5 Weeks and Waiting

Yesterday marked our 5th week since we have submitted our paperwork to the Ukraine adoption department. Things are taking so much longer than last time.  Waiting is hard, especially when you have a 15 year old girl who has been waiting for 4 or more years for a forever family.  She used to ask everyday about the paperwork.  Now she only asks me about every other day. I have a feeling she is asking Tim on those off days.  She says she cannot fall asleep at night because she wants to be with her family so bad.  When she does sleep she dreams about her new family and living in America. She is very disappointed that she will have to start school on September 1st. I'm sure she told all of her friends at the end of last year that she wouldn't be back because she was going to be adopted and would be moving to America. Waiting is hard, but we know that God has a purpose in it all.  This song is such a source of encouragement as it explains what happens when we wait on God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gZ2LeFTQ4I

Recently Raya, the orphanage director at Father's House, (where Liliya lives), took her out shopping for a "weeding" dress, as she calls it. She is going to be in a wedding in September.  This is what they bought.  It is a light peach color and looks beautiful on her.

Bogdan, on the other hand, doesn't know that we are going to try again to adopt him.  This boy has had gotten his hopes up so many times, only to have them dashed to pieces, that we don't want him to know that we are trying again. We did tell him that we were coming to Ukraine, but I'm not sure he understood it and we didn't tell him when it would be. (Of course, we have no idea when it will be either!)

Our Adoption Benefit on Friday, the 23rd, was a HUGE success.  We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends.  God is so good to us and to them.  Several people said "it has been a good year. God has blessed us, we want to help".  We are humbled at this outpouring of financial and prayer support. To God be the glory! Great things He has done!