Prayer Request for Hope

As our date to bring Hope home from Russia has moved up and we now know that she has been born (based on our timeline and preferences stated in our dossier, she is at least two months old now), we feel that it is more important than ever that we pray very specifically for her while she waits for us in her orphanage. In Russia, children typically arrive at the orphanages from hospitals not long after they are born. 70% are physically or mentally delayed. Most have mild or moderate issues. The downside for these children is that their issues get ignored or overlooked because they are subtle or harder to identify. Children who lack sufficient human touch and interaction as infants, often fail to have healthy emotional and cognitive development. Usually in orphanages, the caregiver to child ratio is high, so the necessary one-to-one attention needed for proper development is absent.

With this in mind, we sat down this weekend and brainstormed some very specific prayer needs to send out and ask you to pray. We know that statistics are statistics, but with prayer, we can make a difference in Hope's life even before she comes home to us. Please consider the following specific prayer needs when you pray for Hope:

* Pray that she has the necessary sensory rich and emotionally nurturing
experiences to help create healthy connections in her brain

* Pray that she is held and talked to by a loving caregiver each and
every day

* Pray that she is responded to and picked up when she cries

* Pray that a loving caregiver holds her when she takes her bottle
(versus propping it up in her crib)

* Pray that her spirit is ministered to and that she senses the presence
of God in her life

* Pray that she is not being neglected or mistreated in any way

* Pray for protection over her body and her heart (emotions)

* Pray that she has the right nutrition so her body can grow healthy
and strong

* Pray that she would not suffer from depression as many children,
even infants, in orphanages do

* Pray that she would not develop sensory or attachment disorders or
any other disorder common among children who have lived in orphanages

* Pray that her surroundings are peaceful and that she feels safe, warm
and comforted in her current environment

* Pray for the healing of any negative or traumatic memories she may
carry with her from the womb to the present

* Pray for her dreams, that God would speak to her and show her the
plans He has for her -- perhaps even that she could see our faces
or her new room in her dreams before she arrives

* Pray that she would know that she is loved and wanted

* Pray for her caregivers so that they would be able to meet her
needs and the needs of all of the babies in their care

* Pray for encouragement for all of the workers in her orphanage as
many get depressed and emotionally exhausted from their work

* Pray that her orphanage would have all the funding and supplies
that it needs

* Pray for her birth family (if they are still living), for comfort
In their grief and peace in knowing she will have a loving home

* Pray that, as her adoptive parents, we would know how to love her,
respond to her and meet her needs

* Pray that God would provide the finances for the rest of our
adoption fees/expenses and for our travel this summer

* Pray that He would prepare each person in our immediate and extended
family to receive, accept and love her as one of our own

These were just the first things that came to mind as we sat down and thought about how to pray. We covet your prayers and will keep you updated as we get closer to the date that we will travel. As of right now, it looks to be sometime between July and September. In the meantime, we are working with our social worker to update our home study and complete the required updates to our dossier before our first trip. Please pray that we would have the focus and energy for all of the work that still needs to be done.

Thank you for your ongoing love, support, encouragement and especially your prayers! They mean the world to us!!