I want to thank everyone who has prayed with us over the last seven months. Last night I put a post out on Facebook for all my friends to pray; and it worked! When I went to bed last night, I laid there and prayed for about a half hour, then fell asleep. Our paperwork was to be submitted this morning in Ukraine. Tim awoke, with a start, at 4:00am; and said he immediately felt he needed to pray, so he did. Well, it must have been about the time the SDA was reviewing everything. When they were finished, they said everything looked good; and nothing needed to be redone. YEAH!!! I think last night was the best night sleep I have had in weeks. I guess I knew GOD was going to do a miracle. When our translator (Oles) called Tim with the news, we also learned that next week we should receive notification of our SDA appointment. As well, we were informed that both of the girls are in the system and are officially eligible to be adopted! Tim mentioned to Oles how neat it was that our friends who are there, and adopting from the same orphanage, got to take their son stay with them during the 10-day wait period. Oles went on to say the director has already told him that when we get there we will be able to have Alyona stay with us. As a result, she will get to see Kristina even more quickly than I had thought. If all goes well, we are hoping to travel the second week of March. I can't believe we are almost ready to go. It would be so cool if we get a call this week with the travel date, but it is all in God’s timing. I have so much to do in such a short period of time, but I would find a way to be ready if they said, “Be here next week.” Who needs sleep anyway?!?! Well, I am going to get started packing. I will post again as soon as we have our appointment date. Again, thank you for the prayers; and please keep them coming.
Lynn
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Life may throw a constant stream of hardships our way, but how often do we stop to consider that because of God's perfect love for us, these hardships could actually be part of His perfect plan for our lives? Our task is neither to embrace these hardships, nor to necessarily seek more of them. Rather, our task is simply to rely on God and know His love for us in the midst of those hardships. In difficult times, our invitation is to press closer to the Lord.
It seems strange to think it has been only been twenty-nine (29) weeks since we started the process officially. God has brought us so far in this journey; and I know He is not done yet. He is trying to teach me to be patient—to wait on Him, as His ways are always the best. I find myself laying it down at the cross, then sometimes, when I am not thinking about it, I have ran back and picked it back up again. I get so mad at myself for doing that, but someday I may learn that lesson. Until then, God just keeps reminding me to let Him have it.
It amazes me how many times the same people will ask me, “Why did you decide to adopt when your children are grown and out of the house?” We did not choose when and where to adopt from. God decided this for us. In God's eyes children and love have no boundaries. All of us are His children. He doesn't differentiate between countries, laws, and nor man made rules. We found out about the girls from a friend who has been to Ukraine, and how they will have a very dismal life and little hope for a happy future. That day a seed was planted in us and began to take root. We asked, “Lord do you want us to pursue this adoption?” We are open to what God has in store for us. We received our answer, and so began our journey.
We have a heart for young people. I want to make sure you know we are not saints, we are everyday people. We are not a perfect family. We have not been perfect parents. We have made mistakes and will continue to. I am sure the kids won't arrive here and fit in perfectly, but neither did our biological children. I am sure my kids thought, sarcastically, “Wow! More kids to share Mom & Dad and our resources with! That’s a great idea!” (But after Alyona being here I think their initial opinions are dramatically changing.) I am sure there will be times when the girls will think we are not overjoyed, either, even though they know the future for the kids that remain behind. They have seen firsthand the life the older kids have when put out on the street.
We have learned that Grandma does know Alyona came to our house for the holidays. Also, while the girls must each express to the court their desire to be adopted, should Grandma actually follow through with pursuing guardianship their opinions will not even be taken into consideration. The government will not care one iota that the girls really don’t want to go with Grandma. Not that it is a race to see who gets done first, nor are we trying to steal her granddaughters. We just want them to have so much more than will be available to them in Ukraine or in Russia. Plus, we don’t want to terminate their family ties. We would love for them to keep in touch; and hopefully someday we can take a family trip back to see them.
