Yes – Page 6 – Wide Awake International

Category: Yes

EncouragementThe MoveYes

Pass the Tissues…

So last night I laid in bed awake till almost 1:00am with a brain that wouldn’t shut off. What was I thinking about, you ask?

-What will we do tomorrow?

-I have to take advantage of every moment. What if none of my contact hopes work out for tomorrow? Will it be a “wasted” day?

-Is Mission to Ukraine (MTU) expecting me to come in tomorrow? Hmmm…I better check in with them first thing.

-There sure are a lot of dogs barking. Kinda makes me feel like I’m in Kosovo. 🙂

-I hope Jed gets to Zhitomir okay on Thursday. He won’t have a phone…how will I know when to meet him at the city center?

-How will I fit all my kids on the tiny marshrutkas they have here in Zhitomir?

-I kind of wish I had ice cream right now.

-How will my kids make friends here?

-Will we be lonely?

-What will we do tomorrow????? Surely God has a plan, right?

Yeah, my mind was spinning and I was kind of worrying…about everything. People tell me all the time that they could never do what we are doing, or getting ready to do. How do we do it? How are we so brave? Hahahahaha! Now you see. 🙂 We are nothing special. Sometimes we look like deer in headlights. We cry (well, not so much “we”, more “me”). We fret. We keep ourselves awake worrying about things we can’t do anything about. But, in the end, we just put one foot in front of the other and praise God He’s not afraid to use cracked, imperfect vessels like you and me to be His hands and feet.

It kind of reminds me of our time fostering. People would always say they could never foster; that it would be too hard to let the babies go after you start to get attached. Let me tell ya, it was too hard. It was impossibly hard. But, God called us to it and He gave us grace for what He called us to. It doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt like crazy. It doesn’t mean we didn’t ever cry ourselves to sleep at night because of the heartache. It just means that when He calls you HE gives you every single thing you need to accomplish His purposes. And because of that, I would do it all over again in a second.

This is scary. This is wonderful. This is exciting. But trust me; we are not anything special. Talk to our close friends and family. Pass the tissues, ’cause we all got issues. We worry about all the same things you would worry about if you were in our shoes, but we know He will give us every single thing we need to accomplish His purposes. We just need reminders of that every 5 minutes or so.

That truth is not only for us! I don’t know who all is reading this, but I know that God wants to remind someone about this truth today.

He is enough. He will make the way. He will smooth the path. His word does what it sets out to accomplish. He doesn’t expect you to be super strong or super brave or even a little bit perfect. He asks you to be willing, and the rest is up to Him.

Step out! Act on the dreams God has planted in your heart. Tell Him you are willing and watch what He does. Don’t let fear hold you back. Love fully. Live fully. Trust. (I’m preaching to myself today too!)

Isaiah 55:10-13 rocks my world:

“For your thoughts are not my thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares The Lord.

As the heavens are higher than then the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Oh, but it gets better. Listen to what happens when we trust! This is the best:

“You will go out in joy and be led out in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree (Ha!!! Yesssss!) and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the Lord’s renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed,”

It is my joy; it is your joy to partner with The Lord in His work.
Trees clapping, hills singing…bring it.

It was sunny, but consider yourself winked at. 🙂

kimnjed May 14, 2013 5

EncouragementYes

Christ is Risen: And Now Everything is Upside Down

HE IS RISEN!

As I looked out at the amazing sunrise this morning, I was reflecting on what we are gearing up for this coming year, in light of Easter. This is the day God’s Kingdom made a definitive beachhead into what we call the ultimate or final experience… death.

In N.T. Wright’s Lenten reading today, he highlights the issue with how Christ revealed his risen self. The gospel accounts have him first appearing to Mary and Mary Magdalene. He explains that women were considered an unreliable source of information in that culture, at that time. They were considered weak. But this was something new and God was turning our systems of thought and best ideas on their ear.

Paul reiterates this point in 1 Corinthians 1:25,“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

Wright said, “That is part of what Easter is all about. God is doing a new thing, and, as Jesus said earlier in the story, the first shall be last and the last first. Easter is a day to put everything upside down and inside out.”

