Update from Derek and Renee

I just got off the phone with Derek and Renee. They do not have internet connection, but hope to soon. They will update us as soon as they can. In the mean time, here's my update based on our phone conversation.

Shortly after Derek and Renee arrived they found out that Misha had been moved to another orphanage and was no longer at the same orphanage with Sasha. This was quite a blow to their hearts, as they had already lost Mikey. Adopting from 2 separate orphanage would have added several months and would have cost quite a bit more money. After praying, they decided that they should keep their commitment to Sasha and look at the other little boys that were available at the orphanage.

When they were presented with profiles of children at SDA, they were only given profiles of 3 boys (as Derek noted in his previous post). Roman, age 2 has Down Syndrome and Dimitri is yrs old with Down Syndrome.

When they arrived at the orphanage yesterday, one of the care givers brought Sasha in to meet them.
Their facilitator, Konstantine said to Sasha, "Do you want a family, Sasha?"
Sasha replied, "Yes I do!"
Konstantine introduced him to Derek and Renee by said, "I want you to meet your new momma and poppa."
Sasha beamed at D and R and said, "My new momma is very beautiful."

Derek and Renee then spent some time playing with him and talking to him. They relay that he is incredibly smart, has a great laugh, and is very sweet. They say that he is like a learning sponge and just took everything in! They found out that Sasha has spina bifida low in his back, has a shunt, and is paralyzed from the waist down (as they already new). Finding out that Sasha has spina bifida has been very emotional. As many of you know their first son, Josiah was born with spina bifida and died at age 2 1/2.

Sasha sat on Derek's lap, played with his phone, took pictures of Konstantine, and kept touching Derek's face and hair. When another care giver came in with Roman and Dimitri, Sasha said to her, "Look who came for me, it's my momma!"

When the orphanage director stepped out of the room, Sasha said to him, "Well bye, I'm going to America now!"

Roman (age 2) is a an energetic, sweet little boy. Renee reports that he is a total ham, and is simply hilarious! He is walking with some assistance. Roman will also need heart surgery very soon when he returns to the US. You can be praying that their waiting period is waived due to Roman's imminent need for surgery, so that they can get him home and get him care right away.

Dimitri (age 5) has "failed to thrive" in the orphanage. Renee and Derek report that at age 5, he is about the size of a 7-9 month old baby. I know that's hard to wrap your head around. I'm still reeling from that report. Please pray for a miracle for this precious little boy.

Derek and Renee had a day or so to make their final decision about bring these boys home, and had some concerns about whether they could do this. There is a huge difference in the needs that Dimitri has and what they had prepared themselves for.

They were having their devotions this morning and were reading from Psalm 66:13, 14 and the Lord gripped their hearts, "I will come to your temple with burnt offerings and fulfill my vows to you- vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke." Without a second thought, they knew that the Lord was reminding them of their promises to Him, and they have chosen to fulfill their vow to Him, as they care for these precious orphans and bring them into their home, and call them sons.

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. Derek and Renee hope to post pictures as soon as they can find internet service somewhere.