Friday July 27th 10:40 am Birmingham Airport -Yall Come!!

It's offical, the girls left Kiev at 12:15 PM (4 AM CST)today and should be in Paris just about now. They will arrive in New York at 6:10 PM EST, spend the night and be in Birmingham at 10:40 AM Friday morning.

Anyone who knows my wife knows she will want to see everyone at the airport. We know it is the middle of a work day so we understand, but hey maybe you need a good excuse to give your boss for an early Friday!

Tenative Early Arrival!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lynn, Anna, and Christina are booked on a flight tomorrow out of Kiev at 12:15 pm. There making this flight is totally dependent on the U.S. Embassy providing a Visa at 9:00 am. If this all happens according to plan the girls will spend tomorrow night in New York and fly into Birmingham at 10:40 am Friday morning. When I wake up in the morning I have have confirmation of if they made the flight or not and will immediately put a post out for all of you.

They all would love a welcoming committee at the Birmingham airport so feel free to come! Thank you all for everything you have done. From the grass cutting fairy to the pray warriors and all points in between we are eternally grateful.

Ron.

Seeing the Light

It appears we are in the final steps of beginning our new lives. We know have in our hands Adoption Decree, Birth Certificate, and Passport. Just a trip to the American Embassy to sign immigration documents and medical exam and off to America.

The current flight arrangements are on Sunday the 29th! We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not a train!

Good Morning,

I am here on Sasha's office in kiev on Saturday morning. I was supposed to be on the 11:00 am back to JFK but when Sasha picked me up at the airport he informed I have to go to the American Embassy on Monday.

Chirstina is doing really great, starting to really show her personallity. Yesterday they took me to the airport in Nipro???. It was very tearful, everyone wants to come home and are just plain tired. Anyway, when they got home Christina announced she was going home. The conversation went something like this:

Christina "I go home tomorrow" (and proceeded to pack her suit case)
Lynn " what home?"
Christina "Deddy home"
Lynn "What about your passport?"
Christina (pointing to her face) "this is my passport"
Anna "How will you get there?"
Christina "me speak, Delta, go home"
Anna "How will you find our house?"
Christina "me speak, uncle Geremy, say go home"

This little exchange was much funnier in person but it is so cool for her to begin to reveal who she is to us.

If you are not all too weary and your knees too sore, please pray for the final steps to happen on schedule and that our family will be back together in total next Sunday.

Thank you all for your part in our journey.

Ron

More Miracles!!!!

Hello from Zap, The last few days have not been very busy, so we have used the time to go visit the other kids at camp and today to Dnipro to visit. The kids are doing good. We took them a bunch of food and went back 2 more times for more. They were very hungry because the food is horrible. The beach was actually nice, except for all the speedos, no matter what the body type!! You could pay to ride a huge banana tube behind a boat- we took Christina and some of her friends. It was hilarius. We told her we had that at home, she was excited. Ron and Anna went on the ride, when they flipped, Christina held on and was dragged in the water and almost drowned. There is so much to teach her, even innertube etiquette! When we had to say goodbye to all of her friends it was very sad. They all cried and we told them we would take good care of them. We had been told that it could take 20 days to get a passport, they hadnt seen a crazy american woman that hadnt been home in 7 weeks show her hiney!! Today while we were eating, a woman came in that Christina knew. \It so happened that she was the lady that helped the Slaughters with their paperwork to adopt Tonya, Anya, and Sergey. Christina recognized her and introduced us. And they were talking and our whole passport situation came up, and she became very upset. She banged her fists on our table and said, "NO NO NO, passport 1 DAY!!!!" And of course we were very happy to hear that. So we called Sasha and we have hired her to get Christina's passport for us. She is an attourney that has a document that she can get old passports for kids. This is very good news. This means that when our adoption decree is ready on Tuesday, she can have our passport by Tuesday night. YEA! God is good! We need to go, we love and miss you all. The 5 Gullys.

Pictures

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!! CHRISTINA IS A GULLY!!!!!

Wow! Its official!!!! CHRISTINA IS OFFICIALLY A GULLY!!!!! It happened just a little while ago and we are all SO EXCITED and so thankful!!!!! Nina (our facilitator) was a bit nervous and scared. They asked us alot of questions! Court lasted over an hour. Finally, the judge said there would be no deliberation and he declared the adoption of CHRISTINA LYNN GULLY final!!!!! Everyone was crying! Larissa, Nina...all of us! Larissa had wonderful things to say in court. We are so excited and know that they prayers of all of you were such a huge part of all of this! Spread the word!!!! Love, The Gullys

This is when we need you the most!

Hello everyone!

This is not going to be a long post because my mother cant shut her trap long enough for me to write....haha. Well, and also we are in the internet cafe and there is no air conditioner and it is like the center of the sun outside. Mom looks like she peed in her pants, she is sweating so much! I have had ENOUGH "mom time" for the rest of the year....wait the rest of my life!...haha.

