Ready, Set, Wait

On Monday, our translator, Mirka, talked with the Ministry of Social Affairs (the ministry overseeing Anna's case, different from the Magistrate we have been working with). They want to meet with us next week; in the meantime, they will send a psychologist to visit Anna. We are hopeful that the psychologist will hear good things about our times at the orphanage with her. Then, on September 5 they will have a meeting to decide whether we are able to adopt her. So, more waiting...what's new. They have also said that they recommend that we do not visit her anymore until after that meeting on Sept. 5, although there's nothing wrong with us visiting. They just advise against it.

Jenny wrote about these new developments on her blog (jennyingrace.blogspot.com). I'll quote a bit of it here:

Last night we were talking with a friend who, along with his wife, has adopted two children. They had 7 potential adoptions fall through (back in Canada) before one was completed. Our conversation reminded me that we have to think about this in a different way:

The ultimate goal is adoption of a baby whom God knows will be a perfect match for our family. Although we have come to love Anna and she would be our first choice, if for some reason God knows that someone else would be better for us (or us for her), then we can trust that this door closing will mean that God, in His wisdom, was guiding us to a different child. If God wants us to have Anna, then no earthly power--even bureaucracy--can stand in the way!

It helped me to think of that way, even though I would feel deeply sad if we are not able to adopt Anna. God is really trustworthy and I am already praying for protection from despair or depression if we hear some hard news in the future. The end of this story will be a wonderful child whom we have the privilege of loving forever.

We do trust that this will all turn out for the best. God knows best what that is, so we wait.

Settling into New Ministry

Jenny and I are getting settled into our new apartment at the International Baptist Theological Seminary. Now that we've had a few weeks, the place is starting to feel like home. On our website, we've added a photo gallery tour of the new apartment and our offices.

Our offices are next door to each other. Jenny will work out of the English Department office. She'll be offering morning classes during the intensive English program in the fall. I will help out with an afternoon hour a few days a week. My primary ministry remains with the Biblical Studies department. I will continue to teach in the Certificate program and advise Masters and Ph.D. students. Recently, I was one of the graders (we have three for each thesis) for a Masters' thesis on the land promise texts in Genesis. The paper was written by an Egyptian Baptist, so it was very interesting to see how he dealt with these texts. I also have been advising a Masters of Philosophy student from Romania on his thesis on the book of Esther. I just sent him some comments on a chapter that I hope will be helpful. He is focusing on some literary features in the book that explore how the different people groups view one another.

In addition to teaching, we are both helping with a backlog of publications that the seminary is working to get editted for publication. They have asked us to help with this important ministry of getting good academic materials published, so they can be available to be used in seminary courses around Europe. Right now, I am working on a volume on Doing Constructive Theology in a Baptistic Way that hopes to apply some recent developments in theology in the life of today's church. Learning the editting process has been interesting, as is the material itself. It will be nice to see some publications make it to the light of day because of our help.

Make sure to take a tour of our new life here: http://www.thomasfamilyweb.net/photogallery/OurNewHome/index.html

First Day Alone with Anna

Yesterday I had my first chance to spend some time alone with Anna. We decided that I would go, and Jenny would stay home and get some work done. Then, probably tomorrow, Jenny will go to have time with Anna, and I will stay and work.

Right away when I got near the orphanage, I knew the day would be different. First, there was a sign that I eventually realized said that the bus stop by the orphanage would be closing down for the rest of the month in a couple days (probably some road work). Second, the person at the front gate wasn't the same guy as every other time we've gone (he recognizes us now). So, I had to explain to the woman, in Czech, why I was there, show my passport, and get signed in.

Walking up to the Nadia building where she lives ('nadia' means 'hope' in Czech), I saw her. She was outside with a young woman, who turned out to be a volunteer who comes just to be with Anna (each of the children has one of these volunteers). I introduced myself and explained that my wife and I were wanting to adopt Anna. She was very nice and helped Anna get ready to spend some time with me. Probably because I was alone and meeting her outside, Anna wasn't quite sure about me at first, but she warmed up quickly.