This morning I am filled with faith. I know, again, in my heart and mind that God has called us to serve these beautifully weak and poor disabled orphans. We get to be a part of His Kingdom-Coming-to-Earth story, His Death-is-Not-Final story, and His Wrong-Things-Made-Right story. (See Matthew 5, blessed are the poor…)

I know that as we serve these precious children, God will continue to move on the hearts of the hopeless; Hope has come, Love has come and He came for all of us. Our work of saying “yes” is a tiny sign. Your work of saying “yes” is a sign too.

As we celebrate the Risen King today, pray for those without hope to hope again, because Love has come for us all.

(He is Risen Indeed)

Jed

Images from The Jesus Storybook Bible, a big family fave.

kimnjed March 31, 2013 0

The MoveYes

Most Exciting News!

We have some amazing news to share!!

After many months of prayer and discussion, emails and letters, we have been invited to come volunteer at Mission to Ukraine in Zhitomir, Ukraine!!!

Zhitomir, (Zhytomyr) is just west of Kiev, the capital

This is our dream come true. Mission to Ukraine (MTU) is an amazing place where healing happens. Hope is given. Jesus is glorified. What better place for us to learn how to serve the disabled in Ukraine, than from the ones who are already doing it, and doing it with excellence? We are excited to serve the vision of MTU and help them in whatever area they need it most.

From MTU’s website:

“Mission to Ukraine is an indigenously run ministry that serves the Zhitomir region ofUkraine. It ministers to the most marginalized of Ukraine – the unborn and the disabled.

Children with special needs and their families live in a culture that is just beginning to emerge from the Soviet legacy of denying their existence. With limited access to state schooling, poor medical care and inaccessible buildings and transportation, the child with special needs is neglected and isolated by society. Mission to Ukraine offers much-needed educational and medical therapies, practical assistance, and community.”

After we visited MTU last April we said to each other “We have to be a part of this.” Now God has made a way and we are standing in awe.

We are starting with a commitment to volunteer for at least one year while learning and observing what the Father has in store. MTU may be a launching place for other things or a partner for the long term. We don’t know, and we won’t try to figure it out (remind us of that a year from now...okay?). We are going to serve and give out of our overflow. God is the one doing this work and we say yes, one step at a time, trusting Him to show us what we need to know when we need to know it. Scary? Yes. Peaceful? Yes. Exciting? YES!!!! Thank you all for praying for us and for God to reveal His next steps. He is so good.

Praise God for His amazing way-making.
Praise God for His plans unfolding for the fatherless in Ukraine. Praise God for His love that never, ever fails.

Zhitomir Ukraine, here we come!

To read more about MTU you can visit their website here.
Read about our visit to MTU last April here and here.
Other awesome accounts of MTU’s work can be found here.

kimnjed March 28, 2013 9

EncouragementYes

Encouragement from "Dietz"

All along this journey we have moments where we feel like we are being unwise, foolish or just plain crazy.

Here are a few quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that have brought encouragement:

“We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God.”
(When moving out of our house, selling most of our things, and planning to move away from family and dear friends)

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”
(Lord, help us to be wide awake and on the edge of our seats)

“There is meaning in every journey that is unknown to the traveler.”
(We try to search for meaning instead of complaining or just reacting)

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.”
(As we pray for the institutions, caretakers, and orphanage directors)

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
(As we sit in fear of the unknown, this reminds us to not be silent)

Kim calls him Dietz, I call him brilliant. Many blessings as you say ‘yes’ to the next thing.

kimnjed February 28, 2013 2

FamilyThe MoveYes

Thank You Borscht.

Monday is our big day.

Monday we take our biggest step yet toward Ukraine.

On Monday we move in with our friend Luke and say goodbye to our house. I can’t believe it! We’re not leaving for Ukraine for about a year, but we’re staying with Luke while we rent out our house and pay off student debt.

I had a little bit of an emotional week. It’s so strange to pack things up knowing some of these things may very well stay packed up for years. We have no idea how long we’ll live in Ukraine. We could live there for 2 years or 20 years. We just don’t know. We know the dreams God gave us and that’s all we have to go by- the voice of God.

We aren’t committing to a certain number of years, we’re simply committing our lives. We’re committing our ears to hear God’s voice, our hands to do the work He asks us to do, and our hearts to be soft to His leading. So I pack some things knowing I don’t want to get rid of them, but knowing they can’t come with us to Ukraine. Things like hospital bracelets from the births of our babies, programs from our wedding, and name tags from mission trips to Kosova. I just can’t bring myself to part with things like that. Not yet, anyway.

