Appointment Day at the NAC!!

Our appointment day has finally arrived!! We had a restless night "sleep", anxious for the morning to finally be here so we could get to our appointment with the NAC. I have not felt this anxious since cheerleading tryouts in the 9th grade!! Only with this, you really have no control whatsoever over the outcome and there is only our FAMILY'S FUTURE at stake! It really is the most daunting task we’ve ever undertaken. We arrived early for our appointment, so our facilitator, Sasha, calmed us with coffee from a kiosk on the street. After the Mocha-cappacinos in plastic cups, we walked to the NAC where we were met by a translator and taken to meet the social worker. Both women could not have been nicer but the entire process was quite overwhelming. We were told right off the bat that there are very few healthy young children available for adoption right now and all the girls on the registry have major health issues. The shortage is due to the months the NAC was closed last year, abandoned children were not able to be registered at the center. They are at the tail end of the children who were on the registry before the NAC closed. We were shown the files of three little girls, all with significant health issues. Our hearts were broken for these little ones, but it was quite clear from the files that their issues were more severe than we are equipped to handle. We were given the referral to one child, who is a potential and will travel to Zaporizhia on Sunday night with our interpreter Sergei to visit her at the orphanage there (new picture with Sergei and Sasha added to Our Album). We do not want to say too much because there is a possibility that she will not be available for adoption. Our only other option at this point is to get in line for another appointment, which could take several weeks. There are 31 families who did not get a “match” at all during their initial appointment who would be ahead of us for a 2nd referral. So we are thankful for at least something to pursue in the meantime (if we were to need the 2nd referral). God has been good and continues to remind of His provision and faithfulness to us. And He is bringing new meaning to one of my favorite verses each day: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 We're excited to see this promise unfold!
Thanks for taking the time to email and comment on our BLOG. You can’t imagine how much your prayers and words of encouragement have meant to us during this time!! The arms of Christ have reached us in Ukraine !! Thank you!! Blessings and much love, Hunter and Lauri

10 Hours and Counting...

We've found our way back to our favorite little coffee shop for free wireless internet service and a cup of coffee! :) I was able to upload some pictures of our day around Kiev. (See Kiev Photos in Our Album). We had fun hanging out with the Reynolds in central square. Hunter and I did find 2 monkeys who are in need of a home. We will consider this option if the NAC can't help us tomorrow. :) Just kidding!! We are excited to see what is in store. We will be at the NAC in 10 hours and will find out then what's next for us. Thanks for your prayers. We'll "post" again as soon as we know something!! :)
Blessings, Hunter and Lauri

Days 1 and 2 of the journey...

Tuesday, May 29th...
We have arrived in Kiev! Our facilitators, Ben and Sasha, have been great! We are sharing a 2 bedroom flat with another couple, the Reynolds, from Florida. It's right in the center of the city, so we are within walking distance to everything. Although we are enjoying the Ukrainian cuisine, we had lunch at TGI Fridays today. Nice to eat a salad again! :) So far, no problems with that lettuce.
The man sitting in front of us on the plane to JFK overheard Hunter on his cell telling someone we were off to Ukraine to adopt...he came back to our seats to tell us he adopted from the Ukraine years ago. The baby was 8 months old. She is now 8 and beautiful. He gave us lots of encouragement. Very sweet. He lives in Alpharetta. Another God thing to add to our list! :)
Delta lost 2 pieces of our luggage. Fortunately, they were put on a later flight and delivered to our flat this afternoon. Thank goodness for the carry on bag with my tooth brush and change of clothes in it! :)
We have found a great coffee bar that has wireless and we will most likely be camped out here until our appointment with the NAC on Thursday! :) It's 1:40 AM our time, 6:40 PM USA time. Our body clocks are still off from the long flight over and time change, so the 2 cups of strong coffee we just drank should help keep our bodies guessing when it's time to sleep! :)
The sun comes up before 5 AM here...and it's light until after 9 PM. Great for runners! We haven't found a place to run yet, but are doing a lot of walking around the city. We definitely miss the greenway! Tait, you'll have to double up to do some running in our stead.
Hunter wants to go to the Chernobyl tour...they actually have this available!! You have to wear a geiger counter to make sure you aren't getting too much radiation. I think it's crazy and will certainly seal our family's fertility fate for good. hehe. :) He's considering it b/c he says it will be a once in a life time thing to go. Jumping off the top of a 10-story building is a once in a life time thing too... maybe we'll try that the next week after our radiation treatments. hehe.I'm trying to learn their crazy alphabet...where Hs are Ns and 3s are Zs and Rs are ks and backwards Rs are Js...reminds me trying to learn the greek system in college!
Please Pray for us at 10 AM on Thursday, May 31st (that will be 3:00 AM your time in case you wanted to set an alarm clock for that!). We will be meeting with the NAC and finding out what child(ren) are available to match our preference.
We love you and will keep you posted! - Hunter and Lauri