I’ve been reading a book called Adopted For Life by Dr. Russell Moore. It’s amazing so far. This excerpt has really been haunting me today and my heart is heavy for the orphans without families or homes all over the world. I know the heart of Jesus breaks for them and mine is breaking more…

Think of the plight of the orphan somewhere right now out there in the world. It’s not just that she’s lonely. It’s that she has no inheritance, no future. With every passing year, she’s less “cute,” less adoptable. In just a few years, on her eighteenth birthday, she’ll be expelled from the orphanage or from “the system.” What will happen to her then? Maybe she’ll join the military or find some job training. Maybe she’ll stare at a tile on the ceiling above her as her body is violated by a man who’s willing to pay her enough to eat for a day, alone in a back alley or in front of a camera crew of strangers. Maybe she’ll place a revolver in her mouth or tie a rope around her neck, knowing no one will have to deal with her except, once again, the bureaucratic “authorities ” who can clean up the mess she leaves behind. Can you feel the force of such desperation? Jesus can. She’s his little sister.

Ethiopia is a country only twice the size of Texas but with 5 MILLION orphans! You can help end this orphan crisis by helping send Ethiopian pastors to be equipped through a pastoral training on how to care for orphans. Watch this video and I would heavily encourage you to consider getting involved.

Last week I posted a link to a report coming out of Ethiopia that the country would decrease the number of international adoptions by 90% in the coming weeks. Obviously I was heartbroken as were thousands of others when reading this. But that is nothing compared to the heartache that thousands of children who would be with their forever family will experience if this goes through.

There is much speculation that some of the push is to weed out child trafficking, but throwing out the baby with the bath water is not the answer. There are 5.5 million orphans in Ethiopia today, who need homes. Who need parents. We are praying that God would raise up families in Ethiopia who would adopt these children within their own culture and context. While we pray for a domestic adoption movement to sweep over Africa, these children need homes now…

As most of you know, my wife and I are adopting two brothers, Surafel and Esrael from Ethiopia. We have a current court date of April 13th. We do not know how this will effect that court date if at all. In so many ways, our heart can’t see beyond our own boys, but we are feeling the pain of all the families and the fatherless out there who will be effected by this.

We are asking you all to join us in prayer for the government of Ethiopia. I believe it is pretty much common sense that children were created to be in families, not orphanages. They need wisdom to not forget this. They need wisdom to not make a rash decision right now. They need help with administration and they need a better system to eradicate child trafficking. Please join us in prayer, and if you feel led, fasting.