We are in Kiev!

Answered prayers!

God has again shown Himself to be worthy of our praise!

In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Revelation 5:12

I woke this morning comforted by the awesome knowledge that we were covered in so much prayer. In the past 24 hours I have heard from so many people (lots who I don’t know) that were encouraging us through emails, texts, and facebook postings sharing the news that they were praying for us. I can’t tell you how much all the prayers and encouragement has meant, but the last 24 hours have been really special.

I was sharing with Jenny yesterday afternoon (morning for ya’ll) during my lowest/weakest moments here yet, that I was sure I was in the “right” place spiritually but I felt like Job (I was careful to make too close a comparison) and that I couldn’t figure out what God wanted me to be doing. I was truly a broken man. I think she could hear it in my voice and maybe see it in my face while we Skyped.

Shortly after we finished our conversation, I started getting text after text and I knew that people were lifting us up in prayer. I could feel it. When I finally had a chance to read the blog before going to bed, there were more comments and prayers and scriptures. When I checked email, even more prayers and encouragement and this morning, even more. I was a new man delivered through your prayers.

After doing my quite time and “Experiencing God” Bible study, getting my shower and making sure everything was ready to go just in case we got the passports, I went upstairs to see about the kids at 7:30ish. Alona and Natasha were awake and watching TV in bed while Maks was still asleep. I told them I would be back in a few minutes and we would have to get ready in case we needed to go.

At 9:30, I called Anna to ask for an update and she told me that the director had told her this morning that he was checking on the passports and would call her back. “I can handle that” I thought and told myself to not be held a prisoner by the passports and told the kids at 11am we were going to the library and then to lunch. Just then, the door opens from the third floor and Anna and Kostya told me that they received a call from the director and he asked them to come to his office. They told me that’s all they knew and would be back as soon as they could. At 11:45ish they returned with the 3 passports. We quickly finished packing and got in the car.

The kids did great during the 4 and a half hour drive from Khelm to Kiev and we arrived at out apartment around 5pm, I got a load of laundry quickly started so we will have some clean clothes to wear, and then we went across the street and got groceries so we could eat dinner in the apartment. What a shame though because I could smell the McDonald’s that’s only a few blocks away. After dinner, we walked and got ice cream and then took baths, watched some TV and to bed.

Tomorrow we will be very busy. Kostya is picking us up at 8am and taking us to the US Embassy where we will get the paperwork started for the visas. From there we will go to the hospital and get the medicals done and then back to the Embassy to finish the paperwork on the visas. I’ve got some healthy and unhealthy food ready in case we don’t have time to stop and eat.

God willing, this could be one of the last posts from Ukraine. If we get the visas tomorrow afternoon, I will be returning the wireless internet modem I have been using to connect to the web and will not have it tomorrow night or Saturday morning. Words cannot express enough what an awesome journey this has been for me. Tomorrow will mark 5 full weeks on this trip, the last 3 without Jenny to experience it alongside me.

Tomorrow, I will also finish week 8 of 12 in the “Experiencing God” Bible study I’ve referenced a number of times in previous posts. The general purpose or theme of study is to help you develop or grow in your personal relationship with God so that you are experiencing Him in your life minute by minute. God has amazed me how our journey to adopt Maks, Alona, and Natasha has mirrored my journey towards experiencing God. The study has provided me strength and great encouragement to me during my stay in Ukraine.

I wrote earlier about the strength and encouragement I received from so many people praying for us and how awesome and humbling it is. We have received hundreds of emails, comments to the posts, facebook dialogues, and texts. All of them have a very special place in my heart. It is indescribable how it has made me feel. Everyone word carried so much meaning.

I have also found strength and encouragement from my beautiful bride, Jenny and my six children (that’s still hard to write), Keely, Maks, Alona, Max, Isabelle, and Natasha. Getting to spend the first two weeks here with Jenny was great. It wasn’t the “honeymoon” we never took, but for me it was the single most significant period in our lives together so far. I have a deeper love for her today than ever before. God has truly blessed me in my marriage to her. She is an incredible wife and mother and more importantly, a follower of Christ. I am also so proud of my six children. For Keely, Max and Isabelle at home, thanks for all your prayers and encouraging conversations on Skype. I am so proud of you and can’t wait to see you. For Maks, Alona, and Natasha, thanks for all the very special memories that will never be recreated. You have been a joy to spend these 3 weeks with.

Greater than all the support and encouragement I received from friends and family through emails, comments to posts, facebook dialogues, texts, and Skype, has been God and His Word. I have truly “experienced God” throughout His rescue of these three children. God has revealed Himself to me and the world in so many incredible ways. God had a plan; to rescue Maks, Alona and Natasha, from a life as orphans and He accomplished that plan by using the Borden family with the help and support of some many other people. God is good and worthy of my praise!

In closing (at least for this post), I ask for your prayers regarding the completion of the medicals and visas by close of business Friday, May 29, 2009. I ask for your prayers for both selfish reasons and possible eternal ones. Selfishly, I want to come home and unite our family and that will happen. The possible eternal reasons are far more important right now. I have been told by every member of the team that getting this done is VERY unlikely and to not buy plane tickets for a Saturday departure. We were also told by the team numerous other times that certain events were very unlikely to occur in the timeline and God showed up and accomplished them. You see, there are eyes watching and ears listening and hearts open to what God has been doing in His rescue of Maks, Alona and Natasha. I told you about a conversation I had with Anna regarding her comments about “believing God, but not the way I do” and asking then for your prayers about how I might be able to witness to her (and thank you for those). Other than me giving praise and thanks to all God has done including the delivery of the passports today, I’ve not done much, but believe there is still a chance. In the “Experiencing God” study, it talks about encounters with God are God-sized saying “The only way people will know what God is like is to see Him at work in their world” it goes on to say “The assignments God gave in the Bible were always God-sized. They were always beyond what people could do in their own strength because He wanted to demonstrate His nature, His strength, His provision, and His love to His people and to watching world. That is the only way the world will come to know Him”.

God’s rescue of Maks, Alona, and Natasha is certainly God-sized and could not have been accomplished by man alone and it is taking place right in the middle of “their” world. It’s a world that is built on distrust, deceit, greed, and darkness. I believe God has opened “their” eyes, ears, and hearts through His power to rescue these three children. I said my good-byes to Anna this afternoon in case I don’t see her again. I have her email address and will stay in touch with her and will witness to her as the spirit leads, but wouldn’t it be awesome if I had one more chance to witness to Anna and the team about His greatness by praising Him for getting the medicals and visas completed in one business day? Please don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything that will happen that will diminish in my eyes, ears and heart what I have seen God do if we don’t get the medicals and visas tomorrow; but it might just open their’s a little more in “their” in world.

Well the next step in the journey will start again for me in a litte over four and a half hours when my alarm goes off. Thanks again for all your prayers and encouragement!

God willing, I look forward to seeing many of you very soon at home. “We’ll see!”

"For He will rescue the poor who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper. He will have pity on the poor and helpless and save the lives of the poor. He will redeem them from oppression and violence for their lives are precious in His sight." Psalm 72:12

Blessings <><,

David