Rwanda Country Information

I found this information on a blog I follow, brunosadoptionadventure.blogspot.com

"Rwanda, one of the poorest countries in the world, is a beautiful country struggling under the weight of the devastating genocide that occurred in 1994, when over 800,000 Rwandans were brutally murdered – leaving families decimated and the country’s infrastructure in shambles. In the aftermath of this tragedy, poverty increased, particularly among children. Half of Rwanda’s population is under the age of 18. Most of these children live on less than $1 a day. The infant mortality rate remains high at 37 per 1000 live births, and illnesses like HIV/AIDS have created a new wave of orphans. (Source: UNICEF)

Since the genocide, Rwanda has made great strides in advancing its economy and stabilizing its government; however, the orphan crisis has been largely unaddressed. In the entire United States, with a population exceeding 300 million people, there are 130,000 adoptable children . Compare that to the nearly 860,000 orphans in Rwanda - a country just the size of Maryland, with total population of 10.7 million people. This number of Rwandan orphans includes children in orphanages as well as an orphan group made up entirely of ‘child-headed households’. “Rwanda has one of the world’s largest proportions of households that are headed by children (i.e. children raising children) with an estimated 101,000 children heading up some 42,000 households.” (UNICEF, 2004)
Until 2008, Rwanda did not allow international adoptions. Because Rwanda has just recently opened to international adoption, the country does not have the same advanced adoption resources and infrastructure as seen in the United States and other countries. There remains an overall lack of awareness of the crucial needs and life-threatening conditions that Rwandan orphans face."

The Process Begins

So right now I am taking a break from filling out our application for adoption to AWAA for the country of Rwanda. Wow! Yep. I said it. Rwanda. I know that this is not the first country that we have looked into and prayed about but the govt in Haiti is not moving off the 35 age for parents. I know God has something for us here but not sure what. My heart is still broken for this beautiful country and its people.

I know that God has our kids in His hands and is holding them safe until they are home with us...and who can say that the kids in Haiti are more in need of homes then the children in Rwanda. I can't. No one can.

All I know is that there are too many kids, all over the world, laying in cribs in dark drab rooms waiting for someone to love them, and hold them, and rock and sing to them. Someone to whisper to them and say how incredible and special they truly are. A mom and dad to tell them about a Father that designed them andwho has ordained every second of their life and who longs to own their heart and fill it with His love!

So for now we are still praying, and waiting, and filling out LOTS of paperwork :)

Brynns 8th Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Brynn’s birthday a week or so early this year. We had it on Easter Weekend, that way all the family could come down for a three day weekend.

It all started on Friday when my niece Halli helped me make the birthday cake. We spent about 5 ½ hours working on it and it turned out awesome!

















She was a little nervous about the sparkler candles












But blew them out anyways.




Then came the presents…











And then the Easter Egg Hunt…










And all, well most, of the cousins with their bags of eggs and candy













When we were all stuffed full of candy, we headed to take the kids to a movie, How To Tame Your Dragon.



It turned out to be a pretty great day!





We also had a family picture taken. Not an easy task....last one was three years ago.

Crazy Love Challenge

One of the blogs I follow is A Place Called Simplicity. This is a beautiful family with an amazing story of God's love and faithfullness! She is having a Crazy Love Challenge and felt compelled to share our families story.

We are fundraising for our adoption of 2 children (God-willing). We are currently making homemade breakfast burritos and special occasion cakes to help with the fees. We started the process in August 2009, really feeling like God was putting Haiti in our hearts. We started our home study and in Sept. sent our pre-application in to the agency. (At this point we met all the requirements perfectly…married over 10 years, minimum 30 years old, and no more than 2 biological children at home.) Two days later, the Haitian govt changed the adoptive parent age to 35, so our application was denied. We were heart-broken,and confused but kept believing because my heart still knew that this is where our kids were!

When the earthquake hit in January, my heart sunk more and mourned for all those who experienced it and all the new orphans who need homes.

I have been frustrated lately and started looking into other countries. I have even sent out several emails to a couple agencies requesting information on several African countries. The funny thing is is that with all the emails I have sent out over the last 3 weeks regarding these other nations I have not received one bit of information back!!! God works in mysterious ways! I know that His ways are not our ways and through all the events that have happenedthis this is His way of telling me that our kids are still waiting for us in Haiti and we need to trust Him.

Adoptions there are now open again, but the age-challenge has not changed; but I know that I know that my God works in the spiritual and no physical boundary can stop him!
So for now, we are finishing up our Home Study, continuing to fund-raise, and praying for our babies to be safe and come home soon!

Blessings!
Kelly