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!