Why Bulgaria?

We know some of your were wondering "Why Bulgaria?  Why not a cheaper country, or here in America?"

We chose/were forced to choose Bulgaria for a list of reasons.  Hopefully this will help bring understanding to the path we're going down.

1.  We chose international because of a few reasons.  

One - international orphanages (especially those in Bulgaria) have it much worse than those in America.  Yes, there are so many kids here in orphanages and homes that are not taken care of properly, loved on enough, or tucked into bed at night.  But, those children still have food, clothes, and hope.  Those same children, if placed in an overseas orphanage, wouldn't be given any of that.  They would be institutionalized, malnourished, and not provided with the means to succeed.  A deaf child overseas would never have a language, would be placed in an institution, and could never get a job no matter how old they were.  They sit, in dirty filth, all day everyday.  If you doubt this, please stay tuned for our posts with Bulgarian orphanage footage.  We've posted one already.

Two - We do not believe we can handle an adoption here in America where the birth parents are either involved from the beginning, or there is the possibility of not properly terminating parental rights.  We think that those who do have an "open" adoption (or some form of it) are so brave and wonderful - there should be more like them.  But unfortunately, our hearts don't lie there.  We have been scared away by too many stories of parents coming back; we don't think we want an open adoption for our family. 

Three - Our hearts have been called to international adoption from the beginning.  It is not up to us to say which children are more important (American vs. International).  Children are children. 

2. Bulgaria doesn't have a minimum age limit.

Many countries have very strict rules that go along with international adoption - making it even more difficult to find adoptive parents.  China has a minimum age of 30 for both parents.  There are a few countries that have a minimum age of 25, but there are other issues we have with those countries as well.  And, if we can take care of a child now and feel led to do so, why wait?  This is a 3-4 year process (if adopting deaf) in almost any country so we feel as if it's time to start.

3.  Bulgaria has a HUGE special needs orphan population, therefore, our agency believes finding a deaf child will not be difficult.

Another option of ours was Hong Kong (different than China).  But, they are too small and don't believe they would find our child.  Hungary was a similar situation.  Those that are aware of special needs programs often didn't think they would be able to find our child.

4. Timing.  

The other countries that were options for us required us to travel for a 6week or longer stay in that country (Hungary, Uganda, etc.).  Unfortunately, Ryan's job won't allow him to be gone for that long.   Bulgaria requires 2 trips, each 5-7 days long.  Totally doable.

5. Our hearts.

Everything about Bulgaria (except for the initial cost) seemed to be falling into our laps.  Everything seemed to be working beautifully.  We feel like we have a moral obligation to fill - and we are trying to fill it.  Our hearts break for the orphans and we feel like we are definitely on the right path.

These are the main reasons that we chose the path we're going down and we hope this clears up some confusion.  If you have any more concerns or questions, please feel free to email us or message us on facebook.  We love to answer questions about why we feel called to this mission.