Here is our Adoption Journey so far…
We are adopting River (age 8 and her little sister, Sadie (age 6) from Liberia, Africa.
These 2 precious kids will complete our family of 7.
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.
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.
At this time, there are no adoptions (domestic or international) progressing in Liberian until these political conflicts are resolved. This was a decision made by Liberian governmental leadership.
In February of 2024, we decided to travel to Liberia as a family and do some real-time fact finding on what barriers prevent our family from being together.
We have met with multiple Liberian government officials and multiple individuals who play a role in working in adoptions here. We have spoken with multiple US congressional offices, and have reached out to anyone in the adoption realm that can give insight and advice in a way forward for our children. We continue to hope the US embassy in Liberia will assist us, but have not been able to get a meeting with them to discuss our concerns.
We have visited our children’s orphanage multiple times a week. We have done multiple fundraisers to keep the doors of our daughters’ orphanage open, keep the children’s needs met, and support the staff that cares for them. We have physically done all we can to assist the orphanage in maintaining quality, safety and health for the children. We have discussed our case with experts near and far.
We have been in Liberia for over 3 months, and are sadly running out of funds to remain here.
We fear if we leave, our encouragement and our persistence to represent American families will be lost with our departure. We fear if we leave, the support we have recruited for the kids here will fade. We fear if we leave, the Liberian government will be less motivated to remember our children’s case.
Thanks to each of you and the words of encouragement, financial donations, textile donations and actions of noonday purchasing power to move mountains this past year. We hope you will help us push one more mountain of money out of our way to complete our family.
We continue to humbly ask for any assistance that can be found to support our family in this quest for safety for more than just our 2 Liberian daughters, but a quest to provide a safe way home for them and their peers that wait in orphanages in Liberia.
Number of Days Home from Liberia: 4
Number of Days we lived in Liberia: 139
Number of Days of Daily Videos: 187
Number of Days Adopting from Liberia: 830
Number of Days in Orphan Care: 1,170
Venmo option to donate to HOBI orphanage:
https://www.venmo.com/u/HOBICHILDREN
YouTube link to subscribe:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhvmF_X0zoUuAwUF7WzqlfZaskzIBmns2&si=0SE6xFYPJoXfkGIY
Shop Noonday AND assist with our adoption expenses by just clicking here: https://noondaycollection.com/rachelsmith-smithadoption
Click here to make a tax deductible donation to assist with our adoption expenses: https://bit.ly/adoptfaster
Venmo option to give to our adoption expenses:
@Rachel-Smith-964
To learn about other matched families whose children wait with our daughters in their orphanage, click a link below:
Bruce Family:
https://adopttogether.herokuapp.com/families/the-bruces
Butler Family:
http://adopttogether.org/families/the-butlers-1
Coffman Family:
http://www.adopttogether.org/families/the-coffman-s
Godfrey Family:
https://adopttogether.herokuapp.com/families/the-godfreys
Lipe Family:
https://adopttogether.herokuapp.com/families/the-lipes
McGafee:
http://adopttogether.org/families/the-mcgaffees
Smith Family:
https://adopttogether.herokuapp.com/families/the-smith-s
Whitney Family:
http://adopttogether.org/families/the-whitneys
“Don’t worry. Mom will be back for you. And then…”
This statement is a promise I have heard my 10 year old American daughter say to my Liberian daughters for 2 weeks on each visit leading up to our exit from Liberia. We came to visit. We hoped we would adopt them on this trip. We knew it was a long shot. We knew they needed us. We were concerned about the financial and physical status of the orphanage due to lack of adoption throughput, but couldn’t get a straight answer on what they needed.
Answer discovered: Nearly everything. They needed nearly everything.
And we made a list and facilitated fixing nearly everything. It took 4 months.
“Never assume the person of peace is unskilled at war.”-unknown
I do not mean I will take up arms and storm the gates of all government offices that hold a piece of paper that I need to free my daughters from the captivity of orphanism. It’s more complicated than that.
