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.
This one is tricky for me to share. This is that part of me that is not so hallmark and not so nice.
All I can say to apologize is that you chose to read this. So, it’s not entirely my fault if my words sting you.
Jeremy says to me “I get it. But, you can catch a lot more bees with honey. “
So if you want the hallmark honey version, call Jeremy. His phone number is on all our flyers.
To get a Rachel response, send an email here:
Adopt100more@gmail.com
I will respond and I will be nice because I can proofread and give it a minute to dial back my non-hallmark side.
Whether you are hallmark like Jeremy or Anakin Skywalker like Rachel, one of us can help you.
I promise.
And if you are emailing about completing your adoption in process, we will help you open your floodgates of support. Hope you can swim.
If you can’t swim, we will teach you. Just keep …. ….going.
I got my first piece of jewelry for my “brand”.
I’ve been working on my brand for a while. My idea of the bucket list. Hoping it catches on. Working for it to catch on. My #adopt100more this lifetime.
Here it is!
Light up the dark for orphans waiting.
We are coming. And we are bringing people with us.
These 2 bracelets made it to my house this week. One was a gift. A stackable cola bracelet that spells out #Adopt100more. Nice job Mallory! I don’t like surprises or jewelry unless it moves a mountain for a kid no one seems to see as well as I do. The other is a glow in the dark bracelet. Taking those to Africa to pass out to kid. So they know bracelets move mountains. Buy a bracelet here for Mallory and Jake Adkison’s adoption: https://bit.ly/adkisonadoptfaster
Donate here to help the Godfrey’s: https://bit.ly/godfreyadoptfaster
If all those people praying for my adoption would just stop praying, that would help.
Instead of praying for my adoption, pray for yourself.
Pray for God to show you the reason He introduced you to my adoption today. Pray for God to show you what action He plans for you to take to unlock the floodgates of support for these kids and their families.
Don’t pray for my adoption and just tell me you are praying.
If you do that in person, I will directly say this to you. And it might be awkward.
“Ok, great. That does not help me right now at all. Next time you pray for my adoption or my friend’s adoption, pray for God to show you what ACTION He has equipped you to take. Report back to me next week. I will meet you here, in this place you found me to tell me you are praying.
Thanks for showing up. We have jobs for everyone praying for adoption. So if you are just praying, you are NOT helping.”
Move stuff. #phillthebox
Talk about stuff.
Buy stuff. https://bit.ly/noondaydads
Sell stuff.
Be the panacea to the orphanism crisis I just showed you!
Church people. You gotta do better here.
Malachi 3:9-11
You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
Gulfside church- you guys are killing it! Keep going! If a church without a building can CONSISTENTLY fill 1/3 of my garage every month with textiles, for 200 days where are the textiles from the other churches? 1/3 of my garage is $300 for adoption expenses. We do not need a budget for this ministry . We just need what you already have and your hands and feet in action.
Friend at Mallory’s church who is paying the Adkison airfare. Thank you. That’s what we need. More if that.
Church people. You guys are driving me NUTS!
You have to do better. You have to get up. This is a simple way to model what you want to show the world.
James 1:27
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
I thought you guys were slow rolling this textile thing because you did not know.
When I get back from Africa, my family and I are going to go on a church tour and visit everyone we can reach and knock on your door and ask for textiles.
My kids would like to meet you.
They know that church people are good.
They know people at the following churches:
Gulfside Church
Northfield Church
Sonshine Baptist Church
Christ Community UMC Thrift Store
Those are the churches that have celebrated our adoption efforts and given us textiles and platforms to be the panacea to orphanism.
Don’t pray for our adoption.
Pray for yourself, and God’s job for you to be a part of #orphanismpanacea.
Let me know what job He gives you.
So excited to meet you!
Load #11 needs you!
Keep…. …going!
@adopt100more
BRING ME YOUR TEXTILES! Load #11 needs you.
This is a Smith/Adkison combo update. The thing I want most is this. Less losses on childhood experiences.
