WIth Love from Moscow

(sent on January 21st)

Hello from Moscow!

Our plane arrived in Moscow a couple of hours ago- no delays, hurray!  Anatole, our driver and translator, was waiting for us at baggage claim and drove us in to the city to our hotel.  As we were driving, Amby mentioned that we were hungry (no thank you to the option for the fish dinner on the airplane...at 9 am).  Anatole asked if we wanted to stop at McDonalds.  

Yes- yes, please.  And friends, I am not kidding when I tell you that it tasted EXACTLY like it does at the McDonalds on Plano and Northwest Hwy.  or wherever.  It was delicious.  I had a cheeseburger, fries, and possibly the best Coke I've ever had.  Can you tell I didn't eat very much in Biro? (Erica, are you laughing right now?)

And, while we're on the subject of food, when we got to our room here in the Sheraton in downtown Moscow, there was a huge tray of fresh fruit waiting for us. (thanks to Amby's parents). Neither one of us have had fruit since we left Dallas...it was a little embarrassing how quickly we tore in to the fruit.

So, tomorrow we get on a 10:30 am flight to Frankfurt, then on to DC, and finally Dallas.

It has been such a great trip, but we are looking forward to being home!

hope you are all well...

Thanks for praying.

Love-  Jenny and Amby

Ps-  great last day with Luda yesterday...such a sweet time together.  we can't wait to come back to bring her home!

Let Me Be Singing

quick update:

In my time with the Lord this morning, I read:

Isaiah 55:9-  'as the heavens are higher than the Earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'. Praise the Lord!  (that whole chapter is greatness, but too much to type!)

Yesterday we visited with Luda's caregivers and doctor.  We went over her medical history, but it's hard to know what is true (ie, they told us that the only illness she had in 2011 was one cold.  Same thing in 2010. one cold.  Hmmm.). 

she does have developmental delays, due to her mother's lack of pre-natal care (she had none), plus time in the orphanage, plus the fact that her mother smoked and drank while she was pregnant.  We are grateful that she has been cared for so well in the Baby Home- her caregivers and doctor all said that they will miss her greatly, and they all wanted to be sure that we would take good care of her.  Seriously-  everyone asked us, "You will take good care of her, yes? She is very special.". And , "her sisters will treat her well?  They will love her?". Sweet.

We will visit Luda again this morning and this afternoon-  we will get to play with her and hopefully go for a little walk.  we'd love to get to see the room where she sleeps, but it is not likely.

we are going to different orphanages today (per our agency's request) to take pictures of Waiting Children.  (to bring back to the US to give to our agency to make a Waiting Children flyer to send out to agencies across the country) these will be older children, and our precious translator tells us that when these children see Americans, they often run up with their hands out and call out Mama, Papa.  Please pray that Amby and I will trust the Lord with these kids.  and that our hearts would be broken, even as we trust Him...

We are so grateful for your prayers.  it has been a joy to tell everyone here in Russia-  the Baby Home staff, other adopting families, our translator- that there are people in Texas praying for them (they ask, 'are they cowboys?') :)

and we are thankful for every moment we have with Luda, even as we are eager to see our other girls, too.  Thanks for the way you are loving them while we are here!  we love you!

Let me be singing when the evening comes-

Jenny

He Never Lets Go

(sent as a text message to Missy on Wednesday, January 18th)

Good morning!!  It's 6:30 am on Wednesday &  we are doing well!  It's incredibly cold, but we are staying warm. 
Are you ready for our latest news?  It's pretty crazy!

So, we went to the Guardianship office first thing yesterday morning (with our translator and coordinator) at 9:30-
remarkably, it was still dark outside, which was very surreal.  At the Guardianship office we were told that Rustam and his brother could only be adopted together.  We explained that we did not feel that we were ready to adopt 2 children at one time.  Before we could say anything else, the Guardianship director said, ' we understand that you were initially matched with Ludmilla G---.'. We Explained that yes, we were matched in June, but a Russian family decided to adopt her, so we lost the referral in late October.

After a pause, she told us that Ludmilla had recently been put back on the National Register of Children waiting to be adopted. The family that was planning on adopting her decided to adopt an older, potentially healthier, child.

Of course, we were stunned.
Our coordinator explained that, if we were still interested in Luda, she was available to be adopted.
 It took a few seconds for the news to sink in.  Amby and I said, 'We want to be absolutely certain that we are not taking Luda away from a family that is waiting to adopt her.' (we actually asked 3 separate times) We were re-assured that the family has changed their minds and decided on an older child.

After signing a few papers, we went to the Baby Home to meet Luda and her caregivers.  We spent 2 1/2 hours with her yesterday morning and 2 more hours yesterday afternoon.  She is delightful.  We are amazed.  Today we will go to the Guardianship office to sign the paperwork which takes her off of the list of available children.

Anyway, so sorry for the long text-  we can't seem to get Internet access (we're going to work on that today).
We can't wait for you to meet her, and we know the girls will be thrilled.

We are still a little bit in shock at this new turn of events-  and we are continuing to pray for Rustam and his brother.
I am still really emotional and a little weepy- it's all been a lot to process.
Thanks so much for emailing out an update.
we are very grateful! There is a lot more to share-  but later.

