From International Adoption: How to Choose a Country:

6. Evaluate your feelings toward each country’s heritage.

For whatever reason, some people feel drawn toward one country and not another when considering an international adoption. Listen to that voice inside of yourself that pulls you in a particular direction.

Once we had decided on International adoption, we had chosen China, but for reasons that seem mysterious and divinely controlled we ended up interested in the Cambodia program. - An adoptive mother who adopted from Cambodia

Some people might be clear about why they do not want to adopt from a particular country. Perhaps they have stereotypes or prejudices that they cannot get past. Adopting a child is not a good way to get over this. A child deserves to be fully loved, so do not adopt from a country if you have strong negative feelings toward it.

Others might have a negative history with a country. For example, if your father was killed in Viet Nam during the Viet Nam War, then you might harbor resentment toward that country. You can choose to adopt from many other countries, so do not feel pressured to adopt out of any particular country.

Some people might not be able to articulate why they feel drawn in one direction and not another, and that is okay. Some people just feel like they have a child waiting in a particular country for them. If you feel this strong pull toward a particular country, then listen to that voice.

We knew we wanted to adopt. We had looked into adopting from Russia, China, and Guatemala, but with the travel requirements in the Russia and China adoptions, we felt like Guatemala was a better fit for us. Then, friends of ours brought home their daughter from Guatemala. The first time I held her, and she just laid her head on my chest and fell asleep, I knew that God wanted us to go to Guatemala and find our daughter. My husband fell in love with our friend’s daughter instantly, too. - emmasmom

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You might feel drawn toward a particular country because you know someone with that heritage. Having positive feelings toward a particular country can help you to stay positive as you work through the adoption process.

We also felt a connection with Korea because we had some friends who were half Korean. - An adoptive mother who adopted from Korea

Whatever your reason for liking or not liking a particular country, be honest with yourself about your feelings and choose your country accordingly. There are many countries all over the world with children available for adoption. There is no need to feel pressured to choose any particular one, doubly so if you have strong feelings about not adopting from one.

Related Topics:

• How to decide to adopt internationally



• How to evaluate adoption options



• How to Evaluate the Different Types of Adoption



• Choose a Country



• International Adoption blog