One Year After the Judgment... We Celebrate!!

In the court room in Russia, immediately after the judge granted us our request to adopt.
Left to right: Our court translator, the orphanage director, Daria, our case social worker, Mrs. Beaver and me.

Mr. Beaver:

Today we're celebrating that 1 year ago a judge in Russia granted us the right to adopt Daria, Alexander and Oksana. We are so grateful to God!

As part of our celebration, Daria led our dinner prayer. What she said was so moving that I wanted to share it with you.  As best I can remember, this is what she prayed:

"Dear God,

Thank You for my family. Thank You for giving me each one of my siblings. Thank You for allowing me to be adopted. Thank You from bringing me out from a very dark place.

Thank You for my teachers in the orphanage who took care of us and tried to help us as much as they could. Thank You for my orphanage director who did her very best to help me grow up when I did not have a mom.

I'm asking You to help other teenage orphans who are living in Russia, Ukraine and all over the world. Please help them to know that You love them and please help them to be open to being adopted.

I'm asking You to help them to be adopted by a Christian family so they can be adopted twice, once by the people and again by You through Jesus.

Please help people not to be afraid to adopt teenagers. Maybe this is sometimes hard, because it can be hard to earn the trust of a teenager who has been living in the street or the orphanage. It can be hard for them to trust people because of their hard life. But I want them to know that You love them and once you open the heart of a teenager it's really not a lot different than having a biological teenager. And these teenagers need love and will give love too, once you break through to them.

Please help Angel (one of the girls who was with Daria in the orphanage) who needs parents.

In Jesus' Name, Amen!"