Mighty Bright Lights

We are continually amazed at what the Lord is doing! Firstly, we've had the pleasure of meeting some of the Saints here and have very much enjoyed fellowshipping with them in their homes. They have been such a blessing to us; feeding us, speaking English with us, sharing music and ministry videos with us, showing us around town, and just generally being available to help anytime we have a need. These same special people have even managed to procure a 3 bedroom apartment for us, completely furnished and with a kitchen and washing machine, 2 necessities when you have a crew as large as ours! The apartment belongs to a beautiful lady named Nina who was happy to move in with a friend just so that we could stay in her home for the remaining 3 weeks of our stay here at ZV. Thank you Jesus for shining your light on us, through these people. Secondly, we HAVE received our COURT date; Sept 7th is the BIG day! We were hoping for something a little sooner, but when we looked at...

Hi Ya'll! We just got back from meeting with the kids and Rema, the director. The children have said Yes!!! We went to the orphanage today to meet Rema (the orphanage director) and discuss our desire to adopt the children. It was a little intimidating with her behind the desk and all of us in row, being asked question after question; but we knew that the Lord was in control. We answered her questions via our interpreter, Roma, and then she called the children in. They spoke for a time (all in Russian of course) and then we left. As we were walking out the door, Roma asked the children if they wanted to be part of our family, they said yes, then we filed out to the playground at the orphanage where we awaited the city inspector (Ukraine's version of a CPS officer.) When the inspector arrived, she took the children into an office, where they stated to her their desire to be adopted, and were then required to write a handwritten letter stating the same, all wh...

Here's Samara with some freshly dried (and very smelly) fish Lisa and Marina prepare the fish (picking off the heads and other unwanted parts) Lisa prepares herself for that first bite of delicious fish! Still preparing! Here goes nothin! Chewing... A moment of uncertainty... Not so bad, after all!

Another update! We were not able to discuss any details with the kids yesterday, however, we did have a wonderful time with them, and said goodbye with a chorus of " Can't wait to see you in Zholty Vody," from everybody. We left Berdyans'k this morning at 5:00 and arrived in ZV today about noon, got checked into the hotel (really nice rooms!) and then Roma set us up with a taxi to Dnipropetrovsk (2 hours away), where we were able to get to the notary just in time! Amazingly enough, the young woman (Yulia) who was hired to translate for us at the notary's office saw the childrens' passports and said, "I know them!" She said she had had another appointment, but cancelled it because she felt led to come to ours. There are over a million people in Dneprop., and we just "happened" to have her as our translator. She knew nothing of our adoption before this and in fact was hired by the notary, not one of our facilitators. It turns out that s...

Today is a big day! After 12 wonderful days of spending each afternoon with the children, today we will ask them (through Roma, our translator) if they desire to become part of our family. We feel very positive about their response, but also know that this is an enormous decision for the children, as they will be leaving everything they know behind, to face an unknown future in a far away country where very few are available to even speak their language. We just ask that you might keep the children in prayer, and for us, that we will continue to diligently seek the Lord through every moment of this journey! We are so thankful for the way He continues with us, and know the He that hath begun a good work will finish it!

Here it is Monday the 15 already, and looking back on the past weeks' events I can only think what an incredible week it's been! First the amazing trip from Kiev to Zholty Vody, then on to Berdyans'k, then back to ZV for one day (two nights) and finally back to Berdyans'k (300 miles, 6 hrs driving one way) where we have been enjoying sun, sand, surf, and most of all, interaction with the children we hope to adopt; Katya, Sasha, and Shurick. It's truly something that only God could have brought to pass! All the details that fell perfectly into place in order for us to have this wonderful opportunity to be with the children in this amazing setting could have never been scheduled or orchestrated by us! It's been amazing to Lisa and I how quickly our children have bonded in spite of the language barriers: truly, love knows no bounds! I spent some time today teaching Sasha and Shurick some chords on the guitar, which they really seemed to enjoy, then Sasha picke...

Stephen and Karina, our neighbors, who have graciously volunteered to look in on our place every day, sent these pics today of our new kittens. We are always amazed by the beautiful things God gives us to enjoy, even when we are thousands of miles away from home! Thanks, Stephen, Karina, and kids, for taking the time to take these great pics and send them-you really made our day!

Here's another update we only posted to Facebook, so sorry! Better late than never, right? We started out our day today here in Berdyans'k (near the Black Sea) with a walk to find the nearest supermarket. After stocking up on some bread, cheese, moloko (milk) and cream (slivka) we headed back to our hotel and proceeded to get ready for the beach. We're staying only about 3 blocks from a sandy beach here so we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful spot to bide our time until the afternoons when we are allowed to visit the children. The water was a little chilly since it was morning, but the kids didn't seem to mind. They had a wonderful time swimming and splashing around. The beach was quite crowded, and there is a lot of skin showing, which we are not used to. I think we probably stick out with our modest swimwear. Of course if we were hanging out in LA, it would probably be no different. While we were at the beach, we noticed some oth...

Sorry, we forgot to post to the blog, but posted only to Facebook, so we are backtracking for those of you who don't have Facebook. We got to meet the children yesterday! We are in love! After a 5 hour drive from Kiev to Zheltye Vodi to pick up the social worker (It is amazing how things work here. A social worker would never up and leave the office to travel round trip 10 hours, not to mention spend the night in the car with us) and a 5 hr drive to the camp where the children are staying we were able to meet and talk with them and the their liasons for about an hour. It was a little awkward at first, but pictures and our little Eli broke the ice and by the end of the meeting, we were getting hugs and preparing for our next visit. After the initial meeting, we got back in the van and drove the return trip, another 5 hours, back to ZV to pick up the part of our group we left behind at the hotel and set to work arranging for transportation and lodging for all of u...

Things are going "ochen harasho" (very well) here in Berdyans'k with our children. We've visited the local zoo, seen a dolphin show, ridden a boat, walked the beach, ridden in little electric cars, and seen a 5D movie show. We've been busy, but today was wonderful to just hang out as a family in our hotel room; playing games, eating watermelon, playing with clay, teaching guitar and fiddle to the children, and eating the FISH!!! (We've finally got up the nerve to try it. We know that these are our children without a doubt, and I'm pretty sure they know it, too. Katya is calling Lisa, "Mama," and our girls, "Sistras." It's such an overwhelming feeling to know that after all the paperwork and waiting,wondering and anticipating, we are finally here, about to bring our children home! Now, all we're waiting for is a written letter of consent from the children stating their wishes to be adopted by us, and the orphanage directo...

Looks like we're heading to Zhelty Vody tomorrow at around 3:00 AM! Since finding out only yesterday that the three children in ZV were available, and apparently the ones the Lord is bringing into our family, a lot of exciting things are falling into place quickly! What has seemed like an impossible situation has suddenly turned into a miracle A van was procured to take us to ZV in the morning, and then on to the coast where the children are currently at camp. There we will have our first opportunity to meet the children, so we are praying that this time with them goes well. I appreciate so much a word that the Lord gave Cris Mahy for us at a time when we needed it the most: 1 Thessalonians 5:24: " Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it!" We have so very much to be thankful for!!! More to come...