Back to Moving Mountains

Well, preparations for this trip were apparently going just too smoothly. We knew 2 weeks in advance when we were to travel (that's a first), the weather in Indy is fine, our itinerary is coming together, friends and family are helping in numerous ways... all great!

Well, all seemed pretty calm until about 1 pm today (we leave tomorrow at 10: 30 am). Then we received a call from our adoption agancy that there was a visa problem related back again to issues Jim dealt with 2 weeks ago on the last trip. We have been receiving advice on our visas from the appropriate personnel in New York. Apparently this advice doesn't line up with preferences in Russia. Go figure! Why should I be surprised? The bottomline is that becaue we have "the wrong kind of visa" we have to pay a penalty when we get to our region. In addition, we have to spend an extra day in our region before they will give us our son's passport (although it is already complete). HMMMMM! So my first prayer request is that we can complete all we need to in Russia and still make our scheduled flight home on Friday (due to the delay, it will be tight). As we were making phone calls and discussing options, I got a bit discouraged and frustrated. I feel as if we are just continuing to be yanked around. He is our son already. I am ready to not have those knots in my stomach anymore, wondering of there will be any more hoops to jump through- anymore "surprises".

But you know, when life is smooth and it is all going as planned, you don't have a chance to see God "do His thing". And I wouldn't trade that for anything. As the afternoon unfolded, we were going to have more opportunities to see God take charge.

First of all, I called my sister and asked her to pray for us. She reminded me of what a spiritual battle we are fighting. Bringing a lost and lonely orphan into a home, and a Christian one at that- Wow! That is something that the enemy will try to stop. Through tears, she stressed that anytime she pictures us going to get our son and bringing hime out of the orphanage, she hears the song, "My Deliverer is Coming." Tears filled my eyes as we talked about rescuing this child out of the very hands of death. God was saving him not only from a physical death (life expectancy for a Russian child that isn't adopted is about 21 years of age) but also a spiritual one. God is pulling our son out of this institution and placing him in a Christian home. So as I think of our son's testimony... "My Deliverer is Coming." Jesus is coming, sweetie. You are not forgotten. The Creator of the Universe has heard your cry and knows your heart and He will stop at nothing. What a plan! What a Savior!

But that's just the beginning.

About an hour later, we received a call that our visas (Jim and mine) were delayed due to poor weather in Newark. Delayed? In all 4 trips, these were the only visas that didn't have to be expedited. These were the only ones that we hadn't worried about. HMMM! Jim made several more calls but was told by all parties that our visas wouldn't be here in time for us to make our morning flights. Seriously? So I prayed. I called a few and asked them to pray. Then I received a call from a wonderful woman with Fed Ex. She had just received the package in Memphis and was calling to discuss the delay with me. I assumed she knew the details of our situation and I begged her to do anything possible to get it here on time. After a few more comments she asked as to the contents of the package. When I explained that it contained the visas for my husband and I to travel to Russia to bring home our son, she just let out a sigh, "You're killing me. You're killing me!" I gently explained that we had been to Russia 3 times to meet him and that finally we were going to be able to bring him home. She exclaimed, "oh my heart! My heart! Let me see what I can do. I am getting off soon but let me talk to my supervisor and see if there is anything we can do. I can't promise anything. But I will keep you posted!"

I went back to tasks with the kids, not knowing what was to happen. I continued to pray and thought. "Well, this is another opportunity for God to move some mountains. Either He will intervene and make this happen or our plans are going to change and we are going to get another lesson in flexibility."

Over the next few hours, we received several phone calls from different Fed Ex personnel. My sister reminded me of a verse that God can change the hearts of kings. Well, let me tell you, he penetrated the hearts of the people at Fed Ex. These people found out about our adoption- they wanted us to be able to get our little guy home as planned and they bent over backwards. At about 6:15 pm, we got a call from Sophia (love ya, Fed Ex Sophia) that they had found our package, located a commercial flight heading from Memphis to Indy, purchased a plane ticket for the package (yes, apparently it has a seat on a 6:50 pm flight), it will land in Indy and they are hiring a driver to drive it to our house! (all free) It is supposed to arrive at our house a little after midnight tonight. Can you believe it!!!? Isn't that crazy wonderful!!!!!

I can't wait to tell our son how personal God is and how much He loves this little guy! Wow! I am almost speechless.

I am tired of the emotional ups and downs of the rollercoaster called adoption. But it is a privilege and a faith builder to see God work. He is The Alpha and The Omega- Ruler of All !

Coming to get you, son!