Waiting for Little Sissy

Davi has a little notebook (she calls it her diary) that she scribbles in from time to time. This picture was her most recent add. Mind you, there's not a lot of detail as there are with many of her pics--just a quick draw. I asked her about the picture. She said it's Little Sissy inside the orphanage. She's sitting waiting for us. I'm glad to see she has a smile on her face.

A few weeks ago Davi offered to give us money to help with the adoption. She's so funny and such a sweety.

Despite the fact that she's excited to get a sister, she's doing quite well with the wait. Actually, all three of us are feeling at peace about being put on hold as we're watching some messiness happen in Ukraine. We're hoping there as some good changes (and warm weather) in the near future that are timed perfectly with our return. Whatever the case, we know our God is capable of anything, and we're so grateful to be in His wise care.

Gina

March 7th

Our facilitator was not given an invitation this week for us to return for a second appointment. Go figure. He was told that invitations might come next week. Anyone want to place a bet?

Oh well, this is not our biggest concern right now. We just got word of a family who is returning home without a child. They had received three referrals (we've been told you only get two) and went to three regions only to be going home with no child.

We're also hearing of other families who are refusing first referrals, but we haven't gotten to see what is happening at second appointments yet.

We're trusting God's will in all this. Thanks for your prayers. Please pray that we would see God move to release more orphans.

Gina

Still No Appointment, but...

This morning we got an email from our family coordinator. Our facilitator, Yuri, did not receive an invitation for us, but he was told by SDA staff that they are working on invitations for all second appointment families. Yuri expects that we will be invited for April, possibly March, and that we will likely have notification of an appointment date next week. We'll see. God's timing, right?

The spring would be a great time to go, weather-wise. If we go this spring, please pray that we can get to Ukraine and back before Davi finishes school. It would be really nice if she could finish kindergarten and do all the end-of-the year activities with her class.

Gina

Hopefully new info on Friday!

We got a call from our adoption agency family coordinator today. Our facilitator in Ukraine, Yuri, got to meet with someone from the SDA. They told him that this Friday they will have an official letter of invitation for us to return to Ukraine for our second appointment. It is not clear as to whether there will be a specific return date in the letter. I hope it's not just a letter vaguely saying they will have us back sometime. We'll let you know if we do actually get the letter on Friday and what's in it!
Thanks for your prayers!
Gina

Forgotten Yet Fingerprinted

We got fingerprinted for the third time today...you know, just in case something has changed since the last two times we were fingerprinted. If I'm sounding cynical...well then you get my vibe. This was an update to the fingerprints we got last year about this time for the state of Nebraska. The FBI had to have their own set for the USCIS stuff--why they can't share is beyond me.

We're a little concerned that they won't be processed in time for our home study to be updated before the original one expires. Not much we can do about it, though. Of course we're praying.

In the meantime, we're feeling forgotten. I was just on the FRUA website, viewing some previous chats. The only other families, except for our new friends the Reeds and us, that I've come across who are waiting for second appointments are from Germany. At least one of them has been waiting since October. If anyone has heard of someone who was sent home and then returned for a second appointment, please let me know. It seems we've been forgotten by the SDA. They seem to have just gone on with business as usual, just like we never happened. At their first appointments, families have been getting children that we would have gladly welcomed. From a faith perspective, I know those children were not meant for us, but it's still hard to be waiting because "there are no children that match our request." I don't know what they plan to do with all of us who are waiting, or if they plan to do anything. Very frustrating. So we continue to do things like get our fingerprints updated because we're still hoping.

We're tired. We can't wait to have a face to put with all the preparation; then we'll say, "It was all worth it!" But right now, we don't have that face. I admit, I'm having a hard time keeping my focus on Christ without a wandering glance at my circumstances. I'm hoping for the time that we can look back on this and see God's fingerprints all over it. And I'm clinging to the fact that, in Christ, we are never forgotten.

Gina

Anyone?

I'm curious, have any of you heard of someone else who was sent home after a fruitless first appointment and is waiting to return to Ukraine for a second one? Other than our friends the Reeds and us, I have not been able to find anyone else in this situation. Yet, we were told at the SDA that over 100 people were in line ahead of us to be called back for a second appointment. I realize this includes hopeful adopters from other countries as well, but I have my doubts that the list is really that long. Let us know what you know!

Gina

Blood Work and Med Forms...Again

After getting our lab results back (you'll be happy to know we are still free from Hepatitis B, Syphilis, and HIV), we went in to get our medical forms updated. (Since our adoption hasn't been completed yet, we're having to make sure all forms in our dossier stay current.)

You may remember last year it was a major hassle to get these filled out correctly by the doctors and nurse staff. It took several tries (mainly by my doctor), and after finally getting it done right, I got a bill for $100--just for having the paper signed, in addition to what we paid for physicals, blood work, and all that. One of my big fears was having to re-do this form, and low and behold, we had to re-do it.

We went in yesterday, and thankfully it was a breeze! We both went to David's doctor this time, and he was very careful to make sure all the details were just right. He even walked down to the pharmacy with us to make sure it was notarized correctly by the notary-pharmacist, and let us carefully watch the process. Thank God for Dr. Bott! And for something smooth in this volatile process!

This week in Omaha, we'll be in the single digits. This makes Ukraine's 30's sound balmy. We know it's different when you have to be out in it, though. We're thankful to be able to go from building to car to building. We are so blessed here!

Gina