Our last few days have been like the Amazing Race Ukrainian Adoption style.

We took an early train to Vinnitsa region on Thursday and met with the social worker. There was another couple there and they warned us that this social worker is the worst. UGH! She asked us why did we even come to see these children. One is in camp in the Crimea and the other is also in camp near Nemirov. So, we weren't starting like we needed to. In addition to that, she told us that family members (aunt, uncle) are also in the picture and may dispute our adoption. She made some calls to the family & talked with City Council and they agreed that we were a great fit for the children and that we should be allowed to adopt them.

We got the referral and went and saw the boy "Caleb" on Friday. He was quite nervous and shy. We felt very positive about him and his fit with our children and family. He and Christian will get along great! The social worker in Nemirov was "super nice." She even served us apples taken from her own trees.  Hmm. Hmm. Good. Then, we closed out Friday back at the social worker's office in Vinnitsa. (See the complexity. 2 social workers. 2 orphanage directors. 2 camps. 2 kids. Boy, when God shows what He can do, He really shows it. Our GOD is an AWESOME GOD.) On Friday night, we caught another midnight train to Simferopol near Black Sea to visit the girl, "Madelynne".

After an 18 hour train ride, we arrived in Simferopol around 3pm. Then, we had the joy of a 2 hour bus ride to near Alushta. We did get to visit with "Madelynne" on Saturday. It was fun. We chased her and her friends around the school yard, tickled them, and simply acted silly. We gave her a small doll and she loved it. We knew immediately that she was going to fit in well also. We had dinner on the Black Sea with fireworks and Ukrainian karoake so, need I say more. It was a pleasant feeling on Sat night. We also had to find a place to stay and the nice ladies at the summer camp found a "local" renting rooms and we had a bed for the nite. Of course, it was hard and mosquitoes thought that my skin was sweet. They tore me up!

On Sunday morning, I took a swim in the Black Sea. I thought it was cold, but Kostya said that it was warm compared to normal. We did get to visit "Madelynne" again briefly. She told us that she slept with her Barbie. We bought their class a melon and they sat on the beach eating it. Finally,we enjoyed a few minutes of observing their fun swim time and that too was fun. We then jumped on a bus back to Simferopol and then waited in train station until we could find tickets to somewhere near Vinnitsa.

We arrived in Kyiv this morning at 7:00am. Whew! Breakfast was a burger & fries at McDonalds Kyiv train station. That was our first McDonalds meal in Ukraine. Then, we caught a train to Vinnitsa for 12:30pm. We ran around getting documents notarized, visited the orphanage director, and social worker. The social worker asked us how did we do all that we did since Friday over the weekend and I was speechless. I knew that it was God, but I was speechless at the moment. Please forgive me!

 

 

We plan on taking an early train tomorrow to the region to try to get the social worker to release the paperwork to go to the orphanages.

It will probably be a long day with no email or blog updates. As of now, we don't have any reservations for a place to stay and the region is not a familiar one to our facilitator so, we'll have numerous more obstacles tomorrow.

 

But our God is an AWESOME GOD and He will equip us to endure through these hurdles if these are the kids that He has willed for us to have.

Along the way, I am sure He will be pruning a few branches(the corrupt & dead ones and some stray ones) from the tree that is our souls. 

 

PRAY that HIS will be done!

We proceeded with requesting a referral to see the children that were presented to us yesterday. The boy is 11 and the girl is 6. Accepting this referral, we knowingly are entering a difficult and complicated task. Both children are in separate orphanages. Both children are in separate camps while the girl is in camp in the Crimea region which means it is a major ordeal to go & see her. Since the process is filled with bureaucratic paperwork, we face numerous hurdles in running around to get the proper documents completed timely.  When we visit her, we have to take an orphanage official so, this is an added difficulty as they may not want to help us or disrupt their lives & schedule. The social worker which we must work with to get the paperwork to visit each child has not been very helpful thus far and hasn’t appeared to want to help us. UGH!