I felt myself getting a little melancholy this week, considering all the changes we are facing and will face. I even started to have a bit of a pity party. Ha! But yesterday I decided enough is enough! This is NOT about me! This is not about my comfort. This is about joyful obedience. This is about joy in the fact that we are called and that God is making a way.

I made a big vat of borscht last night in remembrance of why we are doing this. As I chopped, sauteed, boiled, and stirred I remembered the faces and lives that touched our hearts when we were in Ukraine. I remembered the boys who sit on benches surrounded by nothingness every.single.day. I remembered Slavik and Alyona serving and loving with too many needs, and not enough hands. I remembered it is my joy and my honor to sell my things and leave my house for Him. What do I have to complain about?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I HAVE EVERYTHING TO BE THANKFUL FOR.

Oh my, once my attitude adjusted I started to get really excited. We are taking a ginormous step toward our dream! This is really happening!

Then I thought of friends around us also stepping out into their destinies and I was filled to overflowing with faith and joy.

God’s got this and it is our joy and complete honor to follow Him.

kimnjed October 11, 2012 9

FamilyThe MoveYes

Where Do We Go From Here? (AKA Now What?)

We’ve been home a little more than a week now. That was fast! I’m elbow-deep into diapers, homeschooling, and “happy heart” chairing (our main method of dealing with meltdowns around here. “Oh, go sit in the happy heart chair until you can change your attitude and have a happy heart.” Seth and Havalah have spent an unfortunate amount of time in that chair this past week. Gotta love resetting the boundaries….), and Jed has been back to work since the morning after we landed. The question everyone is asking us is fresh in the front of our brains:

“Now what?”

Gooooood question! Here’s what I can tell you for now:

1. We know God wants our family in Ukraine.

2. We don’t know exactly when we will get there. We have a couple pesky things like a mortgage and jobs that need to be dealt with. 🙂

3. We don’t know how long He will want us in Ukraine. We are open to 2 years or 20 years. We won’t try to figure that one out on our own. I know for me personally, I will have to go with the mindset that I am there for good no matter how long we actually stay. I will have to root my heart there in order to be focused, otherwise, I’m a grass is greener type of gal.

So, for now, we wait on the Lord for His next steps for us and prepare however we can in the meantime. I’ve been like a crazy person this week purging my house. If we know we will eventually be leaving, we know we’ll have to get rid of a bunch of our junk. Why not start today? I mean really, do I need an entire tote full of nursing school care plans and assignments? Heck no. Do I really need doubles of every single picture taken in college? Probably not. My hair was really bad then anyway. I don’t need double the reminders. I also had chipmunk cheeks. Really! I showed Jed a picture and he said it looked like I was storing food for winter in my cheeks. Gee thanks…but it’s true…I’ll be the first to admit those were not my cutest days. What else would you expect after 4 years of living in the dorms and a really severe allergy/aversion to exercise? (I hate pain)

Oh my, the things we have saved over the years kill me. Have you ever gone back and read old journals from junior high and high school? If you need a good laugh or encouragement about how far you’ve come, read a few old journals. Oh the humiliation!!!! As I was sitting alone in my room reading old journals I actually found myself looking around in embarrassment as if someone would walk in at any moment and discover all the never-gonna-happen crushes I had back in the day. I think I better burn those suckers before Jed finds them. He’d never let me live it down.

Another step we’ve taken towards preparing for Ukraine is finding a Russian tutor! We haven’t met her face to face yet, but we found a woman who is a believer who agreed to teach us. She was a teacher in Russia and has lived in the States for 7 years. Before moving here she taught English to Russians, and Russian to Russians, but she’s never taught Russian as a second language before. This should be fun! We are very motivated to learn and know it is essential that we learn as much as we can in the time we have. We will meet her next week and get that ball rollin’.

Emotionally it’s been a hard week for me. I’m happier than happy to be with my kids. I’m so happy to see family and friends. All that is wonderful and amazing. There’s just one problem. I left a ginormous piece of my heart in Ukraine. I know Jed did too. It’s just really difficult to have seen a part of the need and to know it’s still happening today, right this second, and we aren’t there to help. I’m not saying we are the saviors, or we can fly in and fix everything there with our magic fairy dust, by no means am I saying that. We just know God called us to that work and we want to help, hands-on, right now. But, at the same time, we want to continue waiting on the Lord and letting Him guide this thing. His timing is everything. His plan is at work and we want to stay right in the middle of it and not make our own way. It’s emotionally tiring though. I want to just stick a For Sale sign in my yard tomorrow and be done with it. Good thing I’ve got Jed to reign me in.

