SDA AOK

November 29, 2007

Today we were a bit adventurous. Our main task was to see the SDA representative and get our referral. This was so much less eventful than we were expecting. We got out a little late and went over to a little cafe not far from our flat and had a little snack with one of our facilitators, B (our body systems are still adjusting the time zone). After that we trekked over to the mall and did some light shopping - another metro ride. While I'm thinking about it - public transportation rocketh! We met another of our facilitators, S, to accompany us to the SDA. He was to drive us there. Not more that a couple of blocks. Some dude had parked his land cruiser in the middle of the street and almost made us late. We did arrive on time and walked up to the office and met with a very pleasant lady who asked us a few simple questions. We narrowed it down to our D. She walked out and came back with a couple of pieces of paper - the "file". On one side had D's photo from a few years ago. What an innocent little girl. You could see the fear and hopelessness in her eyes. It was for me, a very stirring moment. The lady could see my emotions and she very politely stated that she would give us our referral tomorrow afternoon. It was evident that we had been preceded by our heavenly advocate. S is good, but HS is the best. So once we receive that, we'll be on our way to the region. We are expecting to be there on Sunday morning.

Later tonight we met with B's wife, at the dva goosya restaurant. We had heard a friend rave about it. It was very good. We spent a little time browsing through the Mac store and comparing it to the one near our home. Such a contrast in the cultures here. Much space between the have's and the have not's. And some of you (Nichols) will be happy to know that our conversation over dinner was all about the local "body of believers" and what that is suppose to look like and how we do life with one another. Again, we could see that we had been preceded by HS. So here we sit at another little cafe called "Chocolate" very appropriately have the most incredible hot chocolate ever! I leave you with the passage that my mom shared as we left home - "The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged" ~Dt 31:8. Here is G's take on the day.....



Well, I am sitting here going into my "chocolod" coma and reflecting on our day. My stomach is still settling from last night and I'm learning to ease into the culture. Even though I am mentally prepared to jump in feet first, my body is not. There is the cold, the walking, the hotness of the inside and then it is time to put on your coat and walk in the cold again. My grandmother would declare us all sick from going to the cold to hot, cold to hot. As Chris said, there is a vast contrast here. We can walk down the street and see shinny light fixtures hanging from inside the expensive stores. On the same street and especially in the metro, you will see beggars holding out there hands for money. It is really a little confusing. I would love to go out with my camera and take pictures of all that I see to share with all of you.

All in all it has been a great day blessed by God. When you have an appt. with the SDA it is a good thing to have no surprises...and that is exactly what we got. Things went so smoothly we were a little taken back. We should have our referral to visit the orphanage tomorrow and we will board the train Sat. night and arrive Sun. morning. It may be Mon. before we can see D. We have been trying to reach her by phone and cannot get her phone to ring. I think she knows we are here because she sent us a text from her phone to ours.

I enjoyed meeting our facilitators wife and it seems that we have many things in common. They have been so good to us and it is so nice to have them here to help us with communication. We hope to meet up with them again tomorrow.

K has been great although I think the hot chocolate is getting to her now. There is so much more I would like to share, but with a squirming 8 year old I think I need to wrap it up.

Much love to all of you that are back home praying for us....especially to the unknown couple who has made this adventure possible financially. We think about you and thank God for your obedience to Him who is able to do exceedingly above and beyond what we ask or imagine. To Him be all glory and honor and praise forever and ever.

Mama

Finally here!

November 28, 2007

So we are here! Man, what a trip. We had a slight delay in Cincinnati and ended up taking a flight to London. This put us behind about 6 hours. Our facilitator met us at the airport right on schedule and all of our bags made it - even the ones that went through NY. We got settled in our flat last night and got a decent night's sleep. K is doing great and adjusting very well. G and I are still trying to decide what time it is. We just had a late lunch/early dinner with some other friends here on their journey. We have our appt with the adoption authority tomorrow at 3 pm - 6 am CST. So you guys be in prayer that it goes smoothly. We should be in our region by Sunday morning and hopefully be able to visit with our child on Monday sometime. This is so surreal. The snow has been beautiful, but it isn't really sticking. K has never seen snow like this. I hope she is taking it all in. She was able to meet with our friend's children this afternoon and I know that this was mutually beneficial. We don't have internet at our flat so this may be the last post until we reach the region.

Be in prayer for the others here with us as we all face certain struggles in our own journeys.

Thank you all for praying with us. The fun is only about to begin.

Much love,

The Graces

Game On!

