International Adoption Guide Helps Families with Adoption Process

GRAYSLAKE, Ill. - April 23, 2014 - PRLog -- After adopting two children from Russian orphanages, Deborah Mumm saw the need to help families through the international adoption process. With over 6 million orphaned children waiting for families, the adoption process needs to be understood not feared.

International adoption is a time consuming and daunting experience. Most people know that there are millions of children in the world waiting for homes, but the thought of all the paperwork, the homestudy, the medicals and the fear of getting a child with problems scares most families away from the adoption process.

Deborah Mumm, from Grayslake, IL,  knows these feelings because she lived them when adopting two children from Russia. She now offers a support system for people considering International Adoption to make the process less difficult. Using this system can save a family time and money along the way. She hopes by knowing the steps involved with adoption more families will step forward and help these orphaned children.

So, what is it like to adopt a child from another country? It is an emotional experience only adoptive families can understand. Your faith is tested endlessly as the months pass by while you wait to adopt a child from an orphanage. Can you imagine what it is like?

Just imagine that you decide you'd like to help a child, not just any child, but a child with no family and no hope for a decent future. You know this is a huge commitment and will change everyone in your family, your friends and ultimately will change your life forever. You are willing to take on this mission even though you are scared of the unknown and what you are about to undertake.

Imagine in a faraway orphanage, there is a child rocking himself to sleep each night wondering what it would be like to have someone who could comfort him. Imagine how it feels to be hungry so often you no longer understand what it means when your tummy growls.

Imagine an orphanage with large silent hallways. Orphanages filled with children, but no crying? They have learned that crying gets no response, and soon they no longer know how to cry.

Imagine wanting to adopt one of these children, but you must fill out endless forms, sometimes repeatedly. You must have physicals, finger-printing, police checks, home studies and then fill out more paperwork. Then this paperwork must be notarized in triplicate, apostilled (proof of notary), and sent to various people on demand. Imagine doing these papers over several times to the point that Federal Tax forms look more appealing than adoption paperwork.

Imagine having one week to make airline arrangements, child care arrangements, etc. to travel across the world to meet your child. Imagine traveling and traveling...trains, planes & automobiles of traveling.

Now imagine you are finally sent to a small green room in an old foreign orphanage where you wait for someone to bring in your child. You begin to wonder why you are there. Why are you doing all this, to the point of exhaustion? You have done a mountain of paperwork, paid more money than you had ever planned on and traveled to a part of the world that is full of poverty and despair.

Suddenly, the door opens and a large sturdy woman walks in with a small, thin little boy holding her hand. He is smaller than you expected. He’s the size of a 3 yr. old not a 5 year old. She takes him to you and tells him, "This is your Mama." You take him in your arms and hug him tight. You notice your husband has tears in his eyes as he picks up this very small 5 yr. old. At that moment you know this little guy is your son.

You know you are changing his life forever. He now has hope for a good life, an education, better health and a forever family to love him and care for him. All the frustrations you have experienced to this point have melted away as this little guy hugs his Papa's neck and giggles.

You can change the life of a child forever through the gift of adoption. There are millions of children waiting in international orphanages for someone to take them home.

To learn more about the international adoption process, Deborah Mumm has created an informative website/blog that shares the ups and downs of adopting an orphaned child. Her e-book was developed for people who want to build a family through international adoption and save time and money while doing so. Mumm will tell you in her blog at http://www.adoptionhighway.com that adopting a child is not an easy journey, but it is worth it in the end.

Deborah Mumm, Grayslake, IL

http://www.adoptionhighway.com

adoptionhighway@gmail.com