A New School Year

This past week started a new school year - Jeremy back at college and home school starting for the others. College dorms have changed a lot in 24 years. Dorms are coed and fast food chains are right next door on campus. I traveled to Huntsville Saturday to take Jeremy some books and clothes that were left behind and spent a little time with him before going back home. In four weeks he will be 21. A grown man but oh so much to learn. His head and heart is in a better place than mine was 37 years ago, but he is just as bullheaded as I was at his age. He will be be fine though.

The other six kids are doing fine and have reluctantly started school. Christina technically never stopped, she just cut back a little. She is doing much better than she was one year ago. She is an amazing cook and lately has cooked about one meal a day for the family. She has good days and bad days, but fortunately the good days outweigh the bad. She is so talented and is our go-to photographer and proof reader.

Sarah and Polina were in two plays this summer which kept them (and Dawn) busy going back and forth to rehearsals. They too are growing up and turning into young women. It is funny to watch them perform. Sarah absolutely loves theater and enjoys playing different roles. I am very proud of her and all she has accomplished. Polina loves acting, but her first love seems to be ballet. She will flitter around the house twirling and such. Her birth mom would be proud of her and the young woman she has turned into. I try to share her accomplishments with her aunt in Pokrovka by sending photos and e-mails. She is a good woman and I try as best as I can to maintain contact with her.

Nastya and Dima are still loud and are typical 7 & 8 year old kids. They have a lot of energy, they fuss with each other and get into trouble. It has been three years since they got home and Nastya still acts motherly toward Dima even though she is the younger one. Dima is adapting to having a younger brother - slowly. He is still learning he has to share, but he is enjoying have a little brother to rough house with and to share a room with.

Alexander had an appointment with a surgeon at Emery in Atlanta last week. Unlike other doctors, he seemed to genuinely concerned about what was/is best for Alexander. He wants to have an MRI and another audiogram completed before he makes a final decision. Right now he is leaning toward NOT doing a cochlear implant because of Alexander's age. Overall, Alexander is adjusting well. Once again, there are good days and bad days. He loves playing with his siblings. Although he has gotten much better, he sometimes lashes out at Nastya with a punch. Although he is small, those little fist pack a lot of power. Dawn is working on teaching him qued speech and some ESL. He is a quick learner and just blows me away at times.

This fall I will be traveling to southeast Siberia to complete some missions work with orphans. I have a busy itinerary and hope to be able to share some photos when I return. The past month I have been stopping by churches to leave reference material on the ministry in hopes of getting some financial support. Due to the economy, this has been pretty tough. Times are hard on churches and I understand their reluctance to inviting someone in asking for financial assistance. I try to explain that everything I raise goes toward orphan support/relief. Some are polite and explain that they are booked right now and that I should call back in 2012. Right now I am financing all the expense of what we do. That tab is pretty high, but God is good and He provides all that we need. In about six weeks, I will be contacting churches to see if they will collect a Love Offering to go towards purchasing Christmas presents for kids at the orphanages. I set a goal in May to raise $10,000 and I am not going to reduce it. These children are precious to the Lord and I know He will provide for them.

God Bless -

Ministry Update - Getting Ready

The past three weeks have been busy with us trying to get "stuff" organized for our work with OTAN; prayer cards ordered, business cards ordered, brochures ordered and last but not least - a new laptop ordered for use when visiting churches. And as of this afternoon - plane tickets ordered for the October trip. We are excited and looking forward to helping orphans in southeast Siberia. The biggest hurdle I see so far is trying to get my Christian brothers and sisters to understand WE (as in all of us) are biblically obligated to help the orphans in their distress. Some see it as a Russian problem and not "our" problem. Dawn and I have to knock down those invisible boundaries and let them see these kids as we see them. Kids, who through no fault of their own, have no one to tend to their hurts - both emotional and physical. The Hope for Life homes not only provide a loving, Christian home to orphans, but they also help teach young couples what a family is like and how to parent. Right now, we are small, but with God's help we will grow. Please take a moment to click on the link below to learn more.

