WHO ARE THESE DEWBERRYS....?

The Dewberrys live to surround themselves with the lost and forgotten youth. Joe and Nicole have been in youth ministry working with at-risk youth together for 13 years and Nicole for 18 years. Nicole from a young age new she was always called to adopt when she married. Thankfully God put that upon her heart because once they met and married they were unable to have children of their own. So they became foster parents and poured their lives into children in need of guidance and also helped families that came to them in search of help with their children. At their church when they lived in California they started a skateboarding outreach to reach out to the local kids in the community with the kids from their church.

Once they settled in North Carolina God made it clear and lead them into a ministry called New Horizons For Children which is where the met their now son, Kolya from Eastern Europe. They hosted him over Christmas 2010 and fell in love not only with Kolya but also the program. They soon went to Eastern Europe and adopted him and also became Volunteer Regional Directors for the program in Central, NC. Nicole is now on the Board of Directors and actively travels to Eastern Europe to reach out to the orphans with the New Horizons For Children team in search of children to bring to America for hosting in hopes of finding them a forever family. Right now the Dewberrys are working with New Horizons For Children and stretching the ministry to do outreach for the timing out children in Eastern Europe that leave the boarding schools with no where to turn. Their hopes for training is to teach the children about Christ, job, social and life skills and help them locate work. Also the plan is to hold Christian camps during the year to reach the children before they reach the timing out faze to teach them about Christ, give them hope and love on them. The have located a property and are in the process of building the ministry.  Kolya and Nicole love helping with another orphan hosting ministry locally called Redline United working with the orphaned kids of Eastern Europe, teaching them about Jesus and loving on them every other summer here locally in North Carolina in hopes that they also find their forever families.

The Dewberrys loves skateboarding and are a bunch of large children. With Kolya’s amazing artistic talent and their love for skateboarding and the lost youth they have started a local ministry www.fallenbutsaved.com. They build and design custom Christian skateboards to reach out to the kids in their community, love on them and teach them about Christ.

Why are they adopting again? When Kolya was 5 he was separated from his older brother and sister who was then 3. She was adopted by an Eastern European family and there was never a good-bye or let’s stay in touch. It is just an empty void in Kolya’s heart for his little sister. His brother, Dima on two different occasions when he was 10 years old ran away from the orphanage they moved him to in search of Kolya and his sister. Thankfully after 8 years once Dima was on his own he finally found Kolya and they are still in touch. But their sister was never to be found. But Kolya has always wanted a little sister and has a soft spot for the little ones.  On one of the New Horizons For Children interview trips Nicole met a boy named Sergiy. They hosted him Christmas 2011 and completed their homestudy/dossier ahead of time in order to adopt him should he want to join their family. He said “Yes”! So they flew in February 2012 to adopt him. He was a timing out teen (15 years old) but he knew his freedom was knocking at the door and he had also met a special girl that stole his heart in just a month of us all being separated. The adoption disrupted and Joe and Nicole started to head back to the US and then he asked them to come back for him and they turned right around and went back for him to only have him not be ready to leave her or his freedoms. When Sergiy was with them the family all talked about adopting a girl when they got home stateside. After a month of recovering this loss of Sergiy because it was like a death to the family they started their homestudy locally in North Carolina to adopt a girl. They had no funds even if they wanted to return to Eastern Europe because of the expense of both Kolya and Sergiys adoption. Even though Sergiy’s adoption disrupted they still have incurred the adoption fees and travel expenses.  They used all their stocks, retirement and equity loans to get the boys. So there was nothing to take from to support another adoption adoption. Although Eastern Europe is like their second home to them there was also now hurt associated with it after losing Sergiy and always that looming risk they could be rejected once again with an adoption. Their homestudy got completed in the US and every girl they looked at either got adopted or they just could not meet the child’s needs so they were at a bit of a stand still which was OK.  They knew God would bring the right child when his timing was right. 

