Before I introduce you to the Sixth and Seventh Alexander, let me share my thoughts on adoption.....

The question is asked of us often, “Why have you adopted?” The simple answer is “It was in Gods plan.”

Adopting TJ was a simple response to our inability to get pregnant and wanting to start a family. It was in Gods plan. Adopting Lily was a simple response to my desire to have a daughter and it made sense to go somewhere where the girls available for adoption were plenty because of governmental and cultural beliefs. Adopting Sarah was a simple response to having “been to the fields of the fatherless (in reference to Deuteronomy 24:19) and wanting to return and bring another Chinese orphan into a forever family.

Family Life states, “The number of children worldwide without families to love and care for them is overwhelming. There are 5.5 million orphans in Africa, 3.5 million orphans in Asia, 1.5 million orphans in Eastern Europe, 400,000 orphans in Latin America, and 135,000 children available for adoption through the US foster care system.”

James 1:27 reads,”Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.”

One in three Russian orphanage “graduates” is homeless, one in five commits a crime, and one in ten commits suicide. That meant that in 1993, of the 15,000 orphans who “graduated” from Russian orphanages, 1500 committed suicide that year.

India has more than 18 million children living on the streets. Two in five babies entering the orphanage system in China die.

21,616 immigrant visas were issued to orphans coming the United State for adoption in 2003, up from 7,377 a decade earlier (US census Bureau)

In 2004, nearly 7000 babies were adopted from China by US families, 11 of those children are special friends to our Lily since they were placed in the arms of their forever families in the same room on the same day at the same moment that our Lily was placed in our arms. (November 1, 2004)

So, why adopt?

I apologize for not having the reference to the following bullets, but the thoughts that follow are mine.
· God is the creator of life. Every child born and unborn has been created in His image and is of great value and worth to our Creator God. I am a pro-life supporter because of this worth God has placed on His creation. If I am pro-life than I must be pro-adoption.
· Adoption is good for a child. Through adoption, a child gets to live in a forever home with a mother and a father. Through the adoption into a Christian family, these children are introduced to the loving embrace of Jesus Christ and have the opportunity to get to know Him personally.

I coordinate the efforts of a new ministry at our church called “Forever Families Adoption Ministry.” We have made the following statements as part of our ministry in regards to the role adoption plays in the life of our local church.

· Evangelize the lost. Adoption is evangelism at its core….bringing the mission field home, where children are loved, cared for, and discipled to know Jesus Christ as their Savior.
· Edify the saved. FFAM challenges, encourages, and enables believers to put their faith into action, by stepping out in faith to adopt (fulfilling God’s commands in scripture).
· Minister to those in need. There are millions of children waiting to feel loved and cared for as well as many families who would like to adopt them, but just can’t because of the financial barrier. By meeting the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of children through orphan care or adoption, FFAM helps to rescue those children who are trapped in the cycle of orphan life. FFAM offers adoption grants to qualifying families within the life of Fairfield Christian Church.
· Be a Conscience in the community. As Fairfield Christian Church becomes obedient to God’s commands concerning the fatherless, the community will see Jesus Christ is alive and working in the lives of His people to care for those children who can’t care for themselves.

Besides being used to help in adoptions, it is the hope of FFAM to also reach out in orphan relief to children in countries that never support adoption. This is obedience to the word of God.

So, why adopt?

My final comments will be reserved as I share later in the stories behind the Sixth and Seventh Alexander and how they came to be part of the Seven Alexanders.