Day 2 - Something Beautiful

Ari loves music, and he has started to learn the songs we listen to in the car as well. We listen to the FISH 104.7 in Atlanta, Christian Pop station.

Needtobreathe is one of my other favorite Christian bands. The song Something Beautiful has meant alot to me during this adoption trek. Ari loves this song too, and he requests it by name. This is today’s song, to guide us through our reunion with Ian, and, our first real chance to interact somewhat freely with the other children in his groupa.

It was indeed, something incredibly beautiful and I’m really happy to share it with you.

(Lyrics from Something Beautiful, Needtobreathe)

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire
'Cause I just want
Something beautiful to touch me
I know that I'm that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees
And waiting for
Something beautiful

Whups!

I almost forgot! (I know Nina Clark, how could I almost forget this!) Our ticket to Ian today began with an EIGHT doctor medical exam. Awesome. So, we left at 7:15 am, with strict orders not to eat or drink anything but water. We arrived to the “clinic” at about 8:00 am, it seemed a ways from our hotel.

In order that I do not have to re-invent the wheel LOL, here is a link to a VERY detailed blow-by-blow of what happened to us the 4.5 hours we were there. Katrina Nine, fellow Reece’s Rainbow mom, who adopted Vahnya now home three months, wrote this post last February when she was going through the exact same thing. Of course, I have to add my own spice so I can recall years from now, all the strangeness that is an EIGHT doctor adoptive parent medical exam!

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Pulmonologist – “Have you ever had a cough?” – um, yes, lots, I mean when I have a cold or when I swallow something wrong, or when I am laughing so hard whatever I was drinking at the time gets all dribbled out of my mouth, or when the smog is really bad....

Infectionologist – “Do you have a disease?” – No. “Are you sure?” – Yes, I mean the last time I checked, or they checked, I didn’t.

Blood Draw Tech – I am not squeamish so I watched her collect SIX mega vials of my blood. I was starting to get worried that she was going to keep sticking those bog ole’ vials onto the syringe to fill up! I started to wonder if there is some legal safe limit of blood to be taken in one sitting! LOL – I should not have been wondering this as PRIOR to all of the exams, we were expressly told that they WERE for SURE going to DEPART from international medical exam standards! What? What does that even mean? Now I’m thinking it started by collecting over the standard amount of blood. Before leaving, you had to have the spot your blood was taken from “field wrapped,” meaning the guaze looked like it was from WWII and it was wrapped so tight you could not bend your arm! Everytime Nina or I then tried to loosen or to remove the dressing, we got scolded that it had not been long enough and not to fuss with it or we will get a bruise. A bruise? but my whole arm is numb and I’m starting to loose the feeling in my fingers!

Chest X-Ray – Gretchen, get in here! Push, shove, hold that, done. WOW, felt like a chicken that was being strangely abused. No joke.

EKG – EWE!!! I thought to myself as the technician put some sort of liquid on me using a brush that looked like it was black from mold; Please do not electrocute me! I thought to myself as she took metal CLAMPS, similar to the ones we Americans use for jumper cables, and clamped them to my ankles and wrists right on that mystery damp area; Suction cups hooked up to think wires was next, and I think I might now have a permanent aversion to suction cups – awesome.

Innards Doctor – “Do you have any tumors?” – I don’t think so?! “Are you certain?” – Yeah, but you’re scaring me, do you feel any tumors? Is this a trick question?

Physcaitrist – “Do you smoke?” – No “Why not?” – sorry? “Have you ever smoked a cigarette” – Yes, tried a few as a teen and in college but it never took, couldn’t stand the smoke, grosses me out, causes cancer, etc... “So you don’t smoke?” – OMG.

Dermatologist – “Hello, have you ever been followed by a Dermatologist” – I don’t think so, but that would be creepy if I were, are Dermatologists more prone to follow people? Is there a stalker case here where the stalker was a Dermatologist? Why is she asking me this – oh, oh, you mean have I ever been to a Dermatologists office for a medical reason! Oh okay - No.

To end the description of the required medical, when we pulled up to the clinic, written in purple spray paint on the side of the building was this “PSYCHIATRIC EXECUTION.”

I am so happy they did not keep us there.

The exam was only $1,200.00 which for all of that fun, I think it is a small price to pay for a lifetime memory!

