We had a relaxing day. Our main business was simply driving to downtown Kiev to pick up our referral papers for the orphanage. As our eyes adjust to these new surroundings we're starting to see signs of life around us. The quad outside our kitchen was filled with children and moms in spite of the cold weather...check out the thermometer in the photo...

The photo of the beautiful building was taken in downtown Kiev. At first we thought it was the SDA because we parked and walked in that direction, but the SDA office entrance turned out to be like the back door of a very ordinary building.

Tomorrow morning we take a 1 hour 15 minute flight to the Donetsk region and will meet the twins. Pray that our eyes will be opened to whether these are the kids God has in mind for our family and that we will all be at ease in meeting each other for the first time.

We are thankful for your prayers. People from all over are telling us they are praying: from California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Florida, and South Carolina. We feel literally lifted up and carried along by God's spirit through these prayers. We have inexplicable peace about Abbie and Hannah while we are apart from them, which is to God's glory: praise Him! We thank the Cox family, the Lashowers, the Whitcomb family, the Laniers, the Braccos, the Millers, Kelsea, and the Johnson family, all of whom are working together to care for our girls and get them where they need to be as well as to comfort them while we are apart.

Tomorrow's blog should be informative and may included photos of the twins...stay tuned!

Today was a very big day! We found a set of 7 year old twins, a boy and a girl, who were abandoned by their mother 2 years ago. Their father is unknown. They came available last week. They just seem to fit, and Mike and I both felt led to them.

Wednesday we fly to the region where their orphanage is and meet them. Their names are Anastasia and Ivan. They both have brown hair and brown eyes and were described as "not very big" physically but are at grade level academically. We were also told that they are active and healthy. Ivan has an astigmatism which is correctable with glasses. Anastasia has a weak right eye which is evident in her photo. We are told that this is often a correctable condition, but we also have come to terms with the fact that it might not be correctable.

God is growing us in that He accepted us in our imperfect state. We both were convicted that the outward appearance meant more to us than it should have. We have been told that the region they are in is one of the easier regions to work in as far as documents and court dates goes. Also, our guide spoke with the director of their orphanage on the phone and she seemed cooperative. This is all very promising. Right now we wait until Tuesday late afternoon for the referral documents to be completed. In the meanwhile we pray for our meeting with these two children.

These photos are taken from the kitchen window in our apartment here in Kiev. As we drove from the airport the main road was lined with apartment complexes that look just like this.

We made it to Kiev, Ukraine without incident. We were met by our guide and went straight to our apartment with one stop on the way for groceries. Winter in Kiev is pretty much as we expected-gray and cold. The best word to describe it is "bleak." To put it another way, Mikey won't be stopping in any real estate offices on this trip. Our apartment is small and comfortable. We cooked pelmeni in the tiny kitchen. The refrigerator is across from the toilet (see photo) because it won't fit in the kitchen! We wanted to take photos of the outside of the building but will have to wait 'til tomorrow when it is light out. It is completely dark here by 5pm.



Tomorrow is the most pivotal day of our trip. Our SDA appointment is at 9am Ukraine time/7pm Pacific. Praise God that we have complete confidence in our guide. Pray for clarity for Mike and me as we review the information they give us on available children.

Layover in London...We couldn't have asked for a more comfortable and convenient hotel. We really made the most of the ammenities and caught up on some much needed rest!

We can feel God's presence and peace. We are amazed at the way things have worked out with our girls and feel so at ease with having left them. Part of this is because of the way so many friends have been so willing to care for them with deep love. But even with that incredible support system, anyone who knows Mikey knows that leaving his girls and travelling for any length of time-let alone out of the country-is in itself a testimony to the transforming power of God's Spirit in him! I can attest as a witness to this power in the life of my husband. God is doing a marvelous thing!

Hannah's Thoughts

It is the night before our parents leave for the Ukraine. In one sense, I'm excited to get a new sibling how cool is that...but then again, I'll miss my parents a lot. I hope God shows them the right child to adopt. I will kind of miss the times alone with my family, but I know the times ahead will be even better. I can't wait until they get back and they haven't even left yet! I just want to get situated and finally relax after long last! Check in everyday!

Abbie's Thoughts

I'm sad that my parents are leaving, but I know that they'll choose the right kids and that they are going there for God. I know that I will be taken care of and that I am loved by my parents. I'll even get to talk to them everyday! I pray that their trip will be safe and that they will come home safe. I am very excited about getting new siblings too (as long as it is not a boy.) I can't wait to go to Ukraine myself. My friends are supporting me in this, too.

Well, we're off to Ukraine tomorrow! Here is a little background for those of you who just got bits and pieces of our adoption story so far...


About 3 years ago, Mike was overwhelmed with compassion for the plight of young teenage girls in eastern block countries who were trafficked into prostitution. The majority of the girls were orphans who had either exited institutions at age 16 or ran away at an even younger age. They were promised waitressing jobs at resorts in other countries only to find out it was prostitution. There are even organizations in that region which rescue and rehabilitate these girls from this heinous crime.


We soon realized that Mike's compassion compelled our whole family to minister to orphans and to find ways of getting children into homes before they fell prey to that devastation. After a year of searching and planning and connecting with various people who were very eager to help, all the doors we thought were opening closed. The whole time we felt we were being led by God, so when we received silence, it was a crisis of faith for us. Was it our own imaginings? Our own ambitions? Needs? We did a lot of searching and waiting in prayer and received a lot of silence. We chose to wait on the LORD.



About six months later (last August) we were contacted by one of our contacts saying there were 10 orphans in the US on a host program who were in need of homes and asking if we or anyone we knew could travel to meet them and consider adopting. Unfortunately, we already had plans for a family gathering in Los Altos, CA and began to decline the offer, when we were then told to our amazement that the orphans would be staying in Los Altos, CA! We knew that this door was now wide open. Since that time we have selected and lost several children, but the ups and downs have only served to cause us to trust God's leading alone as we now prepare to find the children we know God has already chosen to be part of our family.

Mikey is getting ready for the big travel day tomorrow!
Mikey gets a long kiss goodbye from Bailey!