Snow

Court Today :)

We woke up to a huge blanket of snowfall this morning. I believe it snowed all night. It is so beautiful. We had a wonderful breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to Madona about 3 1/2 hours away for court.

Court was scheduled for 2:00 and about 2:30 the judge had not come and I began to worry a little. We later found out the translator was in a car accident and had to be taken back to Riga. The judge allowed Daina to tranlate so we would not have to reschedule. Thank you God!!

Court went very smoothly. The judge was very nice. She asked things like when did we decide we wanted to adopt and how Jana gets along with her brothers. She also wanted to know more about my job and Brad's.

We also found out the Izabella is definitely not available for adoption and that her mother is trying to get her back. Please pray for God's will in this situation and that she will be safe.

We have a day tomorrow to rest before the 20 hour trek home. Flights were super expensive on Friday's so we delayed our return one day to fly home on Saturday. I am thankful we chose to fly through MOscow instead of Frankfurt as there is a terrible snow storm delaying flights out of Frankfurt.

Thank you all for your prayers. We have one more trip in January but the adoption was final today :) We are so blessed to have Jana as our daughter forever. Thank you God!

Trip 2 in Latvia

We arrived a few hours ago to snow on the ground. It was a 24 hour trip and we are exhausted. We have court tomorrow at 2 so we are about to head to bed because we have a 4 hour drive each way.

We thank you all for your wonderful prayers. We are so thankful for each of you.

Answered Prayers

Thank you all for your prayers for a date before the end of the year. The Lord answered and we are headed back to Latvia :) Our court is scheduled for December 9 at 2:00.

Next Sunday is Orphan sunday and I pray that we all can help to make sure there is one less orphan in this world. What is God calling you to do? Please check out New Horizons for Children at www.newhorizonsforchildren.org

John 14:18 - I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you.

Thank you for that promise.

Please pray for Tiffany's healing and for Ashley a friend's cousin is very ill with an unknown problem - pray for wisdom and revelation for the doctor's.

God bless you all, Paula

Prayer Needs

Hi Friends and Family,

Brad and I wanted to give you an update and thank you for your continued prayers for our adoption.

Jana is adjusting well to our family and to school. She and her brothers joke, laugh, and fight together just as it should be. She has been such a wonderful blessing to our family and we thank God for each day that he brought her into our family. She is funny, outgoing and excited to try new things. She will starting Hip Hop dance lessons this week and is so excited. She did a few trial weeks and loved it. She is struggling in school but of course that is much to be expected until she can learn more English. Her daddy has had the pleasure of taking her to dance and this has been a new experience for him . She is a daddy’s girl and loves to be with him. He has even taken her mall shopping .

We have a prayer request. We received our I800 approval last Saturday and we are awaiting a court date. Typically one is issued right away but it has been a week and we have yet to receive one. Please pray for us that we would receive a court date quickly if it is God’s will. We know that we cannot travel to Latvia after December 5 until late into January because the lawyer will be busy with the hosting program children and of course celebrating Christmas and the New Year. We are praying that we could receive a court date next week. If we can get one in the next two weeks then we can complete the adoption before December 5 which is our prayer. We trust God will work out the perfect timing even if it not our timetable. Thank you for lifting this request before Him.

We have a huge praise. We were approved for a matching grant through Lifesong for Orphans and Promise 686. Promise 686 will provide dollar for dollar matching funds up to $4000.00 to help with financial costs of the adoption. We expect to pay another $15,000 for Jana and more if Izabella is cleared for adoption. We are sending out support letters and covet your prayers that God will make a way financially for this adoption as well.

We thank you for your prayers in the loss of Brad’s dad and ask that you continue to lift our entire family up in your prayer time as we learn to live without Papaw. My phone still has his name in the contacts and I can’t bear to take it off. We miss him greatly but we know that he is preparing a place for all of us and cancer free in heaven. He touched many lives for the Lord and we pray that the seeds he planted in Alaska and at home will be watered and will grow fruit and be a legacy to his commitment to the Lord.

If our story has moved your heart for adoption there are many waiting children who need parents. The hosting program deadline is the first of November. Please check out the site at http://www.newhorizonsforchildren.org/horizons/help.html . Let there be one less orphan in the world because you answered the call.

God bless you all,
Paula and Brad

Please also pray for our friend Tiffany who is having major surgery this week.

Answered Prayer -Matching Grant Approved

We are thanking God today for His provision. We were notified this afternoon that Lifesong for Orphans with the assistance of Promise 686 her in the Atlanta area have partnered with us to help fund our adoption. They have blessed us with a $4000.00 matching dollar for dollar grant.

The financial aspect was our biggest concern and God is providing. If you would like to help you can send gifts to Lifesong for Orphans Benton#1475 P.O. Box 40/ 202 N. Ford St. Gridley, IL 61744. It is a tax deductible donation.

We are expecting USCIS 1800 any day now :) Praying it arrives this week.

Thank you and God bless

Miraculous Day

Today is Jana's 16th birthday. As I woke up this morning I was reminded of what great and wonderous deeds my savior did for me. He brought this beautiful girl to Brad and I just in the nick of time but of course always in his perfect time. We celebrated with a family dinner and were joined by two of Jana's Latvian friends.

I thank God for the miracles He performed so that she would have a forever family and we would have a daughter. He began this work long before I ever knew her name and I thank those of you who hosted her, prayed for her, and let her go so that she might be untited with us as He intended. We love her beyond words and know that our family and our life is enriched because she is in it.

Thank you all for your continued prayers as we continue this adoption journey.

I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene,
and wonder how he could love me,
a sinner, condemned, unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful
is my Savior's love for me!

Phillipians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.