What turned out to be a long wait, suddenly became short!

WOW!  We received the results of our FBI background checks!  Was told 2 days ago they were still in process but would be mailed out by the 31st.  Had resolved that our trip down to the mailbox wouldn't be quite as exciting the next few days, but yesterday on our way home from our USCIS fingerprinting appointment we stopped by the mailbox and mine was there.  Result: No Arrest Record.  Of course I wasn't at all surprised by the results, it was just the fact that it had arrived.  Happy Dance commenced.  But then we began to wonder why Charlie's wasn't there... hummmm had he been hiding something from me for all these years???  Well as of today he's in the clear, his arrived today.  Result: No Arrest Record.  Another dance.  So now the last piece needed for our Dossier is the I-171H form.  Would love to have the same experience, we're told it usually takes about 2 weeks from the time of fingerprinting, who knows, maybe just a week??  ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.  I know Charlie and I will be praying for sooner than later.  Please join us in that prayer.  Will let you know when that happy dance begins... :] 

All that continues to happen leads me to believe that once we start praising Him, we can never really stop because there is no end to His greatness and our reason to be grateful...

So good to hear your voice!!

I wasn't intending to do another update so soon, but this couldn't wait!  To say that I'm walking a foot off the ground this morning is an understatement!  I spoke with Lena on the phone for the first time this morning!! 

Charlie and I were given permission by Konstantin, our facilitator a few days ago to contact Lena by phone.  We had attempted to do just that, but had not been successful in getting through.  Before Charlie left for Denver on Monday morning we were up at 5am, and down the road looking for a spot in the road that would yield us 3 bars on our cell phone rather then the almost one we've been getting at home.  We didn't want to get a hold of Lena, and lose her in the middle of the call (many of you understand this due to your own personal experience when speaking with us, we're told it's what happens when you live in the middle of nowhere), we also have to keep in mind a 9 hour time difference, which puts a limit on calling time, unfortunately we were unsuccessful once again.  Before heading out, Charlie, bless his heart, gave me permission to keep trying without him, for he knew how anxious I was to get a hold of her. 
Soooo, this morning I made a trip down to the mailbox, and thought I'd try again, and THERE SHE WAS!!

Hello.
Hello, is this Lena?
Huh?
Is this Lena?  Lena this is Judy.
OOOOOHHHHHH!   YES YES this is LENA!!  How are you?
I am very good, how are you Lena?
Good! Good!
LENA!!!  It's so good to hear your voice!!!!!
I do not speak English well, understand little bit.  Sorry sorry.
It's OK!  Charlie and I love you!! 
For about a half hour Lena and I worked to understand each other, laughing and reassuring each other it was OK, we both wanted to understand so badly.  But, I felt and believe Lena did too, that just the fact that we were talking to one another was incredible.
I was really very surprised how well she did do, it's not going to take her long.  I could sense her determination, I love it!
Let me share some of what I did understand:

I want to come to America!!  To Arizona.
I see you in Ukraine soon!
Say hello to Charlie.
I like horses.
I like to ride horses.
How is my room?
Can you send more pictures of my room?
Can you send more pictures of Rowdy?  (one of our horses)
I like Rowdy.  I want to ride Rowdy.
How is Kristina?
Can Kristina ride horses one day too?  Can Kristina visit Arizona?
How is Natalia Family in America?
How is Marie and Brian?
I want to visit Marie and Brian.
How is Jennifer?
I want  to come to America, I want to live with you.
Call Galyna, she will help us understand each other.  Call today!
Galyna phone number is.....

Yep, What a perfectly wonderful morning... :]
Think I'll be spending the rest of the day a foot or more off the ground... :]

Note:  I had heard about Galyna from Linda Goodness, she is a translator, and helped the Goodness Family communicate with Kristina.  I did try and get a hold of her after Lena and I hung up, but was unable to reach her.  I will call her in the next day or two, when Charlie is at home, so we can speak with Lena together.  Can't wait!!

Update:  Called the FBI office again this morning, they said we can expect our background check to be in the mail by the 31st.  Another few days and the daily trip down to the mailbox will once again be cause for much anticipation...

God keeps doing some really great stuff!!

This past Saturday, Charlie and I were able to spend some time with the family that hosted Lena when she came for the cultural camp/hosting program last summer.  We'd had the chance to speak with Marie by phone several times, as well as exchange several emails over the past 8 months.  This was our first face to face meeting with Marie and Brian, and what a great afternoon it was!  Marie and Brian were happy to share their adoption experience with us, as they returned from Ukraine in December of last year with their 8 year old son Mark.  We also heard some more great stories of Lena.  There is one story in particular I would love to share, but feel as if Lena would prefer I didn't... it had all four of us laughing, and appreciating Lena's thought, and resourcefulness.  Suffice it to say, Charlie and I will be parenting again.  Your prayers are most welcome.  :] 
As with the Mexin Family (who have 3 adoptive children from Ukraine and are working to bring 2 more children home in October) and the Goodness Family (who brought Lena's good friend Kristina home in July), whom we feel a deep connection with, we are thrilled to add the Murphy's to our extended family.  So you see, God keeps doing some really great stuff!!  I feel as if I'm wearing a permanent smile in my heart, and I like it. 

