And This One Matters......: Praying For A One Last Miracle For Take Off!

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Praying For A One Last Miracle For Take Off!

Joe and I want to thank everyone that came to the silent auction we cannot thank you enough for your prayers and support!

We are now down to two days and we are praying for a miracle, we leave Monday. All your prayer warriors I ask for your help for prayers!!!! Joe and I have drained all efforts to raise all the funds to bring Sergiy home. With Ukraine laws changing with the new Ministry which was the SDA there is a longer delay for the adoption to be finalized. With that Joe has to fly home to work and then fly back. So we are incurring extra fees we did not with Kolya's adoption on top of the remaining funds we still needed to raise. I will stay the whole time with Sergiy. With this extra cost and what we are short we still need to raise or find under a rock (buried treasure) $4100.00 by Monday before we fly. I have seen God do one miracle after another with completing this dossier for Sergiy which seemed like an IMPOSSIBLE timeframe and he made it happen. I have seen miracles daily volunteering with New Horizons For Children. So I have no choice but to put my complete 100% trust in God that he will provide the funds needed so we can fly our boy home.

This trip is turning out to be much more then just a mission to adopt our son, Sergiy. I have been blessed to be able to do New Horizons For Children hosting interviews for kids for the upcoming summer hosting. The incredible thing about doing these interviews is I will get to see Andriy the boy my sister Denise and her husband are adopting and will soon be my nephew who I love and adore. I can't wait to see his smile! I will also be going back to Kolya's 1st boarding school of such incredible people I have come to love and see one of our closest friends children they are adopting and give them big hugs and tell them I will see them soon. I will also get to visit Kolya's 2nd boarding school where we adopted him to visit his director an teachers who have also have become so dear to us. Then lastly we will get to visit THE MR. ALEX. Mr. Alex is also so dear to us. He is a director of one of the boarding schools in Sergiy's region. Joe and him became very close in his time here with us locally. Joe would teach him English and Mr. Alex would teach him Russian. If it weren't for Mr. Alex, Kolya may not be our son. When the doo doo hit the fan Mr. Alex knew our hearts for Kolya and stepped in to help us and him. Incredible and dear friend. This trip my heart overflows with all that is being presented to us and the people so dear to us that we will get to see.

So all your prayer warriors we ask for your help and if you don't pray this is a good time and it's never to late! LOL!

We made our last call to Sergiy on Friday and he was tired, cold and ready to come home. He specifically wanted to see his Grandma! I love it!!!

Many blessings and thank you!!!!!

8 comments:

JoFebruary 4, 2012 at 9:02 PM
Prayers from WA!
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Batya HaneyFebruary 5, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Perhaps you should use your own money to cover these fees? From your own emergency fund? You have one right? It's all well and good to depend on the lord... But part of being a responsible parent is to ensure you are prepared for the unexpected!!!
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And This One MattersFebruary 5, 2012 at 11:44 AM
Batya,

Thank you for your comment. I do not believe I know you but your comment is still welcome. The easy thing for me would be to delete your post but I am not going to do that. I will not go into personal details of our finances but I will say this. My husband and I have used our "emergency fund" to adopt both Kolya and Sergiy. Between the two adoptions we have fundraised a total of $2500.00 when our adoptions totaled $56,000.00. The Lord provided all the way through and I know he will see us through the last remaining details. If he has lead us to it he will bring us through it as he has done in our lives personally for years. So I want to thank you for your prayers and if your not praying for us that is OK to. Part of life is having a free will an opinion and everyone has their right to speak it. We are blessed with a very wonderful son and he was worth every penny we worked hard for and was donated and Sergiy is too! Thank you and many blessings!
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UnknownFebruary 5, 2012 at 12:07 PM
Dewsberry family - sending a little from us to encourage your efforts. We are in a similar place as you, with many thinking that we are crazy and irresponsible. Glad that these children and our Father know that money is simply paper, while the hearts and lives of boys and girls are treasure that is worth giving all you have to! We will never be prepared for everything, no matter how long we save or how much. But He is. You are doing His work and loving His children. Bless you!!
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And This One MattersFebruary 5, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Sue we are all in this together to help and lift each other up in prayer and encouragement and I thank God everyday for all the awesome people he has put in my life on this journey adopting the boys and volunteering with NHFC. Wouldn't trade it for nothing! God bless you!!!
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daisyFebruary 5, 2012 at 12:41 PM
Batya-
I have to say, adoptive families give so much!! As a Christian, I believe we are to take the Bible seriously including the part about "pure and undefiled religion is this: to care for the widows and the orphans". I don't believe God calls all Christians to adopt, but He does call us all to help orphans-one way folks can help is to financially come along side those the Lord has called to adopt. Praying for all of you, Nicole Joe, Kolya and Sergiy-may our Lord meet every need and supply you from His bounty!! ~Desirae
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Mamato10February 8, 2012 at 8:39 AM
Love you girl! Sergiy's time before being turned out to the street is so short, you are certainly doing the right thing by getting him now and not waiting. That is what I call an emergency! Love to you and your baby boy and hubby! Please tell him we said HOWDY! Heha :D
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LaurelMarch 14, 2012 at 1:14 PM
So sorry to see that Batya paid you a visit, as well. She is prowling the blog world, hopping from adoption blog to adoption blog, spewing her not-so-nice words. So sad.

