EE Mission Day 22 - Eyes On The Prize

A dear friend of mine introduced me to a singer/songwriter a while back named Sara Groves. I enjoy listening to many of her songs, and one I've recently been listening to is, "Eyes on the Prize". 

Many of you have been on an adoption journey and know the range of emotions you can encounter on a daily basis. Some days are hard, and it becomes easy for your thoughts to drift to a place of discontentment and self pity.  I've been battling these thoughts the past couple of days. We've been away from home a little more than three weeks, and I am so homesick.  I've let these feelings take my eyes off of the prize of this journey, and it's a place that brings no glory to our Father in Heaven.  He is the reason we are here.  We desire nothing more than to glorify Him in our thoughts and actions while we're here, and I'm thankful for His forgiveness and grace. 

Here are some of the lyrics from "Eyes on the Prize":

I got my hand on the gospel plow
Won't take nothing for my journey now
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

The wait is slow, and we've so far to go
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

The wait is slow, and we've so far to go
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

Only chain a man can stand
Is that chain of hand on hand
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

Ain't no man on earth control
The weight of glory on a human soul.
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

The wait is slow, and we've so far to go
Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on

When you see a man walk free,
It makes you dream of jubilee.

When you see a child walk free,
It makes you dream of jubilee.

Keep your eyes on the prize, hold on.

We're coming for you soon sweet girl!

Can't resist these beautiful eyes!

Update on where we're at in our journey:

As many of you know we had court 12/28 for Gayle's adoption.  Court was nothing like I had pictured in my mind.  Even though we couldn't communicate directly with the judge, due to the language barrier, she was very kind.  Once court was over, she gave her ruling without a delay.  We are now the proud parents of sweet Mila Gayle Kimble.  We are thankful to our Father in Heaven for this amazing gift.  We pray that we will serve Him well in our parenting of her.  The official court decree will be available 1/11/2012.

La La La!

Mila's different looks are priceless!

What a prize!

First time taking Mila outside for some fresh air.

We've also been made aware of our court hearing for Kathleen.  We had hoped for it to be before the holiday break in this country, but instead it will be after.  We know this timing is according to God's will for this journey, and the hearing is set for 1/10/2012.  We will leave Gayle's region sometime next week by train, and visit with Kathleen several days before the hearing.  She is on my mind constantly, and I'm praying for God's protection of her mind and spirit.  We are praying that the judge in her region will waive the ten day waiting period after the ruling.  If not, we will probably travel back to Mila's region on the 11th to begin the process for "gotcha day".  What a glorious day it will be to see her go free.

We are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I read an anonymous quote today that stated, "If you don't see the light at the end of the tunnel, turn it on".  That light switch is now on.  Happy New Year to all of you!

Having fun with our friends, The Eubanks, at a local holiday festival.

Nothing like a fair in the middle of winter while snowing.  Wish all of our kiddos were here to enjoy it with us.

This picture is dedicated to our boys.

We continue to praise God for our parents who are managing things on the homefront.  We are also thankful for the generous donors who continue to donate to our adoption fund.  Thank you!

EE Mission Day 21 - Stephanie After 3 Weeks Away From Home

Tough as nails and ready for court next week!  I love my wife!

Blog Silence Explained

Greetings everyone...

Sorry for the blog silence; we have been without Internet access since Dec 25th.

We are finally back in an apartment that has WiFi; so, we hope to get caught up on the action over the next couple of days...

EE Mission Day 15 - Christmas Eve in "U"

I have about five different blog posts swirling in my mind. My head is swimming with what we have seen the past few days. Most won't be shared until the mission here is complete. When we found out that Kathleen was transferred to an institution and different city, I began thinking of many "What" questions.

• What will God allow us to see here?
• What is God's will for this unplanned journey to an institution?
• What children are there?
• What is the purpose of this because they new we were coming for her?

Some of those answers are becoming evident.  We now have a much deeper appreciation for what our friends at the Bible Orphan Ministry do to minister to orphans.  What a blessing to have these brothers and sisters share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the least of these.

You can read stories about orphans living in institutions, but when you experience these things with your own eyes it changes you on many levels. You'll never be the same again.  It's heart wrenching and you want to cry out to every brother and sister you know to take a leap of faith and do something for these precious children.

