We are in Kazakhstan living out of our suitcases for the month. We get to play with our son (decree pending) twice a day as well as feed him lunch (and snack if we are at the orphanage when they are eating their snack and milk or tea).
Our last month in Southeast Asia was hectic and filled with opportunities to spend time with friends and to connect people together. Our trip to the Middle East was encouraging and thought provoking. We are open to where the Lord will send us next and want to continue to ask the right questions as we leave one field, transition to the US for Home Ministry Assignment and seek a new position.
In our last letter, we asked you to pray for us specifically about several things. Here are some answers to your prayers:
Pray that we would find consolation in the Lord and know His joy.
We have been able to enjoy the Lord’s care for us through his people. So many wonderful friends in our city took care of us during the last weeks. Our community group drove to the airport, ate dinner with us, and waved to us as we went through immigration! They were such a blessing to us.
We made it to the Middle East and back safely with a minimum of jet lag and no sickness.
Pray for our hearts to be open, for us to be able to ask the right questions, to listen carefully to the answers, to seek the Lord's leading.
We love the Christians who are working in the Middle East. They love their neighbors and are passionate to see their nation reached for Christ, despite the political, economic, and religious difficulties. It was clear that one possible position was not a good fit for us but we are still considering the others. We pray that God would send forth his laborers into the harvest fields in that region.
Please pray for us as we finish packing and sorting; that we have sufficient funds in our account to cover our shipping costs; that through the Open House God would unite those working in EM ministry in this country.
Everything is sold or packed in the container and on its way to the US. We thank the Lord for the church and the several individuals who contributed to our account for the shipping cost. The open house started a conversation between several people who exchanged e-mail addresses to to stay in touch about each others’ work and continue discussing ideas.
Pray for the final details of the adoption to come together (fingerprints, tickets, funds, and visas).
Praise the Lord! The turn around time for the visas was 10 days total! We were relieved to have our passports back which we need for official identification. We found a direct flight here to Kazakhstan and have a flexible return ticket to the US. The grant and loan were approved which enabled us to buy our tickets and have funds for living expenses here. We are still working on funds for many other adoption expenses. Both sets of fingerprints reports have been processed successfully. One has been apostilled and is on its way here. The other is on it way to be apostilled. Pray that they will both reach here in time to be translated and added to our documents before court. The delivery process here has the reputation of being slow something even the big international courier companies seem able to do little about.
Pray for us as we leave our child behind for several weeks. Pray for us as we become first time parents. We love our son and being involved in his life here—buying diapers, shoes, toys, cookies enriched with iron, and whatever else he needs. We are learning to deal with temper tantrums that seemingly come for no reason that we can understand, comforting him, helping him learn to deal with the frustration of having a mom & dad who can’t speak either Kazakh or Russian and don’t always understand his grunt and point technique. He has come to know us as his mama & papa (as the caregivers and other children tell him). We can’t imagine what he will feel when we are gone. The last couple waited seven weeks before being able to return to pick up their son.
Please pray for us to find a car to use, for details to fall together for church visits and for our support to increase. We have a place to live when we arrive in the US but still need a car. Our schedule is still being developed; we will communicate more as it is filled out. We still need more support to come up to our last budget. We may need even more depending on where the Lord leads us next.
We still anticipate being in the US by November 1st which means we’ll be at the Global Mission conference (GMC). We’ll be in the St. Louis area after the GMC for two weeks and then back to Georgia to settle in and visit our home church. If your church is having a conference in January, February or March, please get in touch with us so that we can add you to our schedule.
We are so thankful for each one of you and for your prayers.
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