Now, to the serious stuff, it is nineteen and a half hours before i FINALLY have a sister. YEA! We know deep down everything will go ok, but Nina has scared us a bit with her nervousness toward the court, judge, and all of our documents being in order. Everyone back home has been a huge help, but this is the time we need you the most. We have told you all to pray, but we need a army here to lift up the judge to have favor, Denis and Nina to say all the right things, and of couse my parents and Christina to convince the government of this crazy country to allow Christina to become a Gully. Our appointment time is at 10 AM here, and that is 2 AM your time. This is gonna sound insane, but we have to do what we have to do. We would appreciate anyone who is willing, and who has followed our journey and wants to see this amazing girl become part of our family, we ask you this: to set your alarms for 2 AM, and literally get down on your knees and pray for favor from the court. We know from experience that prayer works, and we need your help now. I am not going in the room, but believe me, i will be sitting ourside with my hand on the door for as long as it takes praying for my sister to be in my family forever. Thanks for those who will help us! We love you all. Me and mom!

Hey ya'll, I'm back

Well, here it is a month later and I am still in Ukraine. I have had my ups and downs, because I am so spoiled!! Yes, I said it, I am spoiled!! OMG we take sooo much for granted. I have had to learn to persevere through the hard times, and they are getting less and less. Everyone should go out of the country and experience real Faith.
Christina is coming back from camp today!! I can hardly wait to hug her, she fits so comfortably in my arms. Please pray for her, she is afraid of leaving everything that she has ever known. I have already embarrassed her by talking about her to everyone I meet. She hides behind me, and says momma. Now, she is going to have to get over that.
As you know, we have court on Friday and I get to see Ronny on Thursday. I can hardly wait to fall into his arms. Please pray about court going smoothly and around 12:00 p.m. Christina Lynn Gully being made a part of our family. Nina seems to be a little worried about our paperwork. Please pray for favor from the judge on our case. I met the little man and we got along well. I kissed him and hugged him when he gave us a date on Friday. He asked if I was superstitious of Friday the 13th. I told him no, I believe in prayer!! We exhanged pictures of our children and his grandchildren.
The Kniphers are here and we are so happy to have other americans to talk to. Now Anna has learned alot of Russian and is my translator most of the time. I'm still trying to find a gym with a treaddmill, not high on Ukrainians list. They walk everywhere and so have we.
Please pray about the 10 days being waived, Nina is going to talk to a lawyer about it.
I love everyone and miss you all, I can't wait to see my dog, drive my car, and eat Mexican food. HAHA
Thanks for all your help, support, and prayer and keep the comments coming. I won't name any names but okay friends, I need to hear from you.

Love you all,
Lynn

Lucky Friday the 13th

Great news, we have been granted a court date for Friday the 13th. Yea God!

Praying for a Date

I just spoke to Lynn and Anna, they are doing fine. Lynn is a little under the weather, seems she ate an apple with out peeling it! Word to the wise, don't do this if you are ever in Ukraine.

We hope to hear news either tomorrow or Monday on a court date for our adoption hearing. Lynn and Dennis will be visiting the judge to present out petition to adopt. He could set a date on the spot or he could ask for time to review the petition.

We are all trying not to get too excited until we no a definitive date, but the silver lining is most of the news we are receiving now appears to be positive. Praise God!

What A Ride or Down for the Count, Not!

Well I started this morning at 5:00 am taking the Kniphfer's to the airport. They were excited, nervous, and apprehensive all rolled in to one family package. It seems like a year ago the Gully's felt the same emotions. But hey, you just don't know what to expect when you are on a God adventure. Here is the how today has gone.

5:00 am Wake up call
5:30 am Take the Kniphfer's to the airport
6:00 am Jesse and Ron have breakfast at IHOP
6:15 am Text message from the girls stating they want to come home
6:27 am Phone call girls, they are tired, beaten down and homesick
6:45 am Call to travel agent to book flights
8:17 am On the home phone with travel agent and Lynn on the cell phone
9:30 am Flights confirmed for Thursday July 5th
10:07am text from Lynn to call her
10:09 am On the phone, " we are going to a woman's house to get a piece of paper"
10:27 am Ok so the woman did not have the "the piece of paper it is at some office"
10:32 am text message from Lynn "Dennis just called the office, they have it"
10:44 am The girls are not coming home, "the piece of paper" is a really good thing

You just can't explain it till you live it! The latest news for the Gully's in the pursuit of bringing Christina into our family is this: We now believe Christina's biological mother never registered her (in English, applied for a birth certificate)and the orphanage did. In a weird twist this effectively makes the orphanages her mother and we are now told an extra court appearance is not required. This means I may be headed back to Ukraine soon for the adoption hearing.

Wow this is better than the Goliath roller coaster at Six Flags.

Sincerely,

Cautiously Optimistic (again) Ron.

Sisters and Brothers Under 1 Father

Hey everyone!

