6 Weeks Later...

Six weeks ago today we got on a plane with a very minimal knowledge of the journey that lay ahead.  We were given no promises as to the amount of time we would have to be gone... in fact our own experience and the experiences of others told us to expect delays.

Now when you are in the comfort of your own home, with your family close by, delays can be quite irritating!

But when you are 6000 miles away from home AND family, delays are no longer just irritating.
They become a little more threatening to an inner struggle that for me is always felt.
It's that struggle between wanting to make something happen because I am so very TIRED of waiting or even giving into despair because I am UNABLE to make something happen.

Or CHOOSING to trust in a Sovereign God who sees the greater masterpiece - not the little speck that I am focused on.

With six weeks behind us we can see that there is an end to the tunnel and it is fast approaching.  But we still do not have any definitive departure date ... and we have a few more hurdles before us.

In the interest of being transparent... it IS getting harder to be patient.  Our first trip to Ukraine, almost 6 years ago lasted 5 weeks.  I struggled so much on that trip.  My kids were younger, our faith was smaller, and my strength was definitely weaker.

But during those 5 weeks God was writing a beautiful story of rescue and redemption that our family got to play a part in... a story that featured a little boy now named Nicholas... which incidentally means Victorious.
Being able to look back on lessons from that trip, has allowed us to experience this trip with eyes wide opened.  Open to see the many blessings that God has surrounded us with during these 6 weeks (which will likely be 7 - 8 when all is said and done.)

As I have mentioned in a past post, Ty and I consider it quite a gift to have been able to meet and spend some time with Katya's and Mariana's family.  Today was yet another gift (blessing).  We were able to spend the day with Andrey (their brother) and his sweet girlfriend Lena.  It was actually just the four of us and we spent the day in Kyiv shopping and sightseeing.  Despite the absolutely bitter cold... so cold in fact that Ty finally broke down and bought a hat, after six weeks... we had a WONDERFUL day with heartfelt and sincere conversation, successful souvenir shopping and a great meal.

We hope that you will join us in prayer for a successful week of obtaining visas, passports, and airline tickets!