Tortoise and Hare

Hello All -

Here it is, the post you've been waiting for . . .  We have travel dates and court appointments!  We heard on Friday that our Latvian attorney Daina let us know that we'd probably hear very soon from the  Children's Ministry, and then on Sunday night we got an email including our Referral from them!  So on Tuesday we talked to our agency head, Barbara, and she told us it would probably be another month before we received a court date, and travel dates.  Then THIS MORNING we received our court date and travel dates!!  Wow, we went from going as slow as the tortoise, to going as fast as the hare!  I can hardly believe this is finally actually going to happen!  Our travel date is September 14, and our first court date is September 16 (my sister's birthday!).  So now we have flight and lodging reservations to make, and we're so excited!  Yesterday we we made our weekly phone call to Vita, she sounded so happy, but we only knew then that it might be in September.  Just at the end of the conversation she said "I love you!"

So, now it's going to be a lot of planning, packing, etc.  So glad we hadn't really made any big plans for the weekend!    Thank you again everyone, for caring, and for praying.  One really cool thing that was written about Vita in the referral document is that she loves singing, reciting poetry, and drama.  For those of you who've known Mike & I for a while, you can see this is really amazing, so similar to both of us!  But nothing is too difficult for God . . . He's the Matchmaker here  ;-).

Voice Recognition

                        I have some good news to share today - we finally got to talk to Vita!
     Our translated dossier was received at the Latvian Children's Ministry and we are now permitted to contact her.  Our first attempts found her unavailable, but when we finally caught up to her, it was so great to hear her voice!  We were able to explain that we've been working through a long process and following the rules, and that we are working to adopt her and waiting now for the Children's Ministry to contact us to set up our appointment for our first trip.  We understand that we will be required to stay for approximately two to three weeks, but then be able to bring her home with us for "hosting" and then have to bring her back for two more visits/court appointments.  After trying to communicate all that we could she was quiet so I asked "Are you happy?!"  She replied excitedly "Yes, yes, yes!!"  She also responded very happily when we mentioned each of our family members & pets.  I'm just so struck by the sound of her voice - it's definitely our girl!  (Isn't it cool that God made us each with such a unique voice that it can be distinctly recognized?!)  One thing she told us is that she looks at her photo album from her time with us in Dec./Jan EVERY night, so I was very happy to hear that!
     Now we are waiting to hear from the Latvian Children's Ministry so we hope that will be coming up soon!  Thanks to all of you who remember to pray for Vita.  Only The Lord knows what goes on for her each day, so we ask Him to continue to protect her and keep her encouraged!  💌

Status Update

Hello All -
I have a bit of news to update our status.  Mike's been checking in with Immigration Services to see what our application status is each week.  Finally today he was told that we have been assigned a case worker!  Whew, that was a frustrating wait, since we applied 41 days ago.  So now hopefully we will be approved soon, and this approval can join with our dossier in Latvia.  It is our understanding that at that point we will finally be able to communicate with Vita!
Today I watched an interview of Jim Caviezel on YouTube that I thought you might like to see too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay4vJ75pbc0&feature=share
Hope you can check that out, it's encouraging to see what God is doing in our hearts, and what He does in others' hearts as well.
Thank you all for your prayers, and your encouraging words!
~Robin & Mike

UPS? No - GPS!!!

