For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. -Romans 8:14-17

A few weeks ago, Jason and Jenny Ford shared their adoption story in liturgy — their journey to their son Myles (you can listen to the podcast here). The following is a summary of a few of the statistics and some resources for those interested in (or those interested in supporting) domestic or international adoption.

• There are an estimated 150 million orphans worldwide.
• Here in the United States, there are 401,000 children in the foster system. Of those, 103,000 are waiting to be adopted.
• In Texas alone, there are 30,000 in the foster system and 13,000 of those waiting to be adopted.
• Of those Texas kids, most will wait 2 years to be adopted and about 14% will wait 4 years or more.
• Children that age out (turn 18) of the foster care system — about 30,000 kids in the US — are highly susceptible to teenage pregnancies, incarceration, homelessness, prostitution and very few finish or even enroll in college.

Here are some resources Jason provided to those who can spend an hour a week or those interested in adoption in the future:

• Helping Hand Home needs volunteers to help with homework and reading before bed. A one hour a week commitment.
• Lifeworks could use tutors and IT help to accomplish their mission of equipping and training youth and families (many affected by the foster care system).
• Camellia Network provides resources, opportunities and support to those aging out of foster care. You can purchase from the gift registry or help youth make connections.
• CASA appoints advocates to children to help the judicial system make decisions about their care.
• You can also help fund adoptions for families.

[written by Constance Dykhuizen]

Email GLobal Missions for more details

[Photo by Eclairs @ Flickr]