Day 4- Friday

Today we went to go pick up our referrals and permission letters to go visit Asher and Emma at their orphanage. Everything was uneventful besides the fact that we picked up our full dossier as well it Ukrainian translation. It was weird seeing that thing again, and I actually laughed out loud when I saw it, all that work!!!

When we left Nico drove us and another family to the part of Kiev we call home. As we were driving in the most crazy traffic I have ever seen,(close your ears here mom!!) with Hunter in my lap, without a seatbelt we got to know another American couple. They had been here since last Thursday and had went to another part of Ukraine to meet their first referral. The boy had severe Autism to the point that he had to be held down by 3 care givers and smashed anything he could get in his possession. They knew this little boy was not their son, and even if they could have handled him, they would not have been able to adopt him because they had not been approved on their homestudy for a child with special needs. I sat there feeling terrible for them. Like us they have gathered all their resources to come here and get their child. Usually if you turn down a referral, you get 2 more before you have to leave Ukraine. But as I have shared earlier, there are not any AVAILABLE children. There are thousands of children in orphanages here, but for one reason or another they are not "available". So they were told that unless a miracle happens on Monday, they will have to go home to their 5 year old son, empty handed. The SDA said they can return in February but to be honest Ukraine will be closed for adoptions until they are done "Reshaping their adoption program". This family also lost their little daughter to a genetic disease. After hearing all of this I felt so sadden for them, and for all the children that would love to call them Mom and Dad. They best part is that this family knows the love of Jesus, and have faith that He is in control of their situation. Please pray for this family, that the Lord would do a miracle for this family, and that they go to the SDA and are shown the file of their son or daughter.