Let me just start this off saying our hearts are all very heavy today. We keep hearing bits and pieces of supposed "news" but we dont know who to believe at this point. So far, all we have heard is that Nina ended up not traveling to Kiev with Sasha which is what we thought was the plan, and Sasha hasnt returned any messages because we are pretty sure he is in the meeting with the embassy to try to get Hope's summer program's kids visas approved (so lets not disturb him...) It is hard to trust, but we do understand that this whole process is in God's hands and for some strange reason, we are supposed to be here, and this is God's timing. On a happy note, yesterday morning Mom, Christina, and me all woke up at the crack of dawn to be ready to go to church with Baptist Pastor Nikolai and his wife, Anya and their 2 precious little girls, Tonya and Vala. We were picked up in this huge white van and we met some people on the way there from the church and gave them a ride. It was so mice to be in the presence of Christian people who even though thousands of miles away, still believe exactly what we do. We got to church and they showed up around, it wasnt very big, but they had a kitchen and 2 bible study rooms. The service started at 9 oclock. Of course, all of it was in Russian, but it was still so good to be there. Anya did sit in the pew in front of us and translated some of the service. She is so sweet, we have become pretty good friends. In the middle of the sermon, Nikolai stopped and asked for prayer requests, and then he introduced us, and of course my blabbermouth mother had to say a "few" words. Which by that I mean, this few words turned into a 30 minute speech about our life and church and Christina who by the way was red in the face with embarrassment. But anyway, after the service ended, we were invited for "chai" downstairs in the kitchen. This sweet old lady had prepared not only tea, but a huge lunch for us. She made homemade borsche (which was by the way amazing), and homemade apricot bread and all these little things. It was awesome. We had Anya who helped translate and we got to talk to a lot of the little old ladies and a lot of yound girls who were at the university, it was really fascinting. Then, when everyone was finished, Nikolai asked Mom to pray. Mom prayed and Anya translated. Here is Ukraine, no one is very touchy feely and for whoever knows my mother, you know that she is very over the top in that area. So, she made everyone hold hands, which they do not do here. It was funny. She prayed about a 45 minute prayer which was awesome, but by the time she was finished, me and Christina's arms were about to fall off because we were holding hands across the table while standing up. HAHA. It kinda hurt. But, anyway on the way home from church, Anya told us about this day camp thing they are having this week (Mon-Sun) and it was English lessons in the morning, then kids camp, art camp, sports camp, and at night like a youth concert. She continued to tell us about the whole group of American youth students that had flown in from Texas to lead this camp. We were thrilled and of course wanted to help. Christina took the English class and me and mom just did what we could to help out. It was really cool to meet these people, they were all so sweet, and we also met a lot of American missionaries living in Ukraine. It was a good day. Well, pray that we can keep our heads up and trust that God will get things done, and hopefully QUICKLY so we can come home, we are all 3 ready to be home. Pray, Pray, Pray, that is all we can do. Love to all! Anna,Lynn, and Christina

One Fine Day

Hey friends and family!
How is everything back home? We miss everyone so much! Well, here it is still a Ukranian holiday, so nothing toward the process is being done, but why not enjoy it while were here. Yesterday, Marina took us siteseeing all around Zap. It was really fun! We went and had pizza at our hot spot here, all of the waitresses know us by now and know to bring us an english menu..haha. So we had some salad and pizza and then Marina called a cab to take us to see the dam. It was actually really fascinating. The water levels were so strange, it was really high on one side of the bridge and really low on the other...strange. We walked across this bridge to get a better view to take pictures and the bridge was really shaky from all the cars, everytime one would drive past, it would flinch...scary!!! Next we went on no kidding...probably a 10 mile walk...haha... through this little park where we acted like kids taking pictures with all the little statues and kids toys like there was a Snow White and prince and 7 dwarfs and Christina and Mom acted like they were kissing the prince, we just had a good ol' time! Next, Marina showed us the professional soccer stadium, and some other little things. Then we went to this amazing little cafe for some dessert. And last but not least, we walked all the way to the river. It was awesome, it looked like Gulf Shores or something with sand and umbrellas and people playing in the water. It even had like little tiki restaurants and one big boat that took you out on the river for dinner, it was so cool! We finally got back to the apartment at about 8 and watched How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days in Russian with English subtitles...haha. Well, thats all for now, we are going shopping today! Love to all, Anna

"Come Little Children, Come"

Hey everyone!
We are finally able to get here to the Internet cafe more often. Well, lets start off saying that we got some encouraging news yesterday, which let me say, it is good to hear something good, it was that her mother was officially killed in prison which surprisingly is very good news. Now, our next task is to find the death certificate to present to the judge and hopefully he will let us move on the adoption court and back on schedule. Keep this in your prayers that Nina can find this document and the judge will find favor in our case. We called Sasha and asked him if we could go to all the Ukrainian prisons and try to find it ourselves, which is completely out of the question, but not to my mom. Of course, he laughed in our face, and said thanks, but NO WAY! Today through Sunday id some kind of Ukrainian holiday (it seems like there is a different one each week), we will be celebrating the 4th of July with them. HAHA. Holiday in Ukraine is key word for "Let the Beer Flow!" HAHA! Denis went home to his city for the holiday, which leaves us translatorless. We just called Christina and asked if she wanted to stay at the orphanage or come to Zap. with us tonight. The only kids at the orphanage are the little kids, and the kids that are traveling to Italy. Christina's good friend, Olga is heading there too. They leave tonight at 7, so pray for safe travel for that group. Christina decided she wanted to come here with us. SHE IS STAYING WITH US UNTIL SUNDAY!!! YEAH! Larissa agreed to this.


Yesterday, we went to the orphanage at about 5 and were having a goodbye party for the kids headed to Italy later today. We stopped at Billa, the supermarket close to our apartment, and we got bananas, chips, cookies, CRABSTICKS, and cokes. We had a little party for them and then Christina decided to take us to see the little kids before we left. Let me just start this off by saying Mom has already fallen in love with another one, surprise surprise, her name is Ella and she is 3, which for Dad is completely out of the question. So, our plan was to see Ella, and give her and all the other kids a kiss, hug, and then leave. We were malled by all the children. We made the mistake of sitting on the floor where all the kids started fighting for our laps. They were literally "fighting" for our attention, I am talking full on pushing, shoving, kicking, and hitting just for our attention. I have never seen a child crave love and touches more than these precious children. And not only were they all over us, they were all over us screaming "Mama, Mama," it was heart wrenching! It was literally an ambush! When Christ says "Come to me like little children," we really understand the meaning of this now.When the sick and destitute would cry out to HIM just to get a touch of his robe, it showed us how we should be yearning just for a look, touch, kiss, or even a glance of acknowledgement. I mean these kids were desperate just for some love. Please pray for these precious little children in a place where they have no hope, love, attention, and especially no mommy and daddy! Find a place in your heart to dedicate to these special children.

