Why adopt?

We have been asked many times WHY we are planning to adopt... Well the simple answer is, God told us to and we are being obedient! But I think that there is more information that is hoped for when we are asked that question. So here we go-
God used many stepping stones on this road to where we are now.
-A mission trip to Honduras while Dave and I were dating. There was a little girl who I adored and her dad wanted us to bring her home.
-Dave's sister has adopted 2 children and I watched as they immediately became part of our family and were loved so very much.
-The Egly family http://www.abeautifultapesty.blogspot.com/ They are friends who adopted 2 little girls from Ethiopia. They too are in ministry and managed to "afford" to adopt through God's provision.
-The miscarriage of our precious twins-an experience that had a huge impact on us and one through which God worked.
-A book called, Adopted For Life, by Russell Moore. Wow what a challenging book. This book had a huge impact on my spiritual walk.
-Learning that there are upwards of 147 million orphans in this world. Orphans who do not have someone to love them and care for them. Someone to feed and clothe them. Someone to tuck them in at night and kiss their boo-boos.
Each of these things and I am sure many others helped increase the drive to adopt and point us in that direction. I began to pray that God would clearly guide and direct our steps. At that point Dave was willing to do whatever the Lord wanted, but did not feel called to adopt. I asked him if we could spend time praying about it and of course he said yes.
We spent quite awhile praying and seeking the Lord's will. On my birthday this year. Dave "surprised" me with the gift of adoption- He had been praying for sometime and had felt God was saying YES we should adopt. SOOO here we are. Following the Lord's leading and trusting HE will be faithful on this journey.