Adopting Ukraine Orphans: God's Plan

This is going to be a long post, I just have a feeling.  But, it is going to be so worth it because I am going to share with you something very special that has happened to us recently.  Not that we are anything special but what the Lord has done is!  If you will take a few minutes and read this, you will be completely amazed.  I only say that because 2 months later, I am still amazed.  I am in awe of what He has done for us....something we most definitely do not deserve.

For those that follow my blog, you know that we hosted a girl from the Ukraine this summer and are now on a journey to adopt her and her 2 brothers.  When presented with hosting all three this Christmas, our first reaction was "no way, we can't afford it".  However, we came to the conclusion that if it was the Lord's will for us to host all three, He would provide.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19.  

And that He did....He provided the finances for us to host all three.  However, it apparently wasn't in His will because the Ukrainian Government in the Kherson Region shut down all hosting programs.  I say all that because when it came time to consider adoption, we realized that if it is His will for us to adopt all three, He would need to provide once again.  Not only will He need to provide the $40,000 it will take to adopt all three but He would have to provide a means for us to raise three extra children.  Our monthly budget will increase significantly with three more teenagers in the house.  We really make it week to week, so the thought of that was incomprehensible.  When Danny said, "If he wants us to adopt, he will make a way", I really just shrugged the thought off because he would have had to provide in a huge way.

Well, to back up just a bit....up until I went on my mission trip, we didn't even think the kids were eligible for adoption!  I found out while I was there.  I got home from my trip on September 15th and it was around that time that we really started talking about adoption.  So, keep that date in mind...it will be significant later in my story.

For those that don't know, my husband is a General Contractor and owned a company with one of his friends.  He has done a lot of additions and has used many subcontractors for things like electrical, plumbing and roofing.  He had gotten to know all of his contractors well over the years, especially his roofing contractor, Don Scro, because they have a friend in common...Jesus Christ.  Well....in early November, Don called Danny and told Danny that he was going to be retiring.  Danny was really bummed because he was going to be losing one of his favorite contractors.  Then Don told Danny, "But, I want you to take over my company".  Danny could not believe his ears.  Don said that the Lord told him that Danny was supposed to be the one to take over the company.  Wow!  The Lord is going to trust Danny and I to run this company?  This company that has been in Raleigh for 22 years???  He is entrusting US?  I definitely am in shock, in awe and completely amazed!!  So, in my recent posts where I mention that this is a "God given company", I truly mean it is a "God given company".  It is not a company passed down from our family.  It is not a company that we "bought".  It is not a company that we started from the ground up.  It truly is a company that the Lord is entrusting us with!

So, remember I told you to remember the date....September 15th?  Well, Don and Mary (his wife) told us that on September 15th, they were driving in Colorado, talking about what to do with the company when Don mentioned, "I should call Danny".  Yes...the same day I came home from the Ukraine, after seeing Lidiya and meeting her brothers.  At the same time that we were praying about the Lord providing so that we could adopt, they were praying about what to do with their company.  Coincidence?  I say that there is no such thing.

Want to hear something even better???  Danny has been speaking truth into his non-believing business partner for years...........yes.........y-e-a-r-s!!!  He has shared the gospel, shared what Jesus means to him and just lived his life in front of him for years.  And for years this man has not been interested in giving up his life for Christ.  He has had a lot of questions but has not felt that he needed the Lord at all.  Well, after this entire thing takes place, Danny realizes that he has to tell his business partner.  So, he calls him up and shares the story.  His business partner was so in awe that God would allow us to take over this company, so shocked and surprised, that he finally laid down his life for Christ!!!  It took him a few days to process everything but he couldn't believe it!

That is the most amazing part of the this entire story.  I am so amazed at how the Lord was orchestrating this entire thing....he weaved all of these pieces together to fit into His perfect plan.  His plan.  Not ours.  His will. His children.  His followers.  We will continue to walk and allow the Lord to direct our steps.