http://www.hflhomes.com/

God Bless -

Three Years

Today we celebrated that on May 19, 2008, God (and a Russian judge) granted us permission to become parents of Polina, Dima and Nastya. I give God the credit because lets be honest, there is no way it would have happened without Him! First of all, He had to touch the heart of young, naive Christian man (Dawn was hard, but not as hard as I was). I tried to ignore Him and then when I started to listen, I thought I would do things MY way. Don't do that - it doesn't work. Here we were, a five person family living on a income of less than $90,000 in a small three bedroom home. Secondly, we had never had a lot of money just laying around and got by because God provided. Now we were facing expenses of over $50,000. Oh yeah, let me add my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer and Dawn's SUV caught fire and burned up in the middle of it all.

Mom is home now with our Heavenly Father and her mom - looking down on us all. I think she would be pleased with the way things have turned out. Dawn has a big honking, gas guzzling 1999 Suburban 4x4 that we were able to pay cash for. Not fancy, but it runs and hauls 8 people around. As for us, we are doing good. There have been many, many ups and downs. I don't think we have ever written much about the "downs" because you know, with God's help, we got through it all. He died on the cross for my sins and all He asked of me was to be a father to four children without an earthly father. I think I got the easy part no matter what tomorrow brings.

To Polina, Dima and Nastya, thanks for letting me be your dad. I am not perfect and I know I have made mistakes, but never, ever doubt what you mean to me and your mom. No matter what some may say, you are my real kids and I am your real dad.

To Jeremy, Christina and Sarah - this was a big change for our family and I am sure it has been hard on you. You sacrificed a lot and had very little say so in matters. I hope we did our job in explaining why we did what we did and you understood. Thanks for all you have done to help us.

God Bless -

Tony B.

Our Prayer Card Photo

God's New Plan for Us - Explained

Recently I shared with you the tug Dawn and I have on our hearts for the children and people of Russia. This has been something on-going since our first trip in December 2007 and it has just grown and gotten stronger. So, it is not something we are just jumping into. In fact, three years ago I had a business contact that became a dear friend. Butch kidded with me that he wouldn't be surprised if our next step was to be missionaries to Russia. I laughed it off because even then I did not think it would go this far. This gentleman retired in 2009 due to health reasons and I need to call him and let him know he was right.

Moving to Russia is not easy. Immigration laws make a permanent stay darn near impossible. For that reason, Dawn and I started looking at other opportunities. We spoke with our friend Jeff Ballard who works with orphans in southeastern Siberia. Jeff shared his heart for the orphans and people of Siberia - and then he made us an offer. His offer was to assist him and his family with the homes they had established for orphans. I say "homes' - currently there is only one home, but there are plans for a second home. I had planned to visit the current home in 2008 when we were in Russia for court but due to an illness, I was unable to do so. However, since that trip, we have raised money at church each Christmas for those children and for children in the orphanages they visit.

Dawn and I prayed over the matter and I later sent Jeff a note accepting his offer. We applied to Jeff's mission agency and had an interview with them the last week in April. They called us back in the day following the interview and informed us the board had accepted us. One of the happiest days of my life.

Now for the Q&A.

You have a full time job, are you quitting?
No. Since I can not move to Russia, I will continue my job as long as it is available. This will provide income and insurance.

You say you're missionaries now, but you are not moving and you are working a full time job. What are you going to do?
We will visit churches here in the states to raise money for the homes. For now, we will travel to Russia twice per year - once in the spring and once in the fall. Due to expenses (travel is very expensive), Dawn and I plan on rotating on the trips. I'll make one trip and she will make the other. In Russia, we will spend time with the home(s) and working with the locals in their ministry efforts.

Are you going on deputation (raise money for personal support)?
No, not at this time. As long as I have a full time job, I will not visit churches to raise money for personal support. My desire is to devote 100% of my visits to raising support for the homes in Russia. We will absorb the expenses of the work for as long as we can.

