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June 18 is a special day for 3-year-old Thomas Schoedel. That's his "Gotcha' Day," the day he became part of the Schoedel family. This year, in celebration of his Gotcha' Day, Thomas opened two presents: a set of Matchbox cars and a hand-made Mayan belt his parents bought when they traveled to Guatemala to pick him up three years ago.

"Right now, the Matchbox cars mean more to him," says his mom, Heidi. "But someday, I think the gifts from Guatemala are going to be really special because they are part of his heritage."

The Schoedels have two biological daughters, Kathryn, 11, and Rebekah, 8. They adopted Thomas, who is now almost 4 years old, from Guatemala when he was only six months old. And just last year, Joshua joined the family. Joshua, an African-American baby from Chicago, is now 14 months old.

Thomas is in good company. Since the early 1990s, the number of babies adopted from overseas—Russia, China, South Korea, Guatemala, Vietnam, Romania—has increased dramatically. In 1992, the total number of immigrant visas issued to orphans coming to the United States was 6,472; in 1998, it was 15,774.

It's not surprising that many of those adopted children are joining Christian families. Adoption is a biblical concept that dates as far back as Moses, who was adopted by the pharaoh's daughter. The New Testament frequently refers to believers as "adopted heirs." For many Christians, adoption is a form of ministry.

"I think caring for orphans is a call from Scripture," says Sue Eitemiller, whose adopted daughter, Joelle, is from China. "A desire to adopt reflects the heart of God."

When the Zacharias family of Alamo, California, adopted OnNi, a Chinese toddler with special needs, Debi Zacharias says it made a deep impact on her relationship with God. "Adopting OnNi has given us all an increased sense of purpose and meaning as we look at who she is and how she's become part of our family," says Debi. "OnNi makes us so aware of our status as adopted children of God."

On the surface, overseas adoption can seem like a more problematic option than adopting a child from the United States. There are so many unknowns and so many details to deal with—language differences, passports, shots, travel arrangements. But in truth, overseas adoptions lack many of the legal hurdles that cause domestic adoptions to drag on for months, sometimes years. Domestic adoptions also carry the risk of the adoption being challenged by a birth parent or other family member. In most overseas adoptions, the adoption is final before you leave the country. Most of the children have been abandoned, thus there are no concerns of birth parent rights.

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