Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Thank you!!

I wanted to write this post to publicly say THANK YOU to all of you.  So many people are donating to our adoption fund and stepping in beside us to bring our daughter home.  People we have not even met are chipping in financially and with many prayers for us.  Thank you seems inadequate, but I don't know what else to say.  Your sacrificial giving and your intercession in prayer for us are an amazing testimony of the God who loves us all and brings His people together to see full implementation of His grace and mercy for an orphan who is seeking love in a family.  My husband and I are not taking this journey alone.  God is leading us and making the path for us to walk with Him, and the path that our daughter will take to meet Him in a very personal way.  We are encouraged by all of you who are joining with us as you follow along and we feel your support in every step we take.

I have not yet received a travel date.  I am ready to go as soon as I get word that everything has been approved and an appointment date and time have been granted.  I will most definitely post on her when I do receive more information.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Dossier Submitted!!

Our translator was successful in submitting our application!!  I have been excited all day after hearing such great news!!  Now we wait to hear back from the agency on whether or not they will approve us to adopt.  If they permit us to adopt, they will set us up with an appointment to meet with them to obtain a referral to the orphanage where our daughter is.  I really am praying for sooner rather than later.  I am ready to go any time they tell me to be there.


We are updating the room that will be our new daughter's room.  I don't think it will be done by the time I leave, but I hope it will be done before I get home with her.  We are only doing things on the weekends and evenings after work so it will take a lot longer than it would if we could work on it full time.  But, it will be nice to have her come home to a nicely painted and decorated room.  Girls are more interested in how things look than the slew of boys I have at home now.  As long as the boys have a comfortable place to sleep and food to eat they could really care less about anything else.


I pray frequently that God will pour out His favor on us as we walk this journey.  God understands the intricate details of weaving families together when new members join in.  I believe that if we seek Him at all times and let Him guide us, the adjustment will progress more positively than if we try to force things to happen based on what we want and when we want it.  I pray for patience for all of us as we draw nearer to the time that all will fall into place physically and logistically, but not necessarily in place emotionally and in relationship building.  Please continue to pray for us all as we proceed into the next step of the adoption process.


Also, pray for me as I travel for the adoption.  It is unsettling to think about leaving my husband and my boys for several weeks as I am in Ukraine to complete the adoption.  We are asking God to give us favor and make our process as easy and smooth as possible.  I would really like to be home in as short a time as possible.  


Thank you for praying with me and for me and my family.  God's favor and guidance is what we seek most. 

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Quick update

Our translator has our application!!  It has been translated and notarized.  Everything is ready for the application to be submitted to the agency.  This week has holidays Thursday through Sunday, so our translator was not able to schedule an appointment to submit on Monday, March 12th.  He is planning to go to the agency and try to submit even though he doesn't have an appointment.  Please agree with us in prayer that he will be able to do that.   Our translator will have to travel a great distance to submit and it and it would be preferable to not have to make that trip multiple times.  If he cannot submit on Monday without an appointment, he will have to schedule an appointment for the next Monday, assuming one will be available on that day.  We are praying that I can travel as soon as possible, so we really are hoping for no more delays.

Also, please be praying that the rest of the money will be available.  We are still a few thousand dollars short for the total cost.  God has called us to this and God will see us through to the completion of it.  We believe that God has the finances already set aside.  We are just praying that those will be made available to us before I get on that plane.

I will post again Monday night to let you know if our application was submitted.  Have a great weekend.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Application in the mail!!!

Our application was officially sent to to Ukraine via FedEx today.  Vernon and I had meetings today so my best friend Lynn took that package to FedEx for us.  Like I have said before, I have such wonderful friends and family.  Lynn said that it should arrive in Ukraine on the 7th.  Our translator will submit it on the 12th.  Then we wait for a notice to travel and an appointment.  I am so excited!!


But, I covet your prayers more and more every day.  The closer we get to being able to travel for the adoption the more I pray for our daughter.  At this point in time, she does not know that she is being adopted.  She is unprepared for what lies ahead. There are choices to make, based on what she thinks life will be like but without any real perspective on which to make those choices.  She will have to leave her entire world behind and move into the unknown.  A new home with an unfamiliar family, a new language, a new culture.  She will have to learn how to live with parents telling her what to do, where to go and when to get back.  She will move from an environment with little support and few expectations to an environment where she will be supported and encouraged to dream.  If she works hard she can make those dreams become a reality.  She will be immersed in high school while trying to come to terms with all of these other issues.  High school is hard enough without all of these other issues piled on.  She needs your prayers.  It will be very difficult for her.


It will also be difficult for the rest of our family.  Our oldest daughter moved out of the house a couple of years ago so the boys will have to adjust to having a sister in the house again.  Personalities may mix well or they may clash.  We will have to learn what makes her happy, what makes her sad, what makes her angry and so on.  We will have to build relationships, learn how to trust each other, and learn how to become a "family".   It doesn't happen over night.  We all need prayer.  God's intervention and wisdom are what we seek the most.  God's intervention in everybody's hearts, to give us patience and compassion all across the board.  God's wisdome to know when to stand firm and when to exhibit grace and mercy.  God has called us all to this journey and he will walk with us every step of the way.  He won't make everything perfect, but He will walk through the challenges and the victories beside us.


Thank you for your prayers and for your support.  Be blessed.