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Now, on to the good stuff! Our reunion with Ian. We got to have a bout an hour break in between the medical and leaving to see Ian. I used the time for a light lunch with Craig, and then packed up all of the caregiver gift bags and the clothing donations for the orphanage. I meant to take a picture of the gift bags but I forgot. It is something very difficult to know what to buy for the women who have cared for your child in your stead for a year while you have been working to complete his adoption. I looked on the internet and not much was offered as ideas. So, here is a list of what I put together for them.

- A thank you letter written in Russian on one side and English on the other

- A two or three piece matching jewelry set

- A picture book of Atlanta

- A compact pack away bag to throw in ones purse and to be used for going to the market on the way home from the orphanage perhaps

- A disposable camera with a label on it asking her to take pictures of Ian and his groupa and his activities between now and the time I return for him, as a way to document his the life he is about to leave behind forever.

The orphanage director, social director, and doctor, all got swanky handbags and a picture book and a camera. The director of Ian’s orphanage looks about my age, maybe a touch older, and she is really nice. When I met her yesterday, after our visit, and we hugged, she asked me why I was soaking wet!

And the water is rising quick
And for years I was scared of it
We can't be sure when it will subside
So I won't leave your side
No I can't leave your side

All I could say was – it was Vasya! (Ian)

That child can run! and of course, as his new parents, we had to chase him! Note to self: if called to adopt again, consider baby who is captive audience!

We arrived at Ian’s summer camp at about 4:30 in the afternoon local time. It was a long ride out of the city but very interesting, we saw individual homes for the first time, versus apartment buildings. Right near Ian’s orphanage, are million dollar Russian summer homes, quite the juxtaposition again.

Ian’s orphanage has some land with a camp that is their own. It is only for their use and they go there for three months every summer. It is truly a camping experience, minus the tents. There are six or seven individual oblong buildings which serve to house each groupa and the staff. The staff are welcome to bring their own families, so you can plainly see some children there that are not orphans.

Most of the buildings are simple and one needs to be torn down, they do not use that one, it looks like an abandoned farm barn that I would see back in my home state of Wisconsin deep into the countryside.

It had rained mercilessly as we drove to the camp so everything was sandy and wet, muddy in some places.

When we arrived, the social director came out and showed us to Ian’s groupa building. We opened the door and there he was! along with all of the children in his groupa.

They mauled us, totally, with three or four of the boys and one of the girls literally climbing up onto us and hugging, holding on tight, calling us mama and papa. The caregivers had to help peel those kids off of us so we could get to Ian.

He seemed to know us! He went right for Craig as he entered first, right into his arms. Not a hug so much as an investigation once again of this strange creature called a papa with dark skin! It was touching nonetheless.

Since I was lugging gifts and behind Craig as we entered, I was able to quickly scan the small groupa for two children of interest to us, Angelina and Heidi, both listed on Reece’s Rainbow. Angelina has a family from Minnesota coming for her, and Heidi has a family that is working hard to do the same. I had tried hard to get a glimpse of these girls last April when we were here, for their parents. I was not able to see them then, so to have them right in front of me was amazing.

Angelina in fact was the little girl who climbed me for and gave me a monster hug! She is cute and very busy! By both caregiver report and observation, this kid loves to eat! They use food to control her behavior which of course cannot continue when she gets home to her family but to watch it in action, was funny. She would not come in from outside so they promised her a bowl of soup and bam, she was on her way back to the groupa building.

It looks to me like the kids have more freedom to run around here at the camp, everything seems more laid back, although the caregivers are still not trusting of us and still not wanting us to interact with the other children. I tried to hug them all anyway! It is a small groupa, maybe 10 kids total, and they are small kids, but the need is so great for them – for affection and love – that they overwhelm you.

I recognized the little boys that had climbed on Craig when we where at the orphanage in Arpil, they again went to him to pet his face and call him papa. Little Heidi was the meekest of the group, she is the smallest girl and stayed close to the caregivers, all the while looking on with great curiosity and smiling at me, melting my heart for sure.

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We had about 2 hours with Ian. It felt like six that passed by in less than one.

We got to play with him both outside and in the large room where they do everything there, eat, dance, read, play. We were alone there for about an hour, with our facilitator.

Oh boy! He has grown taller! He looked really good! Better than when we saw him last! I was a happy, happy mama!

He took to us better, showed affection faster, and he played WITH us, which was not the case the first meeting. Yes, we had to parent, he tried to rip the curtains down, tip over all the toys (which he was successful at first because we were not yet matching his speed and agility!), and not behave in general. He got it though and after a few little fits of yelling and fist pounding, we were good to go.

