Here is our Adoption Journey so far…
We started this process of adopting 2 little girls from Liberia in April of 2022.
After visiting Liberia for 5 months in 2024, we decided to additionally adopt a little boy. This little guy, already bonded to our Liberian daughters, also became very close to our entire family during our time in Liberia, and now, life without him with us is unimaginable.
We chose Liberia because we are impressed by Liberia’s resilience and progress as a war torn country that is healing from so much. Liberia works hard to allow adoptions when necessary and to reunite families whenever possible. We are grateful Liberia is allowing us to adopt our daughters, and hopeful as we watch Liberia grow as a country.
We started this journey in April of 2022.
In May of 2023, with the help of our friends and family, church, community, and organizations like Noonday Collection, Phill the Box, Funds2Orgs, and Adopt Together, we reached our fundraising goals to make our adoption possible. At that time, we anticipated our Liberian daughters would be joining our family in 3-6 months time.
We did not get any solid updates for months, until November of 2023, when adoptions for multiple agencies, including our agency, were suspended in Liberia, which prompted our visit to bond with our kids and explore all avenues in person in February of 2024. We returned home in July of 2024 after exhausting all resources to unite our family permanently.
There are multiple political conflicts that brought adoptions to a halt in November of 2023. Although these political conflicts put Liberian children at risk, the layers of the conflicts are multifaceted and complicated beyond the adoption process itself.
As we continue to wait, we are committed to intentional international parenting. We will continue to visit as much as we can and continue to pursue every avenue to unite our family on one continent. We appreciate any encouragement as we continue to walk this road.
Whoops!
Thank you Marriott for all the safety and the hair dryer.
I drove in Liberia today and it’s on the video below.
Tomorrow I am hosting all the children at my kids’ orphanage where I am staying at the Tropicana Resort.
If 6 more people donate or Venmo me at least $1, I will drive a car in Liberia.
Thanks to those who have sent Venmo the last few days!
I went shopping at the busiest street market in Liberia and got everything I wanted in under 2 hours. That has to be some kind of record.
We are so grateful for all of the encouragement and support we have received.
Donate $1 if you want to see me drive a car in Liberia. It should be entertaining. If at least 10 people donate $1 in the next 48 hours, I will drive a car in Liberia. And Nelson will video it!
Donate here, or Venmo me at @Rachel-Smith-964
I went to church in Liberia! We also had a party at the Tropicana. It was an amazing day.
We still need $8,884.00 to complete our son’s adoption. Thank you so much for all of the encouragement and support so far!
Matched by Marilyn and David
Matched by Marilyn and David