Olga is coming for Christmas!

Olga will be here in 5 days! Thank you so much to all who have donated to getting her here! I cannot wait to see how God will work in her life while she is here and work in the lives of those who will meet her.
Please be praying for her - as I calculated it, she will be traveling at least 27 hours counting the time change. I spoke with her today and she seemed so excited! I am sure all the children who are able to come are just on pins and needles waiting. These children are so brave to leave their orphanages, travel for a full day & arrive to meet new 'parents' who will not be able to communicate with them. WOW! Then they spend time here and cannot wait to come back! We are so blessed to have Olga with us this Christmas. We are so thankful to be on this journey. Though we've hit turbulence, I am confident the Lord will see us through.

James 1:2-4 says this:

"My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing."

I didn't quite understand this "count it all joy" business until I truly submitted my will to my Father in Heaven's will. Though we want Olga here permanently now, we must be patient..until everything is perfect. We know God's will is perfect - He is perfect! So I have learned that if things don't go my way, then my way must not be God's way and I need to change my course. God is perfecting each of us so that we may be approved and receive the crown of life described in James 1:12. As we celebrate Christ's birth, we should be most thankful that God shows us his Mercy and Grace by having sent His son to die in our place.

Christmas hosting Olga

When we found out that we would have to wait a year before we could bring Olga home we were devastated to say the least.  But God is in control and there is a reason and purpose for this delay.  While we wait, we are very blessed to be able to talk with Olga using Skype and a new friend who speaks Russian.  Also we will be able to host Olga through New Horizons for Children this Christmas and next Summer.  The host fees will add another 5 to 6 thousand dollars to the already expensive adoption.  We are hoping and praying that through donations we will be able to afford the hosting and adoption costs.  If you would like to donate to our adoption, please email us and we will get you our info!  We have an active.com donation link that people can use to donate for this Christmas hosting of Olga.  If you feel so led, please consider a tax deductible donation to help us host Olga this Christmas.  God bless!
http://www.active.com/donate/2009Christmas/hostingOlga

Adoption Roller Coaster

Someone once (several times by now) told me that adoption is a roller coaster ride.  Many ups and downs and we're hanging on for dear life!  A young lady's life.  We were originally told the adoption process would go quickly and smoothly and everything looks in order (yada yada)...only to find out the most frustrating news.  Olga is not registered to be adopted.  WHAT?!  How can this be?  So many questions and no answers.  I feel like a Mom who has just lost her daughter in the store - running around frantic "where is she?  She was just here!  She's got to be right here somewhere!  Find HER!" 
So, we're screaming along on the coaster - one of those looong downward stretches.  What can we do?  Fighting her government would just get us kicked off of the roller coaster.  I've prayed and cried and cried and prayed.  I am trying to learn to shut my eyes and focus on the reason we are here.  God put us on this ride.  He knew the journey, the ups and downs.  He also promises to be there to guide us with His Spirit.  Jesus has saved us from what we were.  There is nothing impossible for Him!  How blessed are we to be drawing near to Him who loves us and saves us by His Grace.  Praise and Honor and Glory to Him!

The Journey

We are on a journey! Our most recent turn began this spring when we learned about a hosting program which brings Eastern Euorpean orphans to America for 6 weeks during the summer and 4 weeks around Christmas. These orphans are shown the love of Jesus and the love of a family. A friend from church decided to host up to 4 orphans (they had room for 4 in their van), and raised money to host 3 girls from Ukraine. One of the girls grabbed our hearts and God transformed our lives to include her. Behind the scenes, God had already prepared the soil of our hearts to consider hosting and adopting. Denton and I looked over the photos and bios of all the children, but could not decide. We could have them all! This one young lady named Olga did stand out to me, but I did not know why. I didn't trust my heart to know that God was preparing us all to be a family.
Over the summer, we got to know Olga & God knit us together in ways and in special moments that can't be explained with common words. God's sovereignty rules all things, and this we know. We are now experiencing the wonders of His love in a new way. This clip I received in an email describes it nicely:

Teacher Debbie Moon's first graders were discussing a picture of a family. One little boy in the picture had a different hair color than the other members. One of her students suggested that he was adopted. A little girl said, 'I know all about Adoption, I was adopted..' 'What does it mean to be adopted?', asked another child. 'It means', said the girl, 'that you grew in your mommy's heart instead of her tummy!'

Well, there you have it! Olga grew in our hearts! We are planning to host Olga this Christmas & we cannot wait to see her again and have her part of our family! If you are interested in hosting, or would like to support our journey by prayer and financial support, please send us an email! dendo74@hotmail.com