Our River... Our Rock

It's 8:20 am, Monday morning here. Back at home, 5:20 pm, Sunday night.
In 10 minutes, we leave to see the kids. We're anxious, nervous... We wonder if they'll remember us, how different they will look. It feels so close.

Yet, there is still an obstacle. For as smoothly and peacefully as trip 1 went, little things about this trip seem to be threatening a fight at every corner. We were just told yesterday that one of our documents was unacceptable, a document from our school district. We have scrambled, emailed, and called the many people who we know will help us (sorry it was so early everyone). Now, we can only wait, but we believe we have the necessary document coming, perhaps with only minutes to spare.

This morning, I woke up thinking about the Isrealites journey into the Promiseland. A journey indeed. Long, difficult, a test of faith even for the most faithful. But God always provided. He had chosen these people. He made them a promise. Even as the people were right on the edge of taking their promised land, God still reminded them that He and He alone would complete the task. He would receive the glory for any victory. So God stopped the flood waters of the Jordan River and the Isrealites passed. They collected 12 stones from the riverbed to remind them of the moment. They set up a memorial, to remind them who was really at the heart of all things past, present and future.

Joshua 4:24 "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful..."

Today, we will cross a literal river to reach the children. I will remember how the Lord parted the Jordan, so He could bring his people one step closer to the PROMISE.

I picked up a little rock this morning... to carry in my pocket... to remember our PROMISE.

And then... well, then, came the walls around Jericho.

Hey...it's in rubles!

Although we are decent at math (well, Scott's okay), it's still sometimes hard, in the moment, to figure out what we are spending on things. For example, I am pretty sure I ordered a $7 bottle of water with lunch yesterday. If the price of something is, say 375, we try to do the quick ruble-to-dollar calculation in our heads, but sometimes the numbers start running together. So our new motto is, "Hey, it can't be that much...it's in rubles!"

By the way, the conversion is about 23 rubles to 1 US dollar. We got a great deal on our 2 nights in Moscow, just 22,224.80 rubles...You do the math.

"Great! Now I have to get back in the map!"

We thought it would be a great idea to do our souvenir shopping on Saturday...our last day in Moscow, before we return to the city with 3 kids. We wanted to pick up some thank you's for the many people who have been so helpful along the way. Well, 2 subway rides, at least 5 miles walking, and about 3 hours later, we returned to the hotel empty handed. Lost on the streets of Moscow...pulling out our little map...trying to decipher the Russian street signs.

It felt like the London trip on Friends, when Joey said, "Great! Now I have to get back in the map!"

We thought we know right where we were going! Not sure how we missed our destination. So, sorry folks, no cheap Russian souvenirs for you! Hopefully the 3 Russian cuties we're toting back will make up for it.

Safe and Sound... Medicals Down

We're here!
It was a pretty uneventful 13 hour flight. We got a little sleep on the flight, but were able to do a fair amount of catching up last night. Today we had our 8 doctor medical visit. We actually only counted 7 doctors... maybe it's a translation thing. All went well, except we were told that our lab work (which we had done at home) was too old. So, once again, we had blood drawn, peed in a cup and are awaiting the results. Still hoping we haven't contracted any unexpected diseases in the last 3 months... or tried any new drugs. We pick up the results tomorrow (Saturday) and leave for Kras on a 9pm flight. We should be able to update again once we're in Kras.
Dasveedahnya!

Last Minute... Who Me?

In an effort to avoid a blog readers rebellion, I figure it's about time I finally posted!

It's been a busy 2 weeks trying to get ready for the trip. Packing for 4 weeks is not easy. I must admit that there are more power bars in the suitcase than socks. We've also had some document drama. It wasn't until about 1 pm Tuesday that I had our final document in hand. We're hoping all of the paperwork will be acceptable to the judge.

So here's our itinerary:

Wed. June 4- leave home
Thurs. June 5- arrive Moscow
Fri. June 6- Medical exams in Moscow (for us)
Sat. June 7- leave Moscow
Sun. June 8- arrive Krasnoyarsk
Mon. June 9- see the kids... I can't believe it's been 4 months!
Tues. June 10- court... lots of prayers please (it will be Monday night for you)
10 day waiting period before we get to take custody of the kids (not sure exactly what day that will be)
Wed. June 25- leave Kras... our first meltdown - I mean airplane ride as a family :)... 5 hours, wish us luck
Thurs. June 26 - Tues. July 1- Visa appointments, US Embassy appointment, kids' medicals
Wed. July 2- arrive home (13 hour flight)

Keep in mind that Moscow is 11 hours ahead and Kras is 15 ahead. We'll be able to email and update the blog while we're in Kras, so if you haven't given up on me, be on the lookout for new posts. Thanks for the encouragement over the last few days. We appreciate everyone's generous offers to help us out with last minute details. Keep us in your prayers, especially during court. I'll be in touch.

I can't believe this is the last night in my house with just the 2 of us... weird.

Drumroll please.....

We got our court date!!!
We are supposed to leave for Russia on June 4. That's 2 weeks from today *panicpanicpanic* Court is scheduled for the 10th.
That's about all we know for now, but we're supposed to get more details tomorrow. Stay tuned.

One Amazing Evening

Amazing
What words are there to describe this evening?

Let's back up.
A few days after we returned home from our first trip to Russia, we were spending the evening with our friends Jon and Amy. Jon, being a man of BIG ideas and a BIGGER heart, says, "I want to do something to help you guys... but I have no skills!" Before we had time to finish our chuckle, Jon was planning this benefit dinner and silent auction.

Little did we know what had been set into motion.

Jon, Amy, and a long, long list of wonderful friends spent countless hours planning and preparing. Generous donations of all kinds came in from people who know us well and people who have never even met us. Finally, the evening arrived, and well over 200 friends, family, and supporters showed up. An unfathomable $25,000 has been raised to help us bring our children home. Amazing.

To everyone that attended, donated, or supported us with prayer and encouragement, we thank you. We thank you. We thank you. We thank you.

We appreciate the fact that many have joined in because you love us. Many of you simply have compassionate souls. Many care about the state of orphans in the world.

But, know this, what you have participated in is much bigger than Scott and I.
Bigger than a couple who just wanted kids.
Bigger than 3 orphaned children in Russia.
Bigger than this new little family of five.
Bigger than that good feeling that comes with helping out.
Bigger than even that huge amount of money that was raised.

We firmly believe, each of you are sharing in a part of something bigger.
Have you ever been part of helping carry out God's plan?

This is not OUR story of faith.
This is the Lord's story of HIS faithfulness to us.
He doesn't need us... but He wants us.
He doesn't need us... but He wants us.
He doesn't need us... but He wants us.
Now that, is what's amazing.