     I finally have some news to post, and it's very happy news!  
                                        We have sent our dossier to Latvia - YAY!
After gathering, fingerprinting, copying, notarizing, authenticating, and apostilling every document you can imagine, we finally completed our dossier and it is even now in Latvia!  We had the option, according to our adoption agency person, Kelly, to either ship it via a UPS-like service, or send it with a family who is heading to Latvia for their adoption finalization.  She said they've had great success with both ways, and it was up to us.  So after Mike and I talked it over, we decided to entrust our dossier to the family who would carry it in their luggage, and personally hand it to our Latvian attorney, Daina.  I drove to the family's home in Westminster, MD on Thursday and nervously turned our thick packet of documents over to Jen (not UPS, but God's Parcel Service - GPS).   She, of all people, knows the importance of our dossier and its successful delivery to the right person.  She and her husband are representatives of another hosting agency very similar to the one (New Horizons for Children) through which we met and hosted our Vita.  They are traveling to finalize their adoption of a little 18 month old boy named Jonathan.  Jen was graciously chatting away with me about their adoption and our hosting experience, when suddenly she asked - 'What's the girl's name you are seeking to adopt?'  I said - 'Vita Brakovska.'  She said - 'I know her!'  Wow, a little girl from across the world, hosted through their organization two years ago, and now by us . . . and God put Jen in charge of our dossier!  Jen remembered interviewing Vita, and photographing her in order to find a host family for her back then.   I just think that is so amazing, since Vita could have been hosted anywhere in the whole USA!  It is just one more step in this process, and God has shown His hand in each and every step!

 Jen even said "I know I have some pictures of her from two years ago, I'll send them to you."  So here she is, two years ago (love the natural hair color!), with that same grin and bright eyes.  I guess God has really had His eye on this girl.  Jen says she is so happy that Vita has found a family.
     So the process as I understand it at this point is for our dossier to be translated, and later when we get our US Immigration approval, that will be sent over to the Latvian ministry, and we will then be waiting to have an invitation to come and visit, and "host" Vita for several weeks.  (There is a very slim chance that it could be in time for our family beach vacation, but I haven't given up hope for that!)  Then we'll be bringing her back with us, and later make two more trips back for finalization.
Once again I want to thank all of our family and friends for their interest, support, and prayers.
We are so encouraged by you.

New Family Member!!

Yes,  SHE SAID YES!!!!!  We got an email this afternoon from our case worker telling us that Vita wants to be adopted into our family!!!  We are thrilled, and we feel SO thankful.  What a blessing!!!  Thank you all who have been praying so faithfully.  We have been waiting, and starting to doubt that after this many weeks the answer would be positive.  In the meantime, so many people asked me if we had any news, showing their care and support.  I thought to myself, if only Vita knew how many people here already care about her!  I truly feel thrilled to share this with you, knowing how happy you will all be to hear the news!

Dinner at Outback Steakhouse - Fun and Yummy!

Our last day together, ready for church.

At the airport, just before she left to go back to Latvia.

Now the ball is in our court!  We will work diligently to complete all of the necessary paperwork, home study, etc.  We cannot wait to get this beautiful girl back here with us!  I told Mike what I wanted for my birthday was that Vita would say 'yes.'  Best birthday gift ever.
Thanking God, and thank you!!

Gap Standers

God’s ultimate goal is for each lump of clay to be fashioned according to His design and for His purposes, not ours. “We are the clay, you are the potter,” Isaiah writes, “we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8). I am. You are.  Whoever you are praying for today is.  God shapes and molds. You pray and intercede.

That is from a devotion I read online today.  I think it is really helpful as I think about "standing in the gap" for Vita, since she has returned to Latvia - praying for her that God will be at work, molding her through her circumstances, to become what He has planned for her.  We are fighting the heavy sadness that came over us like a cloud when we put her on the way to the plane yesterday that would take her thousands of miles away from us.  I find some comfort in trying to have His perspective, that this is part of a complex plan for Vita.  Now  we have to keep that in our minds and in our hearts, each time we feel that sadness, whenever thoughts of something she did here with us pop up, or things of hers left behind appear.  Our prayers for her each day are not just a last resort, or "the only thing we can do."  Rather they are exactly what to do, God is moved by them, we know this!

Trinity Burge playing Skipbo with Vita, after the delicious dinner her mom made for us.

