"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything,
but I can do something; I will not refuse to do something I can do."

~ Helen Keller

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Many Blessings

Today when we went to the orphanage, we were thankful to see Vova in good spirits! The sadness that covered him yesterday was gone, and he was back to his energetic, fun self. Thank you all for covering him with your prayers!

As always, the first thing we did today was to go to our special meeting room. But it was locked. Vova couldn't find the lady who had the key, so he motioned that we should follow him upstairs to where the bedrooms are. As we walked down the hallway, I looked in at the various bedrooms. Each one had 2 or 3 beds, and none of them had doors. In one way, it reminded me of a college dorm. Part way down the hall, there was a larger room, which was obviously a hang-out room. It had a couch, a bookshelf with some toys on it, and a TV with a DVD player. Interestingly, we had just bought Vova a DVD of Bolt, translated into Russian, so he could watch it sometime. When he saw we had it, he got excited, and put it into the DVD player to watch. His buddies must have heard him say something about having a movie, because as he was putting it in the DVD player, a host of boys came into the room with us. Unfortunately, when the menu came up, the movie was set on English; and since they did not have a remote control to change it to Russian, they decided not to watch the movie afterall. So Jeff and I decided that tomorrow we will bring our computer to the orphanage so they can all see Bolt like they wanted to. We also found some microwave popcorn at the grocery store, so I think we will pop 2 or 3 bags of popcorn and take that as well. I think it'll be fun!

Since we couldn't watch the movie today, Vova was happy to simply settle into the familiar banter of playing simple games with us. We taught him how to play Go Fish, we played Uno, and we played Checkers. Then we had Vova work on a math workbook we brought with us. We found out that he can add and subtract quite well, and he can multiply up to 5. But that is all. He has no idea what dividing is, nor does he know what to do with fractions. So that gives us a clue as to where he will be in school. But he is a bright boy who likes math. I am certain that given a chance, he will learn quickly.

I realized that things between us and Vova have changed a little bit over the last few days. When we first got here, he did everything he could to connect with us...he sat close to us, he held our hands, and so forth. But now it seems like he has a very healthy confidence in our relationship as parents and child. He still sits close to us, carries my bag, hugs us, and holds our hands, but these things are no longer done with vigor and uncertainly like they were just a few days ago. He seems to realize that his status as our son is secure, and that nothing will separate him from our love. Because of this, he is very much at ease around us, shows us affection in a casual way, and does not mind at all when we pay attention to his friends.

Several times today I wanted to tell Vova that I loved him, but every time I started to say the words, I froze up. I almost felt like a school-girl, trying to tell the cute boy at school that I have a crush on him! I know, that's silly, and it's even sillier that I am struggling to tell Vova how very much I adore him. But tomorrow I have decided that I will say those very important words to him. He needs to hear them, and I need to make them known. I am sure that once I tell him that first time, then I'll probably tell him a hundred times every day!

Being here has changed our lives. Jeff and I were talking over lunch today, realizing that being here is helping us to put life into it's proper perspective. All the STUFF that seems to permeate our lives back home, just don't seem all that important anymore. To be honest, I feel embarrassed that we have so many toys, so many pairs of shoes, so many coats, so many sets of dishes, so many...well...EVERYTHING! They don't mean anything! But PEOPLE mean everything! I truly believe that we will even treasure all of our children even more after this experience! But mostly, I feel very, very close to God right now. I don't think I have ever felt more in line with God's will than I do right now. It's an amazing feeling; one full of peace, joy and blessings. Thank you all who had a hand in helping us get to where we are. Thank you for your prayers, your financial support, your friendship, and your love. Every one of you has played some role in making this adoption a reality, and I didn't want to end today without saying thank you to you all!

4 comments:

  1. Hey! I have really enjoyed your posts! Thinking about you guys! Can't wait to meet Vova!

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  2. Glad to hear today was a happier day!

    Christa

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  3. That is so very beautiful!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing your heart, for sharing Vova, and for glimpses into God's heart and GREAT love for His children. How amazingly sweet He is!! And, how peaceful it is that we can rest in His love and that He is the source and not we ourselves... whew =D

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  4. Oh Twila,
    You have no idea how similar our spiritual journey has been lately, even though our circumstances have been very different. I've lately become so convicted about how much we have---how truly privileged and blessed we are---and how much our love for Christ needs to move us to more generosity, more service, meeting more needs. As a matter of fact, the Holy Spirit has me just full to bursting on this point, and I have a blog of my own to write about it. If you don't mind, I'd like to mention your blog and link to it in my post. The things you've shared about your experiences in the Ukraine fit right in line with the message God keeps presenting to me.:)
    Love you all!!

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