To put it perspective, it would be like having to run from Jackson to Hattiesburg via McComb while using only a taxi, bus, or train and then, wait in a government officials office for hours for them to see us, then wait several hours for them to prepare the paperwork if they’re that accommodating, and then returning for another appointment with them to receive the paperwork to go to the next official and do a similar process. It can be taxing on the soul and can create many frustrations! We have a newfound appreciation for our American government which while it may not be perfect, it is very good from an international perspective. That is not to say we dislike Ukraine or the government processes. Not at all, but they aren’t always designed for the adopter’s ease or happiness. We try to remember that this nation just gained its sovereignty in the mid 1990’s from Russia so, it takes time for systems to work through their natural growth process to function efficiently. Imagine if you will the state of Mississippi was spun off as its own nation and Gov. Haley Barbour is now the President and oh by the way, all the federal government money that you once received is cut off. Good luck, Haley! Now, you see more clearly the situation here.

Please pray that the Holy Spirit is plowing a fertile field in their souls(Social Worker, Orphanage people) to be helpful, graceful, and merciful to us and to the children.

Pray for God to send angels to guard over us and the children as Satan seeks to disrupt the process & discourage us from finding God’s children for us.

Continue praying for our facilitators and our children at home. We love them dearly!!

PRAY for all the other adoptive families over here as we all feel each other's pains.

QUOTE FOR THE DAY: In reading Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot, Jim Elliot, the martyred missionary in Ecuador, said the following:

“The fixedness of the human mind is the ‘wall of Jericho’ to Gospel preaching. God must shake or there will be no shaking.”

Our sinfulness has built fortresses around our little world and our little desires such that we see not or desire not the will of God and God oftentimes must blow them down for us to see His will for us. I felt like Hurricane Katrina & Rita were such blows while it is all too often seen as a mere random circumstance of “mother nature”.  2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land. 

We did go to the SDA today for a consultation. They did have one more set of siblings for us to see (for a total of 2 sets to review) and asked if we would like a 2^nd appointment to look at them. There was some indication that more files may be coming in the next few days or next week, but since we are pressed for time now, we decided to go ahead to see the 2 files. We were immediately drawn to one group (6 yr old girl, 11 yr old boy). Both kids are nearing birthdays so, they are closer to 7 & 12.

Since we are only approved for up to a 10 year old, we have to fully investigate the obstacles of adding an addendum to our home study & USCIS form and if it is truly necessary. UGH!! Since we felt drawn to these children unlike any others that have been presented to us, we are willing to endure the obstacles if they are realistically bearable.

We should find out tomorrow if this is a mountain that we can climb or not. If it is, we may be able to catch a bus tomorrow afternoon to arrive there tomorrow night. It would probably mean that we may be able to visit the kids Thursday (hopefully) or Friday.

PLEASE PRAY THAT DOORS START OPENING FOR US AND THAT THE WINDS WILL BE AT OUR BACKS AND THAT OUR WALKS WILL BE ALWAYS DOWNHILL(We’ll take taxis uphill. LOL).

PLEASE PRAY FOR THERE TO BE AN IMMEDIATE BOND BETWEEN US & THEM and THAT THERE BE NO ISSUES OF ANY MAJOR CONCERN.

PLEASE PRAY THAT THINGS GO QUICKLY SO, I CAN HURRY BACK HOME. (IT IS A CERTAINTY NOW THAT LESLIE WILL BE COMING HOME WITH THE KIDS BY HERSELF.)

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR FACILITATORS(KOSTYA &VANYA).

PLEASE PRAY THAT ALL THE OFFICIALS THAT WE ENCOUNTER WILL BE GRACIOUS, MERCIFUL, HELPFUL, & MORALLY UPRIGHT.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR CHILDREN BACK HOME & OUR FAMILY.

PLEASE PRAISE GOD FOR HIS GRACE & MERCY UPON US!

