My experience at The Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit was indescribable. How can I explain the emotions that I felt while gathered with 1500 other believers who are passionately called to impact the orphan crisis? Unreal. Unifying. Refreshing to my soul. Sobering. Confirming.
Highlights??? Hard to pick a few... but I'll give it my best:
"Becoming a Multicultural Family"
This was one of my favorite breakout sessions. It was led by a panel of adult adoptees who were all raised in multiracial families. Two of the panelists were born in South Korea. The room was packed. Emotions were high and there was a peaceful mix of laughter and tears throughout the session (which continued well past the scheduled end time). I deeply appreciated the insights, honesty and vulnerability of the panelists. The two things that I came away with were this:
(1) It is vital that we help our Korean born daughter to explore and connect with her birth country. I am so grateful that we live in a multicultural community where she will have many Asian friends. We will work hard to expose her to Korean food and culture and will hopefully take her to visit Korea one day when she is ready.
(2) The "language of adoption" should be the culture of our family. There should be no shame in adoption, and we should embrace and talk about the beauty of adoption regularly. All three panelists were raised in homes where adoption was never talked about. I'm grateful that our boys are already passionate about adoption, and we will not hide any information from our daughter (based on age appropriateness) regarding her history or birthfamily.
While it was an emotional session, it was also deeply encouraging to hear the laughter, joy and gratefulness of all three panelists. They each talked about how their own adoption journies have painted an awesome picture of God's adoption into His family in their lives. One of the panelists who was born in S. Korea recently adopted two children from S. Korea. We were able to connect after the session. She is a beautiful young woman and I look forward to connecting with her more in the future.
"Raising Children with A Heart for Orphans"
I loved this session. This mom of eight had some wonderful, practical ideas on empowering our children and helping them to be passionate for the nations. I loved learning how her family has a daily "circle time" where they pray for children around the world, read missionary hero stories and even practice public speaking for orphan issues. I came home with a renewed excitement to train our boys to know God deeply, to have big hearts for the world and to desire to serve others. I am so proud of our boys and I love the ways that they selflessly serve and bless others.
"International Adoption: Challenges, Changes and Difficult Questions."
This session was informative, motivating and intense. The three panelists included Kathleen Strottman (Congressional Coalition on Adoption), Chuck Johnson (National Council for Adoption) and Tom Difilipo (Joint Council on Adoption). These panelists addressed the major barriers that influence international adoption today: nationalism, the lack of a common data system for orphans, the need for united US leadership and apathy in the US towards public policy. They challenged us to know our congressmen and women and to become involved in public policy.
The panelists addressed the history of the Hague international adoption laws and how the laws impact adoptions. They also presented specific information on adoption issues in various countries. I appreciated their honesty and willingess to challenge us to action. It warmed my heart to learn that all three panelists are Christians who strongly believe in the universal movement coming out of the Church to care for orphans. I loved their hearts and will be praying for their ongoing leadership and influence over our nation and world. I could have listened to this panel for hours.
That evening I was blessed to have dinner with Tom Difilipo and my close friend Lucy, the founder of All Blessings. I was able to share our painful El Salvador adoption journey with him. I deeply enjoyed his insights on various countries, his perspective on international adoption issues as well as issues in the American Church. I was also encouraged by his sincere affirmation of our adoption agency and the S. Korea program. He felt that our referral would most likely come faster than the time frame estimated by our agency, which was the best news that I heard at The Summit!
Lucy Armistead, Sheila Estep & Jenni - I met Lucy and Sheila on my first trip to El Salvador!I am so grateful that All Blessings Intl. Adoptions made this trip possible for me! Thank you to Lucy for flying me to KY. I am honored to serve on the staff of All Blessings. I also loved sharing my adoption journey over and over again with the new friends that I made at The Summit and hearing their stories as well. Next year The Summit will be held from May 2-3 at Saddleback Church - just 15 miles down the road! Clearly this will be a much easier travel schedule (my trip to KY was brutal - see post!). Lord willing, if our daughter is home from Korea by that time, I'll be able to bring her to The Summit and introduce her to some of my new friends!
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