A few misc. pics...

Our apartment...

 

 

looking out the window of our apt...

Exploring Kiev...

(other wise known as blindly walking the streets of Kiev for an endless amount of hours looking for the famous "Kievo Pechersky Lavra" or "The Caves Monastery"

 

 

 

 

Mcdonalds...not quite as good as home!

Ice cream...

 

"Double Coffee" - looks like Kiev's version of Sarbucks to me!

 

Finally...after 4 hours of grueling walking up and down cobblestone and cement streets we found the famous caves.  It took us less than 10 minutes to walk through the caves and view all the dead monk bodies. It wasn't quite what we expected but at least we can say we have visited the most famous landmark in Kiev.  Our legs hurt so bad the next day we could hardly walk.

An unexpected turn...

Finally, I am hooked up to internet!  I don't know when I'll have it again but I will take advantage of it while I do!  We pay by megabytes and I have no idea what that means...I think text is pretty cheap but not sure how pics and my blog will add up so I don't know if I'll  be able to personally update my blog much.  I have been sending short notes to Laura to update and until we have reliable, inexpensive internet  we might continue that.  We'll see.
So, thank you all for praying for us.  These days have been very difficult.  We had our SDA appt. today and it went well.  The SDA officials were very kind and courteous and good to work with.  Our facilitator is just a gift. She is a very gracious woman and we feel blessed to be able to work with her.

 
And for our little boy we have had some clarity.  We do know for certain that the boy who goes with the name we were given last January is not available now. The door to that name and boy has been closed. That has been made very clear to us.  What we still do not know though, is, if this is Samson.  We are beginning to wonder if  Samson  may actually not be at the orphanage any more at all.  It is all unknown and until we are actually able to see the little boys in person we will not know.     We  have talked much about this and we agree that if at all possible we will try to verify the identity of the little boy that has been set in our hearts.  If we can find him we will.  Don't know if this is possible or what would happen then but we know the  Lord knows and that is all that matters.

But, for now the Lord has made it very clear to us that we are to pursue another child.  At our SDA appt. today we were shown the files of 2 girls at the same orphanage as Norah and the file for one little boy at a different orphanage. We had discussed the challenges of adopting from 2 different regions and orphanages and although that scenario is doable it is very challenging. The boy was only 2 years old, which is too young for us.  And so we did not consider him. Actually, it was obvious (thank you Jesus and the Holy Spirit!)  to both Lee and I who we should choose. We have chosen another little girl. We both knew it as soon as we saw her picture.  She is 4 years old and is in the same orphanage as Norah. We have been told they are good playmates and friends! 

We have asked the Lord continually for divine guidance and  of course He provided it!  We have agreed to go meet our little girls.  Our next step, after visiting them is accept their referrals and work on getting a court date set. 
We have asked the Lord to show us step by step what to do and He is doing it. I am still not sure  how this will all turn out.  But our confidence that He is in control and continues to make the way for us is growing.  We are excited to meet our little girls and pray that we can at least find and identify  little Samson.

 
Wednesday night we are flying to Kharkov and I think that Thursday we will get to meet our girls!  I will update again when I can.

  We are praising Jesus for His divine guidance in all of this and for the supernatural peace He is setting in our hearts.  He is only showing us tiny little steps at at time of this journey and we are trying to faithfully follow Him. 
Thank you for all of your encouragement and prayers!
love, Karen

prayer

Karen requests that you please really be praying for their SDA appt. It is at noon their time, 4am central standard time Tuesday. Please pray that the Lord will make their steps very clear to them.

Kiev!

This is Laura--Karen's friend. (I will be updating her blog when they can not access a good internet connection.) Yesterday we were able to go to their airport with them to see them off. It was a wonderful time. They boarded the plane and then ended up getting grounded there for 2 1/2 hours due to bad weather where they were flying into. But God is Good, after running through the airport they were still able to make their connection. They arrived in Kiev this morning and are settling in.

*Praise the Lord that they are there!

*Please remember to be praying for their SDA appt. which will be on Tuesday.

*Please pray for the Lord's hand to be very evident to them right now as they are settling in.

A peek at our family...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

 

Thank you Kim for blessing us with this montage!

5...4...3...2...1...Lift off!

We leave tomorrow! We are excited and nervous all at the same time! Our plane leaves our airport at 4:15pm and if I have it figured out we should be touching down to Kiev around 8:35am central standard time, Sunday morning. (it will be 4:35pm Sunday afternoon, Kiev time)


We will try to update our blog as often as possible. Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement. They mean so much to us! All we see is the mist but pretty soon I know the Lord will clear it all and then we will see what He has been working on for so long!

I wonder what's ahead?

Eight days from today and we will be in Ukraine at our appointment with adoption officials!

I haven't really known how to post about what we know of our little boy. It is still unclear as to our future with him. We have been dealing with 2 issues. One is the paperwork problems that if unresolved in country, would make him unavailable right now. The second issue is that for some time now we have not been 100% sure that the name (his birth name) we have for him is actually the name for the little boy in our pictures that has made his way into our hearts. We have not been able to confirm this and now it appears we might only be able to do this at the orphanage ourselves after we get there. This may or may not be possible. I'm sorry....I am sure I have confused the beans out of you. But, suffice it to say - either scenario will require some miracles! Did you hear that LORD? I know you did! :)

Today, a good friend of mine told me, "Don't focus on the solutions, focus on the one who has the solutions." So, I have been attempting to fix my eyes on Jesus. Whatever is ahead for us, we know with all certainty, that it is exactly how the Lord has planned it from the very beginning of time. But, I have to confess to you, it is so hard sometimes. Waiting is hard. Not knowing is hard. Fearing the loss of a child you love as your own is hard.

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. "
Hebrews 12:2-3

And so, we will not give in to fear and discouragement of the unknown. We will pray against it. We will look forward with anticipation to see the glory of the Lord revealed to us. We will praise Him for His sovereignty and His almighty power. And we will drown in his mercy and grace.

And I...will try not to go crazy this week getting this rag, tag bunch of ragamuffins packed for a trip half way around the world! (Have I mentioned our twin boys are coming with us! And the little ones will stay with very loving and doting family and friends:))

It is going to be an amazing adventure...you just watch and see! Not because of us or anything we are doing, but because we serve an absolutely astounding God and He is being given free reign to show Himself!