A little about the DRC and why God led us there

Here's a little history/fact lesson for anyone interested in learning 

a bit more about the Democratic Republic of Congo.

• You may recognize this country better by it's former name, Zaire.  It was Zaire until 1997 when they changed the name to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
• It borders 9 other countries in Africa:  Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
• 2nd largest country in Africa (after Algeria)
• DRC is about one-forth the size of the USA.
• The capital is Kinshasa which is the 3rd largest city in Africa.  This is where we will be traveling to when we bring home our son.
• There are 78 people per square mile which means it is very thinly populated.  One-tenth of the country is uninhabited.
• VERY high humidity with tropical weather 
• They speak mostly French or Lingala.
• Life expectancy is 47.
• Around 59% of the population live on less than $1.25 a day.
• Ferries are a vital link because many roads are impassible.
• 80% of the worlds coltan reserves are in the DRC.  Coltan is required for production of mobile phones and laptops. 

Here are some startling facts about the DRC and why we felt drawn to this country.  These are not easy statistics to see and I must say, I thought some of them were gross exaggerations when I began researching. Regardless of how many "world fact sheets" I looked at, I couldn't escape the despair of this country - there is a crisis in the Congo and it makes me sad to think I had never heard about this country until we began the adoption journey.

• It is somewhere between the 1st and 4th poorest country in the world depending on where you look online.  It doesn't matter whether it's 1st or 4th - there's a HUGE need. 
• It is estimated that 15% of DRC's under-18 population are orphans which equals just over 5 million people.
• For every 1,000 children born in the DRC, 111 will not make it to their 1st birthday and 199 will not make it to their 5th birthday.
• 1 in 3 children have never entered a classroom.
• War and conflict have led to the death of 5.4 million people since 1998 which is the deadliest war since World War II.

One travel page said this about the DRC:  "No one in the world wants to visit this place."

Ummmm....  Quite frankly, I cannot wait to get to that country.  I know that I will have a precious child waiting for me when I get there but there is a part of me that cannot wait to experience life in the DRC.  I want to see the beauty of the country.  I want to walk the daily life.  I want to get to know the amazing people of this country.   Having lived in Albania for multiple summers, I know that hardships of countries make beautiful people.  There are beautiful things in this country of poverty and I can't wait to experience them.  

I cannot wait to make the orphan number of the DRC 5,000,000 minus 1.  We don't know what our child's story will be, but we can't wait as a family to love on our child.  We can't wait to show him what a family is, what love is, what safety and comfort in hugs feels like.  We can't wait to show him Jesus and share with him the awesome God who cared for him when we could not and the God who knew before time began exactly what our family picture would look like in 2013.  

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; 

he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.”     

1 Samuel 2:8 

Praying God blessed the people of the DRC and hugs the orphans extra tight tonight.