Sunday, January 25, 2009

One year ago today... Nice to meet you, Goodbye

We met little Misha a year ago.  Now he's still there waiting.  We went on a 'chance' that we would be able to continue our adoption of Sasha, but in our hearts we knew that we were taking those photos and videos in order to send them on to his parents that were coming soon.

Ukraine 016   Ukraine 015

Last night those parents made it home to the US!  Unfortunately, as I posted before, they were unable to get Misha since he had been transferred away from the other child they had previously committed to.  We are so happy to see the Loux Family and the three children that God hand-picked for their family HOME and SAFE today!

For Misha, his family is hopefully coming soon.  There's a new button on my sidebar for their family.  Their last name is Malone and they're trying to bring home two boys.  Please pray for this family as they travel in the end of February!  Another family will be traveling in early February (Aiden's button is also on my sidebar).  A while back I posted that my first tow families to go through the entire process with me had been submitted and accepted- these are them!  I can't wait to see them home with their children!

A year ago today we also said 'goodbye' to Sasha.  We learned in the evening after meeting Misha that there was no way for us to continue our adoption of her.  Political forces in a small town were a difficult thing to recon with.

It's difficult to say "goodbye" to two children and the same day try to face what you must in the coming days and search out God's heart on what to do next.  To be sure three days ago that we knew our children and then to have to go on our knees back to God and say "WHY?" and "NOW WHAT?" to Him was something we'd never experienced to this extent.  After all, it was a Friday and by Monday we needed to be on the road and set-up with our next plan.  There's no wasting time when you're in a foreign country!

On Sunday, the day we made the final call that we would be going back to Kiev and petitioning the SDA for a second appointment, and that we'd be requesting two specific children- little Daria who looked to be near death and a boy named Simon who also has Ds.  As we thought these were to be our children, we dove into the Word to find the Peace that we know could only come from God.  Did we feel good and 'ok' about leaving Sasha?  Not even a little bit.  Did we feel 100% sure about our decision to pursue these other two children?  Mostly, but without any Heavenly Strike saying "yes".  In fact, Simon's paperwork wasn't ready and as you know we were given a blind referral for Micah instead.

Here is a journal that I never published from that time that shows how Magnificently God shows up and uses His Word to speak to us in times of sorrow, loss, and bewilderment:

Before going to bed I began to consider a name for our future children. The name we had for Sasha was Aleksa Faith. It is by faith that we stepped out to find her. The name for our son, unknown to us(but this would be Misha), was Dylan Jeremiah. Today we learned our new son’s nickname is Simon. We have decided that Simon will be his middle name as we have named each of our children with a strong Biblical middle name. For our girl, since it was Faith that brought us to Sasha, seemed appropriate to have the middle name of Hope. So I looked through my Bible's concordance for Hope. What is a verse to cling to for our little girl? Immediately the verse we know so well stood out to me. Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” How fitting.

Our little girl will not have a future without being adopted. But the lord has plans for her. Plans to give her hope and a future. Plans to prosper her and not to harm her. Plans to give her a family and love. And how neat that it stood out to me because of the name Jeremiah that precedes it (the name we intended for Misha's middle name).

That’s not all though. That’s just in the concordance. When I turned to Jeremiah 29 I began at the beginning of the letter. It was written by the prophet Jeremiah and “sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all other people Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.” It carries the words that the Lord has sent to the exiles. In verse seven it says something unusual though. “Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” In my study notes it says this “An unprecedented and unique concept in the ancient world; working toward and praying for the prosperity of one’s captors.”

It goes on in verse 10 to say that at the prescribed time He will come and fulfill His promise and bring them back. Then verse 11, plans to prosper, to give hope, to give a future. In verse 13 and 14 it says “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

He will collect his children. He has a plan for them. And a plan for their captors as well…

In the end of verse 21, speaking of those who have spoken lies in His name, it says “I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will put them to death before your very eyes.” Those that created stumbling blocks will be dealt with.

Thank you, God for teaching us to pray for the captors. Pray for those who persecute. Pray for the captors. Pray not just for a change in their heart, but for their prosperity. Because if they have peace and prosperity so will the captive.

I don’t know about you, but I never thought to pray prosperity on the ‘captor’ of Sasha’s orphanage. I didn’t think to pray peace. But it is true… if he has peace and prosperity, so then will Sasha. And in an economy where the need for money is a drive for so many inappropriate actions and decisions, prosperity may be just what some people need in order to be okay allowing change.

Tonight I ask you to pray for peace and prosperity on the director of Sasha’s orphanage.

I came across this journal entry about a week or two ago when looking for something else and wow, how much it helps me to see that God was with us in those dark days and giving us assurance for the days to come.  As you know, we did name Daria "Emma Hope" and on her button there on my sidebar the verse reads Jeremiah 29:11 :)  Micah's first name has a story as well, and Daniel was his birth-name which we kept as his Biblical middle name.

One year later, today is the day we first began our journey toward Emma, and another little child that we had to trust God on since we didn't know yet who it would be.  It's been quite a year!!

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