Nicole’s sister who is a very BIG advocate for RR has been trying to get Nicole on RR for 8 months and Nicole nor Joe would just sit down and look. Denise indicated RR had children with HIV & other special needs we might want to check out. Nicole in High School was certified as a foster parent baby-sitter to care for “Special Needs” children. One of the little girls she worked with daily had AIDS. This was back in the day that there was not much knowledge of it and how it was spread  The medication was not what it is now either to help lengthen if not give children a normal life span. You wore gloves when you whipped their noses or touched any sores. It was expected Bianca would live until 3 years of age no longer. The AIDS was passed down from her mother. Bianca was a trooper and made it to 5 years old when she lost her battle with life. After that Nicole closed the door on going down the road of HIV/AIDS because of the loss. BUT on 4/26/12 Denise and Nicole were looking on the computer at kids Nicole had interviewed and met in Eastern Europe and were also in search of photos of the boy Denise and her husband are adopting. Denise hood-winked Nicole into getting on RR page and that is where she found “Taylor”. Nicole new instantly she was done looking any further for a daughter. Although the words HIV positive was right there Nicole knew she has found her girl. She went to Joe and amazingly he said start moving forward. They were and are in prayer daily for the curing of Taylors HIV. They were also in prayer everyday to not mistake their own feelings for what God was calling them to do. Nicole jokes this is kind of the trailer before the horse scenario because they are document ready (dossier complete), physically and mentally ready to go get her but they financially are not. With the last two adoptions even with the disruption, again they used everything they had to bring the boys home, they had a safety net and resources. This time they have to jump and pray God will catch their fall. This is the biggest leap they will take trusting God to meet their financial needs and lifting Taylors health up to him. They are reminded everyday when they look at their fridge that has a saying on it “If God will lead you to it, he will lead you through it”. Also that God does not make mistakes.  God leading them to Taylor was no mistake. God continues to make it abundantly clear they are called to adopt Taylor and they just need to trust him and jump. They have jumped and made this commitment to adopt Taylor!

With the Dewberrys just being in country with the disrupted adoption of Sergiy their dossier is complete and ready, sitting in the SDA office. So with a few minor updates they should be in the air flying shortly To Eastern Europe. One thing Nicole was also reminded when she found the property to build this orphan ministry in Eastern Europe was “You cannot put God in a box”. God cannot be limited. So they have chosen to tear down the walls of the box and not limit God to the miracle of him bringing them to Taylor and God being able to financially provide them the funds to bring her home.

The Dewberrys thank you for all your prayers and any donations as you feel called to help them bring their girl home!

One, Two, Three....JUMP! WE'RE ADOPTING TAYLOR!

This is our li'l peanut when she was younger....

We jumped......Oh My Gosh....we jumped......I feel like jumping because we jumped!  We went from prayer warrior to guardian angel to Taylor's adoptive family!  Yes you are reading this right....Taylor's Adoptive Family! 

God has made it abundantly clear to us that he is calling us to adopt Taylor even when it looks to us impossible to meet the financial needs of this mission in such a short amount of time.  Why a short amount of time?  Our dossier is in country already submitted to the SDA from our disrupted adoption of Sergiy.  So with minor updates to mend which are already in process we could be flying in a month or two to go get her.

There are so many reason why God has made this clear that you cannot help but to see his hands on this little girl and on us.  Again Joe and I had prepared to adopt on the US side and are almost done completing our US homestudy.  We actually are done and just awaiting the FBI results that take several weeks to come back.  In this time of waiting we had been looking for a "future" daughter and there was no matches.....until we found Taylor.  We had no intention to go back to Ukraine because of finances and of course the hurt of losing Sergiy.  So finances were just never a concern.  We had used all our financial resources to bring both the boys home.  Although we did not return with Sergiy we did have almost all the expenses of a complete adoption.  So we are tapped out.

So here is everything to show us clearly God is and was in control from the second we found Taylor.......

Thurday April 26th - My sister Denise lures me onto the internet to look up kids I know and to try to locate Andriy the boy she is adopting but hood-winked me into getting onto Reece's Rainbow in search of more "kids I might know" from NHFC interview trips.  I go under the HIV link on Reece's Rainbow and there she was.  Almost instantly I felt this is "her", this is your little girl you said you would NEVER have.  I say this because I said I would "never" have a daughter.  You know how God laughs at that word "Never".

Friday April 27th - Joe and I talk about Taylor and we are both almost in a trance knowing this is something.  He said to look further into finding more information about her.  Meanwhile I email Andrea with Reece's Rainbow and request the "Other" photos.  Denise and I jump in the car and head to "Together For Adoption" to represent New Horizons For Children to find more host families and get the word out about the program.  We get to the event and have dinner with all the representatives of other organizations to wind up meeting volunteers like us that work for Project Hopeful.  In all the years I have been to adoption events I have never seen an organization representing adoption/advocating of HIV kids, resources to families and support.  I sit down next to a gal at dinner turns out she has an HIV son.  Right then all the photos of Taylor start rolling in on my cell phone of her.  I am laughing, crying and melting all at the same time.  This gal and I started talking and she looked at me when I said we just found an girl with HIV and I am basically dumbfounded and she said "Your going to go adopt her".  Never met the lady before in my life.  She said "Your gonna go get your girl".  Then she said we needed to pray first and foremost about the healing of HIV in Taylor.  This was crazy because that was exactly what we were praying for Taylor.  Then she went on to tell me about how she has an HIV son but after his return home after she thought she was actually going to loose him on the plane ride home he was cured of HIV.  He is on no medication and it is un-detectable.   Then she grabbed my hand and said "Can I pray for You"?  She had me grab my sisters hand and she prayed for us and Taylor.  Then she introduced me to two other incredible gals that also have HIV children and again volunteer for Project Hopeful.  It was truly an amazing weekend to meet these ladies and see the HIV resources and support (FIG Program) we have along with the awesome medical for HIV at Duke but most of all the friendships made.  Going to coffee with her and my sis next week!