At 8 tonight our time, that is 12 ct, we will be standing where you can see us on the web cam for whoever misses our faces and wants to see Christina. We will be waving to you then. PRAY PRAY PRAY! We love and miss you all so much! Christina loves and misses everyone too! Love, Anna and Lynn

Good News (Maybe)

It seems when we ask God to increase our faith what he does is create an opportunity to be faithful. As you saw from Lynn and Anna's last post that is exactly where we are.

I just got off the phone with two of my girls (Lynn and Anna)and learned that Nina has confirmed Chirstina's mother passed away while in prison. I mean no disrespect to her mother, but this is good news. If Nina is able to find the prison and obtain a copy of the death certificate it would eliminate the need for the additional court appearance and the extra 10 days.

We know your prayers are being heard and having an impact. Please continue to pray for the efforts of those pressing our adoption forward.

Going ONLY on Faith

Hey everybody!
We finally got to the internet cafe, yes, this is us, Anna and Mom and Christina.
I miss everyone so much. Before I came to Ukraine, I just led the 17 year old normal life, this journey has changed me completely, I am so blessed beyond belief! Seeing the kids everyday is such a blessing, I dreamed of the day I would get to give them all a hug, and now I get to do it everyday, it is amazing! The kids are all great, and we are thrilled to be getting to see the Kniphfers come too and take little precious Sergey home. He is awesome, always smiling through the pain. We are waiting on the court date to go to court for her mother. Nina made a visit to a small village outside on Matveevka to see her granmother, and she said her mother was dead, and I would never wish death on anyone, but in this case, I do. Well, she has been dead as a mother to Christina for 12 years. Me and mom both cried reading all of your comments, we are so thankful for such a great support system back home, trust me I miss it like crazy. I have found it very hard, and I am defintely homesick, but I am sticking it out. Most of the kids left for camp on Monday, so it is just the younger kids, Christina, and a few older ones who are traveling to Italy tommorrow. So, we are about to head out to orphanage right now. Christina just called while sitting in here typing this, and she said for us to stop by the market and bring her crab sticks. All the kids are crazy about these crab sticks. They are like immitation crab in little individual wrappers, and they stink so bad, but they all love them, we bring new packs everyday! It's hilarious. Well, I am gonna let my mom type now, but I love and miss everyone. Please keep praying and pray for us to be able to bring my sister home as soon as possible. I am having such a hard time being away from my best friend, Jessica too. So, if yall see her or talk to her, tell her I love and miss her! Hope to see and hear from yoo all soon.
Anna

Hey friends and family: I was just talking to my sweet husband on the phone, and I will tell you that it is so very hard to not really have any control over anything that goes on. But God reminded me this morning that it is not about me, Anna, or even Christina. It is about Him and only Him, to glorify Him, and to Honor Him, even when we don't know the plans. He also spoke to me that we don't have to have an organized mission trip to spread His word, so we are headed to the orphanage to teach a bible study after this internet time, to make disciples of all nations that only HE gets the glory!! I miss all of you very much and feel your prayers. We are so blessed beyond what we even know. Every where you turn here is beer and cigarettes, even with grannies early in the morning. There is no hope here. I have to share my HOPE. Please pray for favor from the judge and court decisions. We hope to travel home very soon!! Thursday thru Sunday are holidays here, so nothing is being done. Nina is on our side. I believe we have shown her that our word and love is true by being here. Pray for her strength and perserverance. We are headed to the orphanage now to share with whoever wants to hear. I love you all. Thanks for taking care of my boys while I am away!! Love in HIM, Lynn

Encouraging

Today Lynn had lunch with Nina to discuss the progress and process of the next few days. There will be a meeting with a judge tomorrow to review our case and hopefully some decisions will be made. Nina feels if we can get a favorable judge things could move quickly.

Prayer Request:

1. Ask God to guide a judge to us that will view our case favorably.
2. Again, we are receiving encouragement that the 10 days could be waved, need I say more.
3. Ask for these obstacles to be revealed and put aside for those who follow us.
4. Please begin to pray for Christ stirring in Christina's heart.

We love you all,


The Gullys

Updates and Prayer Request

I spoke and saw Lynn, Anna, and Dennis this morning. Yes I said saw, thanks to Chris and Gina Grace we have found a web cam that shows the street in Zap where we spent (and spend) most of our time. They all waved to me while we spoke on the cell phone. Not quite as good as a hug but not bad. I have attempted to post the link to the web cam.

Updates and Prayer Request:
Dennis had another spike in blood pressure this morning and had to go the hospital. I just spoke to him and he seems to be fine, again. Please continue to pray for him.

Yesterday Christina got very upset. Lynn finally figured out she was missing me. Yes I am bragging and loving it.