In Christ!              The Gordon’s 

Vanya’s Joke of the Day: At the Day of Judgement, all the men were called to gather in 2 rows. In the 1^st row were to be all the men who were the men of their house, the spiritual leader, who loved their wives as Christ loves His Church & whose wives submitted to their authority. In the 2^nd row were to be all the men who were not the men of their house, the spiritual leader, who loved not their wives as Christ loves His church & whose wives were the authority of the house. In the end, all the men were in the 2^nd row, except one man. When asked, “How did he do it? To be so obedient to all the commands of the husband.”, He responded, “What? What are you talking about? My wife told me to get in this line.”

 

After leaving the SDA, we were so excited that I had to go "dancing in the streets" in joy. Leslie took these photos of me. LOL J/K

 

Nothing new to report.

 

Who knows what tomorrow brings? Not us! Only Him!

 

Leslie did get a petticure today! Boy, she needed one, too! LOL

 

VANYA'S JOKE OF THE DAY: An Ukranian pastor was invited to eat at a church member's house. Just before eating, the pastor asks Little Vanya if he normally prays before each meal. Little Vanya says "No, we don't have to because my mom is a good cook!" 

 

Here is a pic from our Saturday bowling outing.

We visited the Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity again today. They had a guest speaker who preached on the importance of viewing entire books in their context, specifically he focused on the book of Hebrews since the church has been studying the book. Please pray for the church as they are hosting a camp next week for teenagers. Pray that God will open the hearts of these young ones to their need for His Son & their Savior and His way of salvation as many of them know not the Lord. (NOTE: The worship service is about 2 hours to 2.5 hours. It starts at noonish and ends at 2:00-2:30. I really enjoy it and could stay all day so, sometimes it seems. I think Americans need to evaluate our time in study & worship as it seems we lean more & more to less meat of the Scriptures and lean more & more to other things.)

Tonight, we went to see two Kyiv soccer teams play (Arsenal vs. Dynamo). It was fun. We needed some downtime to take our minds off things.

PRAY FOR GOD TO OPEN DOORS FOR US THIS WEEK. (Based on my time available, we need to have been referred to see kids, see them, and accept them by Thursday or Friday at the latest which means things need to unroll quickly.)

If things don’t happen this week, it probably won’t happen. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!

I know prayer won't change God's eternal decrees for our lives, but it may just be the means by which He accomplishes His will in this process.

BOOKS: I just finished John MacArthur's "The Keys to Spiritual Growth". I am continuing to read Thomas Brooks' "A Mute Christian Under the Rod". I am also picking up again David Martyn Lloyd-Jones' "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount." Leslie is currently reading "The Excellent Woman" by Anne Pratt. She has read others, but I am not sure what they are at this time.

Vanya’s Joke of the Day: A couple were preparing to go out for dinner one night. When the wife had finished getting ready, she wife noticed stubble on her husband’s face. She then asked her husband if he was going to shave. He responded, “ I did Honey, just before you began getting ready!” 

It is the weekend which means more waiting….. I had a good devotional time this morning. We later joined the other family from CA and went shopping and bowling. We had fun! Then, Vanya, Leslie, and I had a rematch UNO game. I had won the last time by a good margin. Vanya got revenge and won this time by a landslide.

Vanya’s Joke of the Day:  An American family was visiting an orphanage in Ukraine looking to adopt an infant child. The director of the orphanage asked the father why did he want to adopt? He said so the child can teach me Russian. LOL.  

We did hear from the SDA and they seemed to be looking for a boy & girl sibling group in our age range, but haven’t really found anything.

We have a few "potential" leads that we are looking into, but they are fairly low probability type leads.

We do rest in Him though which is 100% certainty, but who can determine the will of God? I surely can’t. I am blind, deaf, mute, and dumb when it comes to things of God.