Saturday April 28th Until Now-    From Saturday on...major blur....LOL!  We have had a couple organizations come along side us offering to help us fundraise which we NEVER had with either boys adoption in to help us try to raise funds for her adoption.  So I am taking all this in...Joe and I still on that ledge not jumping and taking that plunge yet praying everyday for Gods guidance and will not ours.  Kolya of course chomping at the bit because he is ready to jump and bring her home.  He has been a huge prayer warrior for her.  Joe, Kolya and I prayed and asked as we had everyday since we found her for God to make it abundantly clear we are to take this step to adopt her.   And everyday he answered with some amazing "Something".  Meanwhile we decided to become her prayer warrior on Reece's Rainbow and her Guardian Angel in order to find her a forever family even if it was not us and start cycling and running to help her future family with the adoption costs.  Again we wanted God's to be done.  So I am guessing with all my million questions I had been asking poor Andrea with Reece's Rainbow and inquiring how to work the adoption out because we have basically everything done she assumed we were jumping to adopt Taylor.  So we get done praying and I go to check on the website to see the listing for Taylor and I noticed her photolisting was not where it was before.  I had a little happy panic but also nervous at the same time.  Did someone adopt her?  Oh my how could I be sad although I hoped it would have been  us..... this is so awesome for her.  So then I just stuck in her website link to see if I could find her that way and she showed up under "My Family Found Me"?  Now I am on the phone with my sister and telling her, someone grabbed her!  She's being adopted by someone. This is sad yet so cool all at the same time.  Right then I saw the donation amount she had of $90.00 go to $120.00.  Again I was so excited.  Then I get an email from Nancy (all this is going down while I was on the phone with my sister while we were trying to still figure it out) who does the Reece's Rainbow facilitation on the US side telling me all the things I need to get to her for Taylor's adoption.  Us, We, Taylor.....What???  Right then Joe and Kolya walk in the office and I have the email open and the phone stuck to my head and said "congratulations it's a girl, were adopting Taylor".  So how do you like them beans..... We asked for clarity and God gave it to us!  We were moved to adopting her when we never said we were officially.  How cool is that!  So since then Joe and I have been still standing on the ledge just watching everyday almost every hour God do something amazing to show us....LOOK WHAT I CAN DO and your suppose to adopt her and trust me.  Shortly after she was moved to us adopting her with Joe and I still dumbfounded and excited all at the same time my sister emails and says there is a lady at Taylors orphanage adopting right now and said whoever is adopting her if they would like to talk about her to reach out to them.  Denise sent me over her contact information because I could not yet get into that Reece's Rainbow FB page.  I emailed her....are you ready?  I KNOW HER!  Turns out she helped with the Redline Hosting kids here in Raleigh shortly after Kolya and I returned from Ukraine and we worked with the kiddos for 2 weeks.  She and I had met on the zoo outing.  So she is adopting in the orphanage that Taylor is at and she only lives a little over an hour away from us here in NC and we know each other.  Can't call this a coincidence.  No such thing......So daily God is showing us we can jump and although we may be squinting and squealing on the way down it WILL BE AN AWESOME JOURNEY and he will catch our fall.

Yes we have $26K to raise in a month to two months to go get our girl but I still remember hearing God say to me when we found the property for the orphan outreach in Ukraine "Nicole you cannot put me in a box, don't limit me to a box".  And by golly I couldn't and the ministry is funded we are just ironing out the paperwork.  Working for NHFC I have seen miracle after miracle and my whole life I have seen God lead me from one thing to another and with that I am also reminded if he will lead you to it, he will lead you through it.  And indeed he will.  We are jumping!

If you would like to help us jump by being in prayer for our precious girl and us or by helping us by donating a tax deductible donation to any of the following non profits helping us bring Taylor home below.  We would be so forever grateful for any support you feel lead to do. 

To Donate A Tax Deductible Donation Through Reece's Rainbow:

http://reecesrainbow.org/37364/sponsordewberry

OR

you can mail a check made payable to Reece’s Rainbow and mailed to PO Box 4024  Gaithersburg, MD 20885.  Please make sure to indicate the donation is for "Taylor" for the Dewberrys adoption.

To Donate A Tax Deductible Donation Through Project Hopeful:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=RS39DTYPZX73W 

JOE IS CYCLING AGAIN FOR TAYLOR!!

