Why They Sometimes Say No

There's always the chance, with adopting older kids, that once a family comes, they say no to being adopted.
A lot of people don't understand. They ask, "If they were always going to say no, why would they say yes in the first place?"
Saying "yes" to the far- off dream of having a family, and "yes" to a family standing in front of you, it's a lot different.
Imagine someone asked you if someday, you'd like to go to Disneyland. You would probably say yes. It doesn't seem very "real" at that time, it's a one in a million chance. It's not a realistic, it's just a dream. You would say yes, and not really think about it again.
But what if months or years later, you are told there is someone that is willing to take you to Disneyland. You would have to learn a new language, leave your friends, but you knew that when you said yes. You would have the time of your life and make new friends. You're very excited to go.
But then your friends and caretakers, the people you have grown up with, the ones who you trust, start telling you things. They're lies, but you don't know that. They start telling you that if you go, you will be killed, and your body parts sold. They tell you that if you go, they will never talk to you again.
So you get scared, and you say no.
That's what happens to kids in EE. Boys like M. He wanted a family. He heard of the great things a family could give him, and he wanted it more then anything. He wanted to be loved.
But when a family came, he started getting scared. His friends and caretakers, people he trusted, began to tell him horrible (untrue) things. They told him no one would ever love him in America. They told him that he would be sold for parts. They told him that Americans would kill him. They told him that he would have a great life if he stayed (which is usually not true). They told him he would be scorned at the orphanage if he said yes.
So he got scared. He didn't want to leave his friends. He couldn't gather the courage to say yes. So he said no. The caretakers had told him he would be able to go to trade school and get an education- even though he lived in country that is not wheelchair- accessible.
By the time he realizes the mistake, that he should have said yes, it will be too late. He'll be kicked out, or worse, transferred to an adult mental institution.
That's why we pray so hard for these older boys, pray they will say yes to adoption. Before it's too late. And even if they say no, we continue to pray, that God will change their hearts. We remain ready to jump on a plane and go rescue them. We will never give up hope.