919-461-0937

ScrosRoofingCompany.com

Why does God make us wait?

Waiting sucks.  I know, I know....it builds character.  It allows us time to trust the Lord.  It helps us to grow spiritually.  Waiting on the Lord helps build our faith.  Waiting on the Lord helps grow our patience.

Psalm 27:14 (NIV) Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.

But it still sucks.  And yes, I started a sentence with the word "but".  Oh, I also started a sentence with the word "and".  I'm just being real here.  I want the Lord to build my character, grow me spiritually, build my faith and grow my patience.  I want to trust the Lord.  However, I would be lying if I said that I had it all together.  That I am completely trusting in the Lord.  That my faith is just oh so strong.  That I am being a good little girl, being so patient, waiting on the Lord.  I'd be a big fat l-i-a-r!  

However, my faith and my trust in the Lord is growing.  It is.  I am humbled every time I hear him speak to me and tell me to wait.  To just trust Him.  I am completely in awe when I feel that He is speaking directly to me.  So, I guess I'd also be a big fat liar, if I said my faith wasn't growing, that I wasn't trusting in the Lord and that I wasn't being patient.  However, it is not easy!!!  Some days I just feel like crying and crying and crying. When I think about those three children and what they were doing on December 25th, my heart breaks.  I can promise you that they were not opening gifts, singing praises to the Lord, eating a huge Turkey Dinner with all the fixins and reading the Christmas Story in the Bible.  And that makes my heart ache.  There are hundreds upon thousands of children in this world without a family to call their own.  Without a mom to give them a big hug and say, "I love you".  Without a dad to take them out for ice cream "just because".  We can't help all of them.  But we do have the heart to help.  So, we are waiting on the Lord.  Waiting to hear if all three even want to be adopted.  We know that Vlad (the 15 year old) does want a family and is ready!!!  Lidiya said she would have to think about it (not such a big surprise).  Now we are waiting to find out if Andre wants a family and if Lidiya has made her decision.  


So, thank you for your prayers and please take a moment to continue to pray for these three.  Also, please pray for us as we continue to wait.  I do not want to lose heart, lose faith and stop trusting in the Lord.  We believe that the Lord loves those children more than we ever could.  Our prayer right now is, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"  Mark 9:24

It will take an absolute Miracle

I am not saying this to be cliché or anything but it will take an absolute miracle for us to bring these children home. But then again, if it happens, we truly can and will give all the Glory to God. However, if it doesn't, then we will understand that it was not His will.

The reason it will take a miracle is that we really have everything going against us...we really one have one thing in our favor right now. One. More about that in a minute. Here are the things we have going against us and the things that our prayer warriors can pray about:

• All three kids have to say "yes" to being adopted.  This is a huge obstacle because this summer when we asked Lidiya about coming to America to go to school, her response was, "No way.  I couldn't leave my brothers and I have way too much family to leave".  Hopefully "adoption with her brothers and the chance at a permanent family" is different than leaving everyone to just come to school.  
• Then, Ukraine in itself is a challenging country to adopt from.  It is corrupt, there is bribery, the politics are just awful and so much more.  
• To top that off, the Kherson Region in Ukraine is very against adoptions right now because there have been too many American adoptions coming out of hosting programs.  So, they are investigating child trafficking.  This one just makes me sick because it is child trafficking that we are saving these children from!
• And to put icing on the cake, the orphanage director at their orphanage is in hot water because he has allowed international adoptions but not adoptions from Ukrainian families.  See....he gets more money for international adoptions, so now he is being investigated.

So, please pray that we will be able to discern the Lord's will for us and for these children.  Ultimately, they are His children, not ours and we just want what is best for them.  

Back to the one thing that we do have going for us....2 out of the 3 children were asked about adoption and Vlad (the oldest) said yes, he is ready to go!!  But they all have to say yes and Lidiya said she would have to think about it.  Andre has not been asked yet.