Finally, God has been so gracious in allowing us to share this time with 3 other families who are here to adopt.  We have gotten to share His story of faithfulness and our hope in Him.  Last night we had dinner with a great couple from Toronto and got to have a great conversation about God and His plan for our lives.  He is using this time in a crazy, crazy way!  
Thank you for praying!  We feel VERY covered!

Blessed be the Name of the Lord...

(sent on January 13th) hi friends- thanks so much for all of your prayers as we get ready to travel to Russia to continue our journey to adoption!  We have definitely had an incredible peace as we prepare to head 1/2 way around the world- 3 different planes and a car ride away waits the newest addition to our family.  God's faithfulness has reminded us over and over that He loves us and is committed to drawing us closer to Him... Late this morning, we received a phone call from the Director of our adoption agency-  she immediately informed me (Jenny) that while she was not calling to cancel our trip, she did have some pretty intense news for us.  First, she told us that Rustam had recently been switched from the Baby Home (in Biro) to the Children's Home-  (the Baby Home is for children 0-4 years and the Children's Home is for kids over the age of 4).  More importantly, she told me that somehow, in the process of the move, the Baby Home discovered that Rustam (despite his paperwork, which indicates otherwise) has an older brother (he will be 5 this spring).   It is likely that while the boys have the same mother, they may have different fathers, but we don't have any information regarding the older brother.  The boys have lived in different baby homes since they were placed over a year and 1/2 ago. Understandably, the orphanage feels strongly that they would like the boys to be adopted together, and do not want them separated. Obviously, this came as quite a surprise.  Amby and I were both surprised, confused, and a little frustrated that we are finding this out at the last minute (our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 11).  At the same time, we completely understand that the boys need to stay together, and our heart breaks that they haven't actually seen one another in 18 months...remarkably, when we visit them next week, we will be able to play with them together!  (how great is that?) And now to the big news: We have to decide if we are going to start over (again) or if we are going to adopt both boys.  Crazy, right? Friends, we are moving forward in faith.  We will travel to Russia tomorrow (arrive in Biro late Monday morning).  We will meet Rustam and his brother on Monday afternoon.  Then, depending on what we decide, we will meet other children who are available to be adopted. Amby and I are trusting the Lord to lead us.  This all seems much, much bigger than we are.  We are incredibly thankful that we can trust the Lord-  it's amazing to think that (from the beginning of time) He has known that this would be part of our journey.  We are humbled by all we are learning-  we are grateful that He has never left us alone.  He is not finished with us, and all of this is drawing us closer to Him.  We know that His ways are higher than our ways...His thoughts are not ours.  Our hope is in Him.   Thank you-  thank you for praying for us.  Thank you for continuing to pray for Rustam, for Luda, for Erica and Shannon's little boy...and now, we pray that you will add Rustam's brother to your list (we don't actually know his name).  We pray that all of these children will be adopted in to homes where they can learn about God's great love for us! We are incredibly blessed.  We are hopeful-   And although we have no idea what the next week holds for us, we praise the Lord.  And we trust in Him. Missy will be sending y'all updates while we are in Russia-  we don't know how often we'll get to communicate, but we'll keep you posted.  Cold weather, snow, no cell phone service, and limited wi-fi availability...we'll have lots of time to journal and play cards.  :) Blessed be the name of the Lord- Amby and Jenny

Merry Christmas, and an adoption update...

(sent December 26th)
(we realized that it has been a while (over 6 weeks!) since we updated our blog...a lot has changed in the last couple of months, and hopefully the next few posts will catch you up.  As always, thanks for praying)


Merry Christmas, Friends!

We hope that today has been a wonderful reminder of God's great love for us and His plan to redeem us and  our lost world through His son, Jesus...

We have had a fun day with our family, and we are very grateful for each one of you-  

We have very exciting news regarding our adoption, and we have to say that it's one of our favorite "Christmas gifts!"

Earlier this week, after lots and lots of prayer and many conversations-  we decided to accept a referral for a 3 year old Russian boy named Rustam (yup-  a boy!).  We are thrilled and amazed that God would allow our family to experience this new addition to our family.  Clearly, this is a new turn on our road to adoption, and we are humbled by God's grace as He has led us down this path.

Remarkably, within 24 hours, we received our travel dates.  (remember, the last time we were matched- with Luda- it took almost 5 months to receive our travel dates)

We will leave for Russia on January 14th to meet Rustam.  We can't wait!  And, to be honest, we are in a little bit of shock by how quickly everything has happened.  

Please pray that all of the details (booking our flights and hotel accommodations, getting our travel visas, receiving our paperwork which changes our preferences from girl to boy and a dozen other small details) will come together smoothly.  

As mentioned, we thought it would be months before we received our travel dates, so we are particularly amazed by this miracle.  It all feels a little surreal-  we are most definitely moving forward in faith-  we are confident in God's provision, and that He has equipped us for what He has for us today.  While we are preparing for tomorrow, our hope rests in Christ alone.  God has drawn us so close to Himself during this journey, and we have gotten to have countless conversations about God's provision, hope, and peace with our family, our girls, our neighbors, and perfect strangers-  we cannot thank Him enough.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement this last year!  Thank you, especially, for the last 6 weeks of prayers, listening, loving, and coming beside us as we have trusted the Lord.

We are looking forward to this next part-  and we'll keep you posted!!

Amazed-

Amby and Jenny