With Hopeful Hearts We Wait...: November 2011

Limba noastră

Republic of Moldova National Anthem

Limba noastră-i o comoară
În adîncuri înfundată
Un şirag de piatră rară
Pe moşie revărsată.
Limba noastră-i foc ce arde
Într-un neam, ce fără veste
S-a trezit din somn de moarte
Ca viteazul din poveste.
Limba noastră-i numai cîntec,
Doina dorurilor noastre,
Roi de fulgere, ce spintec
Nouri negri, zări albastre.
Limba noastră-i graiul pîinii,
Cînd de vînt se mişcă vara;
In rostirea ei bătrînii
Cu sudori sfinţit-au ţara.
Limba noastră-i frunză verde,
Zbuciumul din codrii veşnici,
Nistrul lin, ce-n valuri pierde
Ai luceferilor sfeşnici.
Nu veţi plînge-atunci amarnic,
Că vi-i limba prea săracă,
Şi-ţi vedea, cît îi de darnic
Graiul ţării noastre dragă.
Limba noastră-i vechi izvoade.
Povestiri din alte vremuri;
Şi citindu-le 'nşirate, -
Te-nfiori adînc şi tremuri.
Limba noastră îi aleasă
Să ridice slava-n ceruri,
Să ne spuie-n hram şi-acasă
Veşnicele adevăruri.
Limba noastra-i limbă sfîntă,
Limba vechilor cazanii,
Care-o plîng şi care-o cîntă
Pe la vatra lor ţăranii.
Înviaţi-vă dar graiul,
Ruginit de multă vreme,
Stergeţi slinul, mucegaiul
Al uitării 'n care geme.
Strîngeţi piatra lucitoare
Ce din soare se aprinde -
Şi-ţi avea în revărsare
Un potop nou de cuvinte.
Răsări-va o comoară
În adîncuri înfundată,
Un şirag de piatră rară
Pe moşie revărsată.

A treasure is our language that surges
From deep shadows of the past,
Chain of precious stones that scattered
All over our ancient land.
A burning flame is our language
Amidst a people waking
From a deathly sleep, no warning,
Like the brave man of the stories.
Our language is made of songs
From our soul's deepest desires,
Flash of lighting striking swiftly
Through dark clouds and blue horizons.
Our language is the language of bread
When the winds blow through the summer,
Uttered by our forefathers who
Blessed the country through their labour.
Our language is the greenest leaf
Of the everlasting forests,
Gentle river Nistru's ripples
Hiding starlight bright and shining.
Utter no more bitter cries now
That your language is too poor,
And you will see with what abundance
Flow the words of our precious country.
Our language is full of legends,
Stories from the days of old.
Reading one and then another
Makes one shudder, tremble and moan.
Our language is singled out
To lift praises up to heaven,
Uttering with constant fervour
Truths that never cease to beckon.
Our language is more than holy,
Words of homilies of old
Wept and sung perpetually
In the homesteads of our folks.
Resurrect now this our language,
Rusted through the years that have passed,
Wipe off filth and mould that gathered
When forgotten through our land.
Gather now the sparkling stone,
Catching bright light from the sun.
You will see the endless flooding
Of new words that overflow.
A treasure will spring up swiftly
From deep shadows of the past,
Chain of precious stones that scattered
All over our ancient land.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

An Anwered Prayer

This week we received Awesome Awesome news.

Since our last trip we have talked about getting Nastya into a Christian Foster Family in Transnistria. After the last update we decided to look more into what would need to be done to make this happen. We emailed Anna (Help the Children) with our thoughts. Its been a little over 2 weeks and God has answered this prayer.

Immediately Anna knew of a family that was currently fostering 2 other children Nastya's age and could possibly take 1 more. She contacted Dina and Anatoly (a pastor of a large church in Transnistria) and explained to them the situation of one day possibly being adopted by a couple in the United States; they had no reserves about meeting Nastya and took a trip to Popenki. The director informed Nastya's aunt, Alla (her only relative as well) about possibly being fostered. Although Alla has no rights to Nastya it was out of respect to include her in this decision especially after she was already under the impression that Nastya would be adopted. That day everyone met at a cafe and all agreed (Praise God) that this was in the best interest of Nastya. Nastya will spend this weekend with the family to get to know them. It will take about 2 months to complete paperwork and then she will be allowed to leave the orphanage and live with this family.

Pray for Nastya as she makes this transition. Pray for Dina and Anatoly as they take another child into their home. Thank you Lord for this precious family and for opening their hearts to one of your children yet again. Pray for Alla that she has peace and knows in her heart that she has allowed Nastya a better life than in an orphanage. Thank you Lord for Alla's change of heart towards adoption/foster care. We pray that through this all Nastya comes to know she is loved and most of all by Jesus! We pray that through all this and those who read this blog are touched and see your hand in it all. All for Your Glory! Lord, we reach out to you alone for guidance and to reveal our place in this child's life. Amen.

It's been a while! And a lot has happened!

Most of you already know that on July 12th we found out we are expecting. Yes, to answer your question, we were pleasantly surprised. I told you... A LOT has happened. We are so thrilled and can't wait for March 16th. And, by now we know that it is a GIRL!

So many of you have asked about Nastya and our plans to continue trying to adopt her. It is certainly still on our hearts and something we continue to pray about. We have had several exchanges with her since our trip that you can see below.

Here's some of whats happened over the past few months...

May 1 - ended our wait for the referral of a Moldovan child 0-5 years.

June 15 - spoke with Carolina Adoptions (another agency with a Moldovan program) about our situation and whether they would be willing to help us try and adopt from Transnistria.

July 18 - received our 1st update from Nastya since our trip. Here are some pictures and a letter from her...

August 12 Today is Nastya's 9th Birthday. Praying for her on this special day. Happy Birthday Nastya!

August 29 Today we were blessed with another update and pictures. For her birthday we put together a photo book and sent it to her. These are pictures from when she received our package.

October 20 - Today we received a letter and pictures from Nastya. In her letter she asked when we would come again. She told us she missed and loved us. Here are some of the pictures...