At the last minute Larissa made a decision to send Christina to camp. We did not want her to go because of what we have heard about the lack of supervision at this camp. Lynn called Sasha, Sasha called Nina, Nina called Larissa and Christina is staying at the orphanage and with her family. Praise God.

Today Nina makes some phone calls to friends that know the judge. We hope they can persuade him to make quick definitive decisions regarding Christina's mother and her parental rights.

Thanks

Well after a seven hour all night car ride, five hour airport wait, 10 hour plane ride, followed by another three hour plane ride, and a final two and a half hour drive home, Jesse and I are in Birmingham. It is a wierd feeling leaving the people that mean the most to you so far away and on their own. But hey, I married wonder woman!


I wanted to thank Valarie for being our personal publisist and deligently keeping the blog updated. I Also wanted to thank each of you who have posted comments, prayed, and just shown interest in our journey. You are all special friends and we are fortuante to have you.

The Children of Matveevka

How do you begin to describe a human being that craves to be loved, an individual who experiences pure joy just from a hug from another human being, or child in spite of dismal surroundings smiles, dances, and simply enjoys life. All I can tell you is that I cannot begin to describe the spirit that drives a human despite the circumstances. These are the children of Matveevka.



To each of you who have given just one of these children the hope, you will not know what you have done until you walk into Matveevka and hold the child that calls you Papa or Momma. You won’t know the desire of a child to love someone and for someone to love them until you look into their eyes. You are the hands, the feet, the arms of Christ.


To each of you who may think I cannot make a difference. You can! There are 100,000 orphans in Ukraine what difference does just one make. There are billions of people in the world yet heaven rejoices each time One comes to know Christ and is adopted into the family of God. One child, one life, one soul, one you.


Each day we go to the orphanage and visit our one, Christina. And each day the hope grows. And each day the walls of emotional protection crack and begin to crumble. And one day soon the hope will turn to belief. And soon the belief will transform to reality.


Reality does not come with out fear. It does not come without questions. As dismal and dark and undesirable as the orphanage may seem to you and me, there is comfort in familiarity. There are friends, there is fun, there is laughter, there is warmth in Matveevka. America is far, America is different, America is big, parents are new, just remember.



Just some thoughts after my visit today.

By: Ron Gully, soon to be father of Christina Lynn Gully

Girls day out at salon

(posted by VH)...Hi everyone! Now that the guys are gone, we girls just HAVE to find something to pass the time! Today is Saturday and we have Christina with us. She spent the night with us last night and we decided today is "Girls Day Out". This is precious time for us together. We just found a salon and decided that we all needed a treat. So me, Anna and Christina are getting facials, pedicures and manicures!!! God is good.... Love, Lynn

Headed back to Kyiv

Right now, we are driving back to Kyiv to take Ron and Jesse to the airport. Today, Sasha and Nina, along with an attorney, attempted to meet with the judge, but he was not longer in his office. They are working hard to help us. They wanted to try to pursuade him to proceed with a declaration that would remove the mother's rights without her signature. However, they will now have to wait until Monday to try to accomplish this. Nina will also try to call and make some contacts that she has that might help them. Even if they do pursuade the judge to come up with the declaration, there still had to be a 10 day wait. So we are looking at a court date around July 15. Ron and Jesse will arrive in Atlanta on Saturday around 7pm.

Graduation was wonderful on Thursday night at Matveevka orphanage. There were fancy gowns, dancing, dramas and the orphanage even made a video. Larissa gave and speech and Nina did as well. Then "the Americanas" were asked to give a speech...so Ron stepped up and did his best!

Christina is allowed to spend the night at the apartment with Lynn and Anna for tonight...and possibly another night as well. Also there is a chance that the pastor Nicoli and his wife Anya, might can come and pick them all up to go to church. This is a pastor and his wife that the Brennans met when they were here.

We appreciate your prayers. Even though we cannot get your messages right now in a timely manner, it will mean alot for us to read them as soon as we get internet connection.

We will post more as we get more information. Be in prayer for Monday. Love, The Gully Family

Another try

At this very moment, Sasha, our main facilitator, is on his way to Zaporizhzhya to discuss our situation with the judge and the orphanage director. Sasha has already had a conversation with the director of Matveevka orphanage. He is trying to get things moving in the right direction for the proceedings. Please pray that Sasha can convince the judge how important it is to be able to press forward and not delay the process anymore and to still possibly get the 10 days waived. We thank you for your prayers. Pray we will be patient in the midst of difficulties and road blocks. Love, The Gullys

Pray for God size miracle

Judge would not make a decision, so the 10 day wait is still happening. Ron and Jesse are coming home during this time so Ron can work. They will plan to return as soon as it is time to proceed. Christina is scared that we are giving up...the uncertainty is so hard for her. Please pray for Christina's heart, for Lynn and Anna's safety while Ron and Jesse are away, and for a God size miracle. We know the Lord is great...that our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever pleases Him...in the heavens and on earth...in the seas and all their depths. We truly want God glorified in all we do. Please pray. Love, The Gullys.

10 day wait not waived

We are waiting for the judge to decree that Christina is available for adoption because she has been in the orphanage for the past 10 years and there has been no contact with the mother. Once he makes that decree, there is a 10 day waiting period before the decree is valid. Ron and Jesse are working on a flight home and then plan to return in time for court. Please pray as details continue to be worked out.

