YEP... STILL MISSING OUR LITTLE GUY...
In case you were wondering - the medicine used for cuts, scrapes and just about anything else skin-related is green. That is what is on his shoulder.. Aaron carries a good bit of green medicine on his little banged up body!
Also, you may have noticed that Aaron is wearing hats in many of his pictures. In his country, it is considered unhealthy for a child to go outside without a hat on. I'm not sure how old a child can be before the hat is no longer required but I can say that we were fussed at by our dear landlady for not having a hat on Elijah.
Quite a number of people have asked us about our financial situation...
In a nutshell....
If we had stayed in country, we would have had enough to cover for all the adoption expenses since the cost of living in Aaron's region was so much cheaper than normal. Unfortunately, coming home changed that equation. We are now short by two plane tickets. If we go back in the next few weeks (definitely the deepest prayer of our heart) then we are looking at additional costs of around 3,000 dollars. We continue to be at peace concerning the financial part of this journey, knowing that God will provide. Already people have begun to fill in the gap and for that we are amazed and humbled. Our blog buttons are open for those who desire to make a donation.
Over and above any financial need we may have, we beg for prayer for Aaron as he struggles with our disappearance. He is not quite six years old and it is a heavy burden he carries. For his entire life he did not have visitors. No one came to see him. He has been alone.
For 7 special days, three people entered his world and loved on him. Then we disappeared.
On the last day we were there, as we were playing with him for the last time, he leaned his head onto my shoulder and for about 20 fleeting seconds I felt his little head rest against me. He didn't know we were leaving at that point. As I felt his little head against mine, I just wanted to weep in frustration and loss. He has spent his entire life never having been hugged, held, kissed or loved on by a Mommy or a Daddy. For seven days he experienced all of these. He was starting to take some tiny steps to indicate to us that though the physical contact terrified him, he wanted it. Sitting on Papa's lap to read a story was scary, but oh, so much fun. Having Mama rub his back froze him in place with the sensation. His little eyes would glaze over and he would sigh. Sitting between the two of us took great courage on his part. At first he just moved away, but on the last day we spent about thirty minutes like this....
Oh how sweet. Sitting between Papa and Mama and building with the coolest toy ever... Magnetix....
PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR LITTLE GUY THAT GOD WOULD PROTECT HIS HEART.
PLEASE PRAY THAT GOD WOULD GIVE HIS CARETAKERS WISDOM AS THEY COMFORT AND ENCOURAGE HIM DURING THIS TIME.
PLEASE PRAY TOO THAT OUR FACILITATORS WILL BE ABLE TO QUICKLY RESOLVE THE ISSUES THAT ARE KEEPING US FROM HAVING COURT AND BRINGING HIM HOME!
The hat thing apparently goes into adulthood. When we were in Ukraine last summer to bring our daughter Kristina home, I was also 7 months pregnant. We were taking Kristina from the orphanage for the day to the beach. The orphanage director was horrified that I did not have a hat. She went into her supply closet and found 2 children's hats, one for me and one for my husband. She insisted that we wear those hats to the beach. I'm sure we looked ridiculous. Everytime we went out, people would stop and question why I wasn't wearing a hat. It was very odd. Just their custom, I suppose.
ReplyDeletePraying you make it back to Aaron very quickly.
Christa in NC
We continue to pray for you, your family and Aaron. May God bring you back to your son very soon, and smooth all the wrinkles that are in the fabric of your family quilt. Soon enough, Aaron will be wrapped in your love without the wrinkles of law, judges, etc.
ReplyDeleteOh Julia, this just breaks my heart. I couldn't imagine the experience for him or for you all. We are praying for that precious boy and you all!!
ReplyDeleteLord,
Please comfort Aaron. Wrap your arms around him and embrace him with your everflowing love. Give him peace and comfort in knowing that his mommy and daddy are coming back for him and he won't be there to much longer.
Lord, I ask that you just work everything out quickly. I pray that you break the walls down that are preventing him from being adopted and that you would give the facilitators wisdom and strength in working their way around this situation! Please bring Aaron home to his family so quickly Lord. Amen!
Praying for your family, that you will be bringing Aaron home soon. What a blessing you all are to him, such a special family. Love and Peace Tracey
ReplyDeleteDear Lord, we ask that you surround little Aaron with your loving presence. We pray he would sense your love and protection, and that he would understand in his little heart that his mommy and daddy will be there for him as soon as they are allowed. We pray that he will harbor no bitterness from the separation, and that the lips of anybody who would speak harm to him would be shut. We pray blessings on this little guy you have chosen to be in this family.
ReplyDeleteAmen
I've been thinking of you all day. I am praying your time is short. We knew we had to do 2 trips, but we had no idea how long it would be between them. For us, it was 10 months and 6 days from the time we said goodbye until we saw our little man again. It hurts. It is very hard. I'm so sorry you have to be in this position. Trust in the Lord's protection for Aaron, and when you can't trust, cry out to Him. He is holding all of you safely in His hand.
ReplyDeleteOh my heart aches with you for Aaron . . . and I'd love to be able to help a bit with the extra costs, but I don't want PayPal to take a penny of it since it won't be lots. Would you please contact me with your snail mail addy? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHope Anne (from Reece's Rainbow) happymom4@gmail.com
Oh Julia,
ReplyDeleteI'm in tears. Praying with you and for you. Praying for Aaron. Praying for God to move and make a way through all of this so you can bring Aaron hom. ((((Julia))))
Hugs
Leslie