Skype no Hype!

Seems I continue to be a bit of a "bump on a blog", but not intentionally.  Charlie and I have been enjoying a visit with my sister Leslie and brother-in-law Rick the past few days.  Actually they arrived this past Friday evening and left yesterday morning to spend a day in Phoenix, before heading back to Montana.  So between visiting and work (both Charlie and I continued to work through their visit as we plan to take a large chunk of time off in the near future :]), I was unprepared to take the time needed to do an update.

But I'm back and we do have news to report! 
October 8th came and went quietly (except for the arrival of Leslie and Rick), "the vote" was once again postponed.  Praise God, seems to be a theme developing here... keep praying!
Saturday morning Charlie and I awoke early, ok, maybe not any earlier than normal, but we got moving faster than usual.  I had to get a shower and get my hair washed and dried prior to our much anticipated SKYPE call with Lena.  Was not about to let Lena see me with bad hair, at least not yet...
Time out: Feel as if I need to take a minute to set the scene... Over the last several months I have developed a friendship with a couple in Arkansas who are in the process of adopting two young girls from the same school that Lena is in.  As with others we have met along the "adoption way", Loren and Cammie have fast become part of our extended family.  An incredible extended family to be sure... Loren and Cammie made a quick trip over to Ukraine this past weekend, they had a few issues arise with their adoption and felt it important to be there in person to promote a positive outcome, which I'm extremely happy to report seems to be the case, Praise God again!!  An important part of their trip was to provide the girls an opportunity to visit with several families that have already adopted from the Ukraine via a Skype session.  They had made arrangements for several computers to be available at the local Internet cafe, as well as translators to be on hand, no small task!  Loren and Cammie extended an invitation to Charlie and I to join them, so that we might have the opportunity to see Lena in action.   I must admit I had a few nervous knots, but for the most part just over the top excitement for the chance to visit with Lena face to face. 
At 6:30 am our Skype phone rang, and with a click of the mouse, there she was!!  It's hard to understand, to comprehend how the heart works, but since we began to communicate with Lena, whether by email, by phone, and now Skype, there has never been a hesitation, nor reservation, it seems as natural as breathing, she is our daughter... and Charlie and I, along with Rick and Leslie delighted in her for close to an hour.  With lap top in hand we were able to give her a tour of her room and introduce her to the dogs.  It was then that she asked to see the horses.  Of course she would ask, and of course we would deliver, but how?  Charlie and Rick headed for the barn, as Leslie and I continued to talk, Lena introduced us to her cousin Llona, and her friend Alyona, it was incredibly sweet (It would be later in the day that my heart and mind would begin to reflect back on those introductions). 
When Charlie and Rick arrived back at the house they had Rowdy in tow.  Charlie led Rowdy onto the patio, and through the window, Lena was able to get a glimpse of the horse she has already claimed as her own.  It was a few minutes later that we all agreed Lena needed a better view, so out to the yard the lap top went, it worked!  Lena was able to see Rowdy in action!  Too fun!!  By the way Lena also really liked Charlie's cowboy hat.  No doubt a cowgirl hat is in Lena's future. :]
It was an amazing morning, thank you Loren and Cammie for making it happen!  For all those who played a part in it.  Also, so incredibly thankful that Uncle Rick and Aunt Leslie were here to meet Lena, to experience the morning with us.  Charlie and I are also excited to have crossed over another technological line with Skype, we believe it's going to be a wonderful way for Lena to be in touch with new and old family and friends.  Simple download, inexpensive camera, and the rest is free! 

As I mentioned, it was later in the day, after I had spent a good bit of time reflecting on the joyfulness of the morning, that the words of Lena's friend Alyona started to play in my head, Alyona had shared how happy she was for Lena, she was happy that Lena would soon have a family to love her, the joy and sincerity of her statement was authentic ... both Lena's cousin and her friend had seemed so curious and so happy to be a part of our conversation, it is then that the question presented itself, what about them??  What about the rest??  It is a hard question to think about.  One, that on some level I wish I could ignore, but it now exists in my heart...  I believe it needs to be answered.

"Once your eyes are opened, we can't pretend we don't know what to do.

God, who weighs our hearts and keeps our souls, knows that we know,

and holds us responsible to act.

Proverbs 24:12

Which for now brings me to share this website:  http://www.orphansransom.org/

Charlie and I look forward to talking with Lena again this Saturday morning, and we anticipate hearing sometime the end of this month that our Dossier has been submitted to the SDA!