And it keeps on comin'...

Attack that is. Crazy stuff. I have never been more aware of spiritual warfare in my life. So we must be doing something right! You may have read the past few blogs and, if so, you have some idea of the ordeal that has been going on in Russia. You also know that we got our court date anyway!!! So we are headed to St. Pete this Saturday - we ARE going , we will not be stopped, and we will not go exhausted or discouraged!

Having said that, I should fill you in on some events of the last few weeks. Some of it may seem coincidental or unrelated, but I don't think so. To make it relatively brief, here are the highlights (and if you feel the need to laugh when you see how ridiculous it gets, it's OKAY):

Toward the end of May, while we were awaiting our travel dates, the AC went out in our house due to what we hoped was a slow leak. In the process of trying to fix it, we had a ceiling leak. Not a big deal, we thought, but unexpected time and expense to add freon and fix the ceiling. Around that time we had a couple unexpected vet bills, and one new addition to the feline family. Then the dishwasher went out. So we replaced it. Then we got the news about the adoption being in jeopardy and needing more documents, so we got on that. In the meantime, the dryer broke. At this point we ignored it.

We got our documents together, sent them to Russia, and got the court date. Then Bob fixed the dryer (yay, Bob!) and we had a couple good meetings regarding work and school next fall. School will be a major financial investment (read "more financial stress" here), but we're excited anyway. Then last Wednesday while I had a major migraine that took me almost out of commission for the day, we got rear-ended on the way to get our visas ordered at the Russian consolate. But we were fine, and we think the car is fine too. That same evening, our air condition went out again, and was out for 6 days - $900 to fix it, even under warranty! (Last night was the final night without AC, we pray, and we had to get out of bed at midnight, take cold showers, then use ice packs to get to sleep. I'm not so good with heat, and it was still almost 90 degrees inside at midnight.)

In the middle of that, we had a meeting with Buckner where we learned that the officials who had the original problem with our documents are still contending with us and now want to interview us before our court date. So we will arrive in Russia on June 28, have medical exams and interview with these orphanage directors and officials on June 29, and go to court on June 30. The interviews will determine whether the officials testify for us or against us in court. (HEREIN LIE THE MAJOR PRAYER REQUESTS.)

Then Sunday night our internet service went down, which in our case means we lost all contact with the outside world - phone and e-mail. It's now Tuesday - the AC guy came this morning, and the house is cool again! And the AT&T guy is scheduled to come out tomorrow - we still don't know what the problem is there. Other than that, dare I say that all appliances in the house are now in good working order???

It's 9:10 and I'm writing this from my office where I CAN, but I should really get home to my very cool house so that I can help Bob hang curtains in the kids' rooms. Still much to do, but it is the Lord who goes before us, and it is the Lord who will win this-

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers - if I have learned anything through this, it is that God honors prayer, and He is the one in control. No really, He is.

For His glory,
Karen