So, that’s where we’re goin’ from here. We’ll keep you posted as things continue to unfold. In the meantime, I’ll just keep weeding through embarrassing reminders of 1994-2001. If you were my friend at any point during that time, shame on you for not telling me my hair was so bad. On the other hand, maybe I should thank you for looking past my wings, perms, bandanas, Patty Duke flip, and HUGE bangs and loving the real me hiding behind the fluff. 🙂

Good night!

kimnjed May 13, 2012 2

Yes

Home Again, Home Again Jiggity Jig

Whenever someone says “Home again, home again” I always think of my friend Cody. When we lived together after college she would always say that as we pulled into the driveway, “Home again, home again, jiggity jig!” That was a bit of a side note…love you more than words Cody. 🙂

So, we made it home safe and sound late Wednesday night. Now I’m up quite early blogging and Jed already left to go exercise. Jet lag can actually increase your productivity, you know- or it can cause you to fall asleep on the couch at 7:15….before the kids are even in bed. Yikes.

Being with our kids again is unbelievable. Oh my word we missed them like crazy. I know the Lord was totally in this though because although we missed them, it was never unbearable. We were able to focus on what God was doing where we were at because we knew our kids were loved and cared for at home. My mother-in-law rocks the house. Seriously, she took such amazing care of our babies. Every time we skyped they were so happy and so excited to tell us about their adventures with Grammy. We are so blessed by this gift she gave to us. Love you Grammy!!!!

We are happy to be home, but already missing Ukraine. We left a big part of our hearts there. I don’t know how God did it, but it’s like He supernaturally knit our hearts with the believers there. Some people we knew less than a week, but if felt like we were old friends. It felt like we had history together…and we had just met. Crazy. I guess that’s how it goes when your hearts beat for the same things. We were so blessed by the friendships we found in Ukraine. Honestly, that wasn’t something we expected. We were going with a heart for the orphans there and were surprised to find many kindred hearts along the way. We miss them already.

God alone knows exactly how this story is going to play out. We know Ukraine is in our future, we just need step-by-step instructions about how that is going to come about and what it will look like. At the conference, on our last night there, an awesome new friend from UK Vineyard was praying for us and he felt like God wanted us to dream big, not to think the dreams God has given us are too big, basically not to hold back. He also felt we needed to know that the resources and provision would be right there when we needed it. We’ve heard those promises from God many times in the past few months along this journey. It was so great to hear it again. Thank you Lord that you know just what we need, right when we need it. I’m not sure if you all remember, but the first verse God gave us on this journey was in

Isaiah, chapter 54:

“Enlarge the place of your tent,
stretch your tent curtains wide,
do not hold back;
lengthen your cord, strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread out to the right and to the left;
your descendants will dispossess nations
and settle in their desolate cities.“

Sweet.
We’ll keep you posted as this journey unfolds.

Before I go, I wanted to give an accounting for the money that we took along for orphan care. It was given by all of you and I want to make sure you know where it went! Thank you thank you thank you again from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity. Really, after seeing the need firsthand, and the people God is using to be the hands and feet to meet the need, you can be assured that this money will be used wisely and 100% will be used for His children. He’s got some awesome workers out there doin’ the stuff!

So, here’s the accounting; if you have any questions or want any more clarification feel free to email us at johnson commune AT gmail DOT com (no spaces).

We went with $2200.

$70.00- charge at airport for extra bag carrying donated items for the children

(craft kits, fluoride varnish, stuffed animals, exercise balls…)

$200.00- donation to Mission to Ukraine, specifically for their work in the Romaniv Orphanage

$70.00- to pay for the trip to see the Lost Boys (Praise God again for that miracle!!!)

$400.00- bought diapers and soda (a very special treat!) for the Lost Boys

$750.00- left for Slavik and Alyona to pay for 3 future visits to the Lost Boys. When they go they normally take a large team of people, clowns, etc.. so they have to rent a van. It costs about $250.00 a trip just to go there.