We will be here 3 weeks come Monday and my time is dwindling quickly. The reality of going home childless seems to be increasingly possible as His will for us.

We’ll see. We are still relatively positive in spirit. Had we not the foundation of Christ as our rock, we would be a “basket case” right now, but we always knew that we needed to try & follow His will as best we can and I think that is what we are trying to do. There have been times when we have tried probably too hard to interject our wills, but He quickly slams the door and we are thankful for that, really.

Keep praying that God will deliver those children to us as a "love offering" to His Son to bring glory to Himself. (He has completely wiped our hands of it so, if it comes to be now, He would surely get all the Glory.)

In Him!

The Gordon’s

Quote from G. Campbell Morgan (From Pastor Tim in PA)

"For those who thus wait, God works; and as surely as men wait thus for Him while He works for them, there will come to them, presently, the clarion call to arise and cooperate.  When it comes, the plan is almost invariably a different one from that which had been expected.  ‘In ways we looked not for,’ said the prophet, ‘Thou hast wrought for us in the past.’

"Is not that the history of every forward movement in the economy of God?  A period of darkness, a period of desolation, a period of difficulty in which His people were brought to a point of knowing that they did not know and understanding that they could not understand.  A period of being clever enough to be done with their own cleverness, and then, while they waited, a period of adjusting their lives to God, severing all ties that held them, abandoning all prejudices that paralyzed, putting an end to every effort that was likely to conflict with the practical definite command and program and plan.

"When the call comes, it is almost invariably to something new and surprising and startling, in the doing of which we seem to have to go back upon things that we have said and done in the past.  The peril of the people of God is always that they shall be so wedded to yesterday that they are not ready for God’s tomorrow; or that they shall be so busy today making their own programs that when God brings His program, their own arrangements interfere with the carrying out of His will."

 

Vanya’s Joke of the Day: Proverb: The pedestrian is always right as long as he is still alive.

(You’ll truly understand that if you have visited in Kyiv, Ukraine)

We still have had no indication of anything positive yet from the SDA. They have been pleasant and understanding of our situation, but haven’t been able to locate children for us due to international hosting programs and due to many unregistered orphans. We are still thankful for His Providence in this process. When and if He sends his children to us, we know that the poverty of spirit that we have felt has been for our eternal growth since we must cling not to our own works or righteousness, but His!

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD MAKE HIS GLORY KNOWN BY SENDING US THE GIFT OF CHILDREN.

PLEASE PRAY THAT THE SDA WILL BE MERCIFUL TO US.

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD OPENS THE DOOR FOR US TO PROCEED WITH ADOPTING OUR CHILDREN.

PRAY THAT THIS DOOR OPEN FRIDAY OR MONDAY SINCE MY ABILITY TO STAY MUCH LONGER IS DIMINISHING QUICKLY.

PRAY THAT I WILL NOT HAVE TO FLY HOME & FLY BACK LATER FOR PAPERWORK ISSUES.

CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR FRIENDS, FAMILY, & CHILDREN BACK HOME.

PRAY IN THANKSGIVING FOR THE MANY BELIEVERS THAT HE HAS PLACED IN MY PATH THAT I WOULD HAVE NEVER MET IF HE HADN’T LED ME DOWN THIS ROAD.

Vanya Joke of the Day:  Can a woman make a man a millionaire? Sure, if he was a billionaire. (PS/ Women don’t kill the messenger!)

After the Holy Spirit had to drag me out of my pit of despair and self-pity, a burden seemed to be lifted. I can’t put my hands on it because my circumstances appear no different, but it is more of a new perspective. As I began more self-examination, I began to realize how often I and it seems too as we "as Christians" tend to focus more on our needs or current circumstances in our petitions before God and because of that, we tend to rarely balance things out in the area of thanksgiving. Has He not been so gracious & merciful to us? He has shown us His Presence, His way of salvation, His Son, His Precepts in His Word, and the many blessings in our life. Why do our souls murmur at the first sign of trials or tribulations?

