At last....forward motion!

Wow! A lot can happen in a week. As I said in my last post, we were getting frustrated with the lack of activity. The agency we had originally thought to go with had downgraded their financial assistance program to a point that it would not be useful to us. I had not heard from our homestudy social worker in over two months - and the last time I talked to her she said that she was temporarily unable to send homestudies to Russia (political thing-long story). And, although we had received confirmation from the Lord that we were supposed to adopt, the "next step" was not at all clear.

We were, in fact, seriously considering dropping the Russia plans. We were looking at signing up to foster & adopt through the state of Texas, instead. However, we both still felt very strongly that the calling was specifically to adopt from Russia.

Last Sunday after church a dear sister handed us a card with a check in it. We glanced at it to see the amount, and put it back in the card. I immediately felt a sense from the Lord that this money was to go to our adoption process. Later that day, Melissa and I discussed how we should spend the money, and there were several possibilities that came up. However, I still felt very strongly that this money was supposed to go to the adoption.

Sunday night, I was really starting to get discouraged. Ok, downright despondent. I find it very, very difficult to pray when I'm really down -- but Melissa and I prayed and asked the Lord for direction on the adoption. We were quickly reaching a point where we needed to go ahead with the Russian adoption - or to change directions altogether to start the foster training program.

On Monday, I received an e-mail from our homestudy social worker - the first contact from her in two months. She has been cleared to send homestudies to Russia, again. She asked if we had chosen an agency yet, and she attached the rough draft of our homestudy.

We looked over the homestudy and it is clearly written specifically for Russia - to use it for the foster care system would require major revisions - and it is doubtful if any of the foster-care agencies locally would use a 3rd party homestudy, anyway. Again, we felt a confirmation that our calling is for a Russian adoption.

I began the daunting task of reviewing agencies again. After several hours of looking at the same agencies over and over again, I stumbled upon an agency that I had not noticed before - this is a small agency that ONLY handles Russian adoptions. It is run by a Russian woman, and it is less expensive than many of the other agencies. They have an excellent reputation. I emailed her for information and she responded quickly. Again, this just seemed like the Lord's hand. They seem like a great fit for us.

On Wednesday, I decided to deposit the check that we received on Sunday. I looked at the check again, and in the memo field was a simple note: "Adoption Process". This was a huge confirmation to us - The check was given specifically to go toward our adoption. And, since the foster care system doesn't cost anything - clearly, the destination is Russia.

So, on Friday, I mailed the contract. We signed with an agency. **Gulp!** I was very nervous mailing that envelope, along with a $1,000 check. And yet, as soon as I did, I felt a peace from the Lord. Melissa and I are more at peace about this than anything we've ever done; and that's saying a LOT.

One more little miracle this week. With the $1,000 check in the mail to the agency, our next big expense is the USCIS approval... Another $900. This afternoon I sat down and paid the bills, and I was shocked to find out that we have enough money to cover the payment to the agency, to pay all of our bills this month, to complete the USCIS application, AND we still have enough money left over to pay for Melissa's doctor appointments that are coming up in two weeks. I honestly do not know how we had this much money left over.

Throughout this adoption adventure, the Lord keeps bringing me back to the stories of Jesus feeding the multitudes with just a few loaves of bread. It's going to take the same kind of miracle (a few times over) for us to complete this adoption--but so far, it's been a miraculous journey.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.