God is still in the Healing Business!!

Hello,

Well we start off showing you a picture of our Moms working hard to get our house ready for the boys. Just kidding. These women are members of the Catholic Church outside our hotel and they were cutting firewood and working around the church today.

We want to share some wonderful news. We shared a prayer request for our friends Rick and Melissa yesterday. They gave me permission to fill you in on their story as a testimony of how great our God is. They had some concerns about the little boy Vysa and they shared health information with a Dr back in the states. Based on the information that they were able to give this Dr, he told them that he felt strongly that Vysa has Muscular Dystrophy. This was very devastating news to them.

They went through a lot of soul searching, much prayer and a whole lot of tears. After speaking with their facilitator they were able to get a Dr from Kiev to come today. We went to the orphanage this afternoon with Melissa and Rick. Their facilitator and the Dr were there waiting on them. The Dr studied in America and spoke excellent English. He is a pediatrician. They took Vysa upstairs and he examined him. He put him thru some extensive motor skills and other tests. The Dr concluded after his examination and after going thru the medical records that it is only a birth defect that he received when he was born. The medical records were full of documentation since his birth. His scapula was damaged and his right arm was paralyzed. Later they found out both arms were damaged.Also, he told them he is very smart and considering he has been in an orphanage for 2 years he is on the level of a 4 1/2 year old. The good news is that his motor skills have continued to improve since birth so not only does he not have muscular dystrophy but his condition is improving. We have all been crying and rejoicing. God is so good and for any of you that wondered; He is still in the healing business.

James got up early this morning and sat out on the balcony praying for Vysa and watching the sunrise. It was beautiful. Here are just a few pictures he was able to take. It was hard to choose which ones to post.

Now for our great news, the Meir signed!!! Natalya will be going in the morning to pick up the paperwork and come here to speak with the Director of the orphanage and go to the Inspector's office. She said if inspector is there and signs she will go to the SDA tomorrow as long as there is time. We realized that our delay may have been so we could be here with Rick and Melissa to be a support for them through this trial.

For any of you considering international adoption or waiting to get a referral; our best advice to you is be strong in your faith. Know who you are in the Lord. You will go thru trials and to get thru those trials you need to have a stong belief in Jesus Christ, a strong prayer life and claim the Word of God. Also, have a wonderful support system at home. Without any of this it would have been very tough to be half way around the world and do it on our own.

Enjoy the pictures of the boys. They play so well together and get alog great. If you notice they are gaining a little weight. It is getting hard for me to lift them.

Yesterday the kids wanted to pick the grapes and eat them. We think they are muscadines. They kept feeding the sour ones to us.

The puppy is getting better everyday. Her eye is just about cleared up and her nose is cold and wet. I bet ya'll didn't know James was a veternarian. ha ha

Everytime we feed the boys we have them open their mouth so we can make sure they swallowed the previous bite. That is why you see a picture of me and them with their mouths open. They are like squirrels storing up for the winter. They seem to think they have to eat everything in one bite. They love fruit, yogurt, ice cream, marshmellows, cereal and candy.

Don't you just love the shirt Micah has on? Today he looked like he was headed to Woodstock. He was groovy!

Today we were approached by a drunk. After we told him we did not speak Russian it didn't matter because we don't think he was either. He had some liquid courage. The manager came out and told him to go on. We were thankful. We would have hated for James to take him down with his Swiss army knife. haha

Thank you to everyone for your prayers. Please remember our other friends the McMullins when you pray tonight. Please pray for the health of the child they will visit tomorrow.

Jon- thank you for your comments. It touched our hearts so much. We both cried. Thanks for the song. We can't wait for the boys to all meet. Can you imagine what Christmas will be like? Toys Everywhere! War Eagle!

We love you all,

Penny, James, Luke and Micah