He did my hair. He pet me, and hugged my face. His laugh is crazy infectious and we had not heard that kind of true belly laugh from him before.

We played for a long time with a wooden baby crib. He would take out the bedding, fold it up meticulously, transfer it to the floor, prepare a mat, and lie down and pretend to go to sleep on it! He did this several times.

The kids are regimented and they do most things independently. He makes his own bed, better than I do even, at just 5 years old. Ari might try to straighten his comforter, if I even remember to have him do it LOL. Ian is making his bed military precision. Watching him do this finally brought forth the tears for me. It was cute but it was so, so sad too. Yes, its awesome that he can make his own bed, but the reason why he can do this is not a happy one. These little kids are alone within their little selves.

They do get some touch, but it is woefully short of what a child needs to develop in a normal way. Ian is still not used to touch that mean for him, he is never held or rocked or hugged for more than a moment and he tenses up and he does not know what to do, most of the time.

This little one in the groupa was always trying to get someone to pick him or, to hold him, to pay attention, to love on him.

Some of the time, in that rare space of a few seconds, that is becoming more often which is very exciting, Ian gets it and he relaxes his boys and falls into your arms. It is fleeting but so, so right.

This little boy of ours is going to make it.

We will make sure of that.

We will do whatever it takes to help him come out from behind the incredibly painful wall that living like he has, by default, creates for him. He is resilient. The children with Down Syndrome here are ALL resilient. They have a smile and a joy and a sort of insulation from the absolute truth of their own circumstances that makes it almost easier to take them home versus a typical child who KNOWS.

The light in many of the eyes of the kids with other special needs that do not impact personality or intellect, is fading or already gone. Unbearable and heartbreaking, but not without recourse.

If you have ever considered adoption, I beg you to prayerfully hear from God if now might be the time.

The need is enormous, and for 99 percent of the kids in Ian’s orphanage, no one is EVER coming for them. There are about 70 children here, and in 2010, only THREE were saved.

This year thankfully, THREE are already on their way out, and one, Anya from Ian’s groupa, has been home for several months now. In fact her mother Heather arranged for me to bring pictures of her new life to the orphanage and they were so thrilled to receive them.

It all seems kind of not so bad sometimes as you look at the camp, the fresh air, the Bay of Finland across the road where the kids swim....you have to remember that all is not well.

Ian again hoarded the food we brought for him, he devoured it so fast we thought for sure he would choke on it and vomit. It was less than a half of a banana. When we went outside, he immediately tried to suck the rain drops off the rusted metal and wooden play structures. He was very thirsty, again. Hard to watch. It took all my strength to keep him from sucking the water logged wood. At home, you just grab a juice or some water. There, it is not time for something to drink, they all eat and drink and sleep on a schedule. Did I mention the need was great here?

They kids had to be peeled away from our person, babies, three and four and five year olds. Thirsty babies, for love, for touch, for anything of their own, for a mama, a papa.....for a chance to live. Most here are going to the institution in a couple of years. Most will slowly die there. The kids with Down Syndrome will likely die within two years of transfer. SICK. The little boy staring at the camera here, he is one that KNOWS what is happening to him. Do you see little Heidi, in the pink? She is wasting away in this place, watching the same TV programs over and over and over and over again to pacify her into submission. Poor sweet baby girl.

Praise God, Ian will not.

He is coming home! Very soon.

We have court on Thursday and then we leave a few hours later for home to make the final preparations to bring Ian into our lives on a permanent and live and in person basis.

We are excited! Happy! Blessed!

....and short about $7,000.00 if we do not get the grant we are waiting to hear about on July 27^th. It is a lot of money for a family that is so weary of begging for money to save him.

It is nothing for our God, and he will provide it, as long as we keep opening the doors for others to be the hands and feet.

Please share our blog, Ians FSP page at Reece’s Rainbow, and our need. We cannot say thank you enough for most who are reading this now, have given and given to save Ian. The time is now to have conversations with people you know that may not have given to an orphan this year. Sit with someone, talk to them about your heart for Ian, and ask them if they want to help. Spreading the word is the main way we receive donations to defray the near $50,000.00 price tag of Ian’s adoption. Let’s face it, three trips to Russia in 5 months comes at a hefty price tag.

Please pray for court tomorrow (I am a day behind on my blog posts). Please pray for me coming back for Ian alone, as the timing is not going to work for Nina and I to come back together.

Please pray for those babies we are leaving behind again and next time, forever. I will never have peace of mind about them, ever. Their faces are etched now and they will remain in my mind till the last of my days, and this I know to be true.