My memory isn't very good, but I pray God allows what I'm seeing to be at the forefront of my mind as long as I live. I am so thankful He sent us here for these two precious girls. I wish we could bring back more.  I pray we can advocate for the ones that will be left behind.  They are precious and sweet and the desperation in their eyes for love and affection is overwhelming.

Today, I've also been thinking of Christmas, and being so far away from home. Each year I struggle during this holiday season. I battle getting "caught up" in the worldly celebration of what Christmas is all about. Each year I say, "It will be different this year", and instead I end up putting God in a shaker and sprinkling Him here and there on our celebration. Finding the balance is challenging sometimes, as I'm sure many can relate to.

Corey and I are staying in a city that I can't even pronounce. We can't have a conversation with anyone, or go out to eat at a restaurant. We don't have a Christmas tree, wrapped presents, or a meal to fuss over tomorrow, but we do have each other.  Also, most importantly, we have time to truly reflect on why we even celebrate Christmas. Time to reflect on Jesus Christ coming into this world to die on a cross for our sins.  Time to reflect on how He has adopted us into His Kingdom. How overwhelming of a thought this is to me.

We will be on a train for 11 hours tomorrow, with these thoughts to ponder. I miss our children deeply, but we may never have this chance to have this type of Christmas celebration again. Simple, meaningful, focused and wonderful.

Our Father in Heaven has blessed this incredible journey we are on in so many glorious ways. He is the reason we are here, and HE definitely is the reason for this holiday season.

We have court for Gayle on Tuesday; Praise God!  We are continuing to pray for doors to open for a court date next week in Kathleen's region.  We need to get her out as soon as possible!

EE Mission Day 14 - Do We Cry "Abba Father"?

Well, we had our second joyous visit with precious Kathleen today (Stephanie should be putting a post together later today).  Now I am at the computer getting caught up on some work and reviewing some news feeds from back home.  I felt the need to share one story I came across; as it deals with adoption. 

As I watched the reaction of this young woman when she found out she was to be adopted, it made me think about how we should react each and every day knowing that we have, as Believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, been adopted into God's family.  This is why we can call Him Father!  Do we really, truly understand this?  Oh, Lord, help my unbelief!!

Although we will not be able to communicate it the way this young couple did, I cannot wait for the moment when we can communicate, every day the Lord allows me to have in this world, to Gayle and Kathleen that they are now part of a covenant family, and will never be orphaned again!

Confession:  I also need to remind my four other children that they too are loved and will never have to face what their soon to be sisters faced in their young lives...

Romans 8:12-17 

Heirs with Christ

¹² So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

EE Mission Day 13 - Meeting Kathleen

Before writing about our meeting with Kathleen, I need to back track a few days to update you on some news we received Monday. Many months ago I wrote a blog post about the fate of children with Down Syndrome and other special needs when they turn four years old in this country. Sometimes I got the impression that people didn't really believe what I wrote.

When these children turn four, or five in some regions, they are taken from their baby house orphanage and placed into an institution. Once this happens, their chances of being adopted decreases even more.  Plus, depending on the institution, they may not even survive. For two days, I've pondered whether or not I would share this news, but today I think it is important to know that we are witnessing this type of fate first hand.

Kathleen turned four back in July. Since that time we've been praying that she wouldn't be transferred to an institution before we could get to her. We were informed on Monday that precious little Kathleen was now in an institution. She's been there since October. My heart became heavy with fear, and I know I was doubting God's plan. In my mind, I've played out the scenario of what happens when this type of transfer takes place, based mainly on information I've read.

She was abandoned at birth, and at four years of age had to leave the only people and home she's ever known. She was taken by people she probably didn't know, and driven about two hours away to be admitted to an institution. I could have burst into tears when I first looked at her and noticed that her long beautiful blond hair had been shaved off. If you have a child this age, imagine them in this scenario. We are thankful that God is using us to directly intervene in her life, and change it forever. She is made in His image; the same image as you and I were made.

We are boldly praying that it's God's will that we have court next week. In the meantime, we are thankful that she seems to have attentive caregivers. We plan to visit her each day until we travel back to Gayle's region for court, hopefully the 28th or 29th of December.

You can cut off my hair, but you can't take away my beautiful blue eyes!

