Following Jesus and Following Our Dreams
Amy and Chad
Barnhart, Missouri
Before we were married, Chad and I both wanted to adopt "someday". 9.5 years and 2 beautiful sons later, "someday" is now!
After seeing international orphanages firsthand, I (Amy) have been even more sure that this is the path God has for our family! Through His grace, as well as amazing timing only He could orchestrate, we are moving forward with adopting a daughter from Liberia, Africa!
We plan to use this as a place to share updates!
Above all, we ask for your prayer support. Prayers for our family as we walk through this season, prayers for our future daughter, prayers for our agency, for our daughter's birth family, and for those who care for her until we can!
We will also be fundraising if you would like to support our journey in that way as well! (There is a giving link on this page!)
If you like coffee, this fundraiser is for you! You buy coffee, Just Love Coffee ships it to you and donates to our adoption! Shop with this link and a portion of the sales helps bring our daughter home! https://bit.ly/3kUrU19
2 Family Updates
Donors
Grant and Kayla
Deborah
Thank you for opening your hearts and home to a child who needs you. God bless you...
An Exciting UPDATE!
No, this isn't the BIG update (of being matched) but its big to us!
While we've been quiet on the update end of things, we have been busy!
We've been pulling together all the needed paperwork, doing interviews, and tracking down references. (Thank you to those that have filled them out and sent them back in!)
That being said, WE ARE ALMOST DONE WITH OUR HOME STUDY! I am so excited!
On our end, the home study is the most labor intensive preparation step, so we are thrilled to only be waiting on two pieces of paperwork!
After this is complete, it is sent to USCIS along with our application! This step should take 1-2 months.
When that is complete, all of that and a few more pieces of paperwork (seeing a theme here?) get added to the stack, and then that is all sent to Liberia to wait for a match!
We continue to ask you for prayers as we navigate this process!
As always, if you have questions, we are happy to answer them!
Stay tuned for a fundraiser in the spring!
Don't forget to buy your coffee here to help support the adoption:
https://bit.ly/3D1eMxT
With love,
the Ruckers
A Little Bit About Liberia: Facts about our daughter's birth country!
(reference: Liberian Adoption By A.Q. Rutledge)
From talking to many family and friends, most people have little to no knowledge of Liberia, so I wanted to share so facts and stats we have gathered!
Geography:
Liberia is a country located on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast.
It is about the size of the state of Georgia.
Its capitol is Monrovia, named after US President James Monroe who sent freed slaves back to start the country.
Social demographics:
There are multiple indigenous tribes that call Liberia home.
They speak mainly English.
There are approximately 5.2 million people in country, with the median age of 18.
The life expectancy is 42 years.
They have an estimated infant mortality rate of 138 per 1000 (In comparison, the US is 6 per 1000)
85.6% of Liberians follow Protestant religions
Financial Statistics:
The average annual income is $150 (with 80% of people living below the poverty line)
The unemployment rate is 82%
Liberia's main industries are agriculture (rubber being one of the largest), Iron Ore, and ships registered to Liberia under the flag of convenience.
It is the 6th poorest country in the world, the second poorest in Africa.
While many of these statistics seem bleak, I want to make one thing clear: Liberia is a beautiful, growing, and rebuilding country full of artisans, music, and amazing people.
We can't wait to experience our daughter's country firsthand, when we travel to bring her home! Time in country is 3 weeks to 1 month, and we plan to soak in as much of her culture and history as we can to bring it back with us!