Chicago

We got to come home 1 day early. This will be short. WE've been up almost 24 hours and have about 5 to go. Lena is really feeling bad and running fever. I'm going to take her in tomorrow morning to the doctor. She is really tired too and felt airsick as well as being physically sick. However, she is still just wanting to get HOME! We'll write more soon. We get in at 10:56 p.m. tonight (Friday)!

Woohoo, we're coming home!

We finished at the US Embassy today and received Lena's Visa. We are waiting to find out if we will get on the flight tomorrow that arrives at 10:56 p.m. or on Sat. at 8:40 p.m. I can't wait! We waited for an hour today for our appt. at the embassy. We were both tired and hungry, but I felt blessed. There was a lady there who had 3 young children from ages 3 - 6. They were all over the place and she had to wait as long as we did! She first came here in November! I think the Lord arranged our appt. to be at the same time so I'd feel better:)

Lena has a cough, sore throat and a lot of congestion that's become worse in the last few days. Please pray that she will feel better soon, especially for the LONG flight home! I appreciate everyone's prayers and company on this journey. It's really not coming to an end, it's just beginning. We have a new daughter ( and a teenager at that)! I think it is just now setting in. It is amazing to see where God leads you as you follow Him. I am thankful He has chosen to use us in this way. Most people say that Lena is lucky, but I see how God is using it to bless us in ways that we never would have experienced without this journey. I say we are blessed!

E-mail not a go

So is life here:) My e-mail was working here in Kiev for about 15 min. today, not enough to send all the pictures for a presentation that Brianne is giving at my mom's church tonight about the orphanage and our trip. I'm praying, by some miracle it will start working again when we get back to the apartment. Lena and I are in another internet cafe. We asked about a half dozen people who said there was not one here, but finally asked the right person and found it! The office for my internet card is not close by so maybe we can go there tomorrow.

We got everything done today here and have an appt. for an interview and to get Lena's visa at the Embassy tomorrow. The medical appt. was quite interesting and challenging and we found out that I had incorrect data previously on immunizations when she was in the states, but that's not the most interesting part. I can not post it now, but will do it on the way home either Friday or Sat.

I am really exhausted and need to rest well tonight. After getting up at 4 a.m. for the flight here and losing a night's sleep on the way, we got up at 6 and 5 the last two mornings and have been going all day. Tomorrow we don't have to get up early. Yeah! We are sharing a pull out bed in our new apartment which is fairly close to our last one, so at least I know my way around somewhat. Haven't got us lost yet! Thank you for all your prayers. This is almost done and Lena is very happy! I have seen her smile more in the last 24hours since picking her up than in the last 3 weeks that we were here! Hope to talk to you all very soon!

E-mail is go

I was able to change my password and get into my e-mail so I wanted to post that so Trent doesn't get 100 e-mails. Thanks.

Leaving Donetsk

Anyone who reads this post, please e-mail Trent as I cannot access my e-mail right now. We have finalized all the paperwork and will be leaving Donetsk early in the morning! Today, we started early and went to Gorlivka where Lena was born to get a new birthcertificate with her new name. The person who usually issues the certificates for international adoption had recently been fired and the lady who was there was uncomfortable doing it. However, after a couple of hours and a few phone calls, Oksana was able to get it done.

The building was cold and dark in the waiting area so O. had me wait in the car. It was about 10 below (C). I was very cold even in the parked car. Nicolay offered me some coffee and although I don't drink coffee, I accepted hoping it would warm me up! It seemed to heat up the whole car and definitely felt great in my hands. I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. It was really good and even sweet. I've always thought coffee tasted bitter, but loved it this time. He also offered me a piece of his cheese and bread sandwich. I said, "no, thank you," but a couple of hours later when O. came back to the car, he offered again and we both accepted a piece. I got the feeling it was rude to refuse twice and he was so kind to offer. When I first arrived in Donetsk, Nicolay was quick to tell me that I needed to change into my warm boots and even got them out of the trunk and brought them to me. We have been well taken care of while here, even spoiled!

Around noon, we went to get a passport back in Donetsk, made some copies and a little more paperwork. We finished up at the market ( the electricity was out in the first market we went too and yesterday it was out in one of the government offices....it's a reoccuring theme here), bought gifts for the Orphanage director and juice & sweets for Lena's classmates. We also ate some lunch at the supermarket, which was good. Of course, stopping to eat for the first time at 4:00 most anything would have tasted good.

At 4:30 we were able to go to the orphanage and have a party with the kids from her class. It was so much fun. I had brought hotwheels cars for the boys which were a big hit. They kept comparing them and holding them up for me to see as I videotaped them. For the girls, I brought lipgloss and for all I had different chocolates from America, glow in the dark necklaces and balloon balls that you can blow up. Everyone loved the necklaces and the balloons were a hit too. Of course, the boys had to blow them up and let them squeal as the air was let out and bang them against each other. Typical boys! I showed them how to rub them against their hair and create static electricity which caused many giggles.

