Congratulations and Blessings

My blessings go out to Amy, a dear sister in the ministry, who yesterday adopted the two boys she has been raising as foster children. This has been a long and arduous road for her and the boys, and I am so grateful and give thanks to God that the process is completed. Please include Amy, Derek and Caleb in your prayers for continued blessings and happiness. Also pray for peace, understanding and healing for the birth parents.

We also continue to pray with the Bell family who have gone to China to adopt a child. Pray especially for their return flight, which will be 18 hours with four children.

Surprisingly I can find nothing in the Social Principles nor in the Book of Resolutions about foster care. At the annual conference we did renew our support of orphanages and adoption processes, and a friendly amendment was accepted to include foster children in that resolution, but I won't have a copy of it until the journal is published.

Here is the statement on adoption from the Social Principles:
Children are a gift from God to be welcomed and received. We recognize that some circumstances of birth make the rearing of a child difficult. We affirm and support the birth parent(s) whose choice it is to allow the child to be adopted. We recognize the agony, strength, and courage of the birth parent(s) who choose(s) in hope, love, and prayer to offer the child for adoption. In addition, we also recognize the anxiety, strength, and courage of those who choose in hope, love, and prayer to be able to care for a child. We affirm and support the adoptive parent(s)' desire to rear an adopted child as they would a biological child. When circumstances warrant adoption, we support the use of proper legal procedures. When appropriate and possible, we encourage open adoption so that a child may know all information and people related to them, both medically and relationally. We support and encourage greater awareness and education to promote adoption of a wide variety of children through foster care, international adoption, and domestic adoption. We commend the birth parent(s), the receiving parent(s), and the child to the care of the Church, that grief might be shared, joy might be celebrated, and the child might be nurtured in a community of Christian love.