The "Maybe" Option

Ok so for the past week or more we have been working on a possible 5th option. We may possibly be able to adopt from the U.S. Foster care system for waiting children. There are several agencies and non-profits that seem to have programs for both Foster care and families living abroad. So far we've found:

The Adoption Exchange http://www.adoptex.org/site/PageServer

AdoptAbroad

http://adopt-abroad.com/ Illien Adoption International http://www.illienadoptions.org/ VIDA http://www.vidaadoptions.org/

there is also AdoptUSKids http://www.adoptuskids.org/

These are who we are looking at right now. We have checked out their websites, contacted all of them, and even received an introduction email from a few of them. The problem is we have no more answers to any of our questions than we did two weeks ago. It seems just when we get in contact with someone they pass us off to another agency or social worker. Most of this is confusion about our situation. This echoes back to the "we are from a Hague convention country but are currently in a non-Hague convention country" part of our previous post. We know that if we adopt from the United States, it will be considered a domestic adoption, however many people either think it will be an international adoption or that we will have to follow Hague Convention guidelines. We do believe it is possible to adopt from Foster care and continue to being missionaries in South Korea. But How much will it cost? Will the government pay for some of the expenses as if we lived in America? Who will conduct our Home Study? Who would do our post-placement evaluations? Does it matter from which State we reside? How long will we need to stay in America? What is the time frame for the adoption process? Do we need a separate attorney or agency? Is it actually possible to adopt from the Foster care system if we live overseas and are non-military? Do we need South Korea's permission to adopt and if so do we need to fulfill their adoption requirements as well? After having placed several calls and countess emails, and again ending up with more questions than answers, we are wondering if we should be looking at some of the former options. Perhaps it's time to give Randy another call.

So for the many of you who have asked and even more of you who are praying, that is where we are at right now. I wish I could give a solid clear answer, but the fact of the matter is, we don't have one...yet. so we'll keep praying and trusting in God's perfect timing.