The Last Ring of the Bell

He has graduated

Friday we attended the traditional "last ring of the bell" at the internat. It was held outside and was a very beautiful ceremony. The graduates were given special honor and we were priveleged to be able to attend-----not just to be with V but to experience something so unique to Ukrainian culture. All over Kyiv we saw students wearing their sashes and carrying flowers.

Saturday we attended the actual graduation ceremony. As each graduate received their diploma, the Director spoke about what each child would be doing afterward and what they would be studying. The Director was very kind to V as she spoke of how he would soon be joining a real family and would have the chance to continue his education in the United States. V smiled during the whole speech.

The kids were all happy to be finished with their studies at the internat but there was an underlying sadness for those who, unlike V, do not have the hope of a family. The future is not bright for these kids. Please pray for them. There were only 14 leaving this particular orphanage, but all over Ukraine today, 16 year old children will be leaving the only security they have ever known to face a life for which they are not prepared.

In God's sovereign and perfect plan we had a driver/translator today who has a ministry to orphans and street children. We are excited that God sent him to us and we look forward to finding ways to partner with him. We will be attending our first Ukrainian church service with him and his wife tomorrow.

The photo is of our son and his 2 best friends. One of them has a family hoping to adopt him. The other (on the left) is a kind, precious boy who faces an uncertain future. Please pray for him.

We made it

We arrived in Kyiv Tuesday morning and have had two full days getting settled into our apartment, catching up on sleep and spending time with V. Nothing newsworthy to report except that it was COLD today and we did not bring warm clothes! Hoping for warmer weather tomorrow.

The dreaded graduation

Those of you who have followed our story thus far know that this is the month I have dreaded for so long. Our V graduates from the internat in one week. I thank God that He has sovereignly watched over this situation, in spite of my worrying, and we are now in a position to celebrate V's graduation instead of dread it.

Our whole family leaves for Kyiv Monday morning. We will just enjoy being there with our son for this important occasion, as we have promised him we would do. There have not been many promises we could make to him in the last 10 months, but we made this one and are blessed and honored to be able to keep it.

We will post here if anything newsworthy happens. In the meantime, check out my friends' blog at http://adoption316.wordpress.com/. This is a wonderful, gospel centered webiste by and for parents of older, internationally adopted children. Read along and be encouraged in the wonderful, amazing grace of our God.