Giving Thanks in All Circumstances

Just as it was surreal to write my first post in Ukraine, it is surreal to be sitting at home writing this post. We never expected to be home 2 weeks into our trip and without having court. We have definitely learned that expecting the unexpected in adopting is a very true statement! 

Friday, we spent the morning with our sweet girl. Ryan and I bought her a Russian Bible earlier in the week, and decided that our last day with her would be the perfect time to give it to her. We both wrote a little note to her in it, and were able to show her a couple of our favorite verses. Our sweet facilitator, who is a believer, translated for us and showed A how to look up verses through the index. She loved her beautiful new Bible, and we pray that she takes comfort in reading it while we are apart. A gave me a gift that she made for me...a little box that she decoupaged. It is something I will treasure always!

A's Bible

Angelina showing A how to look up scripture

My beautiful box from A

Saying good bye was SO hard. By the grace of God, I kept it together, and did not break down in front of her. Leaving your precious child a half a world away is just not something that comes naturally. To leave her at the orphanage for another 6 weeks breaks my heart! I am so ready to bring her home, and let her start her new life with her loving family. I am thankful for her caregivers, and that she will be able to stay there until we return, instead of having to leave for trade school. Her director and social worker were so kind and supportive when we left. They knew how hard it was for both us, and tried very hard to be comforting. I will never be able to thank them enough for taking good care of our girl for all of these years. Many children are not lucky enough to be placed in an orphanage where the workers truly care for them. I have no doubt that A has received the best care possible at her orphanage, and for that, I am thankful.

NOT wanting to let go!!!

Our baby girl seeing us off

Ryan and I hopped on a propeller plane to make the trip to Kiev this time around instead of taking the train. While I was a bit nervous about not being on a jet, I must say that the flight was WAY better than the train ride, and the interior of the plane was much nicer than most Delta flights I have been on.

Getting on the plane

 View from my window

 Beautiful view flying over the Black sea

"Baggage Claim" at the small airport in Kiev

When we arrived in Kiev, we met our facilitator there for dinner, and then headed to our apartment. This apartment was quite interesting. To get hot water, you had to unplug a LONG cord from the bedroom, bring it into the bathroom, and plug the hot water heater in. I'm sure it would never pass code in the US, but it worked! We ran out to meet our new friends that are adopting there as well, to catch up for an hour or so, and then went back to get a whopping 3 hours of sleep.

 Entry way of our Kiev apartment

Bedroom #1 

 Kitchen

 Bathroom(s)

Gotta love the hot water tank and the swiveling faucet!

Bedroom #2

We woke up at 3:30 am to catch our flights home! All flights went smoothly with no delays. We landed at 5:15 pm yesterday, and were welcomed at the airport by our 4 babies and my parents. It was SO wonderful to get hugs and kisses from my sweet girls. I had missed them immensely! At the same time, our homecoming was very bittersweet. The void is great, and we long to bring A home soon. We know that the Lord's timing is not always our timing, but we also know that His ways are perfect. He called us to adopt our sweet A. That we know beyond a shadow of a doubt. We are thankful for these past 2 weeks that we got to spend with her. Many say that attaching to your adopted children takes longer than your biological children. That is what we prepared ourselves for. That was not the case for us. As soon as we laid eyes on her for the first time, we were hooked! We thank the Lord for so perfectly picking our daughter for us. 

Did Starbucks drinks shrink while we were gone?!?:)

Arriving back in LR...2 weeks later at the same gate we left out of

 Our little Roobear modeling her Ukrainian floral headband

My baby is a whole year older than when we left!!

Aislynn in her Ukrainian headband (Avalea, as always, refused to let us take her pic!)

Many would say adopting an older child or teenager is a scary thing. I would have agreed before this process. Meeting our daughter for the first time, and getting to know her and see her sweet disposition, enthusiasm, hope, and love was a marvel to behold. We feel beyond blessed by the gift of being called to be her parents. To see such a special child that has been able to overcome her background, and come through it with such grace, is miraculous. 

As we were visiting with her and her sweet friend one day, her friend told our translator that she longed for a family of her own. With a joyful voice, A told her, "Anya, you need to pray for a family each night, just like I did! I am your example":) You can only imagine my own joy hearing our sweet girl talk of her prayers for her family, and that the Lord heard those prayers and answered them!! 

We do not know all of the little details of our process ahead. What we do know, is that the Lord will see this through. He heard our sweet orphaned baby girl call out to Him, night after night in her little bed, and He will not leave her as an orphan! He is faithful, loving, and compassionate. We pray that the Lord will use these next few weeks to grow us, and to bring us closer to Him. We thank Him for showing us through this separation how much we love our girl. We thank Him for showing us how to love "the least of these" and pray that He will be glorified, not only in the good times, but in the hard times as well. 

"Be joyful ALWAYS, pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" 1 Thessalonians 5:16