Court did not happen today

We still do not have internet access. This is being posted by VH via text message on phone. We want to keep all of you updated so that you can continue to specifically pray along the way! Thank you for your messages you send to us on this post...it means alot! We miss all of you very much!

Well, today court did not happen as planned. We should know more tomorrow. So today, we had the opportunity to take some of the older girls from the orphanage shopping. Katia (Williams), another Katia, both Dashas, Yulia and Christina. We purchased things for camp - many of them are leaving to go to camps at the Black Sea. We took the girls to McDonalds to eat. They are anxious about tomorrow night. It is graduation, complete with ball gowns! We will tell you all about it - I'm sure we will have many photos to share of the event. For now, continue to pray about each step we take in this adoption journey. Love, The Gully Family

Christina chooses her middle name!

Well, after giving Christina several choices, guess what she wants her middle name to be????? Lynn!!!!! Yes!...Isn't that the sweetest thing ever?!! Of course, I am thrilled that I will have a daughter that shares my name! God is so good! Love you all. Lynn (posted by VH).

We need your prayers tomorrow 1am B'ham time!

Hi everyone! We still have not gotten internet connection, so Valerie Hall is posting this for us. We have many things to share. Our biggest request right now is to ask each of you to PRAY for tomorrow 9am Ukraine time (1 am Birmingham time)!!! At this time, our facilitator, Denis, will be in court on our behalf. He will try to convince the judge to waive the additional 10 days that may be added to our case, due to missing papers on Christina's mother. This has caused a mild set back. Because there are no papers in the file, the judge is hesitant to make a decision regarding this because it would just be a guess. Usually there is a death certificate or papers stating termination of parental rights...but there is nothing on Christina's mother. She has had no contact with her for 10 years. If we have the additional 10 day wait, Ron may have to travel back for work and return for a scheduled court date. Please pray that the judge will allow us to proceed with the adoption based on the fact that there has been no contact and that we can proceed and have the additional 10 days waived. So far, we have not been able to locate Christina's sister. Apparently, she lives in Zaporizhzhya area.

Well, we are all doing fine. Denis is doing well and we really think he had a panic attack. We had dinner with him tonight. We spent time at the orphanage again today. We continue to have wonderful visits with the orphan children of Matveevka orphanage. They are all precious and are so hungry for people to reach out and love them. Each of you that have invested your lives in the orphan children, have brought hope into their lives. You have truly become the feet and hands of Jesus as we all love these children. If you think you can't make a difference in the life of an orphan child, think differently...you can.

Tomorrow at 11:30, we will be meeting Christina, Katia and Petro, another girl named Katia, Dasha (Hartsock), Dasha (Underwood), Dasha (Grace) and Yulia to go to McDonalds. We will look forward to this time with each of them and will hug on them for all of you.

Also, a note regarding cell phones. Larissa found out about the cell phones and said that she does not want the children to have them. She feels that they need to be a reward to the children for good behavior and she should be the one to decide. So Larissa has said that any of you can call the office of the orphanage and request to talk to the children, but no more cell phones. She has said that only Christina is allowed to have a cell phone (go figure!).

Thursday, Matveevka will have graduation ceremony for those finishing at the orphanage, including Christina. There will be dancing and celebration. We will take pictures and video. It will be a special time, but I'm sure a bit of a sad time for those who are graduating and have no idea of their future. Please say a special prayer for the orphans that graduate out of the orphanages and have such uncertainty.

Well, we have much to say about each of the precious children that so many of you know. Here are some of the things we want to convey: Little Sergey (Knipher): He has such spirit. He has the fortitude of Muhammad Ali and his body is so frail. He longs to belong and thinks about the Kniphers everyday. He feels he is already a part of their family. Petro (Williams): Petro is not in a shell...he is quite comfortable with himself and smiles. Katia is slowly emerging from her shell...she's starting to initiate interactions with us which is promising. Its like the layers are peeling back as she continues to observe all that is going on. Dasha (Grace): She has gotten to talk to Gina. Dasha has matured alot emotionally. She is a blossoming young lady with a tender heart. Avraam and Zoya are doing great and come around alot...Avraam more so than Zoya. English-speaking Sergey is having a blast playing with Jesse. He is quite the artist and has displayed his talents through the pen to Jesse's skin as tattoo artwork. Larissa keeps having Jesse wash it off! Sergey B: We have not seen much of him. He doesn't come around much at all. Max and Anastasia are not around and we have also not seen Nastia, from this last summer. Masha was sent to Italy, but we did get to see her for about 12 hours. She seems to understand that we will one day come back for her. Yulia (from last summer): Her hair is purple now! She is a delight and has enjoyed spending time with all of us. We say Yana (student) and she really wants Jenn Smith to call her on the telephone. Yana seems to be doing ok.

By the way, if you call our cell phone, STOP APOLOGIZING THAT YOU ARE CALLING! The kids LOVE it and they sit and wait for phone calls from all of you. It is such a treat to them. Please call and let them hear your voice.

We were able to sit down with Denis and have a great, deep conversation with Yulia, Katia (Williams) and Christina. We asked them what they thought a family was. We had the opportunity to tell them that a family loves you no matter what...whether someone makes a good decision or a bad decision or acts a certain way. We told them how God loves us unconditionally and that is how a family loves. Yulia and Christina teared up. Katia was in deep thought. It was a good time spent with the girls.