For those of you that are self-employed, be advised, it is a pain to go through this process. We have not historically used a CPA for our taxes, just a tax preparer; and I am the only employee. So the SDA will not accept my tax returns, nor a letter from me regarding my income. Instead, we have had to have the last six months of my deposits looked over by a CPA and sworn to be true, and notarized, and, yes, Apostilled, to submit with the dossier. All said, though, we do have a submission date: February 23rd. I am so excited!! Hopefully, after that, we get an appointment for the first part of March. Then the travel planning begins. I can't wait for the next part of the journey. I used to refer to this as a roller coaster ride, but journey sounds more peaceful to those who are faint at heart. :-)
Please keep praying; and I hope you all have a great Valentine’s Day!
Lynn
It seems strange to think it has been only been twenty-nine (29) weeks since we started the process officially. God has brought us so far in this journey; and I know He is not done yet. He is trying to teach me to be patient—to wait on Him, as His ways are always the best. I find myself laying it down at the cross, then sometimes, when I am not thinking about it, I have ran back and picked it back up again. I get so mad at myself for doing that, but someday I may learn that lesson. Until then, God just keeps reminding me to let Him have it.
It amazes me how many times the same people will ask me, “Why did you decide to adopt when your children are grown and out of the house?” We did not choose when and where to adopt from. God decided this for us. In God's eyes children and love have no boundaries. All of us are His children. He doesn't differentiate between countries, laws, and nor man made rules. We found out about the girls from a friend who has been to Ukraine, and how they will have a very dismal life and little hope for a happy future. That day a seed was planted in us and began to take root. We asked, “Lord do you want us to pursue this adoption?” We are open to what God has in store for us. We received our answer, and so began our journey.
We have a heart for young people. I want to make sure you know we are not saints, we are everyday people. We are not a perfect family. We have not been perfect parents. We have made mistakes and will continue to. I am sure the kids won't arrive here and fit in perfectly, but neither did our biological children. I am sure my kids thought, sarcastically, “Wow! More kids to share Mom & Dad and our resources with! That’s a great idea!” (But after Alyona being here I think their initial opinions are dramatically changing.) I am sure there will be times when the girls will think we are not overjoyed, either, even though they know the future for the kids that remain behind. They have seen firsthand the life the older kids have when put out on the street.
We have learned that Grandma does know Alyona came to our house for the holidays. Also, while the girls must each express to the court their desire to be adopted, should Grandma actually follow through with pursuing guardianship their opinions will not even be taken into consideration. The government will not care one iota that the girls really don’t want to go with Grandma. Not that it is a race to see who gets done first, nor are we trying to steal her granddaughters. We just want them to have so much more than will be available to them in Ukraine or in Russia. Plus, we don’t want to terminate their family ties. We would love for them to keep in touch; and hopefully someday we can take a family trip back to see them.
For those of you that are self-employed, be advised, it is a pain to go through this process. We have not historically used a CPA for our taxes, just a tax preparer; and I am the only employee. So the SDA will not accept my tax returns, nor a letter from me regarding my income. Instead, we have had to have the last six months of my deposits looked over by a CPA and sworn to be true, and notarized, and, yes, Apostilled, to submit with the dossier. All said, though, we do have a submission date: February 23rd. I am so excited!! Hopefully, after that, we get an appointment for the first part of March. Then the travel planning begins. I can't wait for the next part of the journey. I used to refer to this as a roller coaster ride, but journey sounds more peaceful to those who are faint at heart. :-)
Please keep praying; and I hope you all have a great Valentine’s Day!
