Counting Down...

 January 2006

It's hard to believe that in one week's time, Ty and I will be flying across the world once again to bring home our girls!!!  I don't think that one day has gone by that we have not thought back to our first trip to Ukraine back in 2006.  I guess it is inevitable that our minds would go back to that time as there are so many of the same emotions as we plan, prepare, and anticipate our upcoming trip.

However, I have to say that I have an overwhelming PEACE this time that was not present the first time.  So much of the anxiety I experienced over leaving my other kids behind, wondering about the process we were about to embark upon, and worrying about the outcome have just been replaced by a trust in God's Sovereignty in every aspect of this journey.

Don't get me wrong... Ty and I both have had many moments of, "OH MY GOODNESS!"  How in the world are we going to do this... not just the adoption process but LIFE afterwards as well?  It's hard to wrap our brains around what our "NEW NORMAL" might look like.  But just when it seems like the "WHAT IFS..." are going to swallow us up, a memory of how Faithful God was to us when we were working to bring home our precious boy will come to remembrance.  It's like God whispers..."Remember how I did this... and do you see how I took care of that?  Don't you know I am still the same today?"
And then I realize that although I don't have any of the answers, I know that MY GOD is orchestrating this just as beautifully and perfectly as He did with our Nicholas.

And to that I can only respond, PRAISE GOD!!!

I am so grateful for how He has gently but consistently grown our faith, individually and as a family.  HE desires our growth and He does everything to continually point us toward Him.
Resting in HIS SOVEREIGNTY is the safest and most peaceful place to be!

BIG NEWS!!!

Over 5 1/2 years ago Ty and I stood in front of this building which at the time was known as the NAC or National Adoption Center.  As snow began to gently fall we anxiously awaited a moment that would change our lives forever. 

 

At that much anticipated appointment God directed our steps to a little 18 month old boy in the Kharkov region of Ukraine.  And as most of you know the rest is history...

 

We may have thought at the time that it was the end of the story but Our God in heaven had other plans!

In His perfect timing we are being called to once again fly across the world for a life changing appointment.  On December 21st at 9am we will stand in front of the SDA which now handles Ukraine's adoptions and we will await our referral for the adoption of two very special sisters. 

To say that we are excited is probably the understatement of the year!

And if you imagine that we are maybe a little overwhelmed with the timing of it all you are absolutely correct!  But the priority for our family for a good part of this year has been to bring our girls home so we are praising God that we have been given a date to hopefully make that happen.

We covet your prayers at this time for so many things:

• First and foremost for peace for the girls as this will be a monumental transition in their lives.
• For traveling mercies for Ty and I.
• For our kids and parents and extended family as they care for them in our absence.
• That God's Hand would be in every moment of this next adventure in our lives.

Master's Mission!

Kenzie and Hunter had the awesome opportunity to travel with my Mom and Dad to North Carolina a few weeks back.  They stayed for a couple of days up in the tree line, in the mountains of North Carolina -- thanks to the tremendous generosity of some great friends.

As you can see from the pic they were up there right in the peak of all the beautiful fall colors.

They had a blast with Mom and Dad and made some great memories!  Wish we had all gone!

A couple days into their trip they headed over to Master's Mission.  (TMM)
 www.mastersmission.org

We have become familiar with TMM through our church because many close friends have gone there to train and become prepared to go on the mission field.
Makenzie has expressed much interest in perhaps going there after college if she continues to feel that God is calling her to be a missionary.  My Mom and Dad had an interest in checking it out as they are praying about what God has planned for their lives as they begin a new chapter.

In addition to some amazing Bible classes, students are taught everything from bushwhacking, to automobile repair to gardening to shopping for a family for several years at a time etc.  In fact my parents and the kids got to watch some students drive an old truck off a steep ledge into a ravine and work to figure out the best way to get it back up the embankment.  (The roads in many third world countries are so bad that this is a very necessary skill).

