RANDOM STUFF IN MY HEAD

Seriously, the random thoughts won’t stop.  I lay down to sleep and they run rampant in my head.  Randomness is not unusual for me.  Neither is a thought from left field.  But random thoughts about bringing home 3 new children who have never had a stable home and who do not speak English are new to me.  And the random thoughts keep multiplying.  You would think that the longer I think, the more decisions I would make, causing the list of random thoughts to get shorter.  Not so.  The thoughts keep on coming.  In a matter of a couple of minutes yesterday, I had mulled over school decisions, which gym to take Evan to, where to buy him new clothes, teaching purity, and whether or not to take AnnaBelle to get her ears pierced soon.  And that was in a noisy restaurant.  It’s even worse in our quiet hotel room.  Rod can just keep on reading from his Kindle and Jarrod keeps on playing Tetris, as if all these massive decisions don’t need to be made.  That leaves me to have no other option but to eat yet another piece of Ukrainian chocolate (which is outrageously good) and stew over my thoughts. 

Here is some stuff we need:  Young visitors in our home.  All you BHBC students who pop in and out of our house all the time, PLEASE KEEP COMING OVER!!!!  You and your passion for Jesus are needed at the Smith ranch.  I’ll feed you.  As always, no need to knock or wait for some sort of formal, engraved invitation.  Just come on over.  We will kick you out if we get sleepyJ.   Here is another thing:  Info on children’s choir and the like.  It’s been a long, long time since we considered such things.  Also, where do you get American Girl dolls?  Seems like we need one of those.  AND, we would just be downright thrilled if some of my student ministry high school guys would just bring my son, Evan, along with you some.  Unless, you are being a goober and you are out doing shenanigans.  If you are, I love you.  We just don’t need help in that department.

Here is something else.  Not a material need or anything like that.  Just wanted to share some parental decisions we have made while on this journey.  Please know that I type these words carefully because I am trying not to goof them up.  Here’s the thing: our new kids have a story.  Really, we all do.  But our kids’ story is a difficult one.  We won’t be sharing it.  Our hearts tell us that their story is theirs to share when they are ready and with whom they choose.  It may be soon or it may take a long time.  Either way, we want them to know that we hold their lives close to our hearts and that in every possible way, we will protect them.  We are so, so grateful for the many people God has sent to us to pray for us, stand with us, encourage us.  Thank you for continuing to pray for us even if you don’t know the particulars.  You are a treasure to us.

On a light-hearted note, here is some stuff we are really missing right now:  Peppermint mochas, corporate worship in English, our mattress, Chick Fil A, hot wings, the ability to wash our underwear in the washing machine rather than by hand, driving, smooth roads, having more than one room to live in, warmth, friends and family, Southern English speakers, HGTV (Lisa), work (Rod), Sophie and Sadie, Burnt Hickory Baptist Church, going somewhere without a taxi driver, people who smile when you pass them on the street, the sun, real food (Jarrod), Target, Charmin, people who get excited when it snows, fitted sheets.  

BUT, here are some things we are loving:  Pastor Igor and his wife Lena.  We have been welcomed with open arms into their church and into their home for Sunday lunch.  This precious couple and their children are amazing and have made us feel like a part of their lives.  Lena makes incredible borscht (I didn’t even know those two words could go together), and every time they open their mouths, they speak of God’s goodness and faithfulness.  We are also beyond grateful for our new friends Pasha and Sveta.  They live around the corner from the hotel and we will be eating dinner with them for the second time tonight.  This precious couple has two young daughters named Katya and Vika who sang and played piano for us at our last visit.  They also welcomed us into their home, shared their delicious food with us, and have made us feel like family.  They love the Lord and live such faithful lives.  Ilona and Rimma began welcoming us a long time ago through messages on facebook.  They have known and loved our children and have been sharing Christ with them for a long time.  You can’t imagine how wonderful it felt when we got to this very unfamiliar place and had these two adorable ladies hug us and rejoice with us and tell us how much they loved us.  I wish they could come home with us.  Really.  And then there is Marina.  Marina works at Sweet House.  Sweet House is one of our very few restaurant choices here.  We eat there a LOT.  Marina remembered seeing Rod at church and approached us at the restaurant because she wanted us to know that she had Jesus in her heart.  It was the first thing she told me about herself.  (Let’s all read that last sentence again and chew on it for awhile).  Marina delivered our room service dinner to us last night because we had been advised to not be out and about on New Year’s Eve.  She visited with us for a little while, and while working on her English, she told us about holding Nicholas in her arms when he was little because he looked like he needed to be held.  I didn’t get to hold Evan or Nick or AnnaBelle in my arms when they were little.  And there is no question that they were in need of a mother’s arms.  God sent Marina and others to wrap them up in His care.  Amazing.  Anyway, at midnight last night, there was a knock on our door.  There stood sweet Marina with a plate full of New Year’s goodies for us.  Then there is Roma.  Roma is our facilitator and translator.  God bless Roma.  He has done all our paperwork, translated to the kids, spoken to the orphanage director, the judge, the government officials, the taxi drivers, the waitresses, the hotel staff, the grocery store clerks, and the guy at the store who sold me a new hairdryer when I blew mine up the first day here.  Roma speaks on our behalf in every single situation we are in.  Grateful doesn’t even begin to describe itJ

All that said, we are ready to come home.  Really ready.  But it is not time yet.  More to do.  More to learn.  Thank you for praying.  Court is Wednesday at 1:30 pm (6:30 am at home).  It’s a really big day in need of a really big God.  “Who is this King of Glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.” Psalm 24:8