Open Arms

Open Arms
...caring for orphans and adoptive families...

Saturday, May 28, 2011

We're Here!

Had a great flight over. Details to come tonight!
Thanks for all the prayer.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Off To Odessa

Six of us will fly to Odessa tomorrow and see where God will lead us. We have a list of people to visit / minister to and a multitude of things to do, but we are all in agreement that we will follow Him and hunt for treasures. We hope to update this daily so you can follow our latest adventure.

Blessings on you all,
Steve, Carol, Steven, Cameron, Laurie and Hector

PS Please pray for our families at home and thanks to all of you who have made this trip possible. Love
you so much.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Spring Time

I've been doing a Bible Study on the book of Jonah recently. It's so interesting to think that all Jonah had to do was obey, it seems so easy when it's him, in a book, and we have the privileged to look back in time....but not so easy each day when there are real challenges staring at you in the face. Four of them literally staring me in the face! What if you obey and then you have to remind yourself to stay engaged in the mission each day. All we can say is it is so worth it, anything you may give up to obey a call the Lord has placed on your life. There is truly no better blessing.

A gift from the kids for my birthday.
A York Apple tree! Thanks Kathy!
This week the kids are working a lot. In school they are working on research papers. Lyonya is writing about lions, Pasah about farm dogs, Galya about sharks, and Andrew about police dogs. Writing these kind of papers is not my joy. All I can say is, "Thank you God for Cameron!" She is amazing. Through this whole process they have learned so much.

Pasha and Andrew helped one family in the neighborhood with the digging of their septic system. Lyonya has been working with Hector doing construction many afternoon. (and all last week while we had Spring Break) At the end of the week, Lyonya commented, "This is not how I saw Spring Break looking!" I reminded him it was his choice not mine. =)

Pasha was so tired this night that he missed the whole movie. We helped him to bed when we couldn't take the snoring anymore! Poor guy. Lately he is preparing for the Spring band concert.


Galya






Galya has been a huge help as I've been cleaning, sewing, cooking, planting, it doesn't matter what we do she is our girl with a servant heart. She's amazing.








Andrew has a new job. He is now assisting as an usher at church. Can't wait to take pictures Sunday for you to see. He has his headset that will link him in with the other ushers and security officers. He is in his element!


This particular night we were helping serve at the Love4Liberia Dinner raising funds for an orphanage in Liberia.
ANDREW AS A SERVER AT THE LOVE4LIBERIA BANQUET
Steve and Lyonya working the Silent Auction



The garden is in and growing. Yeah. Steve has worked so hard outside. The kids want some baby chicks so a small chicken coop will soon be on the horizon.

The big news is that Steve and I will be heading back to Ukraine at the end of May. We will travel with 2 other couples. Please pray as we seek the Lord's leading on partnering with some ministry there. There is one couple that we are so excited to visit with and see what they are doing in orphan care and how we can help them accomplish their calling. We also want to check on the kid's Grandma and help with some repairs in her apartment. We would really appreciate your prayers for guidance as we seek the Lord's agenda for us during our time there, for funding for the projects and safety as we travel.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Prayer Request for Darryl Andrews


We are calling all prayer warriors! 
Please pray for Pasha's band instructor.
Mr. Andrews is an amazing man with a huge heart for his students. He really took Pasha under his wing last year when Pasha showed up in his class on his second week in the US asking to join the band . They were both so excited and learned to understand each other even with Pasha's broken English at the time.

Right now Mr Andrews is in a fight for his life and we are asking the Lord for total restoration. You can read his story at  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/darrylandrews. Please join us in praying for Mr. Andrews and his family. Mr. Andrews has taught Pasha so much above and beyond the French Horn. The band will be performing a benefit concert on March 26th. For more details go to http://darrylandrews.eventbrite.com/

This song is our family's prayer for him.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LcyQOLVS_U&feature=player_embedded








Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Feb. 2011


Happy Valentine's Day.....we made cookies for lots of friends and all the kids.
- Nonah -
Pasha went with Ben Lippen band  to Chicago!
Not sure who is winning Tim1  or Andrew.
Food Angels showed up again. Thank you Jesus!

Lyonya diligently studies science.
Andrew working through his math lessons.
Galya showing her newly sewn pillowcase.

"Life is full of joy!" That is a direct quote from my daughter Galya! It doesn't get much better than that. It is a year of watching all things grow and mature. Our favorite part of parenthood. We spent this week planning a garden and looking forward to warm spring days. It seems we've finally settled in a bit with school and life. It nice to have things simmer down just a little. Stay tuned though...you never know what the Lord has planned for tomorrow. 

Actually this was January..but we wanted to share!






Thursday, January 27, 2011

And Again


God just keeps on showing off! I love watching the kids watch Him at work.
The food angels showed up today....twice. Once this afternoon, then again tonight with another bag of bread from a local bakery.

A lot of this food was cooked and went with our friends Laurie and Hector Pineda to their weekly outreach in Five Points for the poor and homeless. You can find out more about PurelightMinistry here.
Thank you Jesus for your provision!