So tomorrow we will give the FBI Record Request Department a call again to check the status of our background check, Thursday our fingerprinting for the USCIS will be done, and we will wait for our I-171H form.  Once those two things are received, those will need to be notarized, then all documents will be apostilled, and then off to Ukraine our dossier goes.  We'll keep you posted...

In the meantime,

Charlie and I will praise you, O Lord, with all our hearts;

We will tell of all your wonders,

We will be glad and rejoice in you,

We will sing praise to your name, O most High.

Psalm 9:1

Lena

This morning has been no different than any other morning since we learned of Lena.  Thoughts of her consume our days.  It is much like being pregnant, so much love and anticipation for that child you wait to hold, to know, to protect.  It is difficult in the sense that Lena is already present, living where this imperfect world is having an imperfect impact on her daily life.  Which I suppose in some ways will not change, but soon she will come home to Charlie and I.  Where she will experience love, encouragement, understanding, protection and provision.  Her forever family.

I have really begun to ponder and enjoy the thought of how God creates a family... 
let me tell you what we have learned about Lena, most from the incredible people that have had the pleasure of interacting with her, and through our emails back and forth.
Lena turned 14 on July 7th.  Lena is passionate about horses.  Her favorite horses are paints and mustangs.  Lena enjoys taking pictures, we have quite a bit of her work, which one day we hope to share, she likes pizza, hotdogs, fried mushrooms, and chocolate.  She likes to fall asleep to music.  Lena is very good at embroidery and cross stitch.  Her favorite holiday is April Fools day, because her classmates like to "deceive" her.  Her favorite breed of dog is the Malamute.  She enjoys and does well in school.  She would rather wear pants then skirts, and loves to compete in volleyball and enjoys planting flowers in the flower garden. We are told that Lena is a very energetic girl, very communicative, she has very strong leadership potential.  She is friendly, and is active in her class and school.  Good memory, exceptionally smart, very good intuition, very organized, and likes to be the center of attention.  Lena is a character, she is playful, she makes things happen.  She is of strong character. 

...so I find myself laughing on the inside, chuckling on the outside, and wondering out loud why it is that God seems to think putting active and strong personalities into my life is so important...  I was sharing this once again with my dear "strong" friend Roxie last night, she commented, "Jude, God doesn't put them in your life because you need them, He puts you in our lives because we need you."  Maybe that's so, and I must admit and do believe that those strong personalities (and you know who you are, and I'm not just speaking of Charlie :]) that God has spiced up my life with, and whom I do love dearly, are not in my life by chance.  As I consider how God has chosen this very special girl, whom we already love, to join our family, I am extremely grateful, and extremely excited to finally meet her, to hold her, to know her, to protect her.  God is the one who fashions and fits, and did I mention, Lena loves horses, taking pictures, chocolate, prefers pants over skirts, planting flowers in the garden, and music... hey, those are a few of my favorite things! 

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good!

Genesis 1:31

Dossier update: made a call to the FBI Record Request Department this morning, to check on our background check, was told it was received and is in process, to call back mid next week for another update.  Guess our trip to the mailbox today won't be quite as exciting.  :]

Work and waiting continues...

Work and waiting continues on our dossier.  What is a dossier you ask, which is a question I asked not so long ago myself.  A dossier is a set of legal documents and adoption papers used in international adoptions which includes the home study, marriage license, financial statement, medical statement, etc. 
To date we continue to wait on the results of our FBI background check.  OBVIOUSLY Charlie and I have no concern as to the results, but it's the trek down to the mailbox each day with the hopes to fetch them that makes it seem a long time coming.  Who knows, maybe today??!!  We also received word 2 weeks ago that our appointment to have what will be our third set of fingerprints done thus far, this time for the USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Service) is set for August 26th, 8am in Phoenix.  We'd hoped that it would be a bit sooner, but as with most things in life, if we admit it, we have no control.  But, I believe I've finally arrived at that point in life, that I really do believe HIS plan is a far better one than anything I could possibly hope for or come up with.  I'm learning to love what He's gonna do next.  So 2 weeks is what we're told to expect from the time we are fingerprinted until the time we receive the final piece of our dossier, the I-171H form (Notice of Favorable Determination Concerning Applications for Advance Processing of Orphan Petition).

