Excited and Scared

Adoption is a big game of ‘hurry and wait.’ A few weeks ago, I was going a thousand miles an hour (functioning on very little sleep) trying to submit every last bit of paperwork to Ukraine, and now we sit and wait for weeks on end. Our precious dossier was submitted to the SDA (State Department on Adoption and Children’s Rights) in Ukraine and will be reviewed sometime on or after January 23rd. This means that the SDA will enter our information into their database, (hopefully) approve our application, and then invite us to travel for an appointment with them. It is at this appointment that we will (hopefully) get the official referrals for Andriy and Katya. WHEEW! Please pray that our dossier is approved. The SDA is very strict about the paperwork, so even if there’s a tiny error or misprint, we’ll have to redo the entire document, get it notarized and apostilled (state certified and sealed) AGAIN and mailed back to Ukraine. Every correction is costly to our finances and our timeline. Please pray that we receive our invitation letter in the shortest possible time.  Because of the riots and protests going on in Kiev, we are anticipating delays in the approval process, but we are praying for the best case scenario, which means we will (hopefully) travel somewhere in late February.

We will have a 2-3 week notice of our appointment. As of now, we don’t know when we’ll be traveling, we just need to have the kids’ rooms ready and our luggage on standby. So what does this mean?  We will possibly be seeing our little boy again and meeting Katya for the first time within the next six weeks. The last sentence both excites and terrifies me!

We ask that you continue to cover this process in prayers, as the enemy is hard at work and the fear of the unknown is crippling at times. I have to be honest, I’m worn out and emotionally drained. Roman and I both need a great amount of courage to travel to Ukraine, a country that is currently in disarray, and deal with the reality that many things can (and probably will) go wrong while in Ukraine. We are praying for God to give us the peace and courage to fight through the doubt and frustrations that await us!  Please also pray for Andriy and Katya and for God’s protection over them. We talk to Andriy every few weeks and with every phone call, he sounds more defeated and discouraged. He can’t seem to understand why it’s taking so long and is worried he’ll be transferred to yet another orphanage.

As difficult as this process is, we know it is just the tip of the iceberg. As much as I love that God is impacting Andriy and Katya’s life and growing our family, I have grown to accept the harsh reality that the adoption process is just the beginning of a lifetime of possible struggles.  Being a parent isn’t easy (Can I get an AMEN?!). It’s hard work and can drive you to desperation at times. Being a new parent to scarred, confused and broken children is a lifelong struggle, yet they deserve all the love and patience in the world! We hope we have what it takes to follow God’s direction and help mend their broken hearts.  Thank you in advance for your prayers and support!