Pray and Go Hunting (part 2)

So after lunch that day, we began to pray, and Lisa was on the hunt to find out all about Y and Z. Lisa is a pure researcher.  She went home that day and sent an email request to that blogger.  Lisa soon found out the name of a host family who had hosted Y and Z at their home over Christmas 2012.  Within a few days, Lisa was emailing the host family and crying with the mom over the phone over these two wonderful children.
What I will always remember from this host mom is her saying, “I cried buckets over these kids that someone would adopt them. My husband and I prayed many times that God would let us adopt them, but every time God said, ‘These are not your children.’”  The host mom told us that they loved them so much over Christmas, that they decided to host them again over the summer. At the very time we contacted her, Z was at her house again on a summer hosting program.  The host family invited us to their home in Ohio to spend the day with Z.

On July 22, we met Z for the first time. It was awesome and weird at the same time. Lisa and I both wanted to blurt out loud, “Z, we love you. We want to adopt you!” The problem was we could not tell her of our intentions.  The hosting organization had strict rules that no one can mention adoption for the protection of the children in case the adoption does not really happen- It could be devastating for the children.

The day we met Z, we did our best to tell her about our family.  We took a bunch of pictures of our family. Z speaks Russian.  We were able to have some fun and deep conversations with her on Google Translate.  Lisa shared with her the story of her childhood.  Lisa and Z have a lot in common.  They have both lost a parent. Lisa and Z seemed to relate on a deep level in a short amount of time even with the language barrier. I lightened the mood a little by telling Z stories about the first kiss Lisa and I shared.  Our teeth hit!  It was embarrassing.  Z laughed, and so did we.

As we left her in Ohio, I asked Lisa, “Will we ever see Z again?”  We prayed and have been hunting ever since.

-Joey