Next on the list, all dossier documents must be apostilled (a form that contains standardized information, which allows data to be understood by all participating countries regardless of language), and then forwarded to our facilitator in Ukraine, Konstantin, whom we've heard many great things about, and his team for translation.  By October we're told our dossier should be in the hands of the Ukraine State Department of Adoption (SDA).  Then we wait for our invitation to meet with them.  At the end of 3 to 4 weeks (which we anticipate would be the end of November), in country, it is our hope and prayer that we will return home with Lena.  Please pray with us...

I read this quote not long ago, and it continues to stick in my mind, which makes me believe that God must intend for me to learn it and apply it, the reason I believe this, because it seems very little sticks any longer...

"Step away from the puny pursuits of possession and position and seek your King!".

Not without some struggle and much prayer do I feel as if I am indeed doing just that, and in doing so, I am, and know Charlie is, feeling as if the floodgates have opened and we are finding ourselves experiencing the overwhelming blessing of Him working through us.  Not to mention His presence, His peace, great joy and anticipation. 

  "For I know the plans I have for you, " says the Lord. 

"They are plans for good."  Jeremiah 29:11

More later...  looking forward to my trip down to the mailbox in a few hours. 

The beginning of our Adoption Story:

Seems God has big plans for Charlie and I, plans we just came to realize this past October.  Early 2009, I began to sense that God had something in mind for me, that life was going to change in some way, I could feel it coming... I shared those feelings with Charlie, and we began to pray, that whatever it might be, that He would make it clear, and that He would prepare us.  In March 2009 over the course of several weeks, our Pastor shared our churches (Prescott Christian Church) new vision statement, “Passionately Pursue God, Creatively Care for People, and Continuously Contribute to the Kingdom”, Charlie and I then began to pray about how that would translate into our lives.  Motivated by His love, we desired to do more, we began praying as Jabez did, for God to expand our territory for His glory.  It was then in October, Pastor Jason preached the “And Justice for All” series. Through that sermon series we became aware of the plight of orphans in Eastern Europe, over 100,000 in Ukraine alone, with 90% of them being social orphans due to alcoholism, abandonment or imprisonment of parents.  At the age of 15 or 16 these children are turned out of the orphanages unprepared for life outside a home.  The statistics of life after leaving the orphanage are grim.  Sixty percent of the girls will wind up on the streets as prostitutes.  Seventy percent of boys will enter a life of crime, ten percent will commit suicide before the age of 18.  Shortly after, it became abundantly clear to us, what God had in mind.

Charlie picked up an old issue of a local horse publication and found himself reading about a 13 year old Ukrainian orphan, who in July was enjoying a cultural camp/hosting program in Mesa Arizona. Lena was her name; she loves horses, and was hoping to find a family.  We contacted the adoption agency, to explore the idea, and felt we received nothing but confirmation that this was the direction to head.  Although still wondering if God might be pulling our leg, because really the whole idea seemed a bit impractical. Charlie and I are empty nesters; we have 3 grown children between us, and 3 grandchildren.  We think about retirement from time to time.  Not to mention the cost of an International Adoption being $30,000 or more… certainly not in our current budget… So after more prayer, and some wise counsel from Pastor Jason, which included the statement, “you still have some tread left on you”, we have relaxed into what we believe is nothing short of Gods plan.  I also think both Charlie and I have come to the conclusion that God is all about “impractical”, and that we never ever want to "retire" from His service.

Through these past months it has been amazing to sense God’s presence, and watch as He works out the details.  For He must, this is a God size endeavor!  We are incredibly grateful not only to our church family at PCC for partnering with us spiritually and financially in this incredible journey we find ourselves on, but the “Men in Ministry” group (a men's contruction ministry within our church) also volunteered to add a bedroom on to our home, which to date is just about complete.  Yep, God at work, no doubt!  We are also humbled by the out pouring of love, encouragement, prayer and financial support we continue to receive from family and friends.

We were able to make contact with Lena in February, first by mail, and then by email.  We are now in touch with Lena by email several days a week.  She is anxious to come “home”, and we are anxious to bring her home!  In our hearts she is already our daughter and it is difficult to be so far away from her.  But we are being patient understanding that God will use this time to prepare all of our hearts and minds for what lies ahead.  If all goes as planned we are hopeful that in November, Lena will travel home with us.

Through this blog we hope to keep you posted on our progress, we are unable to share pictures of Lena at this time over the internet (in our agreement with adoption agency), but in time… to date we have completed our home study.  Work on our dossier has begun, with hopes that it will be completed by months end.  Over the last several days I have been abundantly blessed while reading the blog of the mother of one of Lena’s good friends who was welcomed home by her new family the end of July (Dear Linda, thank you so much for the encouragement, your offer of friendship, which I gladly and humbly accept, and for "Praying Kristina Home"!).
My prayer, that you might find yourself blessed and encouraged as much as I have been… and that our King would be glorified!   Judy

"We witness a miracle every time a child enters into life.

But those who make their journey home across time and miles,

growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them,

are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us

by God's very own hands."

Kristi Larson