November 26, 2007


The day is here. I sit now in Cincinnati trying to find free wifi. Looks like you "watchers" will have to wait a few hours for a fresh word. But here is what has happened today so far. We wrapped up our packing last night and into this morning. G has earned the new title of MP (militant packer). It is amazing how much I realize that I don't know about space and weight management. But the proof is can be found at ticket counter - no bags over 48.2 pounds! All kidding aside, I am proud of the MP. So we slept very little last night. We woke up very early and arrived at the airport a little after 6 am. To our surprise the security line wound around and down the entire front of the airport and then came back to where our ticket counter was located. Man, I've never seen so many people waiting at our little airport at one time. Although the crowd was impressive the lines moved along quickly and we made it to our first gate without delay. The weather is a little sketchy today so hopefully we'll make all of our connections and get to our final destination on time. I'm not looking forward to the overnight flight this evening.

So enough with the itinerary. Yesterday at our church, we hosted these young kids from all over the world to sing and tell a bit about their own stories as either orphans or children who were victims of war or poverty. These kids were awesome. I don't suppose any of them were over 10 years old. Some of our friends had seen them at an adoption conference earlier this year and helped to arrange their visit to our church. So the whole thing ended up and Platt took the stage and began to expound on James 1:27 and what it meant to care for orphans and widows. We talked about the aids pandemic and what our part as the body of Christ is to reach out and care for these people. I was just overwhelmed with the thoughts of how many of our friends both within our local church body and from neighboring communities have been impacted by the summer hosting program and are taking action to walk out this admonition. Platt said something to the effect of "once you meet them and know their names and faces, the need becomes real (my paraphrase)." Dude, that is so true. All I could think of was that in about 18 hours I'd be on a plane to walk out our mission. So the service ended up in small group prayer. Gina had to step out to take care of some last minute business and I sat there with KB and began to pray. About half way through the time I felt a hand on my shoulder and it was our friends that had just arrived back at home earlier in the week with their new 3. God has been so good to us to surround us by so many willing to lay it all on the line for the sake of His call.

So here I SIT, ready to WALK in obedience and through HIs power - and reviewing my notes from small group yesterday. I appreciate you brother.

Please continue to pray with us. Thank you to all of you who have loaned us stuff for this adventure and helped us to prepare. Thank you to all of you that have helped us financially. Thank you God for allowing us to be a small part of your plan to help the helpless.

Papa

Funk Free!
November 4, 2007

Yes, the rumors are true. We have officially reveived a date. And due to public pressure :-), we are blogging, yet again. Although with a renewed sense of peace and anxiety simultaneously. Is that possible? We just had an incredible conversation with a close friend that we haven't talked to in a while - a spiritual giant and mentor of ours - and I was reminded over the course of the conversation that I have not updated the blog. Once logged in, I saw that some people actually do read this stuff. Some of which know what has happend over the past few weeks and are looking for posts. My apologies to you all. I didn't know you were watching.....

So here is the deal: We received word about three weeks ago that we were to appear before the adoption authority on January 29. While this wasn't quite as soon as we had hoped, it was a definitive point for which we could plan. Our agency had advised us to file a petition asking for an earlier date - early November was ideal - and so we did. To our surprise and amazement, last Monday we were granted a date of November 29! Whereas this is good news from the stand point that we'll start sooner, we'll be missing some friends which we were really looking forward to getting to know better during February. Our original date was close to theirs. We look forward to telling you about how everything is shut down during the holidays and how we are making no progress in our legal proceedings, but how we are growing together as a family. Please pray that our court can happen and be finalized before the government offices close for the end of the year. Seriously now, ya'll pray!

We have booked our flights and are making final preparations. I catch myself breathing heavily at times thinking about all that is about to happen. We've not been able to work out all of the details just yet on school for our bio kids, but we're working on that, also. As it stands now it looks like we'll be leaving AG with grandparents for a few weeks and then once we're close enough to the Christmas holidays, he'll join us there for a fun filled "vacation" (I say that in jest, due to comments made by some when we made our request for a leave from school). Seriously, if God were not in it, I'd be scared to death. Where we are headed is not known to be a tourist destination for westerners.

This has been an incredible week. We know about thirty people in county this week. Most are flying back as I type. They have been doing ministry in other cities this week. God has been so kind to surround us with such Godly people that have a heart for this mission. I'm amazed to be counted worthy of this calling.

Pray as we continue to approach our travel date:
1. That God will be with all of the families that are on this same adoption journey.
2. That God will give us clear minds to be able to prepare thoroughly
3. That God will go before us and hand select the individuals with which we will be dealing in the government
4. That these individuals will be believers and have a heart for the plight of these children and be motivated not by profit, but by compassion
5. That we will be protected as we travel
6. That God will continue to work in our new daughter's heart to prepare her for the cultural adjustments that come from being adopted and being integrated into an existing family.
7. That our children will be similarly prepared for the adjustments that they will be making as we walk in obedience to our calling.
8. That we as a family will continue to develop a heart for this country and these people
9. That God will be strategically positioning the people (... not mere mortals.... ~C.S. Lewis) that He would have us to encounter while away from home.
10. For God's providence during and after the trip.


So, we'll do our best to give you an update about once per week leading up to our departure and no promises once we arrive in country - due to limited internet access.

Now for the photo. The kids are really growing....