        James 1:2-6   My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into various temptations;

        3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

        4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

        5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

        6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

        I have to truly ask myself was I counting all my circumstances as “joy” and was I asking in faith “unwavering”.

        Ephesians 5:19-20  Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

        20  Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

        Again, have I truly been giving thanks for all my circumstances of late?

        Colossians 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

        Have I truly been at peace and thankful?

        In John MacArthur’s book The Keys to Spiritual Growth, he states the following regarding man’s gratitude: “Gratitude fills the soul with the sunshine of God. Ingratitude keeps the soul’s windows darkened, shutting out the light of God, turning life into a fog.” p.85.

        Thanksgiving isn’t an act, but a condition of one’s soul.

        John 16:19-22  Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

        20  Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

        21  A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.

        22  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

        How fitting that Christ when talks about His death, resurrection, 40 days on earth and then, ascension, He relates the sorrow& joy with that of  a mother giving birth to a child.

        NOBODY SAID CHILDBIRTH IS EASY WHETHER IT BE NATURALLY OR THROUGH ADOPTION.

        THERE IS PAIN, SORROW, AND WEEPING AND THEN, THE UNSPEAKABLE JOY!!!

 

        PLEASE PRAY THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT ENABLE US TO BE THANKFUL IN WHATEVER CIRCUMSTANCE THAT WE FIND OURSELVES.

Still no real news…..

We have heard that perhaps up to 90 more files of children for international adoption maybe released today or in the next few days, but we haven’t heard anything from the SDA. We are praying and hoping to get a 2^nd appointment either Friday or Monday or Tuesday.

For us, we emotionally hit a current all-time low on the adoption front last night. I think that we both were ready to just go home and make our own. Ha Ha. But God in His grace gave us a new perspective this morning. Even though we feel helpless, we are encouraged by the since of comfort that His Holy Spirit has given us.

We are a bit leery of calling last night “rock bottom” because we’re afraid that He may truly show us where “rock bottom” is. God is gracious and merciful and will not give us more than we can bear and we are thankful for that.

"Christ Jesus the Lord Received and Walked In" by Philpot (www.gracegems.com)

The very storms through which the believer passes,
will only strengthen him to take a firmer hold of Christ.
As the same wind that blows down the poplar tree,

Only establishes the oak tree;

so the very storms which uproot the shallow professor,

only root the child of God more firmly in Christ.

Though these storms may shake off some of his leaves,

or break off some of the rotten boughs,

they do not uproot his faith--but rather strengthen it.

It is in these storms that he learns . . .
  more of his own weakness, and of Christ's strength;
  more of his own misery, and of Christ's mercy;
  more of his own sinfulness, and of superabounding grace;
  more of his own poverty, and of Christ's riches;
  more of his own desert of hell, and of his own title to heaven.

It is in these storms that the same blessed Spirit who
began the work carries it on; and goes on to engrave
the image of Christ in deeper characters upon his heart;
and to teach him more and more experimentally--the
truth as it is in Jesus.

ATTENTION:  Adoption Seeking Families Headed to Ukraine

ENGLISH SPEAKING CHURCHES IN KYIV

1.       Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Holy Trinity

50/52 T. Schevchenko #402

Sunday Services:   9:30AM, 12:00 AM

Pastor: Ivan Bespalov 246-7576 in Kyiv (Email: ibespalov@mail.ru)

(Interpreter provided. Sit in Back on side near door)  

2.       International Bible Church @ Central Baptist Church

2/8 Shchekavitska [near Kontraktova Square]

Sunday Worship Service:  2pm, Adult & Children’s Bible Study: 1 pm

www.ibckiev.org.ua

3.       Kiev International Bible Church

Worship Service:  10:30 AM

34A Popudrinka                                Phone in Kyiv: 501-8082

Email: kievIBC@gmail.com

Free Weekly News Magazine in English:        Kyiv Post (Pick up at TGI Fridays on Thursday evening)

 

We thank you for all your prayers & emails.

