Our blog is finally up again. We, and many other families have been without blogs for several days now. Our internet connection is so unpredictable. It literally works for five minutes, then nothing for hours. So, we frantically email and get all of our work done when we do have a connection. Yet another thing that we are so thankful for at home.
We are feeling a bit under the weather today. Both of our stomachs are not enjoying the Kazakh cuisine from yesterday. We had to call in sick for our visit and lay low today. Mike seems to be much better this afternoon, but I am a bit slower to mend. We are going to stay at the hotel tomorrow, just in case we have a virus (don't want to contaminate an entire orphanage). We will see Karina again on Saturday.
We were able to buy some juice and cookies for her group and will get to have a cookie party sometime next week. We are looking forward to seeing her interact with all of her friends. The kids are so adorable. They are so anxious to see us everytime we walk up to the room. They jump up and yell mama and wave these big giant waves with big giant smiles. This one little boy has truly touched my heart. He so obviously has some sort of disability, but he is certainly the one with the biggest heart.
This past week has been so challenging, as we see know, the Lord has been refining us and drawing nearer and nearer to Him. It hasn't been easy, He never said it would be, but in our moments of clarity, we have seen how He has used this time to polish us and make us shine. We are so much stronger now, stand so much taller, than the day we stepped onto that plane in Fresno.
The other day, while I was watching Karina, just breathing her in, I saw how this experience mirrors that of God's adoption of each of us. Here we stand, arms wide open, ready to take this child as our own. No questions asked. Just as she is. We know that she is full of brokeness, as we all are, and is not perfect, but we wholeheartedly have chosen her.
We have been overwhelmed by the love and encouragement that we have been showered with the last couple of weeks. This journey is not ours alone. We are truly being carried by your prayers. You are walking this road with us, every step of the way. Thanks for taking the walk with us. We love you all.
Wow, what an honest post. All families have experienced foreign adoption understand what you mean when you say you are not the same people you were when you stepped on the plane. It's ALL in God's plan, without a doubt. I'm so glad that your blog worked. I have missed reading your daily updates!
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