 MEDICAL MISSION CYCLING FOR TAYLORS ADOPTION!!!!

JOE DID ANOTHER 22 MILES CYCLING FOR MEDICAL MISSION TAYLORS ADOPTION!!! Will you help sponsor miles Joe rides for Taylor? Taylor has HIV and we are on a medical mission to ride and run for her adoption. You can do a TAX DEDUCTIBLE donation of any amount per mile or a one stop shot amount for each of the rides we do or runs we take. Please go to: http://reecesrainbow.org/12849/taylor5905 to make you tax deductible donation for Taylor!

FOLKS JOIN IN AND HELP TAYLOR! Joe even got hit on 2 rides ago! 2 ladies pulled up to him and clocked him at 25MPH and told him he had a nice a*&. I told him he should have responded with "My wife prefers not to use swear words, just say buttocks" and smile and ride off.

HERE IS JOE'S ROUTE YESTERDAY SO YOU CAN SEE HIS RIDE: http://connect.garmin.com/player/174633733

RUNNING & CYCLING FOR TAYLOR!

Everyone I want to introduce you to Taylor.  This is the little girl that has stole myself and my families heart.  As mentioned in a previous post we were moving forward to adopt a girl here in the US and then I found Taylor.  Taylor lives in Ukraine and is HIV positive.  My family feels very strongly lead to adopt her but we want to know this is the calling of God for our family.  We do not want to move on our own will, feelings and emotions and mix them up with what God knows is best for her and our family. This is one of the hardest things I have had to do is let go of a girl I so badly want to adopt and trust the Lord will meet her needs and not my desires to be her mother. 

So we have become her prayer warriors that she will fully and completely recover from HIV.  That the Lord will bring her a family in His perfect timing.  So what are we going to do in the meanwhile you ask??????  

Click here to view about this precious girl Taylor: 
http://reecesrainbow.org/12849/taylor5905

WE ARE GOING TO BECOME HER ADVOCATES!  I say this with confidence that if the Lord is calling us to adopt her although we are now just praying and advocating for her adoption he will bring us to Ukraine to go get her.  No question.  So with us being prayer warrior we are also her battle team on the ground to raise funds for her adoption whether it be us or another family.  

THIS IS HOW CAN YOU HELP US RAISE FUNDS FOR TAYLOR'S ADOPTION?................

OUR RUNNING SHOES ARE ON AND WERE READY TO RUMBLE! 

 1) YOU CAN SUPPORT KOLYA AND NICOLE BY SPONSORING WHATEVER AMOUNT YOU CHOOSE THAT WILL BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE PER MILE THEY RUN.  NICOLE AND KOLYA WILL WEAR A MILEAGE COUNTER THAT TRACKS EVERY MILE THEY RUN.  EACH DAY THEY RUN THEY WILL STICK IT ON FACEBOOK IN ORDER FOR YOU TO FOLLOW WHERE THEY RAN AND HOW MANY MILES AND HOW MANY CALORIES WE BURNED TO BOOT.  

WE ARE RUNNING FOR TAYLOR!

OR 

 

2) OUR FAMILY IS AVID CYCLIST.  WE ARE READY TO REPRESENT IN OUR UKRAINIAN GEAR.  YOU CAN SPONSOR JOE, KOLYA AND MYSELF AS WE RIDE EACH MILE AND TACKLE THE HILLS FOR TAYLOR.  YOU CAN CHOOSE WHATEVER AMOUNT YOU WOULD LIKE THAT WOULD BE TAX DEDUCTABLE TO SPONSOR US FOR EACH MILE.  SHE FIGHTS EVERYDAY WITH HIV AND SPENDING EVERYDAY ALONE WITH NO ONE TO HOLD HER WHEN SHE HURTS SO WE WILL FIGHT WITH SWEAT AND GRINDING TO HELP SUPPORT AND FIND TAYLOR AN ADOPTIVE FAMILY!  EACH MILE AND ROUTE WE DO WILL BE LOGGED ON FACEBOOK SO YOU CAN FOLLOW US AND WE RIDE FOR TAYLOR.  

OR 

YOU CAN JUST MAKE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE  DONATION STRAIGHT TO HER "DONATE" BUTTON AT:

http://reecesrainbow.org/12849/taylor5905 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPONSOR OUR MILES FOR A TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION EITHER BY US RUNNING OR CYCLING PLEASE EMAIL NICOLE AT: DIVESHARK@YAHOO.COM WITH THIS INFORMATION:

1) YOUR NAME, YOUR E-MAIL, YOUR CONTACT NUMBER & HOW MUCH SPONSOR DONATION WOULD YOU BE WILLING TO MAKE PER MILE FOR TAYLOR.  PLEASE FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK UNDER NICOLE TRIMBLE DEWBERRY OR JOE DEWBERRY TO TRACK OUR MILES WITH US!

