Thursday, September 29, 2011

Getting Closer

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Whew, we finally got every document in our Ukrainian adoption dossier apostilled (Texas seal of approval), and Matt shipped the 29 document dossier to our adoption facilitator in Ukraine Tuesday.  It should arrive today.  It will take about a week to get translated into Ukrainian (ugh, I would not like that job…29 documents to translate, and our home study alone is 20+ pages!).  After the dossier is translated, our facilitator will submit it to the SDA (the department in charge of adoptions in Ukraine).  Word has it that our court date will most likely be in November!!!  WOOHOO!  Go God!
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We would very much appreciate your prayers for this adoption.   We’ve never adopted from Ukraine, but we’ve learned that Ukrainian adoptions can be quite unpredictable.  There are often cases where the orphanage director doesn’t want to cooperate (and often times the orphanage director is the one with legal custody over the child(ren)), and there are cases where relatives try to block the adoption (even though they’re not wanting to adopt the kids themselves), and then there are cases where Ukrainian judges deny the adoption for a variety of reasons.  We’ve also been made aware of several cases where the kids themselves were told (by a variety of people) that Americans only want to adopt Ukrainian orphans so that they can harvest their organs to save the lives of other kids and/or that Americans really just want to abuse them.  Sad, I know, but this is the case in a variety of countries (like Haiti).  We also know that when an orphan is involved, Satan ALWAYS revs up his act to do anything to keep that orphan from being rescued.  Anything.  Including absurd lies.  Whatever Satan.
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We were recently informed that supposedly Vlad and Dima are saying that they’ve both changed their minds and no longer want to be adopted.  We find this very hard to believe, as we witnessed first-hand how much fun they had while they were here, how much they enjoyed our family, and how eager they were to return.  In hindsight, I believe Dima’s upset stomach/vomiting episode on the way to the airport August 4th was due to anxiety of not wanting to return to Ukraine.  Vlad assured us that everything would be OK because they would be counting the days until we come to Ukraine to get them.  I find it hard to believe that the boys changed their minds, unless someone coerced them into such a decision, which is possible.  As I said before, Satan would love nothing more than for Vlad and Dima to be left in an orphanage where God’s best for them would not be fulfilled.  God’s best is for children to have a family, a Jesus-loving family, a place where they will know Him and make Him known, a home where they will be loved and treasured and adored.  Satan would love to stop God’s plan, but this battle is His, and He promises not to leave us as orphans.  (John 14:18)
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We’re not sure how this adoption will go, but we are certain that God has asked us to adopt Vlad and Dima.  When we heard the news that supposedly Vlad and Dima have changed their minds about being adopted, we actually considered adopting different children since God had obviously done some miraculous work by bringing our dossier together so quickly.  However, every time we prayed about this, God has confirmed for us that He has asked us to adopt Vlad and Dima, and regardless of what we’re being told by earthly people, we are to obey God first and foremost.  What if Vlad and Dima didn’t really change their minds, and they really are counting down the days until we come and then we never show up?  We simply cannot do that.  We are committed. 
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We all love Vlad and Dima dearly, and we are all eager to have them back in our family again.  Things just haven’t been the same around here since our hosting them this summer.   I haven’t even moved their clothes from the shelves I arranged for their 5-week stay this summer.  The room they slept in looks just as it did on the day they left.  We’re all anxious to have them HOME.
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Dima and Dad
We’re eager to welcome their huge smiles, their mischievous ways, their huge appetites, their warm hugs and giggles at bedtime, their all-boy attitudes, and their protective, compassionate, tender spirits.  We can’t wait to continue sharing the love of Jesus with them, telling them silly bedtime stories that crack them up, riding the 4-wheeler with them, and seeing their faces light up by the things we often take for granted.  We feel like our boys have been gone too long, but we’re praising Jesus for allowing our dossier to be completed so quickly, and we’re trusting God for the outcome.  His will be done, and by His stripes, Satan better step away and run with his tail between his legs.
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