Thank you

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. This trip has been incredible. The Lord has worked out even the smallest of details on this journey for us. We look forward to returning before Christmas to bring our Anna home. We are now back in Sofia and fly tomorrow. We look forward to seeing everyone soon!

Saying Goodbye for Now...

Anna's Orphanage

We were concerned that today would be very hard for us. But Anna made it easy. She is so strong and confident that when Eti (translator) told her that we would not be coming back for a while she took it very well. Eti has been great. She focused her time reminding Anna that we are leaving to go home to prepare her room, buy her new clothes and toys. She also reminded her that when we come back for her we will bring her big brothers. This was what she needed to hear. We are so thankful for Eti. She has been a huge help and has become a friend on this trip.
We left Anna some going away presents. We gave her a bunny that had all of our voices telling her that we love her when she squeezes it, a warm blanket and a photo book of our family. She really liked the soft blanket. She snuggled up in it for a few minutes on the playground today. Since it will be cold when we return we hope it will stay with her to keep her warm at night.
We are so thankful that she likes to be held and receive affection. This afternoon she let Tony hold her like a baby and tickle her. She laughed and laughed.

As we drove away she had a big smile and was waving to us knowing we would be back to take her home.

One of the biggest reason we decided to blog about our adoption experience is that we are hopeful that there are others who may be considering adoption and may be compelled more by reading how God is shaping us through this. To be honest adoption is a long and tedious process. But being an orphan is much, much harder. Our Anna has had no family to call her own, no baby pictures,  no one that comes to see her, owns no clothes of  her own, no toys of her own and  sleeps in a borrowed bed with no one to kiss her goodnite. In Eastern Europe alone there 1.5 million children living in orphanages. Our prayer is that more orphans will be adopted and more people will support orphan care.



Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
so mere people can no longer terrify them. Psalms 10:17 -18

Sponge Bob, Meeting the Director and Ciao Baby!

We have had a running joke with our boys ever since they were small. Every time we do something exciting or go somewhere fun as a family we ask them - "Is this the BEST day EVER?" - like from Sponge Bob Squarepants. Well today was the BEST day EVER with our Anna!

Meeting w/Orphanage Director (she's standing next to Tony)

When we got to the orphanage we met with the Director. She was on vacation this week but came in to meet us. We could tell that she is a very sweet lady and that she really loves the children. We asked her about Anna's mother but unfortunately there is no information about her. She remembered that Anna was brought to the orphanage as a very little baby but that is all they have. She said when we return to take Anna home they will give us anything they have on file for her. She said she hoped that we could take Anna home before Christmas if all the details fall into place. We do too! Please pray that God will bless our efforts in putting together the final documents and that everything will fall into place with AGCI and the Minister of Justice in Bulgaria.

After our meeting we went outside to see Anna. She was on the playground with her group. The caregiver that was with them said that she had been asking all morning if we were coming back. She ran straight to me calling "Momma!, Momma!". They said she cried a little when she had to wait longer than usual due to our meeting. So thankful that we are beginning to bond - even in this short time and in small ways!
One thing is for sure this little girl is ACTIVE! She wants to do everything - usually 2 or 3 things at once. I think she knows her time with us is limited each day and so she tries her best to fit in everything that she can think of.
Tony and I have been talking the last few days of how thankful we are for the small things that God has done during this time. It has gone so well with Anna. Thank you Lord! Here are a few of them: 1. an orphanage where she gets love and structure 2. Anna likes to be held, hugged and kissed by both of us (some orphans do not like affection or touching at first or prefer one parent to the other) 3. her funny side 4. Anna's intelligence and quick learning (she repeats english back to us and is starting to put together what some words mean)  5. a fantastic translator, Eti who has a 5 y/o of her own and understands little Bulgarian girls 6. great weather - not being delayed in NYC due to the hurricane on the east coast and here to be outside with Anna 7. Anna's kindness to the other children in her group - she shares with them without being told and they do likewise 8. that she loves even the stray dog and wants to make sure he gets something to eat. (Sidebar: We have laughed that if our friend Christy was here she would take the dog too! She loves animals. She would give Roshco a total dog makeover and have him spoiled rotten.)