This is long, so I will stop here. I just wanted everyone to know what our plans are. We are excited and probably even a little scared. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Family Update

A lot has taken place over the past three weeks so I will try and cover everything!

We had our social worker visit for the final report to Russia on Polina, Dima and Nastya. It was . . . interesting. Nothing bad, just a new social worker. Very young, no children. Here we are, married 23 years and seven children. In the end, I felt a little insulted - but I got over it.

On April 19-20, we had severe storms roll through our area that resulted in an EF3 tornado touching down about 10 miles away and killing three family members and destroying a nearby brick church. That storm produced 30 tornadoes across the state. One week later, a massive storm system rolled through the state producing 23 known tornadoes killing 236 people. At least two EF5 tornadoes touched down. We were in Virginia when the storms hit and it wasn't until we got home that we were able to check on all extended family members. Jeremy was at school in north Alabama and we were able to get him on his cell phone about 10PM that night - then we lost contact for another 24 hours. My only comfort was that I was able to check news reports on damage and learned that there was no significant damage in his area. The storm photos and videos that have been shown in newspapers and on tv really do not give you the magnitude of the destruction. West Birmingham (Pratt City and Pleasant Grove) area just wiped out. The Christian relief efforts going on are truly amazing. Portable food kitchens are scattered throughout the area feeding workers and families. Pick-up trucks are driving through each area handing out water, cleaning supplies and tarps. Church groups are pulling in each day to volunteer. This is what the Christian family is doing. Yes, the government and Red Cross is there handing out tarps, but the Christian church family from across the south has stepped up and they far out number the government.

We returned from Virginia Sunday night and Monday morning I headed north to take fuel and clean clothes to Jeremy. The city of Huntsville had been without power since the storms hit. No power means gas stations can not pump gas. The school's kitchen was open because it was gas fired. Jeremy was fine. I returned to Huntsville yesterday to pack him up for the summer. He has to return in about 10 days for his finals, but it is good to have the whole family at home. The kids have been so excited about having him home for the summer. He is a great role model for his two brothers and I think it is great they will be able to spend some time with him.

More on our trip to Virginia tomorrow...

Easter

Today has been one of those days when I realize how blessed I am and if not for the grace of God I would be lost and condemned. This is a day of reflection for Christians around the world. I am not worthy of the sacrifice made for my sins - it is only by His grace that I am saved. He is risen!

Sunday we leave for our trip to northern Virginia for an interview with a mission agency. We are excited and maybe a tad bit nervous. I met with our pastor this morning to discuss our trip and our ministry plans. It is very refreshing to speak to folks about our plans because we really have not told many people. I even made a call to my boss and gave him notice that he might get a phone call. That was a bit strange, because I was not sure how it would be received. I explained what we were going to do and that it would not interfere with my job as I would be using vacation time to travel. I am blessed to have A LOT of vacation. I have been with the same employer for 23 years. Although they really encourage me to take my vacation, my production goals are the same as someone starting the job today. As a result, I often lose 2-3 weeks per year. My last phone call was to my customer. My customer contacts were incredibly supportive. I am very lucky to have such great contacts with this group. They are my employer's largest customer and have been for about 80 years. If they did not support what I was doing, believe me when I say I would have to find another job.

The social worker came a week ago for our final report to Russia on our first adoption. Boy they seem to be getting so young. Young, no children of her own and she is asking us about how we are raising the children. There was an occaission or two when I just wanted to laugh. She seemed quite shocked that it had been 5 whole months since their last check up.

On a final note, we had some severe weather last weekend here at home. On Wednesday, I got an e-mail from our family in Siberia (the kid's aunt in Pokrovka). She had seen a news report about the tornadoes and fatalities and was worried about us. I never would have imagined she would have heard about it. The tornado hit about 15 miles north of us and killed three people. She was relieved to hear we were all okay.

Please keep us in your prayers -

Tony & Dawn