and then there were four!

I wrote this yesterday, but forgot to post it :-) Thursday and Friday were very, very long days. We spent all of Thursday in Nick's car driving from here to there to get applications and documents done. 9 hours in the car with very little a/c because we were stopping so much. To top it all off, we didn't finish in time to pick up Micah like we were supposed to. Friday started the same way, 2 hours here, 2 hours there, but when we got to the orphanage at 1:15, it didn't matter anymore. Even 5 more hours of papers and waiting couldn't stifle the joy we had leaving that property with Micah in tow. None of us had eaten anything since breakfast, but no one complained because there was such happiness from that moment. Micah was so excited to see us, he just kept squealing and touching our faces. His primary caregiver, Oksanna, was very sad to see him leave and even brought tears to our eyes. When we got back to the apartment, it was time for Micah's first bath. He was so excited, he just kept splashing and laughing. We ended up with more water on the floor than in the tub! The sight of him and Nathan sleeping side by side was such a blessing to my spirit. We are currently on our way to Kyiv by train. We paid extra for 2nd class tickets so that we would have a working window or MAYBE air conditioning....but we have neither. So, we will probably lose 10 # in sweat alone, but we are ready for this part of our journey to begin! Leaving Sumy was harder than I thought, really because of the relationship we now have with Nick. It was very hard to say goodbye. However, we had a long conversation about what the Bible teaches about getting to Heaven, and Christianity. After we left, Nick called and said that he is now sure that he will see us in Heaven! We rejoice with the angels today that this man we consider family is our brother in Christ now. We are also so thankful that our other new friend, Holly, is letting us stay with her this weekend since there are no rooms available in Kyiv because of their "Victory Day" holiday. It constantly amazes me how God orchestrates things in such a way that his children's needs are consistently met. We will get to go to church with her in the morning and spend the afternoon with Yana(adoption coordinator) shopping and exploring. I don't know how i will do it, but Monday morning Nathan and I will leave Brent and Micah behind and head home. please pray for all of us as this will be a very tough transition for our family. Hopefully this will be short-lived and our family will be together again soon.

Extended Family

Well, today did not go exactly as planned. It took us 4 hours in Bilipillya to get 2 documents. It was supposed to be only 1-2 hours. This was before we went to Trustenyets (1.5 hours away) to get his new birth certificate and id number. We did not get back to Sumy until 5:30 and the orphanage closes at 5, 40 minutes away from Sumy. SO, we weren't able to get Micah tonight. We are going first thing in the morning to pick him up! So since I don't have anything special to say, I want to take a minute to tell you all about our true Ukrainian dinner experience. Nic's mom invited us to dinner last night. When we arrived, she was so excited and had all of her best dishes set out for our meal. I WAS able to learn how they make their version of crepes and even made a few! We had chicken & mushroom crepes, caviar crepes, pork casserole, mashed potatoes, egg salad, fresh vegetables, mushroom salad, and chicken soup. To top it all off, we ate homemade pirogies (called vireneky)! To drink, we had homemade cranberry cocktail. The food was delicious and the Zakharchenko family was wonderful company that showered us with gifts. I always knew that I have Ukrainian roots, but now I have a Ukrainian family. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Philippians 3:20