Here is our Adoption Journey so far…
We started this process of adopting 2 little girls from Liberia in April of 2022.
After visiting Liberia for 5 months in 2024, we decided to additionally adopt a little boy. This little guy, already bonded to our Liberian daughters, also became very close to our entire family during our time in Liberia, and now, life without him with us is unimaginable.
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, which prompted our visit to bond with our kids and explore all avenues in person in February of 2024. We returned home in July of 2024 after exhausting all resources to unite our family permanently.
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.
As we continue to wait, we are committed to intentional international parenting. We will continue to visit as much as we can and continue to pursue every avenue to unite our family on one continent. We appreciate any encouragement as we continue to walk this road.
Update:
A couple of months ago, the Liberian Government expressed its desire to resume working with our agency on adoptions. They outlined tasks to be completed by our agency within 30 days and asked to formally inspect the Children’s Home where our kids live.
Our agency notified us that they have completed all the tasks set by the Liberian Government over a month ago. The Liberian government did not completely their inspection within the 30 day timeframe, but did finally complete it before April 15th. Our agency needs a letter from the Liberian government stating they are in good standing and can resume adoption activities. This letter will then be sent to IAAME, the US agency that oversees adoption activities.
We are hoping and praying every day for a letter of clearance from thr Liberian government so we can resume our adoption process. Next steps for our daughters’ adoptions are simple. Our son’s paperwork will take more time.
In the meantime, we have the opportunity to assist with a project to install a water fountain at our children’s home. They do have well water that is safe, but this will provide a cleaner source, and keep mosquitoes out of their drinking water.
We appreciate your continued support for our family, both on this continent and in Africa.
Day 1097. Adopt from Liberia.
This update is complicated. Our adoption is complicated. Choosing to do this “right thing” is complicated. At times, it feels like everything is stacked against us, and choosing to provide a home to 3 kids that need a home is just not something we are going to be allowed to do. As the days flip by on the calendar, my ability to sleep decreases. We have done all we can do, and we believe the trajectory for our kids’ futures as US citizens is the plan God has provided for them. We also acknowledge that we live in a fallen world, and with those fallibilities, comes the loss of God’s original ideal plan, that they would remain with their family of origin and reside in their country of origin.
101 days ago, we officially inquired to our adoption agency to adopt a boy we bonded with in Liberia while on our 5 month “bonding visit” to meet our Liberian daughters. It has been exactly 1000 days since our Liberian daughters consented for us to adopt them.
As I continue to look at numbers and patterns, hoping for symbols or signs this paper pregnancy will end, I also acknowledge that my tears, my heartache, my indignation as a parent, and even my frustration as a US citizen, are all known by God. As His daughter, I will continue to move forward.
As a parent, I know that my Liberian kids are in the early stages of “attachment” and that it is important for their trust in me that I do my best to keep my promises to see them every 6 months. That is an expensive promise.
The last update we have received simply states that the department within the Liberian government (the MOG) needs to do a site visit to our children’s orphanage, and then we can resume adoption activities. This has been the update for the last 45 days or so.
Our home study is complete, and our paperwork to add our son is pending.
We have #phillthebox load #29 ready to leave our house with no extra room in our garage (thank you to those who continue to lay your offerings of your possessions on our driveway).
We have decided to support Hope of Blessing International (HOBI) long term, as a way to keep our children connected to Liberia, their country of origin. HOBI is a non-profit 501c3 founded by 2 US citizens, who were born in Liberia, and are committed to exact change for the futures of 30 children that we believe will take up leadership roles in the Liberia they will inherit. We believe they are going to do a great job.
We still need more funding because each month incurs more fees…
We still need more textiles and more Noonday purchases and more words of encouragement and more keep…. …going sentiments.
We still need support on all aspects of this one right thing we are trying to do.
I have been broken and put back together by this process more times than I can count.
It is an honor and a privilege to parent both our Liberian born children, and our American born children. Although we hope to parent all of them on the same continent soon, we are grateful for today. Today, they are all healthy and surrounded by safety and peace, with guards on every corner to keep them that way.
And for that, we are grateful.
Keep… …going.
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1
The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4
Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[or the valley of the shadow of death)
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
We received such a positive update yesterday! Now we need to move as quickly as possible to find the remaining $6320.00 for our son’s fees. If you live in Tennessee or Florida, contact us if you have any textiles to donate!
To shop Noonday Collection to benefit our adoption, click here: https://noondaycollection.com/rachelsmith-audrey
We are so grateful to everyone for watching and sharing our videos and our story.
So happy to finally have good news!
Thank you to everyone who reached out to various government officials and God Almighty on behalf of our children.
Our agency received formal notification they are no longer under investigation in Liberia. Furthermore, their investigation revealed no wrongdoing by our agency’s adoption practices or overall business processes.
The Liberian government did give some
homework tasks for our agency to complete before they will allow normal business operations to resume. These tasks are not complicated, and our agency will work to complete them expeditiously.
So when will our kids come home?
This is still impossible to predict, but it boils down to 4 steps.
1. Tasks are completed in Liberia, (may be a week, may be a month)
2. We then will have to wait for IAAME (US government overseers) to review everything and give permission for our agency fo resume business operations. (Best case scenario a week, worst a month)
3. Our children’s case history reports must be signed and released by the Liberian government so we can schedule a Liberian Court Date to adopt them in Liberia. (Could be a week or could be 3 months for the girls, could be 10 months for our son). *We are prepared to bring the girls home and go back later our son. A miracle of paperwork brings them home together . We still need $6,448.00 for our son’s adoption fees before he can come home.
4. We apply at the U.S. Embassy in Liberia for emigration of our kids. (Could take 3 days, 3 weeks, or could be 3 months with DNA confirmation requests, or could get denied and sent to USCIS (immigration) to await review within 13 months.
So the good news is, we see a way forward and the Liberian government is now willing to conduct business with our adoption agency.
In a perfect world, this kind of stuff never happens, but we live in a fallen world. That’s why these kids need us.
Thank you for your prayers and support and encouragement and emails and donations and every effort to help us
keep…. …going.
We hope these last few steps go quickly. Best case scenario means our kids are home by June. Worst case is Christmas 2025.
Regardless, the shift in trajectory today is a miraculous one. Thank you for following us on this lengthy rescue mission. Today, we will just enjoy the miracle that God has offered.
Liberian Culture Long Term + Noonday + Super Bowl Sunday!=
So many good things..
Matched by Anonymous
Matched by Anonymous
