No Time to Rest Now

We are back at home, trying to get back into the swing of life as usual (rather unsuccessfully I might add). It is immensely more difficult to have Mikhail over there and us over here than I ever imagined it would be. I keep his picture around me at all times, and even though I am filled with sadness at times that he is not here, it keeps me motivated to continue pushing forward to finish the job. We have a bunch of paperwork that needs to be finished (some of which makes very little sense), and we are still working hard to raise more funds to help finish the process (filling out grant applications, petitioning the government). The selfish, human part of me wants to take a break and relax. But there's no time to rest now. I won't rest well until Mikhail is resting next to me, safe in his new home. In the meantime, God is continuing to provide in unexpected ways just as He has always done during this process. Over the past three weeks, I have become increasingly aware of my desire to play life safe and not take chances. Afraid to jump and fly for fear of falling. This process has forced me to jump. And I have come to realize that it is better to jump and fall then to never jump at all. During this flight I have felt the hand of God in a way that I have never experienced before in my life. And it never would have happened if I hadn't taken that first step. And I am confident that even though I feel like the ground is coming up fast, He won't let me fall. Because this is not about me at all. This is about Him and about a little boy named Mikhail. A boy without an ounce of selfishness in his body. A boy who sees the world through innocent eyes. A boy helpless to his own situation. Our son.

"He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap." Ecclesiastes 11:4

JP

We're Back!!!

I am happy to announce that we are back from Russia! It was a whirlwind trip, one filling the entire spectrum of emotions. It was hard leaving Russia knowing that he was staying behind. But at least we know that he is being taken care of until we get back to Russia. We had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people who helped us along the way. Russia is an amazing country, and I can honestly say that I can't wait to go back. We had the honor of spending our two days in Krasnoyask with a wonderful family from Illinois who are adopting from the same orphanage as Mikhail. It made it much more comfortable to travel around a foreign country, and easier to share the ups and downs along the way. Any place we went in public, we would just be laughing and having a great time. We got many stares from locals for our public displays of happiness (frowned upon on Russia by the look of things), but we didn't let that stop us. I felt that the Russian people shared their culture with us, so we decided to share a bit of ours with them as well. God loves us, and that's reason to smile and laugh.

We were cramped into our plane early Saturday morning in Krasnoyarsk, and off we flew to Moscow. A six hour layover in Moscow at least got us out of the plane. Stress boiled over the breaking point when an airport security official threw away Sara's unopened $4 bottle of water, calling it "not good". We were just happy to get on the plane and be heading home at that point. The flight was long, but uneventful. How many times can you watch "Christmas with the Kranks" really? It was weird going through customs with English-speaking officials, but nice at the same time. We couldn't wait to hit In-n-Out Burger on the way home. It tasted sooooo good. My stomach paid for it that night.

Now begins the last bit of our paperwork process, and trying to raise the last chunk of money to finish the process. We know Mikhail is waiting for us, and that makes it hard. But every time I look at his picture it reminds me that we have to keep pushing. I want him here with us right now. Please keep praying that this last part goes smoothly, and that we will get a court date that is sooner than later and the paperwork goes without a hitch. We will keep you updated.

For those of you that are waiting to see a picture, we need to get approval before we post any pictures of his face. Sorry. Consider this a teaser.....

Thanks for all of your prayers, and be dilligent as we are as well.