2) AT THE END OF EACH MONTH WE WILL TALLEY UP THE MILES AND EMAIL YOU THE TOTAL MILES AND YOU CAN GO DIRECTLY TO HER LINK ABOVE ON REECES RAINBOW AND MAKE THE TAX DEDUCTIBLE DONATION RIGHT INTO HER ADOPTION ACCOUNT.

*WE WILL BE RIDING AND RUNNING FOR TAYLOR UNTIL ALL HER ADOPTION   FUNDS ARE RAISED OR SHE IS ADOPTED AMEN!

THANK YOU FOR HELPING US HELP TAYLOR!  

Joe & I Verses The Ledge.........

Joe and I are at the ledge with our toes hanging over holding hands side by side.  Our backpacks securely fastened (so we hope) to our backs with a parachute we hope that will open.  That parachute is God.  I have my eyes shut ready to jump and squealing at the idea of jumping and Joe is squinting one eye evaluating the land should the parachute not catch our fall.  Could be a hard and messy land and we crash or we can have an amazing journey on the ride down.

Why the ledge.....you see when we had Sergiy here over Christmas both the boys wanted to have a little sister.  Sergiy never having one and Kolya having his 3 year old sister separated from him when he was 5 is enough to tear him up now.  He misses his older brother dearly who is now 22 and Kolya has that longing for his sister that he does not know nor have a relationship with like he does with his big brother.  She was adopted from the orphanage so there was no good-byes or let's stay in touch it was poof she's gone all three kids separated from one another.  Kolya was too little even if he wanted to do anything about it.  The amazing thing is when Kolya's older brother Dima was separated from Kolya he ran away from the orphanage they moved him to at 10 years old to find Kolya and his little sister.  He was wore out, lost and hungry when officials found Dima and brought him back to the orphanage.  He ran away once more in search of Kolya a couple years later to not be able to locate him. Everyone Dima asked to help him over the years to find his little brother no one would help him.  At the age of 20 he finally found his little brother.  Kolya's director in Lutugino and staff was so excited they found each other and had no idea Dima was trying to find Kolya.  What a blessing it was to meet Dima and have him come to see Kolya and support him in finding a family.  We will be forever grateful to him for his love for his little brother and his support in letting him go so that he could be with us.

Once home from Ukraine without Sergiy we still know we all wanted to adopt a younger girl but we were all so broken up about the loss of Sergiy.  After a couple weeks I picked my chin off the ground, dried up the tears and found comfort in the Lord that he knows best for Sergiy and our family.  So our family started our homestudy stateside here in North Carolina.  With having the loss of Sergiy we actually almost wanted to avoid Ukraine which is like our second home because now there was hurt associated with it.  But needless to say when we left we also left our dossier there.....(I am sure you are gathering where this is going to lead...) no intention of doing anything.  The idea almost repulsed us at that point because the pain of losing Sergiy was so strong like a death but we had nothing to loose or nothing to gain so we thought let's just leave it......

OK so NC homestudy almost done.  With being foster parents in the past the homestudy was able to breeze through fast....all we sit here and wait for is our FBI clearance and were good to go.  We have located several girls here in the US and every one of them just is not a fit for our family nor can we meet their needs.  Now that we have a child, Kolya it's a different ball park for Joe and I to pull in any child like we had in the past.  There are many things to factor now.  Needless to say we have not found a match and well I did the unthinkable for myself and that was "BE STILL".  That is not in my genetic makeup to be just be still.  I do believe it is past down from my father.  I will take responsibility for my own actions but I do believe again it is his fault.  (:

So meanwhile while our NC homestudy was being worked on before I decided to "be still" Kolya and Joe decided the decorate the room for our "future daughter".  Please catch that I said my boys names not myself!  They picked everything our from the bedspread, to the lamp, the posters, all the way to the pink and white polka dot dog on the bed which was what Kolya found for his li'l sis to have.  So they picked it all and I put it together.  It looks awesome by the way! The pink and white surfer girls bedroom with a hint of modern! 

