Project
• Cultural Programs for Adopting Russian Orphans
• Pros and Cons of Hosting Programs for Soviet Bloc Orphans
• The Foundation for Orphans - links to many orphan hosting programs

Other posts in the Orphan Care series:

• 7 Reasons Why 90% of the World’s Orphans Will Never Be Adopted
• Orphan Care Organizations

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Amazon Exploring Adoption bookstore.

Sign up for Adoption World, my free monthly eZine! Just send a blank email to adoptionworld@aweber.com

Faith-Based Resources for Infertility & Adoption Support

One of my readers has formed a support group in her parish for those who suffer infertility, miscarriage, infant death, and the challenges of the adoption process.

She would like to locate faith-based fliers or brochures on those topics so her group can offer these materials in their local churches.

I know of several books and internet resources on these topics, but haven't seen much in the way of brochures. Readers, let's create a list together.

Bethany Christian Services offers a resource catalog that contains a variety of booklets and brochures for:

• adoptive parents
• pregnancy counseling
• churches

For churches, they offer a brochure that answers common questions pastors have about crisis pregnancy, adoption, and infertility. They also have an adoption poster, an adoption bulletin insert, and a booklet of meditations about the sanctity of human life.

One of my favorite resources for infertility support and pregnancy loss is Stepping Stones, also a ministry of Bethany Christian Services. I have subscribed to the Stepping Stones newsletter for years -- the 8-page quarterly publication always contains encouraging stories and interesting tidbits.

Bethany also has a state-by-state support group directory for infertility, pregnancy loss, and adoption.

The Christian Alliance for Orphans focuses on orphan care ministry and includes several resources for adoption, foster care, orphan care, and church orphans ministry. The site also lists a few support groups and faith-based adoption ministries.

If you're looking for a resource handbook on how to start a faith-based adoption or orphan care ministry, be sure to check out my book, The Adoption Network.

Presbyterians Pro-Life offers a church resource packet called "God Gives Us LIFE Through Adoption." The packet includes a poster you can display at your church, and contains information designed to raise awareness of the adoption option among church members and especially among young women making pregnancy decisions.

Hannah's Prayer Ministries is one of my long-time favorite resources that provides Christian support for women experiencing infertility (including secondary infertility), pregnancy loss, or infant/child loss.

FamilyLife's Hope For Orphans offers links to several infertility and adoption-related resources.

If you're looking for books that offer support and encouragement for people facing fertility challenges, miscarriage, or infant loss, visit my Amazon bookstore. You'll also find lots of great adoption books listed there, organized by topic so you can easily find what you need.

Readers, what are your favorite faith-based infertility and/or adoption resources?

Adoption Support: A Must-Have for Adoptive & Birth Families

If you're a regular reader of my Exploring Adoption blog, you know that I'm a big advocate for getting connected with a community of support -- whether you're an adopted person, a birth/first parent, or an adoptive parent.

I was recently a guest on "Mornings With Scott & Sam" on KCMS Spirit 105.3 in Seattle. We discussed some different ways people can seek support and ways those who have a heart for supporting others can create a support network in their community or church. I invite you to listen to the 9 minute interview (scroll to the bottom of the screen at the Spirit 105.3 site and click the Play button).

I'll send a free copy of my book, The Adoption Network, to the first five people who listen to the interview and comment (at the bottom of this post) about something you learned and/or critique the interview. I'm always trying to improve my speaking skills, and I appreciate your suggestions!

Honoring Your Pastor During Clergy Appreciation Month

October is Clergy Appreciation Month. There are few more important things you can do than telling your clergyperson how much you appreciate him or her (my dad and my father-in-law are pastors, and so I know firsthand that pastors don't get many "strokes").

If you're looking for some creative ways to thank your clergyperson for all he/she does on your behalf, check out "8 Ways to Encourage Your Pastor"  from Today's Christian magazine.

I'd like to suggest two additional things you can do:

1. Write your clergyperson a letter of appreciation every year on your birthday (that way, you won't forget to do it). In your letter, share something specific that you will be praying on your pastor's behalf throughout the year.
2. Send your pastor a copy of The Adoption Network. Most clergy are familiar with scripture that explains how Christians are spiritually adopted into God's family. But how can pastors and churches convey that message in practical terms? By starting a ministry for adoptive and foster families, birth parents, orphans, and/or adopted people.

My book, The Adoption Network, explains everything a clergyperson or layperson needs to know to plan, build, and launch an adoption or orphan care ministry. I'm offering a 2-for-1 special -- for only $12.95 (including shipping in the US), you can buy two autographed copies of this book (one for you, and one to give to your clergyperson). If you'd like me to inscribe something special for your pastor, just let me know when you submit your PayPal order.

For more news and information about adoption, visit www.laurachristianson.com, and check out my Exploring Adoption bookstore.