The Desire to Spend

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.
-Isaiah 58:10-11

I knew that the lack of communication would be difficult once she returned to Ukraine. We wonder about how she is and what she's feeling. I fall back on a text message I received from Ulyses the day I took her to the airport, "We can trust that God loves her more than we do." There is peace in knowing that truth. Yesterday we received an e-mail from one of the Frontier Horizon workers with a translated letter from Kristina. She makes it clear how much she misses and loves us. She speaks of the things that she enjoyed while living with us in the States. And surprisingly, she doesn't mention the trip to Busch Gardens, new clothes, or the abundance of food. She reflects on how much she liked our walks and how much she liked school (yeah, school!). She remembers the people who were so kind to her. She remembers all of you.

Frontier Horizon, the organization I originally traveled to Ukraine with, is going back in early October and I want to go with them. Not only to see Kristina, but also to help facilitate the expansion of the hosting program to outlying orphanages. I believe in this ministry and I have seen first hand the difference they are making in the lives of the fatherless. Is it possible to be a part time missionary??? My heart seems so linked to the work that is going on there. But now that we are pursuing the adoption of Kristina, we must watch our finances and work towards raising the money necessary to bring her here permanently. Thank you for continuing to pray for this child and for our family. We have great hope watching and waiting for what God will do.