Faith moves families to adopt children from overseas

The 2-year-old girl was living in an Ethiopian orphanage, facing poverty, malnutrition and disease. Her birth parents were dead and she was alone.

That was six months ago.

Today, she is smiling and playing at LifePoint Church in Smyrna, and pointing at the preacher.

"That's my daddy,'' said Alyza Kate Hood.

Then she and her 3-year-old sister, Jadyn, from China, ran off to play under the watchful eyes of their parents, the Rev. Pat Hood and his wife, Amy.

The Hoods, like a growing number of Middle Tennessee families, say their faith motivated them to rescue the orphans. They have adopted children from overseas, not because of infertility, but because they believe God wanted them to do it.

The interest in faith-based adoption comes when the number of international adoptions is declining. In 2004, there were 22,911 overseas adoptions in the United States, with 448 in Tennessee, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Last year, there were 17,229, with 367 in Tennessee.

Most of the change is because countries like China and Russia are allowing fewer children to be adopted. Currently, the wait for a child from China is about five years. That's prompted couples to turn to countries like Ethiopia.

"Not everyone is called to adopt," Pat Hood said. "But everyone is called to care for orphans."

Caring for orphans

The idea of rescuing orphans through adoption comes from several factors. First is the sheer numbers. By some accounts, there are 143 million orphans in the world.

Second, there's the Bible. The Old Testament and New Testament teach believers to care for orphans.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this," reads the book of James, "to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Then, there's the mission trip factor. The Hoods cite their experience overseas when talking about their decision to adopt.

Amy Hood says she first began thinking about adoption in 2002. At the time, her husband was not interested. "I told Amy I wasn't even going to pray about it," he said.

> read the article <