Please keep up the great work and please keep sending me Scripture references of encouragement and quotations from godly men.

 

His Grace is Sufficient for us! 

We have had several inquiries about the train crash in Lviv, Ukraine in which a highly toxic phosphorus chemical was released.

It is being compared to the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident. 

 

We're OK. The accident was in Lviv which is western Ukraine while we are currently in Kyiv in central Ukraine. We could have, perhaps, had a referral in that region, but God has chosen not to give us one yet thus, preventing us from being in that area. AMEN!

 

It should be a prayer concern though. A 56 square mile poisonous cloud has occurred in that region.

Mission to the World has a missionary in that region that Faith Presbyterian in Brookhaven, MS supports. If you are in Brookhaven, MS, you might want to call Pat Davey to inquire.

 

Here's a link to story.

 

KEEP THOSE PEOPLE AND US IN YOUR PRAYERS!

 

Spencer & Leslie

Ps  Psalm 25:5  Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

      Psalm 27:14  Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

      Psalm 52:9  I will praise thee for ever, because thou hast done it: and I will wait on thy name; for it is good before thy saints.

      Psalm 62:5  My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

      Psalm 69:3  I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

      Psalm 123:2  Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.

      Psalm 130:5  I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

      Psalm 145:15  The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.

      Isaiah 30:18  And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

      Lamentations 3:25  The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.

      Micah 7:7  Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me

 

Sunday was a day of Christian fellowship, worship, and rest. We went back to the Presbyterian Church of the Holy Trinity on Schevchenko Blvd. This time we did sit close to the translator. The pastor is going exegetically through the Bible book of Hebrews. Specifically, the sermon was on Hebrews 5:11-16 where it is talking about growing in the faith so that we can be saints who are able to handle the meaty doctrine, not just the milk like it was when we were first converted and were like babies.

 

We had some good pizza at UNO's pizza with Kostya and another family. Afterwards, we went back to our apartment or "flat" for quiet time in the word, in prayer, and in rest.

 

It was well needed time of rest and reflection.

 

We continue plead our petitions to God in Christ's name.

 

Other things to consider:

1. Bring a small pad. Write all the webpages, blogs, & emails that will be important to you so, that you can have them here. You may find yourself in an internet cafe, not knowing that info completely.

2. You may to make some business cards with you name, children's names, address, blog address, & email address to hand out. You may meet other Americans here and it will help establish & maintain contact with others who feel your pain. If you get a cell phone here, you can simply write it on the card. Just a thought!

 

GRACE BE UNTO YOU!

 

ps/ Leslie whipped me again in UNO.

When we embarked upon this journey of adoption, men & women alike often praised us for such desires. While we tried not to place the focus or praise or glory on us, it tended to be placed there. While we did not intend for such praises to be placed on us, we were not properly prepared to handle such comments gracefully and in the end, we often kept silent and such silence allowed us to be glorified.

God in His infinite wisdom had me reading 1 Kings 8-10 & 2 Chronicles 9 yesterday which focused on King Solomon and the dedication of the temple. At that time, King Solomon was glorified by the Queen of Sheba for the temple, his wealth, and his wisdom. Solomon never rebuked her glorifying him, thus he was robbing the glory that God rightfully deserved. Interestingly, that point marked a peak in the glory of God’s people and a steady decline quickly followed in the temple & its glory. God’s “shekinah” (visible manifestation of His glory) was no longer mentioned regarding the temple and idolatry slowly moved in. Once, God’s glory was not recognized & proclaimed, He no longer chose to dwell there and the glory that the temple once possessed had disappeared.

God is a jealous god (Exodus 20:5) and should rightfully receive the glory that He deserves.

At this time, I want to renounce any praise or glory that we may have received and proclaim “To God Be the Glory!”