Now to current.....last week in the midst of "being still" even though my eyes would wonder to adoptuskids.org daily (couldn't help it! struck out anyways) my sister and I decided to go online to happykids.org to look up Zap kids in Ukraine in search of some kiddos I met on the trip for Sergiy and when I did the New Horizons For Children interviews.  Plus my future nephew, Andriy lives out there so we were in search of photos of him.  Now eight month ago approx. my sister kept trying to lead me to Reese's Rainbow.  She told me about the children with Down Syndrome and she is a huge advocate for this ministry in hopes of finding homes for these precious children by spreading the word.  Joe and I know we are not called to specifically adopt a child with Down Syndrome so it never crossed my mind to go there.  Actually whenever she mentioned going on the site which was often she would try to tell me there was other special needs kids but I just would not let my mind go there because we so I thought were adopting Sergiy.  Then after the disruption of Sergiys adoption we did not want to return there for a while in order to heal and the idea of going back and having a disrupted adoption again about scares the bigeebees out of Joe.  So last Thursday my sister hood-winked me.....she got me on happychild.org and somehow got me into Reese's Rainbow in search of this child "I may know" and well a couple clicks and there she is.

I am not a crier nor do I turn to mush over little girls in pink bows, pretty dresses, shinny shoes, grinning ear to ear .....but this girl has had me in emotional tears for her almost daily now.  Never felt this before nor can I even try to explain it.  I look at her and I pray for her several times a day.....why because she has no family, she is alone, she longs for a family and she has no one to hold her and tell her she is going to be OK and I want her to be cured of this disease she battles everyday, HIV.  Long ago way back when I use to be certified as a foster care baby sitter for special needs kids in High School.  I worked daily with a little girl, 3 years old named Bianca that stole my heart and soul.  Her mother was a prostitute and HIV was past down to baby Bianca when she was born.  She went from HIV to full blown AIDS because she could not fight the disease off nor was there the medication we have now nor the knowledge we now have of the disease.  This was back in the day when you did not touch their boogers without gloves on and saliva passed the disease.  The doctors said she would not live past 3 and she made it to 5 years old.  After that loss I choose to avoid to even go there with this disease.  God seems to be swinging me back around.  Funny thing is when we were filling out all our NC Homestudy paperwork we checked off disorders and diseases we would have never gave the time of day to before.  I couldn't figure out then why HIV was in the back of my head and I felt God just put it in my mind and cause a little stirring.  Didn't know what the reasoning was then but now I know why.  I pray for this girl to be healed of this disease and I know he can.  He is the creator of it and he sure can take it away too.  Never in a million years would I think I would be standing on this ledge thinking of jumping.....waiting on the Lord for Joe and I to jump.  The jump is, is it the Lords calling for our family to pray and advocate for her or to pray and adopt her.  Joe and I will not move unless were on the same page and God is moving both our hearts.  Kolya well......she had him at hello in one of the photos where she's wearing a little white hat, playing with some weeds, dirty as ever, her teeth are a stained and rotted and she is grinning ear to ear giggling.  Everytime he sees the picture he giggles himself, smiling saying she is adorable and very precious mom.  Oh how I feel the same way.  I have officially put her photo on the fridge.....yes you know where this can go......but we are all so convicted in this household to pray for her non-stop and where and what God is calling us to do with this precious girl.  She will be 7 years old next month.  Our dossier sits in Ukraine with only 2 simple things that needs updating which we were already in the process of doing before we found her "JUST IN CASE" we were ever to return to adopt.  Gathered no reason to let it all expire if we can update so we were.

The only thing between us and the ground to get us to jump is Gods clear direction that WE ARE the family he is calling to go get her and 26K.  Our faith will have to kick in like never before that God can and will land us safely to the ground.  I will and can actually say we will be tested like never before in this journey.  With both boys adoptions all our resources are tapped out, all stocks are drained, all retirement is gone and our rentals for retirement being unrented in order to keep them have drained us over the last 2 years.  Thankfully as of 1 week ago our vacant one rented!  AMEN!  But there ain't nothing left to pull from to bail us out......All our tax refunds went to clear the debt/loans.  Again we planned on staying in the US so this was nothing to factor nor a big deal until I found "her".  So my heart and mind are in pieces.  This past weekend I went to a "Together For Adoption" event in Winston-Salem and met some incredibly awesome women there.  In all the years I have gone to adoption events and also the ones I work now for New Horizons For Children not ONE has had anything about HIV resources, HIV adoption, HIV sponsorships, etc. nor have I met anyone who has adopted an HIV child.  This event I met three incredible women, 2 that work for projecthopeful.org that have HIV children with incredible resources right here where we live and so do they!  One of the gals when I just started to speak of the girl grabbed my hand and told me to pray for her healing and I told her that is all I have been praying which was crazy to have her just say that to me when that is what the Lord has put on my heart.  She then told me we are going to go get her and she asked to pray for us and her..... it was incredible.  These ladies are a true answer to prayer.  It is clear Gods hands are surrounding this this little girl that has stolen my heart and my families.  I feel in my heart she is already my daughter......I can't even figure it out even if I try.  I am done looking for a daughter to adopt.  I do not want to look any further.  I have stopped looking.  This has to mean something?  I go back to look at adoption websites and I see children I want to pray for and hurt for their needs but she is the one that is in and on my heart.