That leaves $710- this money was left for Slavik and Alyona to buy needed items for the Boys when they go on those next 3 visits. After the visits, Alyona will let us know that they went and what they bought to take along with. When she shares that with me I’ll make sure to pass it on to all of you. They really want to be accountable and we trust them that they love the boys and will use the money in the best way possible. We love those two and you all would too!!! 🙂

So, there you have it! That money was given with such love, compassion, and generosity and we know that as Slavik and Alyona go they bring light and darkness is defeated. Praise God for His workers in the fields. Our prayers are so important…keep it up!

GOD WILL WIN THE DAY!!!

kimnjed May 4, 2012 4

Yes

Till We Meet Again…

Today is our last day here. Late tonight, actually reeeeeeally early tomorrow morning, we’ll take a bus back to the capital and fly out at 6:00am tomorrow morning. We spent yesterday at the Vineyard National Conference and will be there again today. What a great time worshiping and spending time with the believers. We have fallen in love with these people. They have taken us in and loved on us, prayed with us and for us. It has been great! We are sad to leave them, but very very very ready to see these faces:


Grammy sent us this picture on Sunday. I love them!!!!

We’ve been talking a lot the last couple days about what to do when we get home. We haven’t felt that God has shown us our definite next step yet. I’m praying He continues to speak today at the Conference and answers some of my questions. 🙂 Whatever He asks of us, we know we have to leave space for action when we get home. We can’t just get back into the groove of things and forget what God did and spoke here. He will be requiring something of us and if we don’t leave space for that it will be a very sad thing and something we will always regret. So, I guess we will have some decisions to make when we get home about what things are our priorities, and what things in our lives need to go- simplifying to make room for the new.

Jed and I have had a great time together on this trip. What an adventure! We keep hearing from local people how brave and adventurous we are….in fact, we’ve heard it so many times it makes me wonder if we’ve been a little “too” adventurous! Ha! Oh well, God has guided us and protected us and we never got too incredibly lost. 🙂 It has been such a blessing to be able to spend this time together exploring and traveling. What a fun way to celebrate our upcoming 10th anniversary!!! (yep, 10 years this June…time flies when you’re havin’ fun)

Squinty coffee date

Here are some last pictures of a few of the wonderful people we’ve met here.

Ukraine Vineyard, we love you guys and will miss you so much!!!!!!

Exploring Kiev with Daria, Ann, Elijah, and Tanya

METRO!!!! With the girls and Alex

The metro was so crowded we were holding each other up…we tried to get a good group shot. Dasha’s sleepy in this one…I’m the opposite

Ummm nope

Jed looks surprised and Dasha’s sleeping again! 🙂 Ah well

Sergei and Alyona, pastors of Kiev Vineyard

Worship at the Conference yesterday

On the banks of the Dnepr

Jed and Elvin…yes blurry, but Jed looked so angry in the next one!

The girls

Andreas and Jed, two Swedes with their coffee. Pinkies up! Andreas let us stay at his apartment with him. What a guy!

Time to go pack the bags…Addy, Ezra, Havalah, and Seth….see you very soon!!!!!

kimnjed May 1, 2012 2

Yes

Recap

Tonight we head out to another town, a new adventure. What an absolutely fantastic time we have had here. We had high hopes for this city and God went above and beyond what we expected. Yay! All along we’ve had anticipation and higher expectations for this portion of out trip…I think many things factor into this. First of all, our sweet little love that first turned our hearts to this country was from here. Second of all, the Lost Boys are in this region, so we knew if we were going to meet them it would have to happen this week. Thirdly, we were super excited to meet Slavik and Alyona. Everything we had read about them and what they do for the Lord really hit us in the guts (in a good way!). We couldn’t wait to meet face to face. God did something in our hearts while we were here. He confirmed, encouraged, broke our hearts in a new way, and connected our hearts to the people here. It has been awesome, and as much as I miss everyone at home…specifically the 4 cutest kiddos on the face of the planet…I am very sad to leave this place. That’s how great our time has been!!!

Here’s some snippets from the week.

Friday afternoon after we saw the Boys (still freaking out about that miracle) we met Slavik for lunch and had our first taste of Chinese food here. It was surprisingly good! Then we headed down to see the Black Sea. It feels like summer has come early here. It has been pretty warm the past couple days and all the elderly people decided it was time to head down to the beach in their string bikinis. Lucky us! Ooooooooh my word, we had some big laughs together about that. I mean, it was either laugh or cry, right?