EE Mission Day 12 - Leaving for second region

Yesterday we had our Department of Adoption appointment to receive permission to go to Kathleen's region. The appointment was very easy. No questions asked, just more of a formality. We had a delicious dinner at Celanto's, met Eugene to give money for our train tickets, and went for notary work. Phew!

Today between 4 and 5 o'clock we'll pick up our referral at the Department of Adoption. Next, we'll wait for our train which we were told would leave around 9 o'clock pm. In the morning, we hope to arrive in Kathleen's region, and hope to meet her as well. We will give an update as soon as we can which always depends on availability of Internet service.

Much love to all of you! We feel covered in prayer.

EE Mission Day 10 - Back to Capital City

We got up bright and early this morning to board a 7am train from Gayle's region back to the capital city. We took the day express train which took 6 hours (much better than the night train). Our driver was waiting when we arrived at the train station, and we left for our new apartment. This time our apartment is very close to the President's office. As we got closer to the area, traffic was very heavy, and some of the roads were blocked off. We soon realized the cause, protestors. They were all around the President's office, and cops were everywhere. Our driver just casually mentioned that this is politics for this area in action. We were thankful to finally arrive at our apartment.

Next, we immediately left and went with our driver to a pizza place located near the Deapartment of Adoptions. Serge, head of the facilitation team, was waiting for us. He informed us that most likely our appointment (to obtain referral to visit Kathleen) wouldn't be until tomorrow. Then, he drove us back to our apartment. Disappointed, but we'll just pray for patience as we wait. At that point, we hadn't eaten all day so we ventured out to a traditional Ukranian restraunt. It was absolutely delicious.

So far, we've been blessed with a safe and wonderful trip. However, I must say that today has been a hard day for me. I'm terribly homesick, and miss our kids more than I can express in words. We know they are being well cared for, but it's still hard. We are very greatful to Corey's parents, and my dad for caring for them. Short term loss for long term gain!

EE Mission Day 9 - Fellowship with new friends

Back at the end of the summer, two families were here for adoption in the current region we are staying. During that time, I made contact with one of the families, and they were adopting from the same orphanage Gayle is located. These families were here several weeks and met some amazing people. This information was passed along to us, and we were blessed to meet and worship with these same brothers and sisters in Christ. In addition, we are also in the same region as the Eubanks (another Recee's Rainbow family). They joined us as well.

We attended worship at Calvary Chapel.  The pastor preached the sermon in Russian, and his wife translated it to English. It was refreshing and convicting.  One nice part of this chruch is that they preach from the Bible expositionally; book by book, verse by verse.

Also, a gentleman got up and talked about his recent experience of attending a new bible school. He talked about certain events and decisions that led him to the school, and also talked about some of the sacrifices/hardships. Much of what he was saying could be applied to any situation God calls us to. He mentioned that when God puts something on our heart we must respond by taking the next step. You can't just simply ignore it. God put adoption on our hearts, and gave us the courage to take that next step. We are now living that next step, Praise God!

After the service and time of fellowship, we decided to go out for a late lunch with one of the couples and a sweet young man that was in their care. Three of us walked and took the metro, and the remaining four went by car. I was excited to ride the metro, because this will save us a lot of money with our visits to the orphanage ($40 per day for driver vs. $1 per day for metro). We were so thankful for their time, and we enjoyed a meal at a local Mexican restaurant.

Pastor and other church leaders praying before the service

EE Mission Day 8 - Another Amazing Visit

Today we visited with Gayle in a big recreation type room. She is so interesting, and I can't wait to learn more about her sweet personality. She makes all kinds of noises, and her sounds are like sweet music to my ears. She reaches for us, and loves to be held and cuddled. This, of course, is another answer to our prayers. Yesterday, Corey whispered to her that we love her, but most importantly Jesus loves her. Today, we sang "Jesus loves me" to her. We've dreamed of saying these words for several months, and now these dreams are coming true. Praise be to God!

This may be our last visit with her for several days.  We are leaving Monday morning to go back to the capital city for our second appointment.  We were hoping for no more than a week overlap in meeting the girls and having paperwork submitted to the courts, and again our prayers have been answered.  Once again, we'll take an overnight train into the the region Kathleen is located.  We should meet her Wednesday.  Please continue to pray for safe travels, good health, and plenty of energy.

EE Mission Day 5 - First Visit With Gayle

Many of you are probably wondering where we are.  We have been without internet service the past several days, but finally tonight we are once again connected.  I can't believe we've been in this country for almost a week.  We praise God for our safe journey so far, and for keeping us healthy.