When we got ready to leave this morning we got some great hugs and kisses. In Bulgaria they have taken on some words from other languages because they are short and easier to say the same thing as the longer Bulgarian words. For example for thank you they say "Merci" like the French. For goodbye they say "Ciao"like the Italians. Anna says both. She has great manners and says merci whenever we give her something, put her shoe back on her feet or wipe her face and hands. So when we leave we say ciao. This morning was especially funny - Tony told her "Ciao Baby" and she said "Ciao Baby" right back at him! We got a good laugh from that. Tony says when she gets home with us he is going to make this a thing for just the two them to say when he leaves for work in the morning.

We are leaving to go see her in about an hour for our last time this trip. Please continue to pray and ask the Lord to help her understand that her family is coming back to bring her home!

In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.  From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him into His ears.  He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters...He brought me into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me...You O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.


Psalm 18 (selected)

Our Adoption

Through this process the one thing that God continues to bring into focus for us is our own adoption by Him. We took along some reading - books, magazines and a few articles. One of them that we have read over and over again is one that we would like to share a few excerpts from on this blog.

It was an article written by David, Pastor of Worship at Morningview Baptist Church.

It is important for us to understand this (our adoption) as Christians, because if we do not see God is an adopting God, we miss a key part of His character. It is our adopting God who calls those who were not His people, "My people". It our adopting God who specifically calls the simple in order to shame the wise and the weak in order to shame the strong that in all things He might be known as the provider, the strengthener, the sustainer and the redeemer. God adopts weak, flawed, and sinful people like you and me that he might be glorified by His marvelous grace in us and to us.


In the core of my soul, I love adoption because I know that I am adopted, and that at a great cost to my Lord. 


We had a wonderful morning with Anna. She is responding to our love. Please pray that she will trust us when we tell her tomorrow afternoon that we will be coming back with her brothers to bring her home soon.

Never Alone, Play-Doh and the Stray

Our day began with a great reminder from our Lord. It came from the book Jesus Calling. On today's date was the message that there is "no place so desolate that you cannot find Me there." It continued in saying that "no set of circumstances could isolate you from My loving Presence."  After seeing how lonely orphan life is firsthand yesterday this reminder was what we needed. We know that the Lord has been and will continue to watch over our Anna and her orphan friends. We are never alone.

We met Anna on the playground this morning. She was wearing the little butterfly purse a friend had given us to give her. She was proud to show us that she had it around her neck. We were told that she had been asking since she got up if we were coming this morning. It's funny she has a routine she wants to go through with us. First she wants to check Tony's iPhone to make sure her picture is still on it and to look at pictures of our boys. Then we do Play-Doh. She really like Play-Doh. She really doesn't make anything with it right now - she just likes rolling it around in her hands. She did surprise us with the little plastic scissors that come in the box. We taught her how to cut the Play-Doh by holding her fingers just right on the scissors. On the second try she did it with ease! Then she wants to eat a snack. We have to watch her closely on this. She will eat everything we put in front of her. She inhales it. She will pack her cheeks with every piece if we put too much in front of her. But it's funny - she also wants to make sure she shares with us and the stray dog that has made the orphanage his home. Then she likes to swing. Today was great because she wanted to swing while sitting in my lap. We closed out the morning with some singing. She sits very still in our laps and smiles when we are singing to her. We think she likes this a lot. She has now officially heard of Jesus! We closed out with Jesus Loves Me.

Anna's Friend Roshco the Orphanage Dog

We returned this afternoon for more play, hugs and kisses with Anna. We spent some time with the other children on our way out - giving them a snack, letting them sit in our laps, hugging and playing some silly games. It was clear they just want to be loved by an adult. Again it was hard to say goodbye. We heard them crying as we walked to the car to leave. 