I can promise you my war skill set has been in full utilization for the last 5 months.
These kids need more help. Speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves in this instance requires a massive army.
This war for their futures is fought on the battlefield of diplomacy and integrity and corruption and poverty. As those 4 entities encircle each other in a cyclone of chaotic political conflict, we must be heard above it. But who is the “we”? And what needs to be heard?
It is complicated. We can do hard things. You can do hard things. (Thank you, Kate, for this affirmation).
It is not coincidental that the brightest minds and the most determined hearts are those that surround us today and every day in this crisis we find ourselves in. It is not coincidence that the mountain we want thrown into the sea is fighting against its removal. Even in Star Wars, we learn, “the dark rises, and the light to meet it”.
To those of you that are that are the brightest minds and the most determined hearts, thank you for being here.
I have no idea what will solve this situation to restore adoptions for the children of Liberia. I do know that spreading the word and continuing to come up with new ideas is what we need right now. We need news outlets, and legal advice and people willing to get on planes to meet with government officials both in the US and Liberia. We need funding to support a program not designed to survive a 6 month + suspension. We need new strategies and new avenues to free these children from the orphanism that wants to hold them hostage. We need new ideas. Creative ideas.
This photo is the hand of my 10 year old holding that hand of my 6 year old, promising, “Don’t worry. Mom will be back for you. And then, you will get to come home.”
Home. What does that even mean to a 6 year old who entered orphan care at the age of 3 in a state of severe malnourishment?
Mom. What did that mean before 5 months ago?
To my 6 year old, “Mom” is the word she knows she can now use when wants something. Right now she whispers it, like a question she is not sure she will get answered. “Mom?”
To my 10 year old, “Mom” is the person she wants her little sister to equate with freedom, hope, home, the future and everything else that lies ahead that she sees, that this orphan before her could never see. My 10 year old says “mom” with confidence and expectations of results. We have a history. A whole decade of it.
But my 6 year old Liberian daughter understands “Mom” has battled for her and her sister and her friends for 5 months. From crayons and markers to cookies to hugs to solar panels to clothes to hope, this person she calls “Mom” is in charge of coming back.
My 6 year old Liberian daughter could never understand the lengths I have gone and will go to give her a safe and peaceful future.
My 10 year old daughter fully understands these “lengths” because she just lived them. For 2 years, she has lived them alongside us. For 5 months, she has lived in Liberia.
We need more help. While we wage war against the evil in this world that plots death and destruction for my Liberian daughters, please continue to join us. Pray if you pray, but know this, I prefer you pray for God to show you what action He wants you to take on behalf of these orphans, my daughters and their peers. Don’t just pray for God to fix it. Pray for God to equip you and direct you on how to wage war on their behalf. The powers of this world cannot win here. Show me your skill set. Tell me what you would do to fix this. We need everyone. Talk to your friends. This is a war for the future of children in poverty all over the world. International adoption is under unprecedented attack.
If we do not participate in their rescue and permanent safety in families, I can assure you that the evil of this world will participate in their recruitment for destruction. And that destruction will land on your doorstep, one way or another.
“Don’t worry. Mom will come back for you. And then…”
If I am going to fulfill this promise made from one of my children to the other, I will need a massive army. I look forward to your ideas. I am grateful for your help.
-Rachel
We took our Liberian daughters to a fancy restaurant today for our farewell lunch. It was so much fun to be out and about as a family. We are beyond sad to leave them here. We need the Liberian and US government officials to do better. As we journey home without them, we anticipate 2 more trips to Liberia that only one parent will go and the other will stay in the US working to keep our lights on in Florida. Any help in any form is always appreciated. We have no idea how long this will take or how much money it will cost. We are grateful for the hospitality of so many Liberians during the last 5 months of living here. We will miss them and are forever indebted to them for their assistance and compassion.
Out of words..
Out of hope…