Something beautiful is happening for us and for Ian, it is our own little miracle.

God bless!

Hey now, this is my desire
Consume me like a fire
'Cause I just want
Something beautiful to touch me
I know that I'm in reach
'Cause I am down on my knees
And waiting for
Something beautiful

He Reigns - Day 1

Trip 2 – Day 1

First off, if you have never heard the song “He Reigns” by the Newsboys, I highly suggest listening to it. This song has been playing over and over in my mind since we stepped on the plane in Atlanta on Saturday, right up to this moment, as I sit in our hotel in one of the truly great and unique cities of the world! the great city of St. Petersburg. The largest most northern city in the world. He Reigns is an upbeat song, and it will serve loosely as our guide through my post tonight.

Getting Here

As hard as I tried not to, I ran out of time. I was not ready to leave when the time came early in the morning on Saturday. I can report however, that I was more ready to leave than I have ever been in the past for such a big trip. There were a ton of logistics this trip that were not present the last time we came over the ocean for Ian. We had to take Ari to Chicago, where my mom and my grandparents met us all at the airport. We had to make sure we had a sufficient layover at O’Hare for my peeps to find us and for us to transfer Ari to them without it being all traumatic for him – or us. So, we built in a 4 hour layover, which I think all in all went well. We had enough time to leave the airport proper and enjoy a nice lunch with all of us. Ari was ready and excited to begin his vacation, of which he has talked about for weeks

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Ari, me, my mom and my my nana

When the moment came for us to get in the cab to head back to the airport, Ari’s little face was a bit sad. His last words to us were, “come back.”

I could choose to make that a big sad scene. I miss my baby boy so much, I do worry about him a little bit, but I also know that he is, to us, a love song born of a grateful choir. I know he is in loving hands with my mom and my grandmother and the rest of our fairly large extended family. Tomorrow he is headed to go swimming at a cousin's house and I think he might even get to ride on a city bus - which the child also lives for! Thanks mom for loving on my little man!

(from the song, He Reigns, Newsboys)

It’s the song of the redeemed...

It’s every tribe, every tongue, every nation

A love song born of a grateful choir

If you missed the big post I wrote to introduce Ari, you may want to visit it, he's an amazing kid with an awesome heart. Click HERE for Ari's post.

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Heading to our flight to Germany on the moving sidewalk at O'Hare

Craig already exhausted, trying to sleep on the railing

Transferring by tram to our Luftansa flight to St. Petersburg

Our oceanic flight was rough. We were expecting it to be a tad bit easier because, well, we were minus a 4 year old child after all. What we neglected to remember was that 300 or so other folks were joining us on that plane and the one that sat right next to me - was indeed I believe, a 4 year old child, dressed like an adult. Seriously, this lovely person had the following gifts for me during our 8 hours together: a super sized McDonalds cup brought on board empty but promptly filled to the brim with ICE. Ice with which said person then CHOMPED on from take off until landing because she never slept. When the cup would empty, she would have it refilled. Oh, and I guess this is the ice eaters rule: shake the ice in the cup around each time before taking a piece to find just the right one. LOL - I jest but really, it was super annoying. Still, God must have the master plan for her as I do not think she realizes that there are only 5 ice cubes in the whole of Europe at any one time, and she will likely not be getting one of them. If the ice was not enough, she also turned her cold air from above on HURRICANE force, much of which blew onto me and I had to cover 1/2 of my body in three blankets to keep warm. To top it all off, every few hours, she would turn to me and s.t.a.r.e. at me. ODD.

Craig sat next to me - and the aisle. Lucky.

Frankfurt was expensive, as it always is. Something like $20 for a simple bread and butter and OJ breakfast.

We landed in St. Pete, found our bags, found our driver Anton, and hot tailed it over to the Marco Polo Hotel, where we are staying with the Clark Family, also a Reece's Rainbow Family. We met with our facilitator to get the low down on the rest of the stay here, and then we headed down to the restaurant to have some dinner. It was 9:30 pm.

Mushrooms in cream (super rich), unknown red berries very bitter note to self do not eat those (again)

Baked Grannysmith Apple with nuts and raisins inside

yummy

Did you catch where I said it was 9:30 pm when we BEGAN dinner? In this part of the world, it is White Nights. This means, for 80 days, the people living here experience complete daylight for something like 21 hours a day. It is only dark for 1-2 hours around 3-4 pm and then bam - daylight again! It is surreal and strange and really kind of cool! After dinner Craig and I walked down to the river.