Thank you in advance for your prayers about tomorrow morning. We do not know what to expect, but we serve a God who has this all in His hands. We ask for mercy, wisdom, patience, and clarity. This is a beautiful picture watching Christina slowly see these steps unfold before her as she observes us and realizes this is all coming true. God is so good. We will update as soon as we can. Love, the Gully family

Anticipating Visit with Christina's Sister

Today was another good day visiting with children at the orphanage. Thank you to so many of you that called in to talk to them. They enjoy that so much! We are thankful for the continued relationships with so many of these wonderful orphan children that God has brought into our lives. Tomorrow, we hope to meet Christina's sister to get approval. Please pray. Also, the lawyer will come and observe Christina with us. She will also get her blood taken. Her passport photo will be taken and be sent to Sasha in Kyiv. Thank you for your continued prayers. Love, The Gullys

Resting in Hotel Ukraine in Zaporizhzhya

Hi everyone. We are safe in Zaporizhzhya and resting after a full day visiting at Matveevka orphanage. We were able to see so many of the kids we know that have traveled to Alabama. It was great. We gave hugs to all of them from everyone. We will go back tomorrow and visit from 12-5pm, so if anyone wants to call our cell phone to talk to kids, feel free to do so. The number is 011380673921930. You can text us on it too. We have tons of great pictures to post whenever we are able to get to the internet cafe to do so. We know you will enjoy seeing them. PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR FACILITATOR DENIS. Today, he said he felt like he was having a heart attack. He layed down in a room at the orphanage until he felt better - we think it may have been an anxiety attack, but he was worried because his father died of a heart attack. So please pray that God will comfort and calm Denis. He is doing a great job. Also PLEASE PRAY as we continue to put the pieces of the puzzle together on Christina. Please pray that all paperwork on her will be sufficient for us to continue the adoption process. There is nothing in the files on her mother - her father died. Also, PLEASE PRAY FOR CHRISTINA that God will give her comfort. She is scared and we explained that we are scared too. She has anticipated this for so many years...please pray that she will be calmed and comforted and that we can love her with the love of Christ. He has wonderful plans for her life. Ok, we will try to post photos too. Thanks for your prayers. Love, The Gully family

We received it!!

We just received our 3 inch bundle of papers that is our referral for Christina. What an experience. Sasha is a mess, and believe me I tried everything to get Masha now, but the SDA is working on this for me. They think that we are a great family. We have them fooled. By now, we know everyone at TGIF and love all the english speaking waitresses. We are leaving in about 5 hours to drive to Zap, no train bathrooms, thank God. I miss everyone and so far this is a breeze!! God is soooo Good!! Love you all, Lynn

More Pictures in Kiev

The Internet Cafe
Me and Mom at the cafe

Hotel Ukraine
Dad and Jesse being crazy.
I like this picture of Jesse.

Downtown Kiev
Jesse in our flat.
Me and Mom

Just Waiting

Hello everyone,

I want to publicly thank Anna our awesome 17 year old for doing such an outstanding job of keeping the blog up to date.

As you know our visit with the SDA (for the Ukranian noviest, that is the govt agency that says yes or no) went very well. We had the government official read the entire form on Chrisitina's family. Her father was born in 1951 and died in 2004, no information on her mother, and she has a 19 year old sister somewhere.

We have seen everything in Kiev within walking distance and are getting very anxious to get to Zaporizhzhya and see Christina. We have spoken to her on the phone several times and she really seems excited. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow.

Our plan today was to go to orphanage 21 and visit many of the children that had come to the Hope for Orphans of the World program. At first we were told we could come, so we went and bought Alla (the director) some flowers while Ben Robinson (a facilitator) got us a driver. When we showed up at the car, Sasha (our facilitator) was there. Sasha called Alla once more and we were told we could not come. We were incredibly disappointed. My apologies to everyone who wanted us to deliver hugs and kisses to the children there.

Thank you all for tracking our journey and for caring for the children of Ukraine.
Ron.

Smooth Sailing So Far.

Hello everyone.
We are still in beautiful, crowded Kiev. Our appointment was today. Everything went great, we are approved for the adoption of Christina. Mom also asked about Masha's situation and they are going to look into the situation and give us information about her paperwork and hopefully time when she will be avaliable for adoption tommorrow. At the same time, we will get our referral tommorrow night between 5-6 which will cause us to stay in Kiev a couple more nights. Our plans as of now are a visit to Orphanage 21 tommorrow afternoon to visit Sergey K. and the other kids we know there, and then get up at 5 in the morning on Friday and drive to Matveevka where we will be able to see the kids that evening. So, hopefully I will be able to find an internet connection in Zaporizhyzhya to post and add pictures of the kids. Love to all, and thanks for all the comments of encouragement, it is nice to hear some English. HAHA.
Love, The Gully's

Pictures

The monkey in Independence Square that jumped on Dad for his Coke

The statue in Independence Square

We didnt have a hair dryer...bad hair day.

Mom on the plane

Jesse and Mom on the flight to Milan, Italy

Independence Square in Kiev, Ukraine

Dad on the plane

Mom sleeping in the airport

Jesse and Dad on the plane

Me and Mom on the plane to New York

Jesse sleeping in the airport in Milan

Me at the aiport

Mom and Dad at the airport

We are FINALLY here!

