Celina Baldwin and Amanda Purvis didn’t realize getting their nails done that afternoon at Perry Nails would change their lives for the better. Looking back, it was fate that brought these two women together upon remembering that day.
Sitting at neighboring booths, it seemed natural to strike up a conversation. Baldwin recalls, “She was next to me at the nail salon and as we were talking, she told me she had adopted kids. Then I said that we were adopting too – that’s how we connected.” Coincidentally, they also came to find out that they lived in the same neighborhood, their houses a stone’s throw from one another.
As the conversation progressed, they realized they shared the same sense of humor, faith, and a passion to see children in loving families.
For the Baldwins, they began to think about the possibility of adopting after trying for several years to have a child on their own. Their decision to look at adopting children from outside the country was heavily influenced by Andy’s sister. At the time, she was volunteering in the Congo and told them about the number of orphans she saw there. “His sister was working in the Congo and alerted us to the orphan crisis. After that, Congo and international adoption went hand in hand for us,” she said.
After choosing to adopt from outside the U.S., the Baldwins expenses began to add up quickly. “The agency you go through can charge you whatever they want. There’s no regulation on what they can make you pay for the adoption,” In addition to paying an agency, once country fees and travel expenses are tacked on, a family can foot a total bill between $15,000 and $60,000.