What will God reveal to us? I am not sure but we are waiting on the Lord for his calling for her and for us and what he is asking us to do...........we cannot jump separately nor will we, we have to jump together even if our eyes are closed and trust that parachute will open which would be the blessing and covering of God to land us safely where we belong.

God Has Re-Routed Kolya & I This Summer For Missions!

Kolya and I have been preparing our hearts and minds for a mission trip this summer.  We had planned to go to Ukraine but God had other plans instead.  (:

We are blessed to have awesome opportunities to come up that we will get to take part in.  Kolya just joined the Boy Scouts and is loving the kids, the leaders and everything he is learning.  Our boy is old school so the leaders said he has some old tricks up his sleeve to help the other kids because being raised in an orphanage using matches was not unusual for a little kid.  Knowing how to use a knife at a young age, no biggee.  Apparently a couple things the kids would fear or were afraid to touch he jumped right in.  So proud of him.  Then we have all our New Horizons For Children kiddos flying in for hosting and also a local hosting program, Redline United Kolya and I work with for 3 weeks.  It is also a hosting program that brings orphans over from Ukraine but right here a couple miles from us so we love working with the kids in the day camps.  Then our kiddo is joining the swim team.  He's a fish.  So with all these exciting things happening we had to juggle where to go mission wise.  We wanted to go to Ukraine and we could actually work it time wise but all in all God gave us plenty of clear signs this was not his plan for us...he needed us to stay here in the US of A.  So by golly we are!

Kolya and I picked a ministry that specifically focuses on outreach in the US and abroad with youth.  I love it!  SPECIFICALLY FOR YOUTH!!  Again I will say I love it!  It is called Teameffort.org  We studied all the states including ours to do outreach and we felt lead to Tampa, Florida.  We will be helping do repair construction on the church in this community we will be staying.  We will be working with special needs folks and helping build ramps and items needed to help them move around better and doing Vacation Bible School outreach in the community with the kids.  So we will be tackling a bunch of wonderful things all in the time we are there.  We head out June 10th for the missions for a week.  Verse flying we will be rocking the rental car and cruising in our Hyndai to Florida listening I am sure to Toby Mac all the way looking for gators on the side of the road and hopefully not in the middle of it!  We are both so excited about this opportunity to serve here in the US and be used by God in whatever way he needs to.  We are both excited about our own spiritual growth and relationship with God and being able to experience this together! 

We come to you and ask for prayer for our trip in that again God uses as he needs and sees fit.  That we are alert and aware to his calling of where he needs us to be and move right to that specific spot, location or person of need.  That in all our construction (being first time for Kolya) that the team is safe in all the building we do.  Safety in all the teams travel to this location and our time there.  THAT GOD ROCKS OUR WORLD and changes out hearts! 

We are officially signed up were going and again excited for all to come!  We have paid all our enrollment fees and at this point, YEAH!!  Now we are in need of raising our last remaining funds before launch on June 10th of $1800.00.  This will cover the expenses for both Kolya and I.  Should you feel lead to donate towards our mission we would forever be so grateful!  You can click the Florida State Seal in the top right of this blog and it will take to you Paypal for any donation you would like to make towards our trip.  Or you can donate directly to diveshark@yahoo.com through paypal.  Or you can if easier you can mail a check directly to us at our home address.  Again we thank you so much and we look forward to being used by GOD ALL summer with this mission, New Horizons For Children and the Redline Hosting kiddos!  AWESOME AWESOME! 

LAST CHANCE BOYS WANT A FOREVER FAMILY......PLEASE READ THEIR STORY!

I am writing about these boys because not only is my friend emotionally invested in their future knowing them for many years and watching them grow on her missions trips there but also because they keep popping up through people we know on our computer screen.  We keep meeting more and more folks that know and have served with these precious boys.  They are in need of a host family that is willing to be open to adopt them.  This is a large task but not too big for God.  So I ask if you are open to adopting and have not yet located the children you are adopting please read below.  Their story will touch you.  If you want more information about the boys I have several resources of folks that have served with these boys over the years.  If you are not dossier ready but are touched by this story please pray for these boys.  As you will read below these boys do understand family and do want family.  Can you help us make their hopes of a forever family come true?

I received this via e-mail about R & K, and my friend who knows the boys gave me permission to share online. I really believe it further shows K's hearts desire.