Hey everyone!
Let me just say since our last post we have been through a ton of changes, and lots of negative thoughts if "will we ever get there?"
We were supposed to fly the direct flight from New York to Kiev, and after a 3 hour delay on our flight from Atlanta to New York, we missed our direct flight to Kiev, so we thought we would just spend the night in New York and catch the same flight the next day, but they had already rebooked us on an overnight flight to Milan and a connection flight with a 2 hour layover (which is not enough) so Mom and me thought we were being smart and decided to try to keep it a one day of travel instead 2 or 3 so we flew to Milan and we boarded the plane and there was a 2 hour delay on the runway due to Air Traffic Control. So, we got to the airport in Milan after a very interesting flight with me, Mom, and Jesse crammed in 3 middle seats, i'll spare you the details but let me just say I am glad that's over with. We ran to the Delta counter to try to make our next flight and of course we had missed it due to our delay. So we were rebooked on the evening flight which meant 8 hours of sitting around at the Milan airport. We couldn't even feel it, we were so numb from exhaustion, which let me tell you led to much frustration. We all got a good nap in the airport which cut back about 2 hours, but the other 6, I have no idea what we did at this point. So finally , 8 oclock rolled around and we were in line to board our flight to Kiev, and since the Gully family isn't allowed to fly without a delay, there was a 20 minute delay, but we got on and took off. After the 3 hour flight, we landed in Kiev, and atleast I felt like a big weight was lifted off my shoulders and we were finally here. But then, they couldnt let us off the plane because it was 2 oclock in the morning and there was no airport staff to plug in the electricity to the plane so they could open the door and let us off. So , after another 25-30 minutes, they killed the engine and we got our luggage and got off the plane in pitch dark. Let me just say it has been an experience! But, we are here now, o yea and one more thing we lost all of our luggage and just got it today. Last night, well this morning really because of the time of our arrival, Ben and Sasha, 2 or the people who are helping us with our adoption, met us at the airport, helped us fill out lost luggage information, and took us to our flat. It is right in the middle of downtown Kiev. It is really nice, it has 2 bedrooms and a den and bathroom, and it also has some shared area tha.t we share with 2 other really nice families who we have already TRIED to communicate with and they are really nice and helpful. Today, we ate luch at T.G.I Fridays and walked down to Independence Square where we had people trying to throw monkeys and birds on us for us to pay them for a picture with the animal, it was quite hilarious. We just got to the flat again and our luggage was just delivered, so if you sent gifts with us, they are with us now and will get to the kids. We did get to talk to Christina today and she is screaming with excitement when we told her we were in Kiev. We will probably leave very early Friday morning and drive to Zaporizhyzhya, and get to the orphange that night. We do have a cell phone here and we bought 300 minutes a little while ago, the number is 380673921930, it is free for us but not for you, and remember there is an 8 hour time difference. We love you all and will write again soon. Anna

The Big Day

It is about 10:30 here, we are staying in the Red Roof Inn, its not very nice, but it is close to the ariport and is letting us park our car here for the whole trip for free instead of leaving it in the airpot parking deck. We will get up at about 8 and leave the hotel at 9 and ride the shuttle to the airport, and check in and go through security and all that and then we board at 12 and the flight leaves at 12:48. We get to NY at 3:30 and supposedly will be running through the airport to board the flight to Kiev at 4:25, so pray that we make it on time! Ben will pick us up and the airport and Kiev and take us to where we are staying. Pray for safe travel, to prepare Christina's heart for what is about to happen in her life, and that we can all bond as a family. Our SDA appointment is Wednesday, June 13, so we will write again soon.
Love to all, Anna.

I Can't Believe It's Almost Here!

We leave to go adopt my sister in 6 days, can you believe it, I CAN'T! I remember when we got our court date and I thought it would never get here, and it is just right around the corner, time has flown by! I have so much to get done, and I am so excited but really nervous at the same time. Today in church, my amazing RBF and teachers prayed over me for my family's safety and for our hearts and Christina's heart to be prepared to be thrown completely out of our comfort zones and into a world of change and love. I know that God is already at work in our hearts preparing us to be a family, and I cant wait to see it revealed in our lifes. I just want to say thank you for everyone who has been a support system through this tough time of waiting and thinking it was never going to happen, you all were so encouraging! I, personally have to say thanks a million to 4 amazing people who I would not be as strong spiratually if they werent part of my life. Those people are my RBF leaders who I can also call my friends, mentors, and pretty much a 2nd mother for the last 3 years. Christy, Cindy, Robin, and Kim, I appreciate all your prayers and encouragement through all this. You have changed my life and taught me more than anyone and I am so thankful! I will miss all of you so much! And one more thing, Jessica, you have been the best friend I could ever ask for. This journey would have been ten times harder if I didnt have you to cry, talk, and laugh to. I love you to pieces and I will miss you. Thanks for all the prayers, keep em' coming! In Him, Anna.

Welcome

Many of you know these two beautiful young ladies, but for those of you who don't, meet Christina and Masha. Christina is 15 and Masha is 11 and we met them both through Hope for Orphans of the World in Birmingham, Alabama.

We have been pursuing Masha for nearly two years and it appears that journey will continue for a while longer. But for the immediate we leave soon to bring Christina home.

Thank you to all our friends who have prayed, cried, and encouraged! The day has finally come to bring Christina home. We will leave on June 10th at 12:32 from Atalanta and arrive in Kieve at 9:00 June 11th. We get one day to rest before we meet with the National Adoption Center in Kiev.