The Trip of a Lifetime

Although many of you followed our journey(s) from last year, please allow a relatively new dad a nostalgic stroll...

Passports? Check. Paperwork? Check. Plane tickets? Check. Probably too much luggage, but wanted to be sure that if we need it we have it? Check. Ok, here we go! That was the conversation Joanna and I had over coffee and checklists a year ago today as we waited for our pastor and his wife to pick us up and take us to the airport. I honestly cannot tell you how many trips we'd been on prior to this one, but I for one, was a complete basket case. Sure, I masked my tempest of emotions well enough with smiles and conversation, but on the inside I was crawling with anticipation and a million questions.

That trip was the first of three, yes three, trips to St. Petersburg Russia. The purpose of that trip was three- fold: First, we needed to go to the Ministry of Education and Children to formally accept our referral for the adoption of our girls. Second, due to the unique nature of adopting twins-one of which with "special needs"- we had to meet them, and then confirm our confirmation. I know, but we had to. And third, we had to begin what would be the first of about 15 or so visits with our girls at their "baby home." Taken together, this trip was of the utmost importance, so naturally, we were a little tense!

Although Joanna and I are well seasoned travelers, so much about that trip was new. Neither of us had ever been to Europe, much less in the winter time, so although we knew it would be cold, we really had NO idea. We have grown up in a place where Hispanic culture is prevelant, but we wouldn't know where to begin if we wanted to find anything uniquely Russian. Up to this point, about six continuous hours had been the longest flight we'd ever been on. After 12 hours, I decided that commercial airline engineers either hated men of my physical stature, or had twisted senses of humor. Needless to say, our 18 hour trip included minimal sleeping.

Comfort, or lack thereof aside, too many things swirled through our heads to really get much sleep anyway. We had so many questions to be answered that one faded into another, that faded into another until at last, we had finally landed in St. Petersburg. Suffice it to say that we were no longer in a familiar place. We experienced a healthy dose of what International Missionaries call "culture shock." In a spanish-speaking scenario, I can at least find food, a bathroom, and keep myself from getting killed, but over there, I wouldn't know if someone was telling me that my face was on fire. That being said, after the initial shock, we both quickly fell in love with the place and the people. And then we were off to the races.

I know we looked like tourists. We looked different. We sounded even worse, and our typical smiles and greetings alerted everyone that we were Americans. As odd as that may sound, in the words of our translater/driver, "Russians do not smile very often, so people know you are American." Smiles and all, we lapped up every bit of culture we could while out and around in the city. We saw incredible things that just don't exist in the U.S. because of our nation's young age. (If you are interested, we can show pictures sometime, just ask).

The packing, the plane ride, the official offices, and even the palaces were exciting, but merely a preamble to what awaited us at the North end of St. Petersburg. As our driver parked the car and lead us down the sidewalk that ended at the baby home's door, the gravity of what was about to happen was enormous. At times, I literally struggled to breathe. We were lead up several flights of stairs and down hallways to a large room where all of the children in the home came for their music time. The sights and sounds we experienced while waiting for the footseps of the caregivers bringing our girls flood my senses even now. Our driver tried to make small talk with us as we waited, but I wasn't interested in anything but meeting these girls. We had waited for this moment for 8 years and 8 months as a married couple, but individually, we had been waiting much, much longer.

Finally, we heard voices and footsteps getting closer to the music room and our anticipation had grown to the point where I just knew that to wait much longer would either cause me to explode or throw up. As the door opened, we watched two of the most beautiful girls we had ever seen being carried toward us. I would love to tell you that at that moment, angels sang, the skies parted, and everyone shouted with their approvals, but in actuality, it was much more quiet-much more subdued. As the caregivers handed Diana, now Anna Claire to me, and Olga, now Adeline Marie to Joanna, all of the anticipation, the tears of previous dissapointments, and the exciting sum of all of the moments leading up to that point in time washed over us. As the girls looked at us with obviously puzzled expressions, we looked back at them and to each other with the biggest, most contented smiles ever witnessed by mankind. This was our moment. This is when God flexed and showed us and everyone who knows our story- with all its twists and turns, that He was in charge all along and had all of it right where He wanted it.

The remainder of our week was filled with trips to visit the girls between feeding times and naps. Toward the end of the week, our hearts began to sink because we knew that on Sunday morning, we would have to fly back home without them, at least for then. If you know us, you know that our story didn't end there. The girls are home and thriving with us and everything we thought we knew has changed for the better. But for then, that was only part one of our trip of a lifetime.

A Couple of Things...

Hey Everyone!
     A friend reminded me this week that I had posted anything in a while. Well, maybe it's been longer than just a "while", but, my apologies. I, like many of you, have been swept up in a whirlwind of life that has me longing for the upcoming school breaks so I can recharge my batteries. That being said, I need to remind you of a few things that are upcoming so we can all be on the same page.

First is the time change coming up this weekend. Don't forget to set your clocks back by 1 hour Saturday night. If something happens and you do forget to change your clocks, don't worry. You'll just be REALLY early to Sunday School this week!

Secondly, mark your calendars for our Thankful Tuesday service which is scheduled for November 22nd at 6:30pm. Nursery will be provided for the service.

Finally, the youth's annual Winter Retreat has been scheduled for Janurary 13th-15th, and will be held at the Harvest Ministries Retreat Center in Carson, MS. The cost for the retreat is $20. Students must sign up and pay the registration fee on or by Wednesday, December 21st. A sign up sheet is posted on the bulletin board next to the coke machine in the Fellowship Hall. Please give me a call or shoot me an email if you have any questions. I look forward to worshipping with your Sunday!

Joe