Orphan Justice {book review}

I was thrilled to receive the book, Orphan Justice, by Johnny Carr to read and review. The subtitle of this book is what drew me in: How to Care for Orphans Beyond Adopting.

I would love to bring a little Guatemalan or Ugandan boy into our family. (I say boy because Caleb BEGS for a brother all the time!!) But, I’m not sure that’s God’s plan for our family at this point. So, I have often wondered what ELSE I could be doing to help the orphans around the world that my heart truly breaks for. As you know if you’ve read my blog for long, you know that I’ve visited a few 3rd world countries. Pieces of my heart have been left all around this world…and the faces of children I can’t leave behind.

I also have several good friends who have recently or are currently going through international adoptions in countries of poverty. My blogging friend, Tiffany, has written so many posts that have broken my heart even more than it was already broken. As Tiffany has chosen to share pieces of their story with Jamesy and Habi, she has ministered to countless people with their story.

My other dear friend, Ami, is in the process of adopting a sibling group of THREE from Colombia!! Woo-hoo!! I’m SO excited for her!

{{Sidenote: if you are an adoptive family, please check out Ami’s HUGE fundraising list for adoptive families! Such an amazing resource for ya’ll!!}}

But, I have to tell you…as I sat and talked with Ami about their adoption and what an “ethical adoption” looks like, my eyes were SO opened to the horrid truths and corrupt things happening in our world today surrounding these helpless children. Truly, friends, just becoming aware of what is happening in the adoption world today is a first step for many of us. This book will help grow awareness; so read it! And share it!

One thing that we ALL can do is SUPPORT families that are adopting! I happily participated in fund raisers for both of these friends mentioned above and I truly felt like I was helping to bring their children home!! {And that may be why I cried like a baby when I watched Jamesy meeting his parents for the first time!!}

We also need to be standing in the gap for these CHILDREN and be on our knees PRAYING.  As I listened to Ami describe what her time in Colombia will be like, I immediately thought about how hard it would be to know you have 3 children somewhere and NOT know if they were ok, not know what was happening in their day to day lives NOW. So, I asked Ami how she deals with that…and she said PRAYER. She prays and prays and begs God to protect her babies in Colombia. We can {and should} join these families in praying for these children.

This book discusses many of the HUGE topics surrounding adoption: ethics, Hiv/Aids, poverty, the church and orphans, spiritual warfare and orphans, human trafficking and more. I love that the author’s perspective is one that has been there…he has travelled to the orphanages, he and his family have adopted 3 special needs children. The Carr family is living out this book and I’m so thankful they chose to write about it!