For At Least One Day

Hey friends! We made it to Krasnoyarsk safely and are settled in the apartment that will be our home for the next 2 1/2 weeks. It is wonderful! Much nicer than the hotel, with kitchen for cooking and living room for relaxing. And less expensive too! Win-win! We just relaxed the first day, since we got in from Moscow at about 5am local time. We spent a few hours in the afternoon with a couple of families. One woman we met through the "People Who Have Adopted from Krasnoyarsk" Facebook group (yes, there is such a thing). She is here picking up her 2 year-old son. We also met another couple that have lived here for a number of years now and are working in country doing missions work. They lived in Temecula for a short time. Small world! We had a great time having pizza together for dinner. When you are in a country where no one else speaks your language, it is easy to feel a little alone. So those times spent with others that not only share your language but share your heart as well are extra special.

The next day we explored the city from our apartment. We are a couple of blocks from a flea market and farmer's market. We had a great time wading through the sea of booths, pretending not to hear people as they tried to sell us things. I bought a pair of sunglasses (I should have bargained but I didn't and probably paid too much) and we bought a bunch of fruits and vegetables to make fajita salad for dinner. It was tasty, and I think we are passed the cut-off for food poisoning, so I'm pretty sure we're ok. We hiked up to the top of the hill where a beautiful church is and an amazing view of the whole city. Definitely got our exercise for the day. Took some great pictures.

We are off to the orphanage today to see Aleksandr for the first time in 5 months! There is excitement mixed with trepidation as we are not sure if this is the last time we will see him or just the beginning. But we have asked people to pray while we are in court and we know that God is ultimately in control. I guess that is one of the hard parts that I've had to wrestle with. The ways of God are not always the ways of men. The knowledge that God could have a completely different plan for Aleksandr's life and ours just as likely as He could want him to be in our family is a double-edged sword. While there is a certain measure of peace in the fact that nothing can thwart what God wants for Aleksandr (a judge, our words in court, our finances), there is also a little pain in the possibility that Aleksandr might not be united with his brother. That is what is making this journey so much different than Elijah's. But I knew full well that God had new things in store for us to learn this time around, and for that I am thankful. Even though tomorrow is not promised, today for at least one day in his life we will give Aleksandr a dad and a mom. He deserves this much, this special little boy...

JP

(p.s. In case you are wondering what the deal is with all the Elmo pictures, on Elijah's adoption trips we brought Curious George so that we could put together a book, "Curious George Goes to Russia" to document Elijah's adoption journey. This time around, it's "Elmo Visit's Russia". Plus, every day that I email the boys back home I send each of them a new Elmo picture.)

Elmo at the Farmer's Market

Elmo at the church at the top of the hill.