We're on our way!

It's been an eventful week! Until yesterday we didn't know for sure whether or not we'd travel as we wondered whether or not Russia would suspend adoptions, but here we are on our way. Now we're at the airport and are hearing about a volcano causing flight cancellations in Europe and flight delays at ten Russian airports. The adoption caseworker who has worked with us for about a year just told us she'll be starting a new job the middle of next week, so we'll be getting a new caseworker while we're in Russia. I recall that so many of the stories I've heard of international adoption have included great obstacles that have been overcome after much prayer.

I thank God for His peace in the midst of all this. I remember Jesus' words, "in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (Jn 16:33)

We're so thankful that so many of you are praying for us!

For those who pray, here are additional ways you could pray for us while we're traveling:

- for Russian adoptions to U.S. citizens to remain open

- for safety

- for us to get a good sense of how the girls are doing physically, mentally, and emotionally

- for the ability to connect well with the girls

- for the Lord to continue to direct us: if He desires we adopt these girls, that He would give us confirmation; if not, that He would show us otherwise

Thanks so much for praying for us!

Not so fast...we're back on

Conflicting reports from Russia and the US State Department yesterday over the status of US adoptions in Russia.  Early reports quoted an official from the Russian Foreign Ministry that all US adoptions were stopped, and these reports were widely published.  Later in the day, word came from the US State Department that it had no confirmation of such a freeze from either the Russian Ministry of Education (which oversees international adoptions in Russia) or the Kremlin's Children's Rights Office.

This might represent confusion among the Russian ministries, or a bureaucratic turf war in the Russian government, or it could also be brinksmanship by the Russians ahead of the meeting that will take place next week with US officials to negotiate a treaty to prevent further episodes like the ones that touched off this whole mess.  I spoke with the head of the Russia team at our adoption agency yesterday, and was told that as far as they know, nothing has formally changed, although they are (like everyone else) trying to get specific information about what the actual policy of the Russian government is at this time.

So until we get specific, confirmed information to the contrary, we will move with the understanding that US adoptions are still active in Russia.  Our plans are to travel to Russia tomorrow, and meet the two girls in the orphanage in Krasnoyarsk two days later.  Assuming that we do travel tomorrow, I will try to keep everyone posted on how things are going, as I have the time and the internet connectivity.

Thanks to everyone who's expressed concern for us in this journey.  The next big step may be about to begin.

The door closes. For now.

FOXNews.com - Russia Suspends All Adoptions to U.S. Families

Don't yet know if there's any reason for us to travel on Saturday...will post more later as we get brought up to speed by our caseworker.  So many families and children hurt by this...many much more so than us.

Russian President Medvedev weighs in

ABC's George Stephanopoulos was in Moscow to interview Russian President Dmitri Medvedev about the upcoming arms treaty.  This morning in the interview the topic of the adopted Russian boy came up.   Nothing definite here, but it sounds like the Russian government may not immediately close things down just yet.  He's clearly ticked off about what happened, but seems like he doesn't want to do anything harsh yet like closing all US adoption down.

What now?

The Russian foreign minister is calling for an immediate freeze of all US adoptions because of this sad episode. I can only imagine how upset many Russians will feel about it.

No idea yet what will come of this and how it will affect our plans.  Crucially, God does know; and he will be faithful to love us and do us good, regardless of the outcome.

Even so, it will be a long weekend.  Pray for us, and for the girls we still hope soon to meet.

We have a referral, and are heading to Russia soon!

After many months, we have received a referral from Russia to go and meet two little girls who need a family. Lots of waiting for a long time while we moved into a new home and prepared for being parents, and suddenly things are moving very, very fast!

The girls are ages four and a half and one and a half. They are at an orphanage near Krasnoyarsk, a large city in central Siberia. (As it happens, this is not very far from Irkutsk, where Linda and I spent several months way back in 1992-1993.) They have been there for nine months. We are not at liberty yet to say much more about the girls publicly until the adoption is finalized.

We are preparing to travel to Russia at the end of next week to meet them, and there's a lot of paperwork to do before we leave. Our trip will only last for seven days, of which we will get to spend about two or three days with the girls at the orphanage. We'll post what we can during our trip, depending on internet access and what the orphanage allows us to photograph/video.

We will not be bringing the girls back with us on this trip. After meeting them, we return home; and assuming all goes well, we would return to Russia two or three months from now to take custody of the girls and appear in a Russian court to formalize the adoption. After a mandatory ten-day waiting period during which we would have to stay in Russia, we would then bring them home with us after visiting the US Embassy in Moscow.

Excitement, nerves, worries about many things...and we have a lot to do in the short time remaining before our trip. Pray for us as we prepare to meet these little ones.

Relocation

Tomorrow, with the help of many friends and family, we are packing our belongings into a storage container and preparing to leave the house we've called home for over 12 years. Our hope and plan is to be moving into a larger home in Richfield that will have more space for children than our original house did.

We will miss the old house and the neighborhood, but we are glad for the chance to get a home that's better for kids: right across the street from a park, lots of play space, plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms. We are thankful for our old home, thankful for the new one, and most thankful of all for those around us who have been so helpful and generous with their time through the many hours of house-selling preparation and process. We can't wait to get re-located and have you all over once we're moved in.