From Russia (Magadan) With Love

This is the Grief Mask that stands on a hill outside Magadan.

We had been sailing along for a few years as a family of seven when the Lord, once again, rocked our boat!

First, some background:
Caleb is now 17 years old and a senior in high school. After Rebekah was born, he was our lone male representative in the children's department. Four to one are not odds that he enjoyed. Don't get me wrong, he loves his sisters (most of the time :) ). But he prayed for brothers for years. When he would tell me about his prayers, I would just tell him, "Oh, that's nice, honey. Go play." I was completely clueless about what was coming.

One day in 2003, God told me to pray for two little boys. I can show you exactly where I was in my house when this happened.

We had just assumed that five was our number. Our boat was pretty full, in my mind. In fact, many days I felt like most of our time was spent "bailing" in an attempt to keep us afloat. Of course, I wasn't the one who was keeping anything afloat. But the Lord is so very patient with us.

Well, God's definition of "full" and mine are different.

Anyway, I was walking through the house to put something away and all of a sudden the Lord dropped this bombshell. I must confess, my first response was not ideal. I actually thought, "I'm sorry, but I think you must have the wrong number."

Of course, I couldn't leave things there. And the Lord patiently waited until I could process His request.

My next response was, "OH MY!! Am I PREGNANT? With twin boys?!!!" He really had my attention now. As I ran through what it could all mean, He was still there waiting for this to sink in.

Facing the fact that somehow we would be receiving two little boys from Him, other things began racing through my mind: "Where will we put them, how will we feed and clothe them? We already have FIVE!"

²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?  ²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Matthew 6:25-34 (NIV)

Well, I can't really argue with that, can I?

Then I guess I pulled a "Gideon".

"Okay, Lord, if you have two little boys for us, that's fine. We will give them a home. I know You always provide for Your Will. But if this is really Your plan, You have to tell Kregg, because I can't. If this is really what you have for us, tell Kregg."

After giving it to the Lord, I didn't really think about it much. I went about business as usual and kind of pushed it to the back of my mind.

But then the Lord moved again.

Caleb and I had pulled the flatbed trailer out to Kregg's office one day a couple of weeks later. As soon as he finished at the office, we were going to pick up a couple of four wheelers. It wasn't often that just the three of us were together without any of the girls. But, remember: this is the young man who had been praying for brothers for years.

When we got to his office, Kregg started telling us about a man he works with who had just gotten back from Siberia where he and his wife had adopted two children. Kregg had us wait while he went and got the pictures from their trip to Russia. We were looking at this man's new family, when it hit me!! This is what the Lord had in mind! I just sat there watching and listening, knowing full well what was coming.

Kregg started asking more and more questions about the children they had adopted, then about the adoption process. When he got to the point of asking which adoption agency they had used, I was just holding my breath waiting.

Next, Kregg asked for the phone number. He was calling the adoption agency!

Their agency was made up of a little Christian grandmother in Washington state that ran her agency out of her home. Kregg  began asking the woman general questions about adopting.

And then, I wish you could have seen him. He had a rather shocked look on his face as he said, "I think we may want to adopt a little boy." It was as if he couldn't believe he was saying it.

I held up my hand and gave the "time-out" signal like in football. Then I held up two fingers. He looked at me incredulously and I told him I would explain it later.

Sergey Naumov and his brother Oleg, became Joshua and Benjamin Conder in August of 2004!!

The Lord is so good! 

Our journey through the adoption process is a tale for another day:

The Gives and the Lord Takes Away, Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
Confessions of an Adoptive Mom