BLESSINGS to you and your family,

Laurel
mama of 12 (ages 10, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 23, 23, 25, 26, 27)
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What Does Nicole Mean By Advocating For Orphans?

So glad you asked! In Ukraine many hosting programs are shutting down. The reason being is boarding schools (orphanages) are being condensed the more the foster care system grows in Ukraine. This leaves the school Directors in fear of losing their jobs if they do not hold a specific number of children in their boarding school. Then the threat of shut down looms over their heads. The second reason is with hosting programs that means many children will find their forever families which means again the number of children falls under what is required for the school to remain open. It is a double edge sword. You have many Directors that want their children adopted but then they know if they loose their job they cannot support their family. It is not easy in Eastern Europe to find a job in a couple days. Especially with the current climate Ukraine is in with war at hand.

5 years ago Nicole started to notice the decline in hosting programs being allowed to continue to bring children over to America. With the adoption of their children, especially their 2 littles ones Nicole & Joe knew they did not have the allotted time needed to dedicate to volunteer with NHFC and not be able to give it their all like they had done in the past. They did not want to fail the NHFC team. So they resigned and Nicole went freelancing in Ukraine. On Gods timing, when she was able, wherever God lead and with the team God put together. On these trips Nicole, her son Kolya and/or the team would teach children English, teach them about Jesus, love on them and then fight for them. Meaning if a child or boarding school staff came to Nicole and said this child wanted a family Nicole would interview them and spend as much time with them as possible to get to know them personally. Nicole would do this in an effort to learn as much as possible to help advocate for the child in hopes their forever family would come forward. Nicole would learn the good and bad in an effort to be upfront and honest with a potential adoptive family.

Nicole is not an adoption agency, a hosting agency, nor a professional and she does not work for anyone accept God. She is a gal after God's heart and children, a stay at home Mama that has worked with teens for 20 years and this is her heart and passion.

Why Ukraine Nicole?

In Eastern Europe it is very different then America. In America if a child is in the foster care system they can remain with their family for care until they are 18 years old. In America there is opportunity for just about everyone even if it is working at McDonalds. You are not labeled as an "Orphan". In Eastern Europe an orphaned children is basically wearing a stamp his/her their forehead that says "Orphan". It is like a permanent tattoo that is with them for life and never washes off not only in their mind but to others. They are not wanted or welcomed in many cases. On a trip to Ukraine a sign was spotted that stated "No orphans allowed" that was posted up on the door of a store. At the age of 16 these children age out of their boarding schools and have a choice of trade school or the streets. Most of them have no family to turn to. So just imagine a 16 year old child left to their own with NO accountability. With the economic crises and war in Eastern Europe the children that have extended family like Grandpa, Grandma, a sister or a brother cannot afford to take in the child so they only visit. If the child should choose to go to trade school it generally consists of coal mining, hair dressing, etc. Even with that in school the kids again are accountable to themselves and if they do not hold up their grades they are on the streets. If they graduate they still are stamped "Orphaned". So should they apply for a job with many other folks they will be the ones tossed because of this label. So their chances of graduating trade school and then getting a job are slim to known unless they are one determined child. The trade school housing for the kids is old hospitals that are now used as dorms. If a child is not back to their dorm by 10PM they are locked out for the night and they will call the streets then bedroom. Many children have been noted to say that they are scared to be in the trade school dorms because of the violence, rap, prostitution, drugs and alcohol. One child was noted to say that he would find kids shooting up drugs in the hallway and passed out. He bought a gun illegally in order to be able to protect himself of the unknown there. Then you have the rebels that take the world on by themselves that either at this point in their life want to live independently and not report to anyone or just cannot handle the trade school life and want nothing to do with it. So they take the streets to make it. They generally fall into becoming thieves, go into prostitution or commit suicide in order to survive. No matter how you flip this coin the statistics are grim from these children. They are all survivors doing just that.......surviving.