Alyona and Mark….don’t look too closely at the background. Oops! Ha!

After the beach we said goodbye to Slavik and Alyona. Booohoooooo. We’ll see them again. I’m not sure how I’ll make it till Wednesday though without some baby thighs to squish. Their baby Maria is seriously Havalah’s Eastern European twin- so soft, so squishy. 🙂

Maria


Mark, loving Maria TO DEATH. Ha! Sibling love is the same all over the world…

A little taste of home….they are such sweet kiddos. We loved them.

Yesterday we spent the morning exploring the city, then in the afternoon we met Michelle, the American missionary we talked about before. She took us to meet some other American missionaries here in the city. One couple we met has been here for a little less than a year and they have 3 small children. It was cool to hear their perspective and what God is doing through them. Then we met a couple older ladies at McDonalds. One of them, Darlene, has been here with her husband for 15 years and they raised all their children here. It was great to talk with them too. We just wanted to meet as many people as we could and hear their stories.

After our meetings we went to the Opera! It was kind of funny, actually. Our seats were pretty bad. Like, laughable bad. We could only really see if we stood, and seeing how the Operas are like 3 hours long, that was kind of a bummer. We left at intermission…I mean, it’s not like we understood what was going on anyway. It was still a great adventure and the opera house was GORGEOUS! The sound was great, the tickets were cheap, it was definitely not a waste.

View from our seats…standing up 🙂

The ceiling

Another great time we didn’t get a chance to write about was Thursday when we got to go with Nastya to an orphanage near our apartment. She goes there weekly to spend time with the children, do some songs and a craft, basically to be a presence in their lives. She really desires to build relationships and love them. The Director there is very cooperative and open to help, so that is great! We had just a great time with those kids. This is a nice orphanage where the kids get a fairly good education and we could tell their teacher really loved them. What cuties!!! Here are some of their sweet faces…

Listening closely

Poser

This little guy…oh my word is he not the ultimate in squeezability? He is absolutely adorable and so funny. He was playing soldiers and was definitely the leader.

So proud of her work. She was a hoot too. What a cutie!

Ultimate poser 🙂

Playing

Alright, time to get out of my jammies and start packing for our trip tonight. Off to meet new people and have new adventures!

kimnjed April 29, 2012 4

AdvocatingOrphan CareYes

The Day We’ve Been Waiting For

Today was huge. Today will stand out as one of the most memorable days of my life. That may sound dramatic, but it’s so true! Today was a day when God brought us full circle- from beginnings, ideas, and hopes, to reality. Today I made a friend for life. Today God showed that He is the biggest and the strongest.

We met Alyona at her house at 8:00, drank some coffee, and hit the road. Slavik’s brother drove Alyona, Jed, Mark (Alyona’s almost 3-year-old), and me to the town. Yesterday Slavik used money we had brought, given by all of you, to buy a trunk full of diapers and some soda. I am sooooooo sorry to say we forgot to take pictures of the gifts!!! 🙁 We were so excited and emotional that it didn’t occur to us till we had already left to go home that we hadn’t taken pictures. Sorry! Slavik called the Director about 30 minutes before we arrived to say we were coming. Ha! While she said that was fine, we weren’t sure if we would be allowed to see any boys. We hoped and prayed we would see them.

We had a great time in the car on the way. I love Alyona. I really love her so much. We connect. We “get” each other. I know if we lived near each other we would be good friends. It’s not every day you meet a couple with the same heartbeat, dreaming the dreams we dream, doing the things we long to do. Alyona is my kind of gal and she and Slavik are quite the team. They are dreamers who get it done. I love that. Anyway, we laughed and chatted all the way there. It was fun.