If we finish the Adkison Fundraising for their Agency Fees BEFORE we (the Smith Family) travel, then when I give Mallory’s glow in the dark bracelets to the orphans waiting for families when we pick up our kids, I can tell the orphanage director to inform the kids matched with the Adkison Family, your mom sent this bracelet. She is coming soon.
Your Mom sent this bracelet. She glows in the dark, too.
CLICK TO HELP: HTTP://BIT.LY/ADKISONADOPTFASTER
Adoption Update from Jake and Mallory AdkisonJake and Mallory Adkison just posted an update on AdoptTogether:
UPDATE 7Day 271--Adopt from LiberiaJune 13, 2023
$19,899.35 is the balance we have left to pay to our agency. This is both extremely exciting and overwhelming. We are blown away by the progress that has been made in fundraising, but we can't stop yet. We have to keep climbing this mountain of fundraising. While we are still waiting on our i600A to come back, we don't want money to be the reason we have to wait even longer. My hope is that we can make huge strides in fundraising before we are matched so that we can focus on raising travel expenses and not on agency fees. We have been applying for grants and fundraiser events, most of which we won't hear back from for a few more weeks. We hope that we will be chosen for some grants to help pay off our agency fees. While my hands feel tied on our progress, I will focus on raising the funds we need to keep going. Here are some ways you can help:
--PRAY (for quick approval on our i600A specifically)
--Share and interact with our facebook postings
--Sign up for our Tea Party if you are local (details on facebook)
--Shop Jake's fathers day Noonday Collection show (https://bit.ly/noondaydads)
--share this link on facebook or with a friend/family member
--donate clothes, shoes, textiles if you are local to us
Thank you for being on this journey with us, we are truly so grateful.
-Mallory Adkison
When I get to Liberia, I want the orphanage director to look at the Adkison matched kids and say:
Your Mom sent this bracelet. She kind of glows in the dark, too.
CLICK TO LIGHT THE DARK: HTTP://BIT.LY/ADKISONADOPTFASTER
Because adoptive parents DO glow in the dark. We let our kids sleep with the lights on. We give them glow in the dark bracelets. No one “cries it out” alone with us. No one is alone once they enter our families. Our children are expected, loved, seen and heard. We pursue them and their futures and we build a village for them. Thanks for being such a great, overachieving village!
What else can we do?
As we (the Smith family) wait for travel dates and sit in the peace and safety of knowing the adoption process takes a long time, as adoptive parents in process, money is NOT our rate limiting step to our kids anymore, we are grateful all of you answered that for us.
If you choose today to give money to this link http://bit.ly/adkisonadoptfaster to help the Adkison family get to their kids faster, you get to light up the dark unknown future for an orphan on the other side of the earth to see a glimpse of their permanent family.
If you choose to bring textiles to me or Mallory Adkison, you light up the dark for an orphan to get a glimpse of their family on the other side of the earth.
Your Mom sent this bracelet. She glows in the dark, too.
CLICK TO LIGHT THE DARK: HTTP://BIT.LY/ADKISONADOPTFASTER
The orphanage director at Small World’s Children’s Home in Liberia is a nice guy. He’s a good man. He knows these kids. He learns their stories, writes them down, and sends adoptive families that info, when we are ready. When I asked if the Small World Team could explain to my future daughters things about our family and ask if they wanted to be adopted by us, he complied fully and went the next step to print out on a piece of paper a picture of our family, and give it to them as he asked their wishes on joining our family or not.
It would really make me happy and make this last wait less difficult if we could match the Adkisons with their kids before I take the glow in the dark bracelets to that orphanage. Because then I can tell the orphanage director, “when we leave, make sure you tell the Adkison kids waiting here, this bracelet is from their mom. She is on her way. Her name is Mallory. She will light up their dark, forever.
Your Mom sent this bracelet. She glows in the dark, too.
CLICK TO LIGHT THE DARK : HTTP://BIT.LY/ADKISONADOPTFASTER
The ABCs of how to be an Adkison Adoption supporter are as follows.
1. Adopt Together Crowdfunding Site: http://bit.ly/adkisonadoptfaster
2. Phill the Box Textile drive (donate to me or the Adkison’s)
3. Shop Noonday Collection before Father’s Day for Jake Adkison’s Noonday show here: https://bit.ly/noondaydads
Keep…. …..going.
