Transnistria - Europe's Black Hole - 31 min documentary

Some of our favorite verses

Our adoption process has been full of hope and definitely at times been a real test of faith. I wanted to share a few verses I've often found myself resiting.

"Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea, 'and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too. Mark 11:22-25

I find this to be one of the most powerful verses in the Bible. I have has this verse on my heart lately and it has brought me back to the beginning of our adoption process when someone from an agency we first connected with shared a little encouragement after a long conversation about the frustration and confusion we were encountering.

Here is what she had to say...
Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Great Faith leads to:
-Great undertakings (determined to do whatever is necessary)
-Great expectations (believing for big things done by God)
-Awakens great earnestness (prays with persistence until God moves)
-Conquers great difficulties
-Achieves great victories!!!

We just needed a little reminder that what the LORD purposes in His heart will come to pass. Maybe not in our timing, but it will happen. His delays are not His denials! And He is never late. Thank you Ashley for your encouragement!

Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to him for protection. Proverbs 30:5

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. Deuteronomy 31:6

No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Joshua 1:5

We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1:27

Oh, Praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift up holy hands in prayer and praise the Lord. May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Zion. Psalm 134:1-3

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. 2 Corinthians 1:3

O' Lord, you do such wonderful things! You planned them long ago, and now you have accomplished them. Isaiah 25:1

Read Psalm 108 (Here, David prays for victory found in God's strength. With God's help, we can claim more than mere survival, we can claim victory! God uses our distress as an opportunity to show his mighty power!!!

The Art of Adoption

Our next fundraiser is quickly approaching and we are so excited about this one!

Fundraisers

Fundraiser #1 U MATTER Sponsored Event: Save The Children Moldova and Fusion Dance

On June 26th we had our first fundraising event along with another family also adopting from Moldova. The event was held at Fusion Dance and Fitness Studio in Woodstock to help raise money to bring our little girl home. Dance classes (Zumba, Pole, and a Latin Couples) were offered for a minimum donation. We also raffled items that were donated by serveral local businesses...

Honeybutter Boutique - a womens dress
Punctuation Boutique - jewelry
Town Lake Cinemas - movie passes
Pure Taquaria - gift card
La Parilla - gift card
Canyons Burgers - gift card
Paris Mullins (my stepdad who is an Optomitrist) - pair of Costa sunglasses
Aveda Salon - gift card
Christian Brothers Automotive - free oil change coupons
BJs - gift card
Town Lake Choi Kwang Do - free training passes
Roly Poly - Sandwich trays

All in all, it was a fun fun night! I learned that I am pretty good on the pole (when it comes to climbing it) and even learned a few tricks (yep, those kind). For those of you seeking upper body strength this is the way to go! That body will burrrn the next day.

Thank you so much Heather for arranging this event for us. You and your instructors were wonderful! Here are a few pictures.

Fusion Dance - flash slideshow maker

Fundraiser #2 Another Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure...
and this proved to be true.

A couple we go to church with adopted from Latvia and understand very well the costs that go along with international adoption. They suggested to us that we have a community yard sale to help raise the much needed funds and we sure liked the idea! Thank you Scott and Darice Jamison. First, we sent an email to everyone we knew asking for donations. Sure enough, family, friends, and friends of friends were all calling and more than happy to donate. Some even took it as a time to "clean house". We were extremly grateful! In the end we had a 3 car garage filled with...you name it, we had it!
If you know me, you know I LOVE organization and do not function properly if I am not organized (some of you have even asked me to be your personal organizer). After a couple weeks of "organizing" 3 garages of "stuff" I no longer cared about the contents of our pantry lined accordingly and with all labels facing out, the toilet paper torn precisly from the roll, rabbit ears on the sofa pillows, the spacing of the hangers in my closet, toys in their corresponding bins, towels all folded the same way, etc... Actually, I've started to care again but I do not care to have another yard sale for a very long time! Thank you Betty and Kristen for all the time spent organizing and pricing those items! We burned a lot of calories slapping those price tags on!

For those of you that didn't have the luxury of pricing things, this is pretty much how it went...
Kristen: "How much do you want on this one?"
Kari: " how much do you think on this?"
Betty: "Sistaaaa, how much on this?"
Kristen: "Oh we've got ANOTHER of these, how much?"
Kari: freebie pile, fifty cent pile, dollar pile.
Betty: "Oh, all out of $5 tags, I'll just put a 50 cent'er on it."

