I have had multiple people ask me how much adoption cost, I tell them and they get a semi-stunned look on their face. I also tell them what others told me, don't worry about the money it will come. One example is I had a Premier jewelry party, the jewelry rep gave me 100% of the profit which equalled $890. I just mailed a check yesterday to the immigration office for our child's visa, the check was for...........$890. We also had a yard sale yesterday, I'm having one July 29 and 30th (if anyone wants to stop by or donate their stuff too), and my mom is having one on August 5th and 6th in Lexington. My aunt had a jewelry party fundraiser, my mom is having a ThirtyOne party, we are also planning a dinner/silent auction night. Some of these items may seem like they don't make a dent in the cost but everything adds up and not all the money is required at once. You make payments over the entire time of the process and for us it will probably take 18 months or more (please not more). There are also multiple grants your family can apply for. We have applied for one through Lifesong called Both Hands, both hands coming from pure religion in James 1:27 in caring for the orphan and widow. The website is http://lifesongfororphans.org/bothhands if you want to check it out.
Don't get me wrong the cost was very intimidating to us at first. For those of you who know Mike and I well you know we follow Dave Ramsey's plan and don't want any debt and try to pay cash for everything. After talking to many adoptive families we realized we could do this without debt, it just takes time and some hard work, me working extra this summer BOOOOO!!!!, really I don't mind and Mike has been working with his friend doing landscaping.
If your family is thinking about adoption please don't let the cost be the reason you don't. Every check we have needed to write the money has been there and I trust in God that it will be there in the future. If you want to see the specific cost for our agency (America World Adoption Association) check out this link http://awaa.org/programs/ethiopia/cost/aspx, all adoption agencies are around the same price and every country differs in cost.