Now YOU, reader, must know something:  I am so sure that this MISSION TRIP (hosting Vita) that has just concluded, is not really over.  YOU have had such a mighty role, through your prayers, your encouraging words, your presence in our lives shared with Vita.  As we were singing in church yesterday, surrounded by many of you, I felt convinced that every smiling face or greeting extended was a memory being seared into Vita's mind, that will support the decisions and choices she has made while she's been with us.  On Tuesday, January 7th, after reading the Bible together, and going over the verses in her own Latvian Bible that I shared with her, Vita's decision to place her trust in Christ was (we believe) a sincere one.    We saw many changes in her, and one of them was her singing, in such a heart felt way, along with us at church.  As we tuned the radio to hear some news she asked us to switch it to our favorite Christian music instead, and that was most certainly a change from what she had requested in her first week or so with us.  We had so many teaching opportunities, and we pray that now that she's apart from us, the growing in her faith will continue!  THANK YOU so much for being in this with us, at the risk of repeating myself, we sincerely felt your  support, and it made a huge difference!

The Hart family so graciously gave us their time and energy in sharing their home, family, and horse!

What is next?  We will be asking God to show us that, and waiting with great anticipation!

Winter Garden

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”  Luke 8
   

     Funny time to be thinking about a garden, but . . .
The seeds in the bird feeder trigger the thought of seeds being scattered.  Here we are spending four weeks with a girl from across the world, and what seeds are being planted?  Because we love the Lord, and desire to follow His ways, we are reaching out to her, trying to share His love with her, hoping and praying that her heart is open, and the seeds will take root.  Only the Lord knows her heart, we just plant, water, and pray that He is at work.  Vita has spent quite a bit of time reading her new Latvian Bible - yay!  We know His Word is powerful, right?!
I'm so thankful that we got this cold wintery weather back, something inside me craves some real winter every year, and feels very disappointed if it doesn't happen.  I'm especially happy to experience it, and share it with Vita.  I've been keeping tabs on the weather in Latvia, and theirs this week has been at times 20 degrees warmer!  But today theirs is very similar to ours since we're heading back to a normal range.
We've enjoyed this past week, including a nice invitation to Becca Studer's girl scout bunco night, a fun dinner at our daughter Annie's, and a great time with Pat & Sarah and family on New Year's Eve.  We had Chinese food, and watched the movie Elf, which made Vita laugh so hard.  It was really fun to see her enjoying it, and I've been calling her my elf, since she was so helpful getting gifts wrapped, etc.  Vita tried to stay up to say Happy New Year at midnight, but couldn't quite make it.  She sneaked off to bed around 11:15.   Mike's been under the weather, and Vita and I've been taking good care of him together.  He's feeling much better now.  We got to go over to Pat & Sarah's and babysit one day, which I'm really glad she got to experience.  Those kids are irresistably cute!  Vita's loved painting and coloring by number, thanks to a fun trip to the craft store.  We watched the movie Beauty & the Beast, which moved Vita to tears (okay, so it gets me every time too!)  The fresh snowfall on Thursday evening was too hard to resist, so a nighttime snowball fight with Mike, Frankie & Vita ensued.  We also were treated to a very fun day at Chuck E Cheese's, courtesy of our friends the Tumys (Kara, Maggie, and Ethan).  I was very happy with the way that went, with Maggie taking Vita under her wing, and they were loving those shooting games! The Tumy family's graciousness and generosity will not be forgotten, and I hope a lifetime friendship has begun.  :-)
Well, thank you again for your support everyone, and especially remembering to pray for us.  We feel God is really in all of this, and you are too - so how cool is that to be part of a winter garden?!
XO
p.s. If you get to see Vita and are talking with her, please don't mention things from this post, etc.  She doesn't see or read this, and is confused when people have said they saw photos, and know about what she's been doing.  Thanks.  

Some people & dogs just love winter!

We all said "no, we're not coming out" so she went out to the back yard alone.  Then Mike & Frankie sneaked out the front door and ambushed her - she LOVED it!

Puzzle master

At Skate Frederick on Christmas Eve with Nathan, Lyla & Frankie

Cora's holding her kitten Moses, Vita's got the amazing cat Yosemite!