Then we said our goodbyes and took several pictures. Many of them asked me to take more pictures. My, how they have warmed up to me. The goodbyes were tearful with the girls and Lena and several of them teared up as they told me goodbye. I told them I would remember them. I hope we can find families for some of them. They are such good kids and so appreciative. They told me thank you and called me by name and said goodbye many times. I will truly miss them and am glad I had my camera to be able to share their precious faces with others when I get home.

We will leave our apartment at 5:45 tomorrow morning to leave for Kiev by plane. There we will do a medical check-up and go to the US Embassy. Thursday we go back to the Embassy to get the Visa and we might even be able to head home early this time by Friday. Much to my surprise, I found myself looking forward to the trip this time as I departed Austin . Of course, I knew I would be excited to see Lena and the other kids, but I was actually looking forward to just being here as well. It has been a great experience and I have learned much.

Hopefully, I will get the apartment in Kiev tomorrow which has internet access and I can use my own computer. Tonight, we are at an internet cafe because N. said she couldn't find the phone or internet card that we left with her. If I can access with my computer tomorrow, I will load pictures onto the blog. Until then...

Start here: a reflection

A verse that the Lord has put before me numerous times is Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." and like it Psalm 37:7 "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." The final few days of our first trip to the Ukraine became a reflection time for me and simultaneously I was reading Too Small to Ignore by Dr. Wess Stafford, a book given to Trent a while back. The book talks about being an advocate for the "least of these" or children. It seems that is a part of our calling and should be for everyone in their own way. It is a very good book about very difficult times for Wess when he was growing up in a boarding school in Africa and how he has used those horrible experiences to head Compassion International for kids today.

For me, the parts of the Psalms that state that we are to "know that He is God" and "wait patiently for him" are not as hard as the initial "Be still". Partly because different trials in my life have helped me to see Him better as he is at work and to learn to wait for His leading. However, being still is extrememly contrary to my nature and perhaps that is why He continues to bring it up. You would have thought when I nearly lost my life last April due to an overdose following surgery, I would have learned to be still. I did learn perspective and gratittude and a healthy respect for life and life after death, but still dug my hills in at being still.

While in the Ukraine, I was able to see the benefits of "being still" and listening or spending down time with the orphans and our own daughter who went with us. It occured to me, that my success in learning to be still and listen to God not only benefits me, but also those around me. How can children learn the art of being still from uptight, goal driven, or intensly scheduled adults? My disclaimer is that I am not stating that any of us is too far gone in this area, but that surely most of us Americans can do better in one way or another. Our time needs to be focused on God and the areas that he directs us rather than on our own agenda or even that of our kids.

Lessons can be learned in any life experience and wisdom gained. Often, those with the least have the most to offer. It was certainly true of our friend, Natasha in the orphanage. Every single craft item that I brought for the kids to use ended up being used to make a craft or gift for one of us. In his book, Dr. Stafford brings up the old saying that you can't outgive God, but then adds to it that you can't outgive the poor. I agree. And yet most of us have been given so much. "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measure to you." Luke 6:38. How much do we give each day, both of our resources and of ourselves?


The people in the Ukraine, and of course the orphans, live for the present time because that's all that is certain for them. I'm a planner by nature and tend to take care of things as far in advance as possible which is beneficial in some respects but also prevents me enjoying the time at hand sometimes. I feel obliged to bring this up because I think it is inherent in our American culture today. Too many of us busy ourselves and miss valuable moments or get stressed or hurried. Corrie Ten Boom once said that if the devil couldn't make us bad, he would make us busy. Ouch, but true.

In Dr. Stafford's book, he states emphatically, that "Time must be our servant, not our master. It cannot be allowed to dictate to us. we must use it wisely and keep it under our control." Looking back at Jesus' life on earth as our example, we see that he didn't scurry around, not even when Lazarus, his friend, had died. He took time for what was eternally important. My question is this...how much time do we spend each day on what is eternally important, on those things that will outlive us? Let's live for today and seek every opportunity, even hourly to make an eternal difference:)

Almost home

We are in the airport in Chicago and so glad to be back on American soil! We began our day at 5 a.m. Kiev time and will get home at about 12:30 a.m. Austin time (8:30a.m. the next day Kiev time). WE are worn-out. The last flight was 10 hours and it is just so hard to sleep in the a.m. Our flight from here to Austin is delayed an hour and a 1/2 so far but we're just one more plane ride away. We're letting my cousin Mark bring Blake to the airport to see us. He's never been up this late, but he's so anxious to see us. It's going to be awesome. Remember to check back on the blog starting on the 22nd. I plan to post once or twice before then with updates if I can any.