Hey,
I was looking through my bed side table this evening and came across
two items very precious to me that I wanted to share with you (it was
the drawer where I keep the things most important to me in the world).
I'm attaching photos of them. Both of these items are from 2 years
ago, after I'd known him for 2 years. First, it's K's teddy bear
that he gave to me to show me his friendship and love. It was so very
sweet. He has nothing to his name, yet he gave me this. The second
item is a journal he decorated for me with his photo, a bunch of his
artwork inside, and a picture of an angel on the front. You probably
can't tell from the photo but he colored the angel with markers (very
carefully), cut it out (along w/ cloud background) and pasted it to
the journal. Then he wrote me a several page letter in the journal.
Here's an excerpt from that letter that I thought was particularly
notable:

"Amanda, when I first saw you I immediately understood what a person

you were. I thought that America is an unrecognizable country, but

                              then I saw that Americans came to visit us, and I understood that

                        America is a pretty good country, now I'm sure of this. Then I became

                                your friend and now I know about God and he helps me.

Amanda, please tell me, do you read my letters? I read every letter

                         of yours, because I want to learn more about my friend. Do you know

                           that someone wants to adopt me? But they still haven't adopted me.

                          But I hope that they will adopt me. If they do adopt me, I will never

                              forget you. You have been like a mother to me. I give you this

                                  present, my best friend diary, with all of my wishes."

No family ever came for them. But for me, this note shows his heart's

                                             desire ... his biggest wish, for a family.

-This team member also gave me some background on their story and it is heart breaking, and yet a real story of redemption-that these boys have been able to rise up above the mistakes of their parents, and become the young men they are today. They have been in orphanages for 7 years now. They grew up separately but were reunited when they arrived at the orphanage. The younger brother-"K" has no one to care about him....Amanda shared that she was the only one to call him on his birthday this year, for example. Friday, March 23, 2012

LAST CHANCE!

Edit *Added comments at bottom from someone who knows these boys personally* 

The grant is now $4000!

We just received the information for an amazing set of brothers-Radion and Koyla. 

This will be their last chance to find a family. 

We only have 8 DAYS left to find them a family!

They have a grant of $1000 towards their summer hosting.  $4000

The have spent a lot of time with missionaries that serve at their orphanage, and come HIGHLY recommended by all who have met them. Please take a moment to read about them, and please SHARE their story. We can find these boys a family before it is too late! Both boys are artists as well. 

Hosting is open to families anywhere in US-

The kids will fly into New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. They will stay around 6 weeks.

$1000 Grant toward hosting these brothers! LAST CHANCE. This boy is 100% recommended by director and missionaries. This boy has a very high IQ and is an amazing child. This is a special situation that we agreed to because of all the things people have to say about him. "He is such a wonderful boy that he will actually be a leader with our mission team's work at another orphanage this spring." They have until December until they are no longer available. They are still waiting for a family to come for them.

                                

This boy comes highly recommended by missionaries who know him well. They brought these boys to us, as they are in desperate need of a family. We are told by his director that he is a calm and very nice child. The brothers are very close and wonderful! Many people are advocating for them because they are so amazing. I know we can find them a family.

Here is a picture from 2 years ago-showing their artwork:

The older brother showing his award for his artwork!

Younger brother showing his award-winning artwork:

Younger brother-picture from a few years ago-doing his artwork with the missions team:

Older photo showing his personality!

Working hard on Bible study:

Another recent photo of the older brother:

One more photo-another older picture-this is when they made superman capes!

Comments from someone that knows these boys well:

R is a very smart boy and gets the best grades in school. He's on of the few orphans still in the system at his age who could have a chance to go to a University. He is a great artist and loves basketball. He is a leader in the orphanage and is a kid that most every kidin his orphanage would consider to be a very good friend of theirs. Even the teachers and director look to him as an example for the other kids and as sometone they can always rely on. He's even participating as a member of an American mission team this week, doing ministry at another orphanage. We heard from the team today that he's doing wonderfully and is just a trememdnous help for anything and everything they need. He really has a servant's heart. I don't think there's anything R could not do if he's given a chance. Until this fall the boys were at an orphanage that wouldn't allow them to come for hosting and honestly I had all but given up hope on finding them a family. They were recently transferred to an orphanage that will allow them to come! It was a miracle. This winter R pleaded with me, tears in his eyes, to do everything I possibly could to find he and his brother a family! Please, help us fulfill their greatest dream!

K is a great kid too with a very good heart. He does not excel in school the way R does, but it seems that it may be due to needing guidance and motivation rather than intelligence. He also is a good artist (more cartoon style) and loves basketball. He has a fun loving personality and loves to joke around and be silly! R and K look out for each other as good brothers!

www.heartforhosting.org

For more information on hosting, please send me an e-mail at Hershonfamily@gmail.com 

or e-mail Ginger at Guglielmoshope@gmail.com or call her at (408) 710-8902

I'm only one. But still, I am one.

I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something.

And because I cannot do everything,

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

-- Edward Everett Hale