We spoke with Elena this week/Still waiting for the Immigration Form

This week has been uneventful regarding adoption. We have been plenty busy otherwise with various unexpected things to deal with though.  It was wonderful to speak with Elena again on the phone.  Her orphanage does not have the set up (or allow it) for skype VIDEO capacity however it has been a blessing to be able to talk regularly.  We have been sending letters with gum via her Ukrainian address and she has been receiving them in about a week's time.   She did ask for "pasilka"- which means package which we plan to send her.

We are still awaiting the form from Immigration services.  It is taking longer than we originally thought it would.  We have contacted the appropriate person and still have not heard back.  Please keep praying for the Lord's perfect timing.   We will post again when we hear about the form.

Support and Fund Raising Update

First we want to thank everyone for their prayers, support and financial gifts.  As many of you know, adoption is a very time consuming and expensive undertaking.  We would not enter into this without fully trusting in God to provide the support and funds needed to adopt Elena.

Our first praise report is that a wonderful home school family has offered to take care of Hannah and Micah while we are both in the Ukraine for the first two weeks.  That is a huge relief as our families share many common values and live out our lives in similar ways.  We are extremely grateful and blessed that this family is planning to sacrifice their lives to help us in this way! We are also confident it will be a great experience for both Hannah and Micah.  In an ideal world, we would prefer to take them with us; however, since this is not possible  we have His peace and rest about the loving care and nurture this family will provide. We are still working on and praying about definite help when Jay returns to work and Lauren is still in the Ukraine for the past 2 1/2 weeks.  Once we know our travel dates, we hope to finalize these plans.

God has also provided a significant portion of the matching funds for the promise686 matching grant!  Praise and thanks to the Lord!!!  Through various fund raisers and gifts from friends, we have raised a total of approximately $2,800 so far.  We still have approximately $1,200 to raise.  This represents approximately five (5) percent of the total adoption cost of $26,000.  Below is a pie chart that shows the source of funds that God has provided.

We are still seeking one or more families to help sponsor Elena's education through the Georgia Private School Tax Credit (only those that live in Georgia can help with this).  Doing this does not cost anything, but requires filling out paperwork to direct your state income tax toward the private school that Elena will be attending.  Elena  has been accepted to Veritas Classical School.  This is a hybrid school, where Elena will attend for two days a week (part of one day and one full day) and be homeschooled for the remaining three full days.  This will provide Elena with a structured environment while allowing Lauren to stay closely involved and  prioritize a focus with Elena on character, language and other transitional issues. We have His abundant peace for this change to our homeschooling routine for this upcoming extremely transitional year. 

Last, but not least, we are looking for several people who have a heart to pray faithfully while we are in the Ukraine.  We plan to send out daily prayer requests to those who are committed to prayer.  We already have someone who has offered to coordinate the prayer emails.  Please consider praying for us during this time. Notify us please if you are interested and we will put you on a list to receive daily updates for prayer and praise while in the Ukraine. Thanks again for your kind loving care!

"Me Come Back?"

It has become our new normal to get up very early on Wednesday mornings to call Elena.  That is how our morning began today.  Sleepy eyed and barely awake we went through the necessary chain of command and within a few minutes we were speaking with Elena. We could hear there was at least one other person nearby for whatever reason.  Elena seemed more reserved than in the past.    This time Elena said one thing in English, "Me come back" ?   Though she cannot speak "freely" in any language and nor can we, she has expressed her eagerness to come back here SOON!    She received our letter with goodies in it, but clearly seems impatient and unhappy with being in Ukraine especially in the orphanage.

We are still awaiting (and trying to be patient) for the necessary form processed through Immigration Services.  Nothing moves forward without that form.  However, it should be coming any day now. Once that is received,  it will be sent over to Ukraine and  submitted with the rest of our paperwork which is already there.  Once all the paperwork is submitted it should take about 10 days until we hear from the Ukraine about the date when we need to be in Kyiv (Kiev) for the initial meeting. The entire process may take 2 months from the time we receive the form we are awaiting.  So, it may be the middle of May or so before we are traveling, but we know the Lord's timing is perfect!

Please be praying that if the Lord wills, we may be paired up with another couple to be in Elena's remote region of Ukraine at the same time especially while Jay returns after the first two weeks and Lauren must remain for the additional 2 to 3 weeks or however God leads for His purposes.

Stay tuned as we wait upon Him. ..................Isaiah 40:31

Lauren

Got our last paperwork/form today!

Today we received our last form to fill out here in the United States. It is the interpol form which is the brand new international background check required as of January 2010. There will be more paperwork in Ukraine. For those who are familiar with international adoption, you know what a milestone that is!

We are still waiting for the approval form from U.S. Immigration. That will set the schedule for the remainder of the adoption process. Once we receive that form, it should be about 2 months from that point when we go over.

A few other highlights from the past week: we spoke with Elena again early Wednesday morning. It was awesome to hear her voice again. Hannah was still really sleepy at 6 something in the morning (the best time to reach Elena her time) and didn't say much. Elena kept saying, "Hannah, Hannah..........." since Hannah is usually so sweet and easy to talk with and they bonded so nicely. I was rushing off very early that morning to a very special conference called LCJE which was a huge blessing and gift to me. Typically they don't meet annually in Atlanta and God worked out this gift for me to attend one of the three days. I am still flying high from that wonderful opportunity!  However, having started the day talking with Elena was really very special for all  of us.!!!

God directed and provided for the perfect dresser for Elena's room.  When we look at it, it is a reminder of God's faithfulness! That is another really neat story which reminds us of George Mueller praying specifically and having a very specific answer.  It daily encourages us when we see it as a testimony of our living God!