Jeremy

Time at the Orphanage Part 1 & 2

I have been having some difficulty with the internet here in Siberia. Must be the cold. I will have to include pictures later because I am on the hotel computer. We arrived here in Krasnoyarsk yesterday morning after a 4 1/2 hour flight from Moscow. After almost getting shot by Russian soldiers for videotaping the outside of the plane and being crammed in the tightest seats on Aeroflot (Russian airline), we were happy to get off the plane and to our hotel. We had a few hours to freshen up before meeting with a member of the Ministry of Education to discuss our adoption, and then it was off to the orphanage. We met Mikhail for the first time, and it was an amazing experience. Just waking from a nap, he was both tired and sick, and clung to Sara for at least the first thirty minutes. Having not seen men before (all the caretakers are women), it took him a while to warm up to me. I was mostly relegated to camera and video duty for the first hour. It wasn't until snack time that I was able to break some ground. He let me feed him, and after that we were buds. We played for the rest of the time before we had to leave after about 2 hours. It was back to the hotel then for an early morning back to the orphanage. Second visit was similar to the first, but everything progressed faster. We got to play blocks with him and color in a coloring book. He is a very quiet kid, but also very smart. We got another two hours with him on this trip, but we had to say goodbye this time for a few months instead of a night. That was hard for sure! There were so many details of our visit that I would love to write down, but I could spend hours writing about Mikhail (Misha as he is nicknamed in the orphanage, which means "bear") and nobody wants to read all that. But one thing stuck out to me above everything else. Many have asked me, and I have asked myself, "Will I love this adopted child like I love my biological children?" I now have the answer, and it is without a doubt "YES". From the minute I saw him walk into that room to see us in the orphange, I knew I was in love with him. It felt right and perfect from the moment I held him for the first time. And when I kissed him goodbye at the end of our trip, I felt as if I was leaving my own son behind, and it crushed me. We have agreed to adopt Mikhail, and it will still be months before we can take him home, but in my heart he is ours from now on. For anyone thinking about adoption and wondering if they could possibly love another's child, the answer is yes. We are all God's children, and he loves us with a love that stretches beyond anything that we can possibly understand or imagine. And it is He that gives us the ability to love, not just our own family but our neighbor's as well. And He has placed in our hearts as his adopted children the ability to love adopted children of our own. Well, my eyes are crossing as it is getting late and we have to be up at 4 am for our flight back to Moscow. Until next time.....

A Day in Moscow

We spent the morning sightseeing in Moscow. It was incredible. We had a guide, Anna, show us around to the main places. We saw Red Square, Kremlin, St.Basil's Cathedral, Arbat St., Lenin's tomb (with him in it...that was cool). We learned a lot about Russian history, and even ate some authentic Russian food at a local favorite (McDonalds). We attended part of a Russian Orthodox Church service, which was incredible. I would have loved to take pictures from inside, but it wasn't allowed. Moscow is definitely an incredible city. Quite fast-paced. We rode the subway, which was a trip! We are waiting for our driver to pick us up, and then it is off to Krasnoyarsk. We met another family that is just finishing their adoption at the grocery store (no, they don't adopt kids at the grocery store, we were both shopping). It was a nice surprise. They were very encouraging. Done sightseeing. Now it's down to business. We can't wait to meet Mikhail.

We're Off!

Well, we’re off on our adventure. After a somewhat teary goodbye to the kids (Dad kept it together, of course), we headed off to the gate with winter boots and jackets on so we wouldn’t waste room packing them. (We looked like a couple of morons, for sure). Our flight was delayed 1 ½ hours, so we had plenty of time to get mentally prepared for the trip. The flight itself went by surprisingly quickly (sleeping helped pass the time). We flew up north quite close to the north pole. That was interesting! We told the boys we’d keep an eye out for Santa, but no such luck. Even though we passed through one day on the plane, we never saw the sun being so far north. Just a faint glow in the south during the middle of the flight. No trouble at the airport when we got in, and our driver was waiting for us once we had our bags. Moscow is quite amazing at night, with neon lights everywhere. We are experiencing the sticker-shock of Moscow. Nothing like paying $45 for a day's worth of internet access. Can't even watch TV without paying extra for it! I'm surprised that I don't have to pay to use the toilet! At $400 a night, I guess I would have expected more. Call me crazy! But this trip goes beyond money for us. Just one morehurdle along the way, but nothing God can't provide for. We'll be sightseeing in Moscow tomorrow before leaving in the evening for Krasnoyarsk. Keep us in your prayers.

It Has Finally Happened!!!

We wanted to let you all know that we have accepted a referral for a 23 month-old boy named Mikhail, currently living in an ophanage in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, which is in southern central Siberia. (Burr!!!) Sara and I will be leaving on Monday night 12/17 from LAX traveling to Russia to meet him. We will be there for five days, and we will post a message and pictures and/or video each day that we are there. So keep checking back. Keep us in your prayers for safe travel and that God will give us strength to handle all the emotional and physical aspects of the next week and a half. Russian regulations say that we can't post his picture, but suffice it to say he is definitely cute. (All new parents say that about their kids.....)

Jeremy

New Blog Location

We are setting up a new blog. Thanks for your patience as we try to transfer the info from our last blog to this one.