Time Check: MIDNIGHT!!

TIME CHECK: 1:00 AM!

On the banks of the Neva River in the Northern most populated city in the world!

Let it rise about the four winds

Caught up in the heavenly sound

The weather here is beautiful! It does get a tad hot during day but overall, it's great! No real bugs to speak of and a glorious breeze skips around you much of time, bringing a cool wind just when you need it most. Today we toured the city. The history in this place is not to be missed. Craig and I agreed after seeing just a few hours of the main attractions, that we will have to bring the boys back here when they are older. Ian has to see his birthplace, it is totally amazing! We have a wonderful driver Boris, who takes care of us, and he showed us around today, giving us all the needed information to make each stop even more breathtaking and interesting. The sounds here are incredible when you walk the streets, you can hear almost every major language in the world being spoken, seagulls, and if you stop and stay awhile at some on the major historical places, you can "hear" what it must have been like back then - Peter the Great's army marching through the cobblestone streets inside the fortress, the clacking of the hoofs of the thousands of horses being kept at the stables there.....I never knew all of this was here, and I am so blessed to be able to take it all in while we wait to see Ian again! This is his birthplace and it is incredible.

Here are some of the amazing places Boris took us today

The two red columns were lighthouses, and where the trees are was the port, back in the 1700's when Peter the Great built this city. The white building behind then trees to the right a bit was the stock exchange where merchants would buy, sell, and trade goods

Directly across from the port is the Fortress. This is where the city really began and was at first, enclosed within. This fortress lies on a small island in the river Neva.

The outer walls of the fortress.

There is a white sand beach here too, in the middle of the Neva.

Look what I made! LOL

We stumbled upon an international sand sculpting event on the beach at the Fortress

All I can is - that cannot be sand!

This one above depicting the Taj Mahal was my favorite

The theme of the sand competition was "world cultures" totally cool to see and watch these things being crafted out of sand and water

The walls of the fortress are about 36 feet wide, if you look here, you can see the width, it is the white and grey looking areas through the tunnel in this photo

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Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals

To the faithful gathered underground

The tall church spire is the tallest point in the city and the angel atop has a wingspan of something like 9 feet. It is said to be the guardian of the city.

Craig and I at the fortress, shortly before I dropped our pocket camera and it smashed to bits (yes, I drop stuff, terrible and costly habit that must be stopped, I felt terrible, that was like our spy cam!)

behind us of course, and on the menu for Wednesday, is the Winter Palace of Peter the Great, now the Hermitage

This replica of the boats that would dock at this famous port back in the 1700's is now a posh restaurant and gym

This is a hydrofoil, we will ride this express boat from the Hermitage to the Summer Gardens (called Peterhof) on Wednesday.

This is on the square at the Hermitage. That column is crafted from a single piece of granite and it took 2,000 soldiers with ropes to pull it atop where it sits. It is not attached to the base in any way. The sheer weight of the column is enough to keep it in place.

This ship is significant because the cannon you see on the deck there, shot the blank round to start the revolution of 1917.

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Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation

Some were meant to persist

Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples

This was the place I was very excited to see, Saint Issac's Catherdral

It took 40 years to build. There was a running "joke" during its construction period that the architect had to stretch out its completion because as long as he was in charge and working on it, he would not die. One month after its completion in 1858, he in fact died. The church is in the shape of a cross, if you were to look upon it from above. There are granite columns here too, and you can see where bullets cracked them in places during World War II.

You can climb many, many sold granite steps that are hundreds of years old (original stone!) to get to the colonade, where an expansive and awesome view of the whole of the city awaits, you can see the Bay of Finland too. Somewhere out there is Ian!

The square at Winter Palace, from way up atop Saint Issac's

Rickety steps downward, I wasn't nervous, nor am I afraid of heights

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Tremble at what they’ve just heard

‘Cause all the powers of darkness

Can’t drown out a single word

The canal near Kazan Cathedral

Kazan Cathedral

Kazan is breath taking and holds a serious piece of Russian and French history for all to see. It is a masterpiece of architecture and much of what is inside is original, including the more than 200 year old stone flooring you walk on there

This is a living Russian Orthodox Church so picture taking has to be very subdued

Those candelabra chandeliers contain over 500 candles each (now light bulbs of course)

Inside, are the banners from the war of 1812 where Napoleon's army was defeated by the Russian army. The ACTUAL banners and flags that were marched out before the battle began, and keys to the french cities that were given over to the Russians after they won, are on display here. It is truly a sight to see. You almost cannot believe what you are looking at, the banners read "Napoleon Bonaparte, 1812, Regiment so and so."

