Tuesday, July 21, 2009

We have our appointment date!

Sasha texted me at 2AM to congratulate me on our appointment date; unfortunately my phone was turned off so I did not receive the message until 7AM; but what wonderful news to wake up to!!! We started trying to call Gabrielle but did not get through for several hours. I just hung up the phone after talking with her and wish I could have recorded the screams of delight and excitement when we told her we were coming in 2 weeks! She said it had been rainy at camp and she was in a bad mood but now all that has changed! You could hear the beautiful smile on her face!

I am so pleased that the SDA in Ukraine is now processing dossiers for older children very quickly. We recieved our I797 on July 9th; our dossier was submitted on July 16th; we received our invitation to travel on July 21st and we will have our appointment on August 5th. I praise God for these changes in how they are doing things. I also praise God for my facilitator, Sasha. He has advised me all along in getting my papers error-free so there would be no delays and patiently endured my questions and worries. He reminded me today of how all the details are being orchestrated by God, even the trials and troubles we face along the way. It is all for a purpose, he said.

I am also thankful for my husband, Gabe, who has such a heart for orphans and who has so willingly obeyed God's call in caring for them. I praise God for his willingness to open his heart and embrace each of these children whom God has given us. It is such a precious time as we contemplate and discuss Gabrielle's anticipated arrival.

May God continue to be magnified in our words and in our deeds through the coming weeks. Pray for us as we decide which children will be traveling with us and how to handle the situations of those who do not.

4 comments:

  1. Yea!! Congratulations! Thanks for sending me the email so that I could follow along! It IS very encouraging how quickly you were able to get an appt. I pray many blessing for you and your family as you take this journey!
    Melanie

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  2. So excited for your family! I am so glad that things in Ukraine are finally moving more quickly for these older kids. We will be praying for you all as you travel. May God richly bless you and guide you in this exciting journey!
    Paula

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  3. Hey, just found your blog through another that I follow. I wanted to say that a comment you posted there really touched my heart.

    "Our son still says "send me back to Ukraine" when things ar not going his way. But the fact of the matter is that he lives in fear that we WILL send him back to Ukraine. You cannot always trust that what they way is really what they feel."

    We are just over four months home with our 14yr old son, and he has said that on several occasions. My husband sometimes believes he really wants to go back, but I know for certain that he is just saying that to protect himself. He is terrified of us sending him back! He's extremely concerned with money, do we have enough? If we mention that something he wants is expensive, he immediately wants or wants to do costs money he gets very concerned. We think that may be one of the reasons he was removed from his birth family.

    I will be following along with your new adventure as well

    Natalie
    adoptyaroslav.blogspot.com

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  4. Your Facilitator isn't Sasha I, by chance is it?

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