Still Waiting!

Up until now we have felt an incredible sense of peace.  However, today we are feeling quite weary.  We are still waiting for our appointment with the SDA and our referral (we need both in order to receive an official court date) and are feeling some frustration.  We know that Igor & Victor (our lawyer) are doing everything they can but it is frustrating none the less.  Please pray that we will receive our appointment on Friday.  If our appointment is not on Friday we will need to wait at least until May 3rd, at the earliest, because we just discovered that there is another holiday and everything will be closed until then. Please pray for a smooth and quick appointment, referral, and court date.

It can be so easy to believe that because we love God and want to do His will that things will just go smoothly without any htiches, that He will protect us from all adverse situations.  But we know the truth:   that those who know Jesus can expect trials because we know Him.  The very fact that we are believers opens the door to trials in our lives.  "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice."  (I Peter 4:12-13).  We are confident that God is using these trials and delays as a tool of growth for us.  We know He loves us dearly.

We would also appreciate your prayers for us to continue to have a heart of patience, love and to maintain Godly character and not give in to frustration.  We know God has a plan for our good and for His glory.  In all circumstances we want to remain content in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 We have been meditating on the following verse:
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Hebrews 4:14-16

We appreciate your prayers and encouraging words.

12 AM Easter Morning

HE HAS RISEN!    HE HAS RISEN INDEED!

We took these pictures at 12am off the balcony of our apartment.  The church bells in the city rang for about 10-15 minutes.  It was very beautiful. 

We thought we would try to attend church today, however Katelyn had 102 fever and the stomach flu on Saturday.  So instead we listened to a sermon from Covenant Life Church and had "Dillner" church in our apartment. 

We miss everyone very much!

HAPPY EASTER!

Waiting

So far we are in a period of waiting.  The release date for our children is April 25th and today we signed a new application which will be submitted in order for us to receive another appointment at the SDA government office.  This application can't be submitted until the 25th, but Monday the 25th is a holiday in the Ukraine and all government offices are closed; therefore the application will be submitted on Tuesday the 26th with the hope of having our appointment on Wednesday the 27th.  We are then anticipating that later in the week the SDA office will issue a  referral, hopefully on Friday, which means that we can see Alena and Caleb (Rustam).  This meeting will be accompanied by a child welfare official.

Our apartment building is right next to St. Sophia's Cathedral and many of the government buildings.  It is very beautiful especially when the sun shines on the gold tops.  Some of the streets our made from bricks, very noisy and bumpy when driving on them, these roads were made in 900 when the czars were in control.  Katelyn learned this from Victor today while we drove to our appointment to have our new paperwork translated & signed.  Right behind the cathedral is a park and walking paths that overlook the river & more of the city.  It was 65 and sunny again today and the tree buds are beginning to open, so we decided to take a nice long walk.  It was a nice escape from the feel of the city.

 

"You see at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly...But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom.5:6&8 

Wishing everyone a glorious Easter weekend as we reflect on the amazing love and grace that Christ has shown us.  Let us rejoice in our Lord Jesus Christ!

Our First Appointment

We had our first goverment appointment on Monday morning. We met with a psychologist/child welfare worker.  She started out by asking some basic questions about our family and where we live.  After a few more items and questions Victor, our lawyer/interpreter, started talking at length to the goverment official.  We were starting to get nervous and began praying as we heard and understood the word "problem" mentioned several times.  They talked for about 15 minutes and then our lawyer turned to us and said that the children cannot be adopted internationally, long pause while holding breath, but they will be up for international adoption in 7 days (deep breath).  Basically, we were all told that they would be released on April 18th but instead they will now be released on Monday, April 25th.  So we will need to go back to the SDA on the 25th and  begin the process over again. 
Although this is frustrating to be here a week early we know that it is God's timing and not ours.  He is faithful and we rest in His hands and in His plan.

Getting Settled

 Saturday morning we awoke to the loud & constant buzzing of our door bell.  At the door we discover Sergie, our driver, who had arrived to pick us up to go shopping. Unfortunately, the clock we set from home somehow did not keep accurate time.  Our clock said it was 9:38am and apparently it was 11:52am.  Even more unfortunate he did not understand any English and left.  Thankfully the Moore's brought us a small care package.  After that we decided to explore the city on our own. We went down the hill to the main square where they have an underground mall and this mall is huge, by this we mean never ending.  We spent quite a bit of time down there. They were also having dance competitions and concerts up in the square and the police had alot of the exits to the underground mall closed and it actually took us quite awhile to find our way out. It also was a good thing that when we were down there that we didn't have to go to the bathroom or have any trash because bathrooms and trash cans were non-existant. When we finally got out of the mall we were on the wrong side of the street from where we needed to go in order to get to our apartment.  Because of the festivities all the streets were blocked off by police and we couldn't get to the other side.  It probably took us another half hour just to figure out how to get to the other side as we weaved in and out of many streets.  

 On Sunday we spent the morning moving into our new and permanent apartment. The new apartment is much bigger than the first one, not quite as new inside, but still very nice.  The Whitman's are back in Kiev for the last leg of their journey so we met them and spent the afternoon together.  What a blessing to spend time with friends.  We walked around the city for miles while they gave us a wonderful tour and introduced us to some much needed places such as the grocery store.  We stopped in at TGF Fridays and we were going to have something to eat there but found out that it was very expensive.  So instead on the way back we found a local place that was cafeteria style.  For our first real meal in Kiev we appropriately had: Chicken Kiev.   

 Our first goverment meeting is tomorrow (Monday) morning at 9:00am or 1:00am Twin Cities time.  After this meeting we need to wait for the government to issue a referral, which can take a couple of days or more than a week.  Please pray for this meeting to go well and for a quick referral.  We still do not have internet in our new place. Hopefully that will be fixed real soon but in the mean time if we go & sit in the stairwell of the building between the 3rd & 4th floor we can attach on to someone elses Wi-Fi.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and your notes of encouragement, it is very much appreciated.

We have Arrived!

We arrived safely in Kiev around 4:30pm Friday (8:30am Minnesota time, Kiev is eight hours ahead).  Both flights when very well with one exception, the landing in Kiev.  To say that our landing in Kiev was bumpy is an understatement, we bumped up and down and rolled side to side until we thought that the wings actually might touch the ground.  A Unkrainian said that maybe he was a pilot in training, not a very comforting thought but thankfully we were already on the ground. 
So far the trip has gone so smoothly that we can feel everyones prayers and God presence lifting us up.  Rebecca felt physically strong the whole trip and Katelyn is a wonderful traveler.  We did have some anxiety about going through customs but God is so faithful that he takes care of us even in the smallest details.  At all of the custom checkpoints, unlike most people, we were simply waved through without them ever looking at any of our luggage or asking us a single question.  God is good all the time.
We were told by Igor, who runs the orphanage, that Alena and Caleb (Rustam) were told today that we were arriving.  Igor said that they both literally jumped for joy and he also said that they have been constantly asking, almost everyday, when we will we be coming to get them. 
We were thrilled to find out that we may be able to see them as soon as Monday afternoon, which is must sooner than we anticipated.
We have moved into a temporary apartment for two days and on Sunday morning we will move into another apartment, which is the one that we will stay at for the duration of our trip. 
We have already been in contact here in Kiev with another adopting family from Minnesota.  We are blessed to have other Christian and English speaking families so close by.

We covet your prayers as we continue this journey.

Traveling Soon

We have received our first appointment at the SDAPRC in Kiev and our first appointment is scheduled for Monday April 18th at 9:00am.  We will be leaving Minneapolis on Thursday April 14th at 7:25pm and arriving in Kiev on Friday at 4:20pm.