A Vikings Fan in Moscow? God Must Have Meant Him for Our Family!

Mr. Beaver:

We first went to Moscow in January 2010 with the express purpose of meeting Alexander to see if God might want us to adopt him. We had read about him in a Russian Orphan Lighthouse post back in mid December and had fallen in love immediately [Ray of Light - December 2009].

While we had fallen in love with Alexander from afar, we really didn't know what to expect when we met him. We arrived tired from extensive travel (from St. Thomas to Atlanta to Sioux City to New York to Moscow) and immediately jumped into interaction with the group of 8 other adults from the US and 11 orphans from three orphanages about 400 miles east of Moscow.

After a brief birthday celebration in the common room of the hostel where we were to stay, everyone was sent to bundle up for a sight-seeing trek out in the bitter cold of Moscow in January. Little did we suspect what we would see when we were reunited as a group outside...

We were amazed! Alexander greeted us with his winning smile in a brand new Minnesota Vikings coat! How in the world did this orphan from rural Russia get a bright, new NFL team coat? And even more amazing, how did he get a coat for the team that we have been supporting since we moved to Minnesota in 1996? We could only conclude this was the hand of God. Throughout the process God gave us little reminders like this that He was in control, guiding the outcome even when the people involved in the process seemed to present insurmountable barriers. To Mrs. Beaver and me, this was a gentle, even humorous, confirmation, that God was indeed leading us to Alexander.

Fast forward to Christmas 2010...

After mountains of paperwork, seemingly endless delays, and a couple of challenging days in court... we find ourselves feeling amazingly blessed by God. After all the travails we find ourselves celebrating Christmas as a family of 14!

Alexander's siblings wanted to delight him our first Christmas together, and delight him they did... by feeding his interest in the "Vee-kings" (his way of saying Vikings) by giving him team attire!

We thank our God for His faithfulness and His sovereignty. Because of these we can rest in the assurance that He reigns even when men rise up in belief that they are in control. For that we will be eternally grateful. We will also be eternally grateful to God for our "Vee-kings" fan whose smile starts in the crinkles around his eyes and spreads to the hearts of anyone around him.