I become Living Hope Adoption Agency's Representative in Honduras

Living Hope Adoption Agency  

One of the things Barbe and I had wanted to do when we came to Honduras was, in some way, help the many children who are either orphans or who have been abandoned by their parents. Although there are orphans here, the majority of children who are in "homes" or "orphanages" are more accurately and legally described as "abandoned". Usually they are abandoned in the hospital at birth or left with friends and family members who either can't or won't care for them, or some have even been found in dumpsters. When this happens, IHNFA, the equivalent of our Child Protective Services, steps in and takes over the responsibility for their care and placement in foster homes, children's homes or government facilities. 

Although at one time it did look like we would be working at a children's home, we never dreamed that one day we would not only be Honduran foster parents, but that I would also be representing Living Hope Adoption Agency here in Honduras.

Not the official document.

LHAA is a non profit, Hague certified, international adoptions agency based in Fort Washington, PA. Founded in 1994 by Dr. Samuel Fang, they have for many years facilitated adoptions from China to the U.S. and have had a presence here in Honduras for over 3 years. Just recently they have been privileged to begin facilitating adoptions from Uganda as well.

One of the most important things about LHAA is that they are Hague accredited. Honduras is a non Convention country but on July 14th, 2014 all U.S. adoption service providers working with families in non-Convention countries will need to be accredited just as if they were working in a Convention country. Basically, what this means is that anyone in the U.S. wanting to adopt internationally must work through a Hague accredited agency.

Honduras has statistically been a very difficult country to adopt from. According to information I acquired from one website, there were only 19 adoptions last year from Honduras to the United States and a sum total of 150 from 1999 - 2013. Because of the corruption or illegal child marketing that can accompany adoptions, it is probably a good thing that Honduras does not make adoptions easy. However, it doesn't make life any better for the 10,000 plus children who need a home of their own with parents who will love and care for them.

My role will be to open an office here in Siguatepeque, to work directly with IHNFA to encourage a smooth  and relatively speedy adoption process, host the adoptive parents when they make their visits to Honduras and in general, help in any way needed to make sure these children have the best possible chance at a new life.

Although I am fully aware that this will not be an easy task, I am both energized and hopeful that we will be able to make a difference for at least some of these beautiful children, despite the challenges that lie ahead. I am constantly reminded of the passage of scripture in James that says that "...religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress..." In all that Barbe and I attempt to do through LHAA, this is and will continue to be our only goal...to look after orphans in their time of distress, and I firmly believe that adoptions are one of the best ways to achieve this goal in a larger sense.