There is also an "icon" of the virgin Mary which was brought by the Russian's to that battle and it said to have been the reason why they won. The actual icon is inside Kazan. It is a silver plaque about the size of a dinner plate.

Wanna see for yourself?

I shot a few seconds of video on the down low that shows it all - please pardon my astonishment when Boris tells me those are the actual items from 1812, it was really hard to believe

Outside of Kazan, if one is lucky and handsome, as Craig is, one can also have a photo of an era gone by

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This is one of the, if not the, most expensive hotels in St. Petersburg, the Astoria. When Madonna stayed here, get this, she brought her own furniture. President's and world leaders have all stayed here. It is on the square at Saint Issac's.

This is a Ferrari, for those that might not know

Remember I told you about the man that drives us around in a private air conditioned van? Well, Boris shared a great deal with us about the reality of life here for the average man. Boris has 3 small children ranging in age from 1 to almost 7. At his full time job, as a Concierge at a hotel, with SEVEN years of experience, and who speaks perfect English, he makes $700.00 A MONTH. Boris is a good man, a nice person, a family guy. He struggles here, like most average people. To cloth his kids, they save up money and then go to Finland for holiday and shop there. Clothes here are just staggeringly expensive. Want a Russian Olympic logo tee shirt? You will have to pay $100.00 for a real one, and not too much less on a street cart. Let's just say I had to let that dream die:) LOL. I will however be haggling for a wooden music box that plays traditional Russian tunes for Ian to have in his room as a keepsake.

So, back to Boris and the way things are here. Sure, you have your "new" Russians as they call the newly rich around here, but mostly, people struggle. We saw a number of cars that are priced here, in excess of a $100K. Why that in kind of important is that we might see 1 or 2 of those in Atlanta in a month or more. We saw at least 10 in one day in St. Petersburg. Corruption here is rampant. Clothing is ridiculously expensive, and so are basic goods. Average people don't go out to eat here much either, as one dinner for two people can cost $60.00 easily. Boris told me they just simply do not go out to eat, it is not affordable.

This city is just like most major cities around the world, comprised of the ridiculously rich, a few folks in between, the poor, and then because it is "R", orphans. This city, and others like it, is crying out for help, only so many of us ignore what we think does not directly impact us, so many walk around here in a daze, focusing on the next meal or the next deal. A Ferrari that drives past an old man who is begging on the street for a ruble - he has wet himself and the stench permeates the street corner - the fancy fast car driver turns away, and the old man watches the car until it is out of sight.

Walking around here with all of that juxtaposition, and being here in the middle of saving an orphan's life, Ian's life, is hard to compute. You look at it all and try to take it all in and in the end, it just does not compute. If we had to live here, we could maybe afford a car like the one below, maybe. Boris told us that he would like a certain type of car, used in the US he can get this car for $7,000. He can ship it here for just $1,000 more. To get it out of Russian customs, the fee is more than the $8,000 he will have paid to buy the car and get it here. Craziness! That applies to everything that comes through customs, so sending say, a big box of clothing, socks, and PJs to Ian's orphanage, would be a lost cause because the cost to get it out would be more than anyone working there could pay to get it out.

All over this city you cannot escape that which looks down upon you from above. Not that I could ever afford a Ferrari, I would so much rather be riding in the old little green sedan, toting kids that have been saved from institutions and worse, than roll down the street in some material thing that I chosen to be my identity and to signify my worth. Plus, it's a two seater and you can't get too many orphaned children in that thing!

Still, knowing that we are here and doing something about it as our part and as something we felt God called us to do, makes us at least able to joyfully spend a half-a-day seeing world history live and in person. I'm not a history buff, at all. You just have to be here and take some time to see what is here and you find yourself wanting to see more and more and more. This place has more than 300 museums!

We are truly singing God's praises for all that has had to happen over the course of this year to bring us here today. We are so grateful to you for supporting us and praying for Ian, and for our journey. Many of you reading this shared in your financial blessings to help us get here to have court for Ian. We don't take any of it for granted and we hope that sharing the city with you is a little bit of a thank you for your support. We promise to share more, and all about our week here.

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All God’s people singing

Glory, glory, hallelujah

He reigns, He reigns

Tomorrow, we see Ian