Because that's where she is

Why China? I can't really tell you the exact moment I felt God pulling me toward adoption; I just know that after Eli was born, I started thinking about it more and more. And I have had a heart for China since I was in high school, and whenever I thought of adoption, I saw the face of an Asian girl. I studied Chinese language, culture, and issues in high school and in college. I couldn't really tell you why, not then. I just loved the country's rich history and people. I had even made arrangements through my Chinese teacher to teach English for a year at an engineering school in Wuhan. Then came the Tiananmen Square uprising, and I backed out. But I still felt a connection to China.

When I was first seriously thinking of adopting from China, I got some information from a couple of agencies. My heart sank as I read the income requirements. We weren't even close. And at the time, there seemed to be no way we'd ever qualify. I remember praying, "Well, God, You will sure get the glory if we ever do adopt, because there's no way we'll ever be able to do it unless You arrange it!"

Maybe China wasn't for us, I thought. I researched the other programs and tried to talk myself into choosing other countries. I just couldn't do it. My heart was in China, and I realized my child was, too.

We've had a lot of questions from others about why China. Why not here in the U.S., where so many children wait for families? Or why not another country? Originally, we would have a long answer about how God calls different people to different places, and how each one has to determine God's will for their family. We still believe that to be true; we've seen it firsthand.

But now, instead of a theological answer to the question, we just smile and say, 

"Because that's where she is."