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