I was fine, and then I saw the sign for the village. My word, my hands were sweating, my heart was beating so fast. It was crazy. We pulled into the gates of the orphanage and it was unreal. I don’t really know how to describe all the feelings. We’ve been praying for this place, reading about this place, loving this place from afar for 18 months or so. Fundraising, dreaming, looking at pictures…now those pictures were reality! I saw the shed where the boys eat, the gazebo where I’ve seen pictures of visits and the tulips. Oh Melanie, I had tears for you when I saw all the beautiful tulips. I told Jed “Look! Melanie’s tulips!!!” They were lovely today my friend. 🙂

We parked the car and unloaded the diapers and the soda….while not taking pictures. Sorry again! We weren’t able to take any pictures inside the orphanage. We didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize our presence there. I pray I never forget the pictures in my mind. Alyona asked, and we were told we could visit with some of the boys!!!!! PRAISE GOD! They set up several benches in the courtyard near the eating sheds and the boys began to come. Oh, the precious, beloved children of the Father. If only they knew how much they are treasured- not just by Him, but by so many of us from near and far away. I recognized many of the faces from photos of previous visits. Some faces I had never seen. They sat on the benches with shining eyes, clapping their hands with excitement. Then a couple other boys in wheelchairs were brought over. Oh, my word, the cuteness was unbelievable!!!!! These boys are hidden jewels. One “boy”, who is really a man, could hardly contain his excitement. He bounced up and down on the bench, laughing, eyes lit up with glee. I will never forget that face.

We greeted the boys and then sang a song with some motions. Most of the boys participated, some watched, and some tried to get their hands to move in the right way but couldn’t quite manage it. Oh, but they tried! One sweet little boy looked to be about 5 or 6 years old and was in a wheelchair. You could see he was paying very close attention. The wheels were definitely turning. He is a beautiful little boy. Alyona told them the story of Easter with some plastic eggs with little symbols inside of them. They ate it up. They couldn’t get enough of the pats, hand-holding, squeezes. They loved Alyona and she was very good with them. I pray that God reaches beyond their natural understanding and draws each of them to Himself. They heard truth today and no one can take that away from them.

We only had about a half hour with the boys and then it was time for them to go to lunch. We were a little disappointed it was such a short time, but then we got a present we weren’t expecting. Since we were outside and the boys were to eat outside in the shed we got to see all the mobile boys walk by. Many, many boys walked by us!!!! That may not seem like a big deal, but you should have seen Alyona’s face light up. “Look at all these capable boys! So many of them I have never seen! This is so great!!!” We greeted them as they walked by. Some looked away, some clapped their hands with excitement of seeing strangers, some yelled “Privyet!!!” (hi) as loud as they could. Ha! It was awesome. It was so precious to see the older boys leading the little ones by the hand down the sidewalk. Men and boys together, all in need of love, all deserving of that and more. Next to the eating shed there is a building with a flight of stairs leading down. One young man with Down syndrome who we had seen walking around doing chores carried a little one down the stairs to a wheelchair. Alyona pointed “Look at how they care for each other…such treasures.”

Our visit was brief but truly amazing. At the beginning of this week, we thought we would not be able to go. Then we found out we would go, but still doubted we would see any boys. Then we not only got to see boys, but we got to spend some great time with some, and see MANY! God did a miracle. I will never discount that time. We truly believe that God is at work behind the scenes. God has put this remote place on so many people’s radars. Why? So many people from so many parts of the world love these boys they have never met. Why? Slavik and Alyona are so persistent and determined to not let these boys be forgotten. Why? There is also much resistance to any help in that place. Why? I don’t know the details, but I firmly and absolutely believe that God has a big plan in place. The enemy would love to keep those boys hidden forever, but God is not in agreement with that. He has brought them to light for a purpose. Again, why? Because they are His children. The gleam in their eyes makes His heart swell. He sees in each of them the man that He has created them to be. They are His precious creations and we believe He has a very big plan for them.

Outside the gates…

As we sat in the car outside the gates and Alyona prayed my heart swelled with faith in God. HE is doing it folks! He is bringing light into dark places. He set Slavik and Alyona loose on this place and they are not going to back down! They are fighters. I am so proud of them and so humbled by them. They are giving their lives for children all over this region. They have a map of their region in the entry hall of their house. The map is covered with little flags- one color for orphanages that have people ministering there, and one color for orphanages that are yet to be reached. Slavik and Alyona are the real deal.

I wish so much I could sit down with each of you and share face-to-face what we have experienced here. There is so much in our hearts, so much God is speaking, so much He is working in this place. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep on saying it: He WILL win the day.

Praise God for His victory today!!!

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death

a light has dawned.

Isaiah 9:2

kimnjed April 27, 2012 9