What's Going On

Friday a week ago we went shopping for bunk beds for the boys room. We had been looking for a while and we knew we wanted to have their room set up before we travel so it was time to get moving. We looked new and used and it was a very disappointing day. They were either inexpensive enough but not sturdy enough for teenage boys or very sturdy and very expensive....we came home rather discouraged! We prayed that night. “Lord, we need money and bunk-beds.” That all we really asked. We were tired and went to bed.

Samuel and Josiah (grandsons 3 and 1) were staying with us for the weekend so we were up early on Saturday. The phone rang during our breakfast of French Toast. It was Matthew's girlfriend's mom, Candy. “You still need bunk-beds?” she asked. “Yes, how much?” She said another friend had found them at a yard sale for twenty bucks! We jumped in the truck to go pick them up. Not only that, they were selling the Bed in a Bag sheet sets for $10 each! Then she wouldn't let us pay her back! God is so amazing!

Sunday the 12th we launched our adoption ministry at church. Open Arms Adoption Ministry is planning to facilitate those in the adoption process. We also plan to start a support group in the fall for those who have adopted, those considering adoption, and those in the process. People need support when they come home, who better to help than those who've already walked the road. We have lots of other ideas that we will share as we make firm plans.

Monday's are usually our night to study with our Ukrainian tutor. She is a very sweet lady. She invited us to come to her home on Wednesday for a special Ukrainian meal in honor of her Father's 100th birthday. It was an incredible meal of borscht, beet salad, another cold veggie salad, bread and as always her wonderful desserts.

Yesterday was spent drafting wills and having a bake sale ( thanks to Becky and Candy) to raise money for the adoption. Thank you so much Matthew for your hours and hours of work on the forms and Shannon for your time and generous heart! People came and took care of their estate planning and all the proceeds were donated to our adoption fund. There is more than enough to cover our round trip tickets. Thanks so much to everyone who helped and participated. You are all an important part of this process. We really couldn't do this without you.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Wills for Orphans

Saturday, July 18, 2009 we will have a "Wills for Orphans" day at our church. Our friend,Shanon Burnett, a local attorney, has offered to donated her day to draft wills and power of attorneys for who ever shows up at Christian Life Assembly between 9am and 4pm. She is charging half her normal price with all the proceeds going to our adoption fund. So people can help their family by helping 4 orphans have a family of their own. If anyone is interested in participating just let us know and we can get you all the details. Thank you so much Shannon!

We have rumors of an appointment date, but we will wait until we get the final news to post the details. We are getting more and more impatient to travel. We would like to get the children before school starts back.

There is a couple in Ukraine now that has just adopted their son Josh. They had a birthday party for Josh and Lyonya and Pasha went to the party. They sent us a photo of Lyonya. Enjoy!


Off to go study Russian with our tutor tonight! Will let you know dates when we do.

While we wait...

We had the day off work last Friday, June 26th, and try as hard as we might to get out of town it was kinda like walking thru mud. There was a dossier to be mailed, errands to run for our Mama, a house to clean and clothes to pack.

We were going to see "Grandma" Lela Steele in Florida. We couldn't quite explain why we had to go see her. We didn't even know her, but we knew we needed to go. Well, it took a while but by 3:20 pm we were leaving the UPS Store parking lot and praying for our package to travel on the wings of an angel. (the package made it by Tuesday!) We knew when we left that parking lot that things would never be the same. We sent out a text message to our close friends (Yeah! Dossier on its way!) and left town for Florida. It was one of the most peace filled weekends we can remember.


For those of you who don't know Grandma Lela please visit the following site to see her work in Ukraine. (www.harvestinternational.org) Sorry I couldn't get the link to work. She fell a couple months ago and broke her hip. She returned to Florida for medical treatment and is doing much better. She is such an inspiration. Her stories of the orphans in Ukraine and her work there are both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. She has a wealth of wisdom to take in. Please pray for her continued recovery.

On Its Way!

" Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to His power at work in us, to Him be the glory." Eph. 3:20

Just a quick update to let everyone know our dossier is on its way! More details tomorrow!

Step by Step....

Last Thursday we carried our dossier to be apostilled. On the way I called a friend who had adopted from the same orphanage two years ago. She said not to be discouraged if we had to correct anything or make changes, even a few trips. Well, everything was correct with the exception of the notary stamp on our background checks. It was discouraging...but just a normal part of the legal process. So, as we've said many times before, we are waiting on one more paper. This is where we're to say, "Hopefully it will be here by such and such,..."

Instead, we have decided it will be here at the perfect moment that the Father has ordained. He is never late and we will continue to trust in His timing!

Thank You so much to all our friends who have helped with donations. It is so humbling to be a part of this process. We still have a long way to go, but it is so beautiful to watch the Lord do this thing. It is all Him.

Sometimes we wonder who are these dear children that we go to make our sons and daughter? They are already our children in our heart. As much as we have a family and a home to offer them, we know that they have something to offer us; something that, even now, we do not know that we need. Is it a new compassion, a new love, a new culture, a new mindset? Only time will tell. For now, we will trust in Him and we will be obedient.

Слава Богу (slava Bogu): praise God!

We have all our papers! Tomorrow morning we will send them to be reviewed before we have them apostilled. Praying we can mail them overseas next week! Please pray that we will find any mistakes or problems with the documents now, before we mail them. Pray for favor with the officials and that we will travel at the exact time that God has planned. Please also continue to pray for the Lord to provide all the needed funds.

If you read any of the comments on the blog you know that we found out that a group from Texas went to Ukraine on Wednesday to minister to orphans there this month. Can you believe that they are in the camp with our kids this week! How great is that! Please pray for their time there. You can check them out at passionforukraine.blogspot.com

I'm so thankful the children have people there to love on them this week. Gayla had a birthday on the 10th. We sent her a letter weeks ago but do not know if she received it yet. Can't wait until we can throw her a party!

There is no contact with Andrei right now. I've been praying we will come across someone who may see him as they travel there. I just want him to get a hug, to know someone cares and that he is loved!

Believe me, we will let everyone know when we mail our dossier. They Lord has amazingly provided all the funds we've needed so far. It's been incredible to watch.

Our hope is to have a fund raiser at church in a couple weeks. The attorney I work for has offered to spend a day doing simple wills and donating the money to our fund. She will do the wills for half price so it will be great for people needing estate planning and it will be a huge blessing for us. I'll post the details soon so people can spread the word and participate.

Thanks so much for everyone's encouraging notes. We really need the body to walk with us through these days.

Blessings!