God is in control

Jan. 18: (By Tammy) We met Valery at the Notary’s office and had to have the boys’ Passport applications notarized. After this, we went to some indoor shops across the street, (a mini mall) and found some rolling suitcases for Zhenya and Sasha suitable enough to be considered carry on size. We then made our way back to the hotel. Valery was off again to the bank for some business and to exchange some money for us. The school will be giving Viktor and Sasha a party/dance in their honor tonight, so we’ll also provide some fruit and tortes (cakes) for this event. Curtis braved the outdoor market to purchase some very large boxes of tangerines. The children rarely have fresh fruit to eat in the orphanages and usually are not given any citrus fruit in the winter. So, we thought it would be nice to bless them at the party with some fresh fruit.

We’re a little concerned that because of all the paperwork having to be done in Berdyansk and Zaporozhe that we haven’t even seen Zhenya yet. We’ll see him tomorrow when we have to go back to Zaporozhe for the Foreign Passport photos and then back to Takmak, because all three boys have to be present for this. We’ll also be spending time with him in Kiev before we leave. We hope this will be ok for him and we won’t feel like total strangers when we leave for the U.S. We have to admit we’re disappointed about Viktor not being able to go with us and know he is too. We’re trying to have good attitudes and trust God there is a reason he has to be delayed. We know we’ll all be together in Alabama soon.

As I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night for several hours, I’ve been turning to God’s Word to calm my heart and strengthen my trust in Him. Psalm 146 was especially encouraging to me last night, that He cares for the cause of the orphan and obviously cares for those involved in pleading their case. A portion of it reads, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in it, who knows truth forever: who executes judgment for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises them that are bowed down, and the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord preserves the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and the widow; but the way of the wicked he turns upside down. The Lord shall reign forever, even your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord.” So, I know that God is actively involved in the process of caring for orphans and He surely sees our situation right now.

(By Curtis) Tamara wasn’t feeling well so only Valery and I went to the orphanage about 4:00pm to take the cakes and tangerines and to talk with Galina about a few things. When we arrived, we could tell that there was something was very wrong by the sound of Galina’s voice on the phone. One of her assistants sent for the boys and the three of us went out in the hall to talk while Galina finished her conversation. Much to our surprise, Viktor told us that the party would not be held tonight because all of the children had to attend a performance by the small children in downtown Berdyansk and they would have to leave at 5:00pm. They were very happy about the cakes and tangerines and also told us that the party would now be on Saturday night. We asked permission to store the cakes and tangerines in the cafeteria refrigerator and I walked there with the boys. The cafeteria at the orphanage is spacious and very clean and has artwork hanging on the walls of the dining area. Sasha pointed out a beautiful painting of a flower arrangement that Viktor had done. We went back to Galina’s office and she told us that she was upset because a father had taken his son and daughter for a couple of days to visit and had not returned them when he promised. The police had checked his home and no one was there so Galina was worried about where they were (fortunately we found out the next day that the children had been returned and were unharmed). Because of this situation, we told Galina that we would wait until Saturday to talk with her and we returned to the hotel while Viktor and Sasha went to the concert.

When I got back to the room, Tamara was feeling better so we decided to go downstairs and get something to eat. There had been a birthday party for a little girl and we were the only guests being served beside what remained of the adults from the party. After we ordered the special for the night, chicken steak and mashed potatoes, we were surprised to find out that the people from the party sent over another dish for us to try. It was like a pastry with ground beef inside and it tasted delicious. I guess they thought that these two Americans would never order this dish on their own. I smiled at them and gave them the “thumbs up” sign to thank them for their kindness. After dinner, there were no free computers to check email so we just went back upstairs and watched and American movie on TV so we could follow what was happening enough to understand the plot. After talking to Baylee for a few minutes, we went to sleep.