GOD placed this burden in our hearts for we, Leslie & I, are unable to have such righteous desires on our own.

GOD steered us to this country, Ukraine.

GOD directed us to our Christian facilitator.

GOD supplied me with such a wonderful employer & job that I am able to accomplish such in terms of financial ability and  time away from work.

See! IT IS ALL GOD!

We are simply vessels which He chose to show His grace & mercy upon to accomplish His will.

If we return home childless, God will be glorified in that His will was accomplished because of the process in which He chose to grow us spiritually.

If we return home with child(ren), it will be Him again to be glorified because He took the current seemingly impossible and made it possible (Matthew 19:26; Mark 9:23,10:27; Luke 18:27).

In the end, as this adoption process seems to continually send me into despair, it hasn’t weakened my faith in Him, but strengthened it. As He continually reveals to me what little strength that I have to affect the outcome on my own, I run & cling to His bosom for comfort resting in His Sovereignty and His Providence in our lives. As I search Him and His will out, I keep returning to this simple premise, yet solid foundation. It lies in the 1^st catechism question:  “What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” (Matthew 5:16;  1 Corinthians 10:31; 1 Peter 4:11, 5:11; Colossians 3:17; Revelation 4:11) God will be glorified in this adoption process. He has already shown us that it is not the will of man, but His will that will be accomplished.

Our prayer is that it be His will to send us a boy & girl to adopt, but our prayer is also that He receive all the glory so that His “shekinah” will glow on our faces as it did with Moses when he received the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai in Exodus 34:29-35.

In closing, we ask not to receive any praises, but simply your prayers!

HAVE MERCY UPON US, FATHER!

Today (Sat.) was a nice day.  We slept in and then went sightseeing with Kostya and another family here in the same boat as us….(waiting).   We went to see lots of governmental buildings and the World War II Memorial.  It was really impressive….and much larger than I had imagined. 

Spencer and I also had fun going shopping for groceries all by ourselves.  It was an adventure that’s for sure. It took us while to determine what was butter, but we finally figured it out.  We have a much greater understanding as to the difficulties that foreign visitors face in America and we will definitely have more compassion and be more merciful to them now that we have been in those shoes. We have actually been there before when we visited Mexico, France, & Germany, but it is a good lesson learned and it needed to be refreshed in our minds and hearts.  For tonight’s meal, we had pierogies and mixed vegetables and ice cream for dessert. It was Nestle brand and it was really good.  It was much more successful than with the spaghetti.

We also enjoyed some time in fellowship with a MTW missionary in Kyiv. It was comforting to see God working in this area and to simply have an American to talk with over coffee.

 

PRAISE BE TO HIM!

WE PLAN TO GO TO CHURCH AGAIN IN THE MORNING.

 

We were hoping that God would open the doors today for a 2nd appointment and for our children, but His will was not in that request. We are in standby mode now hoping to hear from the SDA on Monday or Tuesday. Many children that could be available for us are in other countries participating in a hosting program. I am really disliking "hosting" programs now, even though we were participating in one last year.

 

Our outlook appears very bleak from the natural perspective. Humanly speaking, we would be a mess were it not for the triune God. I am in despair oftentimes even though I have Him as my Comforter. I definately would not want to be in this situation without Him and it all was on my shoulders. I know that if it be in God's will, it will happen. I just hope that we haven't come this far to find out that it wasn't His will.

 

For today, we simply rested, washed clothes, read, and prayed. It was a good devotional day for us. I think that we may do the same tomorrow. We need to draw much closer to Him and open our hearts and pour them out before His throne.

 

Last night, Leslie showed no mercy on me as she spanked me in a game of UNO. The quiet time has been good for us as a husband and wife. We haven't had this kind of quiet time together since before Christian was born 14+ years ago.

 

PRAY THAT GOD MANIFEST HIS GLORY IN OUR ADOPTION PROCESS. (His intrinsic glory is always manifested, but I mean his glory in His Sovereignty and Providence in the lives of His creation, us.)