We are in the waiting mode right now....we are waiting on the Lord.  Waiting is the hardest part but He knows that and I believe through all of this He is trying to build my faith.  Hopefully it's working!  :)

Be still, and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10

Here is a picture of Vlad and Andre playing Uno.  

You can sort of see their personalities in this picture.  

Vlad is very reserved and keeps to himself, while Andre is very giggly and goofy.  

Today I felt empty

Is "empty" even a feeling?  I know sad, angry, excited, nervous, happy, frustrated, etc. are all "feelings" but today I just felt empty.  And if that is not a "feeling", then I just made it up to be one.  So, go ahead and put it in the dictionary:

emp·ty  adjective, -ti·er, -ti·est, 

1. A feeling; expressive of or characterized by emptiness.

I am so excited for the children that did get to come for hosting and I am so excited for the families that get to enjoy those children.  I am not jealous, at least I don't think I am.  I am not angry because I have relented to the fact that God is in control.  I am not frustrated....OK, well, maybe I am a little frustrated.  Frustrated at the Ukrainian government and culture because of all their stupid (yes, I said the word stupid) bribes, corruptness, laws, etc.  However, I am just mostly feeling empty.  

Last night, the children arrived from the Ukraine.  Not Lidiya, Vlad and Andre but other children, children that don't live in Kherson.  So, I kept thinking to myself all day, "They were supposed to have gone with us to this."  "They should be sitting at the table eating dinner with us right now".  "They should be sleeping in a nice, warm bed right now and not in a cold orphanage".  

But ya know what - I haven't cried once today.  I went the entire day thinking to myself how they should be here.  I went the entire day feeling empty without them.  But it isn't until right now, as I sit here and type out my feelings that I am finally crying.  Crying over the fact that they are not here.  Crying over the fact that I miss them.  Crying because it hurts.  

I am rejoicing for the other children because I know what a precious gift they have to be here!  I am so darn excited to see one of the boys that I absolutely feel in love with when I was on my mission trip because my dear friend is hosting him.  I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees me!!!  I am also excited to see two children that my other friends are hosting.  So, I don't know how I can be excited and empty all at the same time..........but I am.

Matthew 11: 28-30  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Here is a picture of Sergiy, 

the boy my friend is hosting that I can't wait to see!

So many thoughts...

We are blessed.  I know I keep saying it but it is worthy of being mentioned again.  I really hope that people can see my heart and know how truly honored we are to have so many people support what we are doing, cry with us, cry for us, pray for us, give and just love.  There are people that we have never met that have given and prayed for us.  There are people that we had never met before tonight (another one of our fundraisers) that were there with us, asking questions about what we are doing.  It truly amazes me.

We had a Parent's Night Out Fundraiser tonight and we had 41 children come.  There were several children that were unable to attend for various reasons, so we would have had even more!  I don't even know how much we raised all together because we have received money all throughout the past couple of weeks and quite a bit of that money was included in the count at the auction.  But I can tell you that tonight alone, we received a total of $410!!  So, thank you so much!  Many children were already paid up, so I was not expecting that much to come in!!!

On another note, I wanted to let everyone know where we stand in regards to the children.  Danny and I feel the Lord leading us in the way of adoption.  However, there are many questions that need to be answered first.  The most important - do the kids even want to be adopted?  How much all together is it going to cost?  Vlad turns 16 in August - is it even possible to finalize everything before then?  We are in touch with an adoption agency and are in the process of getting those questions answered.  She is going to ask the Ukrainian translator that lives in Kherson (the region where the kids live) to go to the orphanage and ask the children if they want to be adopted.  Also, we received a total cost of approximately $35,000 to adopt all three.  We currently have a little over $12,000, so we are officially more than 1/3 of the way there!  Regarding being able to get things finalized before Vlad turns 16...the answer was "Maybe.  We need to see if they want to be adopted first".  Yikes!  So, we will just continue to wait on the Lord. 

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

We will wait upon the Lord

(Lyrics from Lincoln Brewster)

Lidiya as we arrived at the airport to send her back...