He Reigns!

(To the right are photos of 2 boys from the orphanage and 2 boys with Larissa)

Hello Everyone!

The past two days have been bitter-sweet. We began yesterday with news that our documents would be done at the SDA, but the director might not sign them due to her being out of the office. These documents have to come back to Berdyansk in order for us to have our court appointment. Next, we scrambled to find a way to get the documents here the same day to potentially have a court date today, assuming we got the aforementioned signature. After most of the administrative issues were out of the way, we proceeded to the Berdyansk outdoor clothing market. I know it is not the dead of winter over here yet, but it sure felt like it after an hour at that market. It was so cold that the normal vendors were packing up early and heading home.

Next, we went to the orphanage to pick up the girls and saw Andre. He is waiting for the remainder of his adoption paperwork to be finished up so that he can go to his home in the US. He will be heading to Kyiv in a couple of weeks. He is doing fine and is excited about his upcoming trip. Dave and Cathy, we told him that if he needs anything to call us. (Below: Luda, Andre, and Galina)



Once we got the girls back to the hotel, everything was pretty normal. However, Nastia, our 6 year old, decided that today would be the beginning of our testing period. Multiple times, she did things she wasn’t allowed to do and continued to do them after being told no in English and Russian. We had a battle of wills and our wills won this one. We are not naïve enough to think this war is over, but we won the first battle.


After we took the girls back, we made dinner in our room and invited Larissa over. During the course of dinner, Larissa received a phone call from her mother telling her that her Grandmother had just passed away. Needless to say, she was quite distraught.

Today, we set off bright and early for Vesivlika, Ukraine, the town where Galina and Nastia were born, via the taxi that ran out of gas the other night. We had to hand deliver a letter from the court with respect to our court appointment on Monday. To our surprise, the lady told us that according to her records, Galina and Nastia were not even classified as orphans. Apparently, the court, a building 2 minutes away, had not brought over the “Relinquishing of Parental Rights” to that office. But, God came through and we were able to use the documentation that Larissa was carrying in her briefcase. We then headed back to the hotel to get Larissa checked out of the hotel and onto a bus/train to Kyiv, where she was going to be with her family. It was hard to say goodbye to her since we have grown so close and gone through so much in a short week. We are still waiting for God to send another one to us for court on Monday. So, please pray for Larissa and her family and that we will be given another translator in time. Thank you for your prayers. An appropriate verse for today: Proverbs 19:21 – “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

God Bless,
Dan and Julie