Since receiving The Phone Call, we have been feeling every emotion from utter immobility to excitement, from fear to anticipation and wonderment. As Victor puts it, "We are about to seal our fate."
Last Saturday Victor and I went shopping for our children. Suddenly it hit me. We are shopping for our children! There I was in TJ Maxx, crying over baby blankets and choo choo trains. We are told we can leave one item for each child to keep with them. All other toys we bring will belong to the orphanage. We decided to leave them each with a cuddly blanket. I sewed a photo of us into the corner of each one in hopes we will be remembered. (The blanket color is not necessarily a gender indicator)
We will fly out of Seattle on Thursday afternoon of this week (May 17th). We will arrive to Vladivostok, via Seoul, on Saturday afternoon....skipping right over that international dateline.
On Monday morning, our agency will pick us up and take us to the Ministry of Education. It is there we will first learn about our children. They will give us a folder for each child that includes vital statitics, medical documents and a photo. If we agree to proceed, we will be taken to the orphanage where the children live...or it could be two separate orphanages. We will spend an hour a day with each child from Monday through Friday. By Friday, we will need to make a decision about the children.
If at any point, we decide we are not the right parents for either child, they will likely produce another child for our consideration. Even so, we are asking the Lord that the folders we are handed on Monday are for the children HE has determined for us to love, care for and cherish.