#orphanismpanacea
#adopt100more
-Rachel Smith
I’m her mother, open the gates. -Devon Crews
I’m a Liberian, open the gates. -Selah Godfrey
I’m an American, open the gates. -Rachel Smith
What is legal and what is possible and the intentions of any government entity claiming freedom on their sacred soil adds up to one thing.
Are the kids ok? Can we reach them? Can we see them? Can they hear us? Do they know we love them now? Do they know their fight for survival can stop with us and they can start fighting for good things now? Who else knows? Who holds the key to that blasted gate that locks me from the children that chose me. The ones that wait. The ones that kept going just a little longer to see if the sun would come up and see if the family for every child that we know exists statistically (thanks #adopttogether) ?
You do.
The reader today. You are holding it. You are reading this because you know us our you found us or we found you.
I’m an American. I have rights and responsibilities i was born with, because I was born in Nashville, TN on American soil. That’s all it took.
Selah was born in Liberia. She has the same rights and responsibilities and freedoms I do. Liberian government was built the same way the US government was built upon.
There are several gates that need to open and close for any adoption to complete. Those gates have purposes that are important.
The cost and wait and opening of the gates depends on the American people and the Liberian people together.
As an American daughter and a U.S. citizen by birth, I am choosing to use that citizenship for good. And I plan to enjoy it. My husband and I plan to laugh. We plan to thrive. We plan for our kids to do the same. We plan to work to protect our safety and peace. Because that takes work. It takes vigilance and it takes heartache and sweat equity and teamwork. It takes mistakes and do overs and broken things and fixes things.
And piece by piece, we protect our peace together.
I am so proud of Devon Crews and her 7 year journey to one very specific “Blessing”. She was a mother who stood at all gates one by one in solidarity and legal avenues until each gate opened to adopt Blessing from Liberia.
She did it with such grace and patience and #keep…. …going perseverance that every gate that opened, stayed open.
Selah Godfrey is a war orphan survivor. Her book is amazing. You should read it today. It’s on Amazon.
Grandma’s Prayer https://a.co/d/ijEUP8B
There is this one day, and it happened today.
I blogged about the dream of this day before.
The day the floodgates open and we have more than we need and too much to hold and so much more to give.
The day where my game worked. The idea that sounded crazy, but was so possible.
The day I believed people are good, with good intentions.
My gates are all wide open except one signature. And one travel date. The rest of the details I will share as we go. Walking through each gate is it’s own journey.
Today my gates financially swung open and I gave the overflow to 2 other families. And I will continue to give the overflow to other families as we continue my bucket list to #adopt100more.
From Devon Crews: 6/5/2022.
It’s gotcha day ❤️
I hope to be able to write about this moment – but right now I’m still basking in it.
Having this girl run into my arms as soon as I got out of the car crying “I missed you mommy, I missed you!” melted my heart completely …. And finally seeing my boy’s beautiful smile …. Such a gift.
Number 22 and Number 23. Completed on 6/5/22
Today it has been a year.
They are doing great.
On 6/5/2022, this is what I said about our adoption in this blog:
Day 66. Adopt From Liberia. Devon is landing today.
Here we wait.
I’ve cried a lot today, too. Cried because I have said from the beginning that Blessing will come home. Cried because I was right to keep saying it. Cried because I hated to see my friend’s heart ache for kids we could not reach quickly.
Not crying as much today. More smiling and maybe a little misty eyed.
It’s working. The Bucket List is growing. Thanks to Adopt Together for letting us finish early and enjoy this bonus round of momentum sharing for other families hopping to stand where we are as soon as possible.
You are invited to keep…. …going with us. Life is hard. Peace needs protecting. Kids are just kids, no matter where you find them. And the sound of their laughter in their safety and peace gets me every day.
#adopt100more
#orphanismpanacea
#adopttogether
New pic.
We will continue to post our progress here until we are back home. :)
https://youtu.be/prPwYPXQ0Iw
Update video! https://youtu.be/xtYclvrC0Rc