ANNA!

What a day. We are spent. We got to meet our Anna just after lunch today at the orphanage in Yambol. We were told months ago that we would need to wait until later in the week to tell her that we were her parents. With that in mind (and a few million other things) we have been looking forward to this day for a long time.  We even rehearsed several times how we thought it would play out - we would take it slow and not overwhelm her with any big announcements. But it turned out to be like nothing we had imagined -  a time more special, more wonderful and heavier than we counted on. When we arrived the orphanage officials told us that Anna was supposed to be taking a nap. They had told her before nap time that she was going to have guests when she woke up. They said that whenever one of their children hears this they always get excited with hope that it may finally be the day they meet their forever family. They said knowing this they doubted that she was napping. They checked on her and sure enough she was wide awake. We were meeting with the orphanage officials when we heard her little footsteps coming down the long hallway and her sweet voice chattering up a storm. She came right into the room and directly up to us - almost nose to nose. After looking us over thoroughly and exchanging big smiles she announced to everyone that we were her parents! Talk about an ice breaker. It was hard to contain ourselves. We then spent the next few minutes laughing with the orphanage officials about our "plan" to go slowly.

Peaches growing outside Yambol

Following our introduction we were able to spend over two hours with Anna. Before leaving the director's office we showed her pictures of our family. The first picture we showed her of our boys with us she told the group without any prompting, "They are my brothers!" She is way ahead of us on this adoption thing.

We sat with her while she ate her afternoon snack outside. We then got to play with her on the swing set equipment. She and our translator Eti found some tiny plums that were growing on the trees in the orphanage yard. She made sure that everyone had plenty to eat.

She later took us inside to meet the other children in her group. She let them know her new name is Anna and that we were her parents. She made sure we met her best friend - a little girl that will be going home soon with a family from Canada.

Sheep outside Yambol

While we were enjoying seeing Anna's excitement as she told her friends our hearts were hurting for the other children in the room. You could see in their faces that they too want a family. Looking at these children we saw how tough it is to be an orphan. All their days are spent within the walls and yard of this place. No one comes to see them. All they know is each other, their routine and their caretakers. They have activities and a few things to play with but that is it. If someone doesn't adopt them before they turn 4 they are moved to the next orphanage in the system and their chances to be adopted grow slimmer.
Before we left Anna she wanted to know for sure that we were coming back the next day. We assured her we would be back. When we were walking to our car we passed by the outside window to their classroom. Anna's face and the others were pressed against the glass calling to us. This was hard to take. Before adopting you see pictures and watch videos but it is not the same as being here. These children need the love of a family.

 * Please note that we cannot show pictures of Anna or the other children.

We Made It To Bulgaria!

Leaving Italy for Bulgaria!

We arrived in Sofia this afternoon and we were so glad to finally be here.  We were greeted at the airport by some friends that are missionaries in Bulgaria.  It was great to catch up with them and meet their beautiful children. We are staying in an apartment tonight. Tomorrow we leave for Yambol. It is a four hour drive. Yambol is the town where our Anna lives!!! We are looking forward to seeing the beautiful scenery on our drive to see her.  The weather here is great...low to mid 80's and no humidity.  We miss our boys but know that they are in good hands with our family back home.  Tonight we will try out a pizza place that is around the corner from where we are staying.  We can't wait to experience the food here in Bulgaria...have heard that it is wonderful!  It is hard to believe that in less than 24 hours we will be meeting our daughter! God is so good!

Flying into Sofia, Bulgaria

For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality.  He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow.  Deuteronomy 10:17-18 

Our Missionary Friends (their daughter was adopted from Bulgaria 12 years ago)

On our way...

Today we are finally leaving to meet our daughter. We are so excited we can hardly stand it.