HE SAID YES!!!

It is 37 degrees here in Ukraine this morning, but the son was shining..  I feel like the last two days have aged us and Jeff says, "We can't afford to age anymore."  I felt a peace come over me this morning, but the car ride was completely quiet. Well today was a total opposite of yesterday.  We drove our wild drive to the orphanage this morning, Jeff reached out and touched three cars...(just kidding)  When we walked in  our hearts were racing.  We sat until Sasha's class was out at 12:00.  When we saw Sasha we knew instantly that he was Sasha again and was completely back to himself.  He greeted us with a huge hugs and sat on our laps. The very first thing that he did was folded his hands in prayer fashion and said, "moma and papa...I prayed last night and said.....thank you God for mama and papa.  Oh our hearts melted!!!!

We gave him some toys and other presents to pass out to his friends.  He was so excited to go share all of the gifts with everyone. We also gave him a KitKat which is his absolute favorite candy and he said , "Oh thank you momma and poppa."  He opened it up and of the four sections, gave one to me, one to popa and one to ksenia.  Only one piece left for him.  He is so giving and loving and wanted to give us back a present but obviously couldn't buy anything for us, so that is his way of giving us a gift.

We waited until 1:00 for our meeting and when the meeting finally began, he wanted mama and papa to sit next to him on the couch.  He was very confident and firm on his answers.  He said..."dah, dah, dah."  that means yes, yes, yes.  I love that word dah!  :)  Also it was more of the same....are you sure sasha.  you haven't seen them in awhile...maybe we should wait, you are making a quick decision, are you sure these are the poeple that you want to be your parents, are you sure you won't change your mind next week....blah blah blah.  The Chief Inspector who runs the childrens services was there and he was definately our advocate today.  He had heard about this yesterday and got angry so he showed up for the meeting.  He put Sasha by his side after he said yes and told sasha to tell them again.....I love these people and I want them to be my parents.  Yes, I am sure! 

Jeff and I then watched him sign the documents and write out that he wanted Michelle and Jeffrey Nyman to be his parents.  Jeff was crying and said to me later, "our little son just became a man."  That was a huge step to stand up to those people and tell them that he knew that he wanted to move to America and be our son. The had asked him also, "How will you continue your studies."  He replied, "I'll learn English and study there."  He also mentioned in the meeting that his grandmother, (babushka) had come to visit him this summer after he got home from our house.  He told everyone in the meeting that when his grandmother came to visit him that he told her he wanted to move to America and that he had a mama and papa there.  She told him to go!  By the way, we are trying to locate her so we can stop by in two weeks on our way out of the country to say good bye to her.  I want to thank her for her blessing and tell her that we will take VERY GOOD care of Sasha.  She is very poor and although she cared for Sasha for a year after he was taken from his parents, she gave him up because she could not provide for him. 

While we were taking pictures at the orphanage he told us that he holds the flag and puts it up and down.  we said, let's take a picture in front of it.  He said.....no, America!

God is soooooooo good and He is so good to us!  We feel so blessed and thankful for everything.  We have so many praises...including the fact that with such little sleep we have not been sick.  Thank you for all your prayers and notes!  God has blessed us with the most amazing family and friends....and we are so thakful for our sweet Ksenia!  We have felt the prayers and we know that God is working. 

I wrote devotions for our children before we left and we brought a copy for ourselves....little did I know that I wrote these devotions for us.  Here is Day 5:

Trust me and don't be afraid, for I am your strength and Shield.  Do not let fear dissipate your energy.  Instead, invest your energy in trusting Me and singing My Songs of praise.  The enemy is trying to control your mind.  He is telling you to think negative thoughts and to dwell on them.  It is a fierce battle for your mind.  When you allow your mind to focus on the negative, it begins to get planted in your heart and then comes out of your mouth.  No one likes to be around a negative person.  Your constant need for Me creates an intimacy between me and you, which makes it all worth it.  You are not alone in this struggle or battle.  The enemy wants to destroy you and make you feel hopeless, but I am God and I can give everything you need....love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control.  The fruits of the spirit are all signs that I live in you. 

WE LOVE YOU ALL....going to dinner...may write later
misty and jeffy