MLJ Adoption Conference

On Sept 15, Ashley and I had the opportunity to travel to Indianapolis for the Crossroads of America Adoption Conference. The conference, hosted by MLJ Adoptions (www.mljadoptions.com), had various sessions that dealt with all aspects of adoption, as well as sessions on the different countries that MLJ works with for international adoptions. We were a little concerned that, being very new to this process, we would be a little out of place there. To be honest, our first 30 minutes there didn't really assuage those fears. We sat in the back table of a large hall and watched as everyone who came in sat somewhere else. It was to the point that Ashley asked me if we were the "smelly kids"  or something. We were starting to feel as out of place as Jed Clampett driving through Beverly Hills for the first time, but we were eventually joined by 2 other couples who came in together. Eventually they introduced themselves, and told us how they were both MLJ clients. They asked where we were in the process and were very encouraging to us about the adoption process, making us feel less Clampett-like with each passing minute.
After the opening remarks, it was off to our first session. The presenter was Julie Gumm, author of the book "Adopt without Debt". We've heard Julie before on The Dave Ramsey Show, and were excited to hear her ideas. She didn't disappoint. There were fundraiser ideas we'd never thought of and grants that we didn't know existed. We each took a full page of notes and were beginning to wonder if our pen would survive all day. Julie is an outstanding resource for anyone considering adoption. You can read her work at www.adoptionwithoutdebt.com and follow her on twitter @JulieGumm.
While that was our favorite session of the day, there were many outstanding speakers. A panel discussion we attended on fathers in adoption was particularly beneficial and featured one of the gentlemen who sat at our table and encouraged us earlier in the day. This conference really offered us everything we were hoping for. Everything from a session on childhood nutrition to a panel with some adult adoptees was covered in the afternoon, along with several breakout sessions dealing with specific adoptive countries.

At the end of the day our heads were spinning, we were exhausted, and we were more inspired than ever to get to this process moving. (Which is probably why Ashley decided to announce our adoption plans via facebook as soon as we got back to the hotel.) I was blown away by the service provided by MLJ in their role as host of this conference. Their entire staff was courteous and helpful from the time we registered online a month ago until we left the conference that evening. If any of you ever consider international adoption, call them first. Other than lunch, (too fancy. Couldn't they just get some White Castles?) the day couldn't have gone any better.
In addition to learning more about this process, we were able to meet and talk to people who were in all stages of adoption. We were able to meet people like us, who were just at the beginning all the way through people who were attending the conference with their new children. It was a constant reminder that day of the journey that we are about to take, how this process defines families, and how, in the end, it will all be worth it.

-Adam