No to sound like I've won a Grammy of anything BUT...
MUCH thanks to everyone who helped out. Thank you Tom Fant for allowing us to use your business parking lot. It worked out perfect. Thank you Lane for making extra signs last minute. Thank you Haley for working as though it was you needing the money. Thank you Tom and Jason for running the hot dog stand in the heat. Thank you Mom and Sherrie for keeping up with the money. Thanks Tom and Sherrie for donating all the food. Thank you Jessica and Drew for driving all the way to help and shop. Thank you family and friends for all your support. And THANK YOU shoppers! We never imagined it to turn out the way it did... more confirmation!

Adoption Yard Sale - slide show

...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances Philippians 4:11

Over the past few months it seems I've become so focused on this adoption that I go to sleep thinking about it and I wake up thinking about it. I even plan everything out in my mind how its going to happen. I constantly wonder if its going to happen and when and then eventually become frustrated. It’s easy in life to get so focused on our dreams, goals, and what WE want that it consumes us, even to the point where we’re not going to be satisfied until it happens. Thankfully and once again, my patient Heavenly Father has reminded me that I don't need anything but HIM in order to be happy. When our goals and dreams start to frustrate us, when we lose our peace, and life's no fun, we're probably a little off balance. When we "learn to be content whatever the circumstances", it takes away the power of the enemy and his ability to frustrate us. When you choose to trust in His timing, you can live in peace and you can rest in Him knowing that He has good things in store for your future.

Thank you Father for the freedom to cast my burdens to you. Father God, during this season of waiting I’m choosing to trust You and Your timing because You are faithful. You know my desires and You know what’s best for me, so God I turn all fear and frustration over the dreams of my heart over to You, the Giver of all our desires. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Orphans of Moldova and the Popenki Orphanage in Transnistria

The Orphans of Moldova - flash slideshow maker

The beginning...

This past March I traveled to the country of Moldova with a group from my church. We were the first group to go and it is my prayer that the Lord continues to bless our church with the opportunity to do work in this amazing country. Moldova is a small country landlocked between Ukraine to the east and Romania to it's west and is the poorest country in Europe. It has also been noted as being "the engine" of Human Trafficking.

We spent a lot of time in orphanages throughout Moldova, teaching older children (those about to age out of the system) the dangers of Human Trafficking while also spreading the love of Christ. One of the orphanages we visited was located in the separtist part of Moldova called Transnistria. Transnistria is a breakaway territory located on the eastern border of Moldova. Their sovereignty is not recognized by any other member of the United Nations and the country has no official diplomatic relations. They are referred to as Europe's "Black Hole" country. Basically, no one recognizes them. They do not exist. Oleg (founder of New Hope Moldova) and his wife, Marina (both Moldovan citizens) have established a relationship with the director of this particular orphanage (Popenki). They were able to arrange for us to go and spend time with some of the younger children.

My heart cried out with compassion as I looked into the faces of these children. I layed my hands on as many children as I could and prayed that they would come to know the Lord and His love for them. I prayed that they would find hope amongst the conditions they lived. I prayed that they would overcome all affliction and find famlies. EACH and EVERY ONE!! We have a BIG God and He can do BIG things!

Little did I know, God was at work in more ways than I would have ever imagined.

I took my camera and captured a picture of a 7 year old little girl who has become the face of our adoption and the face of this blog. Her smile has become a constant reminder of God's love for us. It reminds us that there is hope and to never give up on her or any other child. I found that like many institutionalized children, this little girl had an aunt. She was not (by law) "orphaned" and could not be adopted. Her aunt still held rights to her. Sadly enough, this is the same story for a lot of orphans especially those living in Moldova, the poorest country in Europe.

I left this orphanage like I had left the others except with a child's name and small piece of her story.

Still, completely unaware of the Lord's mighty hand at work.

I was on the plane headed home still unaware of what more was to come of my trip to Moldova. Unaware of the love God would instill in both our hearts for a country we had once never heard of.

But God was still at work...

While reading a Sky Miles magazine there in the center of the page was a picture of a little girl with a very familiar smile. The corresponding article was about a charitable Christmas event held by a company for the children of the Popenki Orphanage. Yes, it was the same little girl!

After my trip we felt strongly about where God was leading us to adopt.

It's simply our desire to give a child in need what every child deserves, a home and family to love them. James 1;27 says to look after orphans and widows in their distress. The Lord actually commands us to care for His orphaned children!

After a few years of talking about adoption and praying that God would lead us, we are happy to announce that we've started the adoption process. To Moldova, of course!