June 23rd

Here are a couple of pictures of kids at home with us. There are also one of when Jon picked the kids up fromthe orphanage. The kids are all doing well. It seems as if we have had Aya and Sergey forever. They fit in so perfect. Trevor and Sergey are together non-stop either playing outside or on the Playstation. Aya is very good at entertaining herself with all of the goodies we have around. At the moment she is singing on Hailey's karaoke machine! I don't think she is going to be the next American Idol ...LOL
We will try to update pictures regularly of stuff going on with the kids.

There Home...June 22nd

Hello Everyone!
Well Jon and the kids made it safely home last night. We had a busy night since Trevor had a baseball game. After picking up everyone from the airport we then all headed to the baseball field to watch Trevor's game. The night went incredibly smooth as the kids came home and looked around. Their eyes were big as saucers and they giggled as they went through the house. Trevor and Sergey have had a blast together. When I asked Trevor how he liked his new brother he smiled bigger than I have ever seen and said "Yes". They have become instant friends and it is truly very sweet. Aya has been fascinated with Barbies and American girl dolls and has been playing with them all nonstop. Today we started the kids on their English lessons. Sergey was more eager than Aya, however.
Overall, we are doing wonderfully and everyone is adjusting well. Keep us in your prayers as I am sure there is bound to be some bumps in the road. I can't find the cord to load the photos so I will have to add pics of them at home later.

Day ????

June 20th
I (Krystal) made it home safe and sound. Jon and the kids will be coming home Thursday!!! Jon does not have internet so that is why there has not been any posts lately. He says things are going well, but the kids are getting pretty restless. Already he has experienced some pouting and mild temper tantrums. I ams ure the kids are overstimulated, excited, scared, all rolled in to one. Overall, he says the kids have been great, but he is anxious to get home.
We will update photos on Friday of their return home. Thanks for your prayers!

Krystal

Day 12

Well today started out as a sad but joyous morning. I dropped Krystal off at the airport at 6:15 and said our goodbyes. The hardest part is in knowing that I have the only phone that works in this country, so there is no way of getting in touch with her if by chance something went wrong with her flight in Kiev. I am confident that the Lord is protecting her so I have peace. My day is being spent without the kids today, which give me sometime to catch up on some reading for school. I might kill some of the day watching Lord of the Rings. I miss everyone so much and I can’t wait to get home, most likely Wednesday night or possibly Thursday if there are any delays at the embassy. I spent most of lunch today taking pictures of the sights and I ran across an old lady begging. I watched as people were giving her some loose change and saw the joy it was giving her. I then passed by her and was going to give her a little bit but all I had was a fifty. When I gave her this she fell to the ground sobbing. Fifty grevin (sic) is worth only ten dollars in U.S. currency, but out here the minimum wage for most people is 60-100 grevin per month.
To my kids at home, make sure you give your mom a great welcome, she really missed you. Love Jon

Day 11

God IS AWESOME!

WE GOT OUR MIRACLE!!! THE JUDGE WAIVED THE TEN DAYS WAIT!!!

Needless to say we are thrilled with the outcome of court. Court was short, sweet and to the point. The judge was very nice and and made things extremely easy for all of us. The judge had been telling our facilitator that there was NO WAY he could waive the 10 days. So when we got to court she told us we can ask for it, but he is not going to grant it. So during the proceedings a teacher from the orphanage had to speak and grant us her permission to adopt the kids and while doing this she mentioned to the judge that next week all the kids at the orphanage will be leaving for camp. Then she tells the judge that there will not be anyone at the orphanage to feed or take care of the kids. So with that information he waived the wait! I was so excited I could have burst out of my chair screaming. I knew this was a direct answer to prayer. I am amazed at how God has orchestrated every piece of this journey!! So our entire trip will be almost exactly 2 weeks….like a world record!! (Sorry to brag to all of you who have gone so much longer) The kids are officially ours now.
I am still leaving tomorrow since I had already changed my ticket. Jon will be flying home Wed or Thursday because he still has things he needs to do here before leaving.

Thanks to everyone who prayed for us! We serve a mighty God!

Day 10

Day 10
Okay, so this pic of Christopher has nothing to do with our trip, but Debbie M sent us this in an email... and isn't he cute? Thanks, Debbie

Today was a busy day. After taking a walk and having some coffee we took the kids to an open air market to buy a few clothing items for Sergey. Many of the items I brought for him will probably be too big because he is very thin. So at the market he picked out a couple of items so he would have something clean and nice to wear to court tomorrow. It was interesting because there are no dressing rooms, so he just tried his clothes on right there outside in front of everyone. I commented to the translator how odd that was to Americans because we change in dressing rooms. She said it is common here to do as Sergey did. I was embarrassed for him and in fact, moved to the side so I would not see him. I kept thinking how mortified Trevor would have been had that been him! No way would Trevor take his clothes off in the middle of a bunch of people!
It was very hot today and on account of that Aya got carsick on the way to the market! So we are now officially her parent because she has thrown up on us! Poor thing. I think because they are not used to driving in cars (and people drive nuts here) it is common for the orphans to get carsick. Most of the time people walk or take buses places.
Once back at the hotel Jon and I rested before heading to a Mexican restaurant for dinner….Yes, I said “Mexican”. The restaurant was called “Tequila Boom” and it was very good and we enjoyed it a lot. I had chicken soft tacos and Jon had a chicken burrito.
Tomorrow we will leave the hotel at 9 a.m. to pick the kids up and head to court. Pray that the hearing is short, easy and the 10 day wait is waived.

Miranda, Hailey, and Trevor….How was shopping? Give Christopher a hug and tell him we love him, okay??? Show him my picture so he doesn’t forget me.

Lucia…we did not host in Dec..we hosted in the Summer. I hope all is well and you get an appointment very soon. Thanks for your prayers!

Theresa… Thanks for your messages. It is nice to connect with others in the midst of the process. When we get back I have lots of info I can share about Donetsk, if your interested. When do you think you will be getting here?

Gail…Can you let me know what you guys did about gifts? If you can email me I would love to know who and what you gave, if you don’t mind. Thanks…

Pittsboro Baptist's Youth

So how is youth going? Please be in prayer today for our court date. We are hoping that the judge will wave the mandatory 10 day wait, if this happens then I will be home for the Harvest Crusade. Speaking of this, are you guys inviting people? Please get fired up for this event, I will be praying for you guys this week. Go easy on Karl and Christina and Steve and Chip and Todd. Please!! I’ll see ya’ll soon. Love Jon