We ended up walking around for awhile. Well, mostly walking. Anna does not walk on her own yet, but by holding on to my finger, we walked quite a ways (with the occasional rest stop). I got her on the swing, which she really likes. She was fascinated by an older woman nearby who was singing to the child she was visiting. I've hummed or sang a few simple songs to her, and she really seems to like that. Sometimes she even hums along.

When it was getting on toward suppertime, I got her back in the stroller and wheeled her back up to the building. I was not quite sure how the caregivers would react to seeing me come back with her. Her volunteer had just left me with Anna and left the premises, so no one knew that I was there. I think they were a bit surprised, but at least one of them had met me before, so was able to explain me to the woman in with Anna's group that day.

We played outside for awhile, then it was time for supper. When the woman came in with supper and handed it to me so that I could feed Anna, I could barely believe it: supper was a jelly donut! Seriously, it was filled with apricot, I think. Czechs have this thing called 'sweet meal' that they served at the school where Jenny used to teach. There, it was cheese-filled dumplings with pudding poured over it. We really don't understand it, but there it was. This is what I was expected to feed to my hopefully-soon-to-be-daughter. Oh, my.

Anna wasn't too thrilled either, I could only get her to eat a few bites, before she started throwing it on the floor. On the other hand, she couldn't get enough to drink. Because she has a milk allergy, they give her 'caj' (tea). It's called tea, but it's really tea-flavored sugar water. So, basically dinner was a jelly donut and Kool-Aid. Augh! I was somewhat relieved that she wasn't so into the donut, but I was afraid that she would be really hungry later. Diet may be a bit of a shock to her (and us) when she gets to come home with us.

I got to play with her alone for awhile, then, while the caregiver took the rest of her group (4 other toddlers) off to do something. It was really nice. She was more willing to sit in my lap and play close to me than she has been in the past. Later, I helped get her ready for bed, including changing one stinky diaper! She played around with the other children, then they all got into bed, and I said my good byes for the night.

Diversity in Czech Police

I ran across this article about how the Czech Police is hoping to add more minorities. The article gives some insight to the attempts to address ethnic prejudice, while showing it at the same time.

http://www.radio.cz/en/article/81755

Meet Anna, and More

Ok, so I haven't written in over a month. We have been going through some transitions, like moving to a new apartment at the seminary, going to California for a brief visit (Jenny's sister's wedding included), moving into increased responsibilities at the seminary, and meeting Baby Anna for the first time.

Since it's probably that last one you're most interested in, I'll give you the skinny: A week ago today (my birthday, btw), we visited the orphanage again to see more of the children. This time we went in the morning, so more of them would be awake. After being introduced to one available 2 year old, they told us of another 2 year old we could visit in another building. That was quite a bit older than we were hoping for, so we weren't so sure. For whatever reason, we went anyway :-)

The girl they took us to see cringed away from us the moment we entered the room, but another little cutie caught our eye, Anna. She was the only one in the room in a high chair (it was lunch time), and she was happy to look at us, smile, and kick her legs. After a bit, we asked about her. They said, sure, she's adoptable, but maybe you should talk to the doctor first.

We had a long talk with her doctor (coincidentally the mother of one of Jenny's former students), then the social worker. Anna (coincidentally the name we were thinking of anyway) has a condition called Turner's Syndrome. It's one of those completely random things that only affects girls and women. It basically means that her physical development will be slow, and that she will probably be short. It will mean regular doctor visits and possibly some hormone therapies (growth and otherwise), but it seems doable to us.

For more on all this, Jenny has written several entries on her blog: jennyingrace.blogspot.com or you can see photos and read more on our website: www.thomasfamilyweb.net
For photos of our first real meeting with Anna, and some of the preparations we've been making: http://www.thomasfamilyweb.net/photogallery/FirstMeetingWithAnna/index.html

On other recent topics:
Jenny's sister's wedding - http://www.thomasfamilyweb.net/photogallery/SarahandJoshWedding/index.html

I'm also making some changes to my pages on our website and hope to blog a bit more here in the next week or two.