There is such a significant need all over the world even in America. Joe and I were foster parents and have served with youth in the US for our entire marriage and Nicole prior to marriage. God steered Joe and Nicole on a different path when they were introduced to NHFC and adopted their first son, Kolya from Ukraine. God has continued to call them to Ukraine in an effort to reach the voiceless and give them a voice, hope and love. God calls each of us to a specific place, time and season to do His work as Christians. God has shifted their call to Ukraine.....for the time being. Again they go where God leads where ever it may be.

Meet The Dewberrys

The Dewberrys came together as a family after hosting their now 18 year old now son, Kolya from Ukraine during Christmas 2010 through an International hosting program called New Horizons For Children, Inc.

In the midst of hosting Kolya, Joe and Nicole felt the Lord was going to lead them through more then just hosting in Ukraine. Nicole and Joe was were blessed to work with NHFC as a volunteer Regional Directors in North Carolina for the orphan hosting program. Nicole realized that in time there seemed to be a decline to host children from Ukraine with all the politics that was abounding in Ukraine. So she felt a lead to break away from hosting and go where God leads to travel to Ukraine and be wide open to God to lead her to orphanages to met children that could no longer be hosted and advocate to find them forever families that were aging out. For the last 6 years Nicole has been traveling to Ukraine several times a year to teach English in orphanages, teach the children about Jesus, show them the love of Christ and advocate for true orphans that want a forever family. Nicole brings aid to the Ukraine military, visiting the military in the hospitals as well as meeting active duty and on the field military and serving with mission teams the local folks that remain in regions that are devastated by war with her oldest son Misha. The Dewberrrys children have returned with Nicole to Ukraine on many occasions to serve the people of their country.

Kids are Joe and Nicole's love and passion. Nicole has worked with teens for 22 years. Joe and Nicole together have done mission work with youth and have specifically worked with at-risk youth and in church youth ministry for 17 years. The Dewberrys arms are wide open to show the love they have for the lost and forgotten youth.

The Lord lead them back to Ukraine in 2012 to adopt Tania, 10 years old & Stopha who is 8 years old and are HIV+. In 2014 the Lord lead the Dewberrys back to Ukraine to adopt Bogdan 12 years old who is HIV+ and Angelica 19 years old and Kristjan 16 years old. Then in 2015 the Dewberry's returned for Vova 16 years old and Viktor 12 years old. None of the Dewberrys children would not be home without the prayers and the hands of feet of Christ of folks coming alongside their family to see their children home and also all the mission trips Nicole has been on.

Nicole and her children continue to return to Ukraine to do mission work advocating for orphans that want forever families, teaching them about Jesus, teaching them English as well as doing doing mission work with the military and regions of devastation by serving those left behind.

With the greater increase in adoptions which is amazing there is also a greater need for support for adopted children and their families. Nicole is now working with Hope Connection International holding classes and support groups to teach pre-adoption classes, connect families that have adopted within the US and abroad and work with families in crises to help prevent disruption.

Our family prayer is to go where God leads.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. - James 1:27

About This Blog

This blog is dedicated to our heart and soul, the orphans that cannot speak out of Eastern Europe. This blog is about our journey of the adoption of our children, the mission work we do in Eastern Europe, advocating for orphans and wherever God leads our family.

This blog is also about the trials and tribulations we have faced with hosting, adopting, missions work already and yet to come. The grace, mercies and restorations of our hearts and minds. The incredible friendships God has provided along the way. About our missions trips to Ukraine working with orphans. The blessings of when Nicole volunteered with New Horizons For Children as Regional Director. All our crazy stories & adventures we have had along the way here in America and in Ukraine. And oh how we have adventures and stories! This blog is a dedication to our Lord and Savior encompassing the one thing he treasures more then anything, His children.....the orphans.