PRAY THAT 2 CHILDREN (BOY & GIRL) ARE HIS WILL FOR US (apart from our biological two).

PRAY THAT HE PREPARES THE SDA OFFICIALS TO BE MERCIFUL TO US IN PRESENTING CHILDREN TO US AS WE DESIRE.

PRAY FOR OUR FACILITATORS THAT GOD STRENGTHEN THEM TO BE A LIGHT IN DARKNESS.

CONTINUE PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN AT HOME.

 

We arrived in Kyiv this morning (6:43am) with no place to go so, we went to the internet cafe to blog and check emails.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR BLOG COMMENTS & EMAILS! They are a great encouragement!

THANK YOU ESPECIALLY FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!

 

We didn't get into our apartment until 12:45pm and we needed to be at the SDA at 1:30 so, we did not have time to get a shower. It was more like "spit" baths for us and a dash of febreeze. LOL  If you smell something that stinks, it is probably us.

 

We arrived at the SDA at 1:30 only to wait for almost 4 hours in line. We did witness a brief fight that added to the entertainment. One facilitator fought the security guard because he wanted to get his clients into the SDA for their appointment.

 

We did finally get to meet with the consultant. We told them our story and they were very friendly and wanted to help us. Right now, we simply are to sit and wait and they will call our facilitator regarding available children and our 2nd appointment. They asked how long could we wait for the appointment and we told them we weren't sure, but we would wait a week. They asked us why such a short timeframe and Leslie started crying that we have children back home that we miss dearly and want to get back with them. Most 2nd appointments can run 1,2,3, or 4 weeks depending on the age of the children that you are seeking to adopt. Older children (we hear) get sooner appointments (supply and demand).

 

PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD SHOWS US MERCY THROUGH THE SDA & THEIR STAFF & THAT THEY WILL CALL US IN TOMORROW TO REVIEW AVAILABLE CHILDREN.

PRAY THAT THEY WILL HAVE MERCY ON US IN SELECTING CHILDREN TO MEET OUR FAMILY NEEDS.

PRAY THAT IF GOD OPENS THESE DOORS THAT THE CHILDREN WILL BE IN THE ORPHANAGE AND NOT HOSTING OR SUMMER CAMP.

PRAY THAT GOD WILL OPEN THEIR HEARTS TO RECEIVE US AS THEIR NEW PARENTS AND THEIR NEW FAMILY.

PRAY THAT THEY WILL HAVE A SUBMISSIVE, HUMBLE,  & OBEDIENT HEART.

KEEP ON PRAYING.

 

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE OTHER FAMILIES HERE ADOPTING TOO (Beth & Steve, Tamra & Matthew, the "H" team, Angela & Norman).

ALSO PLEASE PRAY FOR OTHER FAMILIES THAT ARE ABOUT TO BE HERE.

 

 

Yesterday, we had to get the orphanage to type up a letter that we did not "make contact" with the children which means both the parents & the children are agreeable to proceed with the adoption. Since we didn't we had to also state why. Next, we had to go to the area social worker and get her to provide paperwork which had to be stamped & approved by the local city council. Finally, we were able to take a 2 hour bus ride to Odessa and then, get back on the midnight train to Kyiv.

 

We have just arrived in Kyiv.

 

We hope to submit our paperwork to the SDA today for a 2nd appointment. Had any of the processes not worked in our favor yesterday, we would not be able to submit until Tuesday of next week. Praise the Lord.

 

We now have high speed access to the throne of grace because we have prayed so much every day and every hour. ha

 

We currently are homeless again, looking for an apartment.

 

TIP FOR WOULD-BE ADOPTERS: Learn as much Russian as you can!

 

SUGGESTION: Bring a pedometer with you to see how many miles you walk during the process. My calves are getting tight.  lol

 

 

KEEP PRAYING FOR US!

 

IN HIM!