Miracles Still Happen!

I've heard some ask why miracles never happen anymore. Well, I'm here to tell you that they still do. I've seen it first hand. It started with a check for $1000 in the mail to start an adoption journey for a child we didn't even know existed. It continued with close friends giving up their vacation so that we could travel to Siberia again. Then another gave up their savings, and countless others sacrificed gifts and hard-earned money. And then, today, another miracle.

Through a set of circumstances orchestrated by God alone, we ended up this afternoon having lunch with a group of absolutely amazing people. We were invited by a couple who had just recently adopted a little boy from Russia to spend the afternoon with their family and friends. 6 different families and nearly 20 kids. Some of the warmest and most inviting people I have met. Just their company alone was enough to lift the stress of the culmination of the adoption and just life in general right now. They offered encouragement and support. They brought humor. They shared their special new boy with us. They made us feel welcome. It was a day we will never forget.

And if that wasn't enough, they all came together and agreed to give us the remaining money that we needed to complete the adoption. I can't believe I'm writing this, but our fundraising is finished! God has provided virtually the same amount of money for Aleksandr's adoption as he provided for Elijah's adoption, in less than half the time! Don't tell me miracles don't happen. Just as in the days of the early church God used the apostles to perform miracles, God continues today to use ordinary people to do miracles. I've experienced them first-hand. And to that I say, "Praise God!"

One more hurdle down...

Another Huge Yard Sale Success!

Well, it was another busy week in preparation and a crazy weekend of selling, but everyone survived, and we are pleased to announce that the Lord has provided another huge blessing. We raised $1362! God never ceases to amaze at his continued provision for Aleksandr. The 4 boys were huge helpers, and a big thank you to all our family and friends who lovingly donated to help Aleksandr. We also received another $2000 in donations, making one more HUGE step closer to having the adoption fully funded! Just a little over $3400 to go! Below you'll find a short bee's-eye view of our yard sale.

On another note, we are still one document short with only 2 1/2 weeks until we are scheduled to leave. The short version of the story is the State of California is refusing to alter the wording on one of their documents to satisfy the Krasnoyarsk Court. They are giving us 2 different documents with slight variations, but we are unsure if either of them are going to work. We will hopefully receive confirmation early this week as to the nature of these documents and whether or not they are going to work. If we can't get the documents in time, we will lose our court date and have to postpone. This will cause a number of our other documents to expire and have to be redone at substantial cost and delay. Oh yeah, and a little boy will have to spend more time in the orphanage without a family. We have exhausted our options and are nearly out of time. We have not purchased visas or plane tickets, nor finalized arrangements for our 4 boys while we are away for a month. Please keep us in your prayers over the next couple of days, and I will update as soon as I have more news. Thanks for your continued interest and support of Aleksandr during this time!

JP