And This One Matters......: April 2014

Saturday, April 12, 2014

With God & A Cup Of Coffee All Things Are Possible!

AGAIN I CANNOT THANK EVERYONE OF YOU THAT IS COMING ALONGSIDE US TO HELP LIFT THESE BOYS UP AND OUR FAMILY IN PRAYER AS WE MOVE TO BRING THEM HOME.

WE LEAVE IN 2 DAYS.

WE COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU AND YOUR WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND YOUR SUPPORT. YOU ALL HAVE BEEN THE FOOT SOLDIERS FOR OUR FAMILY ON THE GROUND. AND OH HOW WE HAVE FELT YOUR EVERY PRAYER. YOUR WORDS AND MESSAGES SENT TO US TO LIFT OUR SPIRITS AS THE ENEMY ATTACKS PRIOR TO TAKE OFF. LIKE ALWAYS HE HAS NOT LEFT A MOMENT PASSED TO TRY TO KNOCK US OFF OUR FEET. IT IS CLEARLY THE ENEMY AND NOT OUR SAVIOR. WE KNOW HIS GAMES AND SCHEMES ALL TO WELL. WE KNOW GOD IS FOR THE BOYS AND FOR US AND IS WITH US AND WE TRUDGE FORWARD THIS LAST TIME HEADING TO UKRAINE TO ADOPT AS WE KNOW FUTURE TRIPS WILL BE JUST FOR MISSION WORK. THE ENEMY IS NOT HOLDING BACK HE KNOWS THIS IS IT. THIS VERSE WAS WAITING FOR ME IN MY MESSAGES BY MY DEAR FRIEND CAT:

Psalm 37:23-24
The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

OH HOW I NEEDED IT LIKE BREATHING FRESH AIR AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE UNCERTAINTY OF WHATS TO COME TO GET THESE BOYS OUT AND HOME SAFE. CAT THANK YOU!!!

WE HAVE 2 DAYS LEFT AND $2645.04 TO RAISE. WE ARE GETTING CLOSER BUT NOT YET FULLY FUNDED.

OUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE FUNDRAISING ACCOUNT NEEDS TO READ $8603.98
http://reecesrainbow.org/71901/sponsordewberry-4
AND THEN WE CAN WRITE FULLY FUNDED BY GOLLY!

I AM ALL OUT OF TIME TO BAKE DOG BROWNIES AND SHIP THEM. I HAVE JUST TODAY TO SELL ALL I CAN WITH ITEMS IN OUR AUCTION AND MAIL THEM OUT TODAY.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.651088048282060.1073741829.650279741696224&type=3

BUT AT THIS POINT I AM ALL OUT OF TIME BY TODAYS END TO DO ANYTHING TO SELL TO RAISE THESE LAST FUNDS. ALL I HAVE IS TRUST AND FAITH THAT GOD WILL BRING IN THESE LAST FUNDS SO WE CAN ALL GET HOME.

THIS COFFEE CUP AND THE WORDS ON IT GAVE ME A GOOD LAUGH TO KNOW HE OUR CREATOR IS ULTIMATELY IN CHARGE AS IT SHOULD BE. HE HAS BROUGHT US THIS FAR NOT TO LET US FALL FLAT ON OUR FACES. HE KNOWS OUR HEARTS AND INTENTIONS AND PRAYER TO BRING THESE BOYS HOME SAFE AND FIGHT FOR ANY CHILDREN WE ARE PRESENTED OR MEET THAT WANT A FAMILY TO COME PAY THEIR RANSOM AND FREE THEM. PRAYING GOD USES US IN MIGHTY WAYS ANYWAY HE CAN AND WILL. MAY HIS WILL BE DONE IN AND WITH US.

Thank you Cat Schulie Hedrich.......focus on Jesus not the waves.......

Thursday, April 10, 2014

The Time Is Approaching! Anthony & Murray Were Coming At Ch'a!

Less then 4 days and Kolya our son and I will be on a plane headed to Ukraine to meet Anthony and Murray two young fellas that are HIV positive and have been hoping there would be a day that they would have a Mama and Papa tell them they love them, hug them and tuck them in at night in safety.

This is my first time I feel I am truly headed into the unknown. Tania although we did not know her prior to adoption like with Anthony and Murray, this trip we are headed straight into the unknown of the country's instability. This uprising started stemming back in August when Kolya and I were in Ukraine. Going almost full boar when I was there in December and this time the uprising is spreading like a contagious disease beyond Crimea. Oh how these boys are worth it to go and battle to bring them home. Will it a be a battle on the ground or a battle against the enemy or both? Only God knows and He will send us in prepared and steady. We am ready to roll. For I know my Savior and I know He knows the plans for myself and our family and surely these precious boys.

In case you are just coming onto the blog here let me introduce you to the boys we are going back for.

This is Anthony.....He is 11 years old he is not giving up hope there is a family to come and pay his ransom to come rescue him. God will be doing the rescuing and we will be the ones to show up for him. :)

This is Murray......Murray is a 13 years old. He has made it very clear to many that have adopted in his orphanage (boarding school) he is hoping a family will come for him. Bitter sweet for him as he sees his friends being adopted and yet he is left behind. The bolder he gets as he sees more children leave with their families. He is putting himself out on the line hoping just hoping someone will come for him before it is too late.

Folks that know me while in country this is just not our adoption. I am locked and loaded and ready to push and advocate from country. I have no idea what doors the Lord will lead me to but folks that know me know I am not one to sit and let a child fall to the wayside if an opportunity presents itself. If there is work to be done, I am ready to go. Got my awesome sidekick, Kolya who is gearing up and ready to move to the beat of Gods drum with me. We both pray God uses us greatly on this trip all for His glory and we return safe with the boys.

With us leaving in 4 days we are short on time and still short on funds. We are so darn close but are still in need of $2788.00 on funds to be completely funded. This will be our longest trip in Ukraine of 2 months (9 weeks to bring the boys home). Kolya and I are planning to stay the long haul until we are ALL loaded up coming home on that plane.

We have a couple things going on to help bring the boys home to raise funds. ALL prayers are hugely appreciated more then anything. Donation at this point would be MASSIVE miracle as we are so close to take off. Donations if you feel lead can be tax-deductible to our Reece's Rainbow account for the boys at: http://reecesrainbow.org/71901/sponsordewberry-4 or to my email via paypal at diveshark@yahoo.com (not tax-deductible).

Here is our "Make me an offer" auction to help bring the boys home!

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.676633839060814.1073741834.650279741696224&type=3

HERE ARE THE MAKE ME AN OFFER AUCTION ITEMS!

"BONKERS FOR BROWNIES" DOG TREATS!!!

THESE ARE WHEAT, CORN, FLOUR, SUGAR AND CORN FREE DOG BROWNIES! YOUR DOGS WILL GO NUTS OVER THESE. A BATCH INCLUDES 20 AND THEY ARE $10.00 A BATCH. I CAN SQUEEZE 3 BATCHES IN A $5.80 BOX FOR YOU BEFORE I LEAVE FOR UKRAINE. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT DIVESHARK@YAHOO.COM IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ORDER SOME BROWNIES!

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.