Lynn
Monday, February 01, 2010
But Moses said to the people "Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He will accomplish for you today for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep silent." -- Exodus 14:13-14
The Lord showed a couple things during my reading this morning…
It has not been the day I had prayed for, but overall it will be OK. There have been times in this journey GOD has taken us on the shortest route He could in bringing the girls home. Then, there have been times we have hit some road block, or ended up on a detour, or have sat on the side of the road, stopped, waiting patiently, to see what He had for us, as we waited with "Expecting Faith". Today was an especially hard day. We thought all our paperwork would be submitted. As it turns out, that is not how things worked out. Out translator instead suggested we submit it almost in phases, over a period of a few days. I don't fully understand the specifics, but do trust his judgment. None-the-less, it was not what I expected to hear this morning. After that news, we then found out that Grandma has been to Balta again to visit Alyona. She apparently informed the Balta director that the girls are not to be adopted because she is working on filing papers to get custody of them (which we basically already knew). We just did not expect her to visit again so soon. We also do not know what, or if, she knows anything about Alyona visiting us at Christmas. And we do not know if the girls have any choice whether or not they want to go live with her. The director has apparently asked the grandmother for contact information, but she did not, or possibly would not, leave it.
With all that said, please be in prayer for Tim and I. We both feel weary from this journey. I know this is just one more attack from Satan. He is trying to make me doubt myself whether I really did hear GOD. YES, Satan, I did hear from Him. God does not want any kids to stay in a place like that. I do know we must stay prayed up and prepared for any battle which might come our way. I feel trapped, though, like we will never get them home... Like all the governments hearts are hardened towards the children all around the world, not just in Ukraine. With GOD on our side, though, and our eyes on the prize, HE will accomplish getting them home. He does not need my help. We need to continue praying... waiting... expecting to His glory shine from heaven... when HE is finished. And whenever we feel overtaken we must cry out to the LORD, as He is there for us. The Israelites had to step out, in faith, into the Jordan River before the water would stop. We, too, must keep taking steps of faith to follow God. I have read many blogs where people take TWO to THREE YEARS to get their children. We even know some of them personally. It has only six months for us, though, so GOD has already done great and mighty things for us.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of our families and friends for their continued support. For those of you who have helped us financially... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Every little bit helps!! And thanks to those who have been faithful to pray for us and who will continue as we go on our way!!
Lynn
The Lord showed a couple things during my reading this morning…
It has not been the day I had prayed for, but overall it will be OK. There have been times in this journey GOD has taken us on the shortest route He could in bringing the girls home. Then, there have been times we have hit some road block, or ended up on a detour, or have sat on the side of the road, stopped, waiting patiently, to see what He had for us, as we waited with "Expecting Faith". Today was an especially hard day. We thought all our paperwork would be submitted. As it turns out, that is not how things worked out. Out translator instead suggested we submit it almost in phases, over a period of a few days. I don't fully understand the specifics, but do trust his judgment. None-the-less, it was not what I expected to hear this morning. After that news, we then found out that Grandma has been to Balta again to visit Alyona. She apparently informed the Balta director that the girls are not to be adopted because she is working on filing papers to get custody of them (which we basically already knew). We just did not expect her to visit again so soon. We also do not know what, or if, she knows anything about Alyona visiting us at Christmas. And we do not know if the girls have any choice whether or not they want to go live with her. The director has apparently asked the grandmother for contact information, but she did not, or possibly would not, leave it.
With all that said, please be in prayer for Tim and I. We both feel weary from this journey. I know this is just one more attack from Satan. He is trying to make me doubt myself whether I really did hear GOD. YES, Satan, I did hear from Him. God does not want any kids to stay in a place like that. I do know we must stay prayed up and prepared for any battle which might come our way. I feel trapped, though, like we will never get them home... Like all the governments hearts are hardened towards the children all around the world, not just in Ukraine. With GOD on our side, though, and our eyes on the prize, HE will accomplish getting them home. He does not need my help. We need to continue praying... waiting... expecting to His glory shine from heaven... when HE is finished. And whenever we feel overtaken we must cry out to the LORD, as He is there for us. The Israelites had to step out, in faith, into the Jordan River before the water would stop. We, too, must keep taking steps of faith to follow God. I have read many blogs where people take TWO to THREE YEARS to get their children. We even know some of them personally. It has only six months for us, though, so GOD has already done great and mighty things for us.
I would just like to take this opportunity to thank all of our families and friends for their continued support. For those of you who have helped us financially... THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Every little bit helps!! And thanks to those who have been faithful to pray for us and who will continue as we go on our way!!
Lynn
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