The staff families were amazing and very welcoming.  I think that it would have been easy for Kenzie, Hunter, Mom, and Dad to make the decision to just stay and live up there.  Fortunately for me they decided to come home.

 

In adoption news... there is no news :(

We are still waiting to hear if the SDA has accepted our dossier.  They are continuing to NOT give out  appointments to families at this time.  So, unfortunately we will probably not be traveling to get our girls til the new year.  

Trusting in God's timing is never easy but I am grateful for the peace that He gives me anyways.

In the meantime we have a new little friend staying with us for a few weeks.  He is part of the Safe Families Program.  Check it out at www.safe-families.org/  and watch the 5 minute video.

It's a great way to make yourself available to have an impact on a family that is struggling.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Ukraine's Beauty

Our dossier has been submitted but unfortunately Ukraine is not issuing any appointments at the moment.  We are hoping that this is a very short interruption in adoptions but we have no way to know for sure, so we are waiting and once again trusting in God's Sovereignty in this whole process.
Please pray for our girls!

A new found friend of ours, who lives in Ukraine, posted this video on her Facebook.  It really shows the beauty that is in Ukraine.  Being so aware of the tremendous needs of orphans, I feel that  Ty and I  see this country through a certain pair of lenses (so to speak).  This well done video helped us both to remove those "lenses" and appreciate the breathtaking sights and culture that is part of our girl's heritage.

The video is only a few minutes and I think you will enjoy it!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gABtbrq4Vg8&sns=fb

Progress!!!

October 4th marks a significant day in the Wells family... are you ready???

Nicholas Christian Wells learned to ride a two wheeler!!!  Woo Hoo!

With the help of an AWESOME big brother, running back and forth on the sidewalk, what seemed like a hundred times,  Nicholas learned to balance on his own and ride his bike without any help!

 

And just as impressive... on his third day of riding he rode 4 miles on the trail without stopping or complaining.  He says his new hobby is riding his bike... a boy after his Mom's own heart.

 

In other Wells' news...

we finally got our dossier sent off to Open Door Adoption Agency.  Hopefully,  all of our paperwork will be on it's way to Ukraine sometime next week.  For those who have worked through an adoption you understand how monumental it is to make the simple statement... "our paperwork is done and on it's way."  For those who have not, well I am not sure I have the right words to adequately express the aggravation, irritation, and frustration involved in jumping through all the hoops required for an international adoption.  

OK so those three words (aggravation, irritation, and frustration) mean about the same thing but you could have picked anyone of them on any given day in the last few weeks to describe me.

 But hopefully it is behind me now and we get to move on to new challenges :)  

If all continues on the estimated schedule we could be in Ukraine as early as next month!  We have been able to talk to the girls several times and they seem very anxious for us to get there.  We really miss them a lot!  Today happens to be Katya's birthday... we so wish we could be there to give her a big hug and an awesome party. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!!

About a week ago, Ty stumbled across this video on You Tube.  It is a great video describing the work of Father's House.  This is a fabulous Christian ministry in Ukraine and has done so much good for so many forgotten orphans.  Take a few minutes to check it out.  Our girls are pictured in it about 6 times but you can see a great pic of them together at about 7:15 into the video. 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV1UBe8kpdM

Thank you so much to those who have decided to step into our story by helping us with the finances.  From donations to our yard sales, to doing all the work involved in a yard sale, to anonymous checks, to helping get our documents where they need to be, to donated tax returns, to money from sold items, to giving up trips in order to contribute financially... the list goes on and on.  Ty and I are so humbled to see people generously obeying God's call by helping us make this happen.  We couldn't do it without you!
May God's grace continue to richly bless you!

Love God, Love People, Serve the World!

Ty and I are privileged to be a part of an exciting, growing, and inspiring body of believers at Mosaic Church.  www.mosaicfl.org  I think something that speaks louder than anything I could say about it is the fact that each of my four children beg to go to all three services every single Sunday - attending and/or serving in each one.

