Like a Shepherd

"I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

Isaiah 42:16


We have been extremely busy the last few days. Visa applications mailed off, tickets purchased, US Embassy paperwork printed off, etc. I am working on a home stay connection in St. Petersburg, which, Lord willing, we may get to visit if the extra 10 day wait is imposed. All adoptive families are required to be in country for 10 days, and the judge (very often I'm told in this region) has the power to impose an extra 10 days.
I haven't ever gotten a really good answer as to why. Most think it is to continue to supplement the Russian economy, thankyouverymuch.

We can, of course, see as much or little of the Russian countryside during this time as we want, and within the last year, officials have been allowing the children to travel with you. It's not really like you could get on a plane with them anyway, as their visa and passports are held until the 10 days are up.

I'm told St. Petersburg http://www.petersburg-russia.com/ , formerly Leningrad, is the "crown jewel of Russia", with amazing architecture, the summer palaces of the Czars, and the Hermitage museum (Russia's equivalent of the Smithsonian).
It all sounds very exciting, but definitely unknown territory!! Our agency is helpful with suggestions, but it is up to us to make the arrangements and schedule.

Again this week, we are being asked to put our faith into actions. Please pray for us on several matters:
--First, that our visas will indeed return in the "8 work day" time frame they were promised.
--For our court date to go extremely smoothly (more about that later) and that the judge would be gracious in dismissing the extra 10 day wait.
--If he does not, that we would have wisdom, safety and travel mercies as we travel by train to St. Petersburg and then to Moscow. It may be just the way God would have us bond in a new way with our sons.
--Please pray for our banks to find enough new bills for us to take the required cash amount- it is an astonishing number!( they have had to start looking out of state). And for safety in transport of said cash. (Only one or two places take credit card, and no traveler's check s are honored.)
--That we could trust Jesus more and more to "make the rough places smooth".


This verse couldn't have been more personal to me today, as I sat in on the District Spelling Bee and watched the challenges of the English language unfold.

My lips and fingers started to lose feeling.

"Lord, how will my boys ever learn English, let alone how to spell it?"

And then He reminded me.........He's bigger than all that.