New Territory

We're entering new territory these days. Our sweet, bubbly, vivacious and strong girl is experiencing many bouts of unexplained sadness. It is not in response to something we say or do. It usually occurs at bedtime or throughout the night, but it can sometimes occur during the day. I suspect (based on lots of reading) that she is experiencing sadness due to being away from all that is familiar to her.  Even though we know that there is hope for great days ahead, she is experiencing a mixture of both joy and loss.

It's been almost three weeks since she has been in America and over four weeks since she's been our daughter. She's experiencing different sights, sounds and smells. The weather is much different. The landscape is different. She's boldly trying lots of new foods. Hopefully the smells are better (although she lives with three little brothers, so I'm not sure!) She is learning more English every day, but her comprehension seems much better then her ability to communicate what she is thinking with us. Wouldn't you be a little freaked out too? Even if you were happy in your new surroundings? I was eager to get home after only two weeks away.

Ukraine is all she has ever known and while we know life is so much better for her now in a family, it is still new. She has spent the last two and a half years sleeping in a dormitory with between 4 - 6 little girls in a tiny room. It's not appropriate for her to share a room with her brothers and I suspect she gets lonely in her room all alone. Night time wakings are becoming more frequent with lots of tears. How can you rush her back to her lonely room when you know she has legitimate reasons to have bad dreams? I've spent a few long sleepless nights holding her and stroking her hair while she cries off and on through the night.

While very tiring, all of this is a good sign -- I think. When we hosted Irina she went to sleep at 7:30pm and didn't come out of her room until after 7am. Our first week home this month, she went to sleep great and once adjusted to the time zone slept well in the morning. Now, even though she resists bedtime, I'm glad she's feeling comfortable enough to venture out to receive comfort from me in the night.  My heart is aching because I still have three other dear ones to care for at the same time and I'm tired. One little boy is begging, "Mommy, why don't you lay in my bed and stroke my hair?" Another little boy is disappearing to his room early and putting himself to bed without a word. Still another little boy is acting out to receive some desperately craved for attention.

Many of you reading this are still praying for our journey and I'm grateful. God is with us through all the ups and downs. Will you pray for rest, compassion and endurance? I'm not sure I've even begun to really think about advent or the true meaning of Christmas yet and Christmas is three days away. Will you pray for sweet moments to point all of us to Jesus?

Tomorrow we meet with a pediatric dentist to discuss a plan for Irina's much needed dental care. We hoped to wait much longer to deal with this, but unfortunately it will cause her more problems if we wait. Will you pray that we'll have clarity as to whether this dentist is a good fit for our needs? Will you pray that Irina will not be too scared? Pray we'll be able to comfort her and come up with a good plan. Thank you!