The core values of Mosaic are expressed in a phrase that I believe every person on the planet is called to by our Creator... Love God, Love People, Serve the World!  Although this simple little phrase can unite every human being with the same purpose, it will look as unique and particular for each of us as our individual fingerprints.

 

We are all given an exclusive sequence of circumstances in our lives, with individual experiences and relationships that not only shape us but also wait to be changed by our responses.

One way that Ty and I believe God has called us to Serve the World is in advocating for the rights of the orphan.  Scripture calls each of us to take care of the orphan.  Although I would accept that not everyone is called to adopt (-- however more are called than realize) we are all called to help the orphan in some way.  "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."  James 1:27.

OK so I am not here to preach a sermon... you probably all know where I stand.  I just want to present two opportunities that are available if you are interested in stepping into the life of an orphan... and changing their world.

Homes of Hope International (HOH) is the organization that allowed us to host Katya and Mariana for 5 wonderful weeks this summer.  

But that is only one small part of their story.  Thanks to HOH and the generosity of families across the US, many, many children were given the chance this summer to experience first hand what it means to be in a loving, Christian home.  

This Christmas HOH will be doing another hosting program with the desire to place 200 Ukraine orphans in homes for 4 weeks over the holidays... giving them an experience that we in America take for granted.  Please check out this link to a promo video (our girls are in this :)  www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBWAnbLSkYA&feature=youtu.be

If you have questions or want to see pictures of the 200 children needing to be hosted this Christmas than please just send me an email or FB me and I will send you the link and password.

One of the most challenging and unsettling aspects of international adoption is it is extremely expensive.  I realize that this is what causes many families to never even consider it.  Especially at a time where economic challenges are everywhere it is hard to get our brains around how we could possibly make a difference where the need is so incredibly huge.  But the reality is that God just requires us to respond in faith to His leading.   

Ty and I have done that... even though it made no earthly sense at all.  

We have never wanted to use this blog to ask for money or to display an amount that we need to reach.  So this will be the only time you see this...

However the reality is that in order to get our girls home we need to have a "ransom"... so we continue to trust in God's faithfulness.   If you feel that God has called you to be a part of this story then we would love for you to come alongside us financially.  Once again feel free to email me or FB me or simply send your gift to ICCF... the info. is on the left side of this blog.  Thanks for following our story!

Moving Forward!

Well it has been much time since I have visited this blog... sorry to those of you who have been patiently (or not) waiting for an update.  I follow several blogs myself and know how frustrating it is when updates are so far and few between.   I'll spare you all the excuses and just get to the updates...

 We are moving forward with the adoption!  We are currently working through putting together our dossier (which is all the paperwork that will go to the Ukraine).  We hope to be invited to go to Ukraine by November and be back before Christmas... although we realize that the timing is not really up to us.

 This is Ty walking one of the city blocks in Ukraine over 5 years ago, during our adoption of Nic.

Yesterday we got to skype with the girls and seeing them just made us all realize how much we miss them... having them back here with us permanently cannot come quick enough.

Thank you to so many of you who have expressed your support, encouragement and prayers through emails, phone calls, texts etc.  They have been appreciated and needed.
And thank you to those who have contributed financially.  We knew when we embarked on this journey that God was going to have to impress upon the hearts of His people to participate in this with us financially in order for it to be accomplished.  We continue to trust in His provision and know by faith that everything that is needed will be provided.

All is well on the home front... just moving super fast!
Shortly before school started Makenzie had the privilege to fly to Illinois with her best friend Christiana.  They spent an amazing week seeing the sights and spending time with Christiana's wonderful Oma and Opa.  Here are a few pics from her trip ...

 

At the end of August we celebrated Nic's 7th birthday.  My baby boy is getting so big!

 

AND at the beginning of September my dear parents celebrated 44 years of marriage!  Thanks Mom and Dad for the heritage you have passed on to us.

Remember to count your blessings!  We all have them. 
Times may be challenging and overwhelming but God is ALWAYS good and ALWAYS in control of this crazy world. 
Trust in His Sovereignty!