Wednesday morning we arrived in the region Gayle's orphanage is located.  We were driven to our apartment to freshen up, and then picked up for our journey to the orphanage.  Our facilitator accompanied us inside and took us to a room where we met the head doctor.  Within a few minutes, we went to another room where we were introduced to the doctor that oversees the care of Gayle.  She went over her medical history, and she is very healthy.  This initial meeting was very informal, and we weren't asked any questions.  After a few minutes, we were lead directly into Gayle's groupa, and oh my she was sitting on the floor right where we walked in.  My heart felt like it would leap right out my chest.  We praise God for leading us to her.  She is such a blessing.  We were blessed with about 40 minutes of visiting time with her, and it was pure joy.  Please enjoy these beautiful pictures. 

We are now waiting to receive our second appointment date for Kathleen.  We are hoping and praying that phase of our journey will be early next week.

EE Mission Day 3 - A Very Special Visit

If you have been to this blog before, you may have noticed this button along the side:



Grab This!

I strongly encourage you to click on this to go to their blog.  Make time to read about their Kingdom work with orphans.  They bring the greatest gift to these children; the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  Pray for them.  Consider donating to their work.  Send them a message of encouragement.

This past Monday, along with another adoptive family we had met up with, Stephanie and I met up with 4 members of the Bible Orphan Ministry team - Pastor Misha, Alla, Oksana, and Nadya.  What a Joy to meet fellow brothers and sisters from another country, and for it to seem as if we had known them for a long time.  What a testimony to God's gift of fellowship!  You can read their perspective of the day by going HERE

I hope we see them again; maybe with a team from our church going on a mission to help them with orphan care...

I had, and still have, alot to learn about true Christian fellowship.  The Lord provided this visit on Monday as a gift that I hope will leave an eternal impression.

Breaking Bread at a cafeteria serving authentic Ukrainian home cooking!

Brothers united in Christ!

Sisters united in Christ!

Soli Deo Gloria!

EE Mission Day 3 - Appointment!

Today we had our appointment with the Department of Adoptions.  In and out in about 15 minutes.  The social worker that attended asked for us to describe what we did (for a living), why we wanted to adopt 2 children with Down syndrome, and would we know how to take care of them.

We found out that we will be going to see Gayle first.  We leave tomorrow night by train for the city her orphanage is located.

EE Mission Day 2 - Fellowship

Day 2 here in country.  We were able to "sleep in" until about 113am local time.  The highlight of this day was in meeting up with 2 other families that are in country right now.  We were able to share a meal together, and share with each other about how the Lord led each of us to adopt.  Ah, how the gift of Christian fellowship can take away the feeling of being so far from our (temporal) home.

Speaking of home, what a joy it is to have Skype!  The ability to do video calls home is yet another gracious gift from the Lord that helps shrink the distance from here to home.

Tomorrow....appointment day for child 1...

EE Mission Day 1 - We arrived safely!

We thank God for our safe travels during the past 24 hours. When we descended through the thick layer of clouds into the Kiev airport, my heart could have burst with joy. We are in our girl's birth country, and are thankful to our Father in Heaven for this opportunity. We have quite the journey ahead of us, and we're ready. I love when our boys sing, "My God is so BIG, so strong and so mighty there's nothing my God cannot do.....We hope and pray that we can honor Him as we continue with this mission. We hope to meet precious #1 on Wednesday.

O.R.P.H.A.N. Ministry - Praying

Back on October 19th, I posted an introducing a vision for coordinating a ministry related to Orphan and Adoptive/Foster Family Care; using the acrostic O.R.P.H.A.N. With this post, we'll take a look at:


Praying for the orphan/fatherless and adoptive/foster care families

Ephesians 6:10-20 - ¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ¹⁸praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ¹⁹and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

 

Ø  Do we really realize the spiritual warfare that rages; involving the children of this world?

       From Pharaoh to Molech to Herod, and in our time, Satan has waged a war on children.  There is a spiritual battle that believers must fight on behalf of the children in our world

Ø  Do we really believe Jesus’ Word, when He says (as recorded in Matthew 7:7-8):

⁷ "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

PLEASE consider clicking on our PRAYER JOURNAL tab to see what items you could make supplication for on our behalf?