Out of the ashes, beauty will rise

A year ago, my husband and I were on a plane to China to adopt our beautiful baby girl, Xue Hua. Her Chinese names literally mean “snow/purity” and “beauty.” As I passed the time on the seemingly never-ending flight across the world, I listened to a beautiful song that Steven Curtis Chapman wrote after he lost his own adopted daughter from China in a tragic accident.

But very deep beneath all our broken dreams
We have this hope...
Out of these ashes, beauty will rise
And we'll dance among the ruins
We will see with our own eyes
Out of these ashes, beauty will rise
For we know, joy is coming in the morning.

It will take our breath away
To see the beauty that's been made
Out of the ashes, out of the ashes

Out of these ashes, beauty will rise

Over the last five years, my husband and I have experienced a great deal of loss and heartache. Adoption had always been part of our plan. But the timing of it came much sooner than we anticipated. Xue Hua, now named Virginia Grace Xue, brought a healing and love to our hearts that surpassed our expectations and dreams. Had we known the “Pure Beauty” that would arise from the ruins, we would've cried tears of both grief AND joy.

In the midst of challenging circumstances, devastation and desertion can seem overwhelming. From the tragic damage and loss in Japan to the heart-wrenching statistic of 147 million orphans, it’s easy to sink into discouragement. It’s hard to escape the feeling that there’s nothing we can possibly do to make a significant difference in the world. But the great news is that we don’t have to bear the burden of transforming the world on our own. Working out His intricate plans, God is bringing restoration in the ruins. He’s strengthening communities through their grief. He is raising up families to adopt and advocates for orphan care. God invites us to be part of His redeeming work. And we will not see all the results of His glorious design on this earth. But as we one day praise God in His heavenly courts, I believe we’ll be celebrating in revelation and awe.

This very day, a mother in China could be tearfully placing her baby on a public bench as a sacrifice of love. An orphan or foster child might be crying tears of loneliness and despair as he mourns the loss of his family. A couple may be holding onto each other in frustration and deep longing as they confront infertility or miscarriage. I pray that they will one day recognize the beauty that rises from ashes. Anything laid at the feet of God will not go unredeemed. Hold onto this hope as God continues to write your story.

Kelley Brown
Executive (Un)adopted Coordinator

Trust

I’m new to blogging. I’m new to Lifeline. I’m a bookkeeper. I know what you are thinking…."What is this girl going to write about if she hangs around numbers all day?” I’m glad you asked…

Trust.

What a concept but one that I am learning about.

Lack of trust presents itself in many unfortunate ways. Some of which I’m certain can be seen in my life.

To trust God is to release control. Is that hard for anyone else?

Being that I am a bookkeeper, I am predestined to struggle with control. Ha.

What I feel like God is trying to teach me is that I don’t have to put the pressure on myself. To feel that I have control of things because of my own doing is empty. It is wasteful. It isn’t life-giving.

Transition is hard and it takes time. Why is it hard to give grace to everyone but ourselves sometimes?

How does this relate to adoption?

Great question.

It’s all about perspective.Whatever your situation, the act of trusting God is always necessary and yet one of our biggest struggles.

We want to know His thoughts.

We want to know His plans.

We don’t want to be left out of His mission to bring all peoples to Himself.

We want control of our lives.

We want to tell Him what we think He should do.

Trust.

We always end up here because we will never have all the answers. We’re human.

I feel like God is constantly saying, “Please trust me. Please. I promise I have your back. I promise I know your heart.”

God, thank you for your patience and grace.

Thank you for giving the people around us grace to handle us when we try to seek control.

We love you, God.

Thanks for loving us despite ourselves and our need for control.

Please grant humility and trust.

Lauri Mehaffey
Bookkeeper

Prayers

I am constantly amazed at how God answers prayer, even though He gives us every assurance in His Word that He will answer prayers, according to His will. However, He is gracious enough to place a desire for His will on our hearts, so that we are praying for the very thing that He has planned.

The Lifeline staff witnesses this every day as the Lord brings answers to prayers. Prayers for the sick, the orphans, children in foster care, children experiencing a dissolved adoption, the childless couple.

We just celebrated the Lord’s gift of our new office building. After a long delay from the Lord, He brought us to the right place at the right time. He built into the location things that we could not have anticipated. One example is that the Mayor of the City of Hoover is the former DHR commissioner! He understands the needs of the children we care for and expressed his support of our ministry with his presence at our Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at our Open House! So in retrospect, we thank the Lord for his delay in bringing about our new office building.

Lea Anne Parker
Senior Supervisor of Social Services

Divine Plan

I am new to Lifeline. My name is Maegan Schwindling and I work in the Central Alabama area. I wanted to take a minute and share how I became involved with Lifeline and adoption. Several years ago before I even graduated high school, I was very involved at a church in Decatur, Alabama. I was discipled weekly by my youth minister’s wife, Melissa. One day, Melissa shared with me that she and Gabe would be traveling to the Ukraine to adopt a young boy. Initially, this idea was very foreign to me. Gabe and Melissa traveled several months later and came home with two boys, Steven and Thomas. Over the next several months after they returned home, it was so neat to see how the boys adapted and became apart of a forever family. After Gabe and Melissa adopted, my friend Paige decided to travel to China to adopt. Paige and Brandon adopted a young girl named Grace. Grace quickly became apart of our family. Her grandparents lived several hours away so my parents became like grandparents to her. She can still to this day get anything she wants from my mother . In both of these cases, these children were quiet, timid, withdrawn, and scared when they arrived in America. Yet, over the years God has allowed them to become their own little people and to develop true personalities. It is hard to believe that the little Grace who didn’t speak when we first met is the same person who did not stop talking at our recent dinner. God has divine plans for children all over the world. He knew that Steven, Thomas, and Grace would be exactly where they are…that was His plan from the beginning. God has called me to be apart of the process to help other children come home to the parents God has for them here in America. Recently, I was in church and a soloist sang “Orphans of God” this precious song always brings tears to my eyes as I think about the divine plan he has for each of our lives. The song states several times that “there are no orphans of God”. Nothing surprises Him, He knows when we will have pain, happiness, suffering, and joy. The number of orphans here in America and oversees can be overwhelming to comprehend. I have to think of Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you declared the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”. This verse is meant for every person that the Lord created, and it does not exclude orphans. God has a supernatural plan that we will never comprehend. We are simply called to have faith! God is using Lifeline in a supernatural way, and I pray that he will continue to allow us to be a catalyst to join orphans with forever families.

Maegan Schwindling
Central Alabama Case Worker

What is on your mind today?

What thoughts fill your mind? If the word anxious comes to mind, you are not alone!
What is it exactly that gives growth to this awful feeling of anxiety? Is it simply our circumstances, or lack of control, or the presence of uncertainties? God tells us that it is because of our “little faith” (Matthew 6:30).
We all face attacks on our faith. David says “When I am afraid, I put my trust in thee” (Psalm 56:3). Notice he does not say “I never struggle with fear”. Even more, 1 Peter says “Cast all your anxieties on Him, for He cares about you”. Notice again that it does not say you will never feel any anxieties, but when you do, cast them on God.
For orphans we know that will soon be brought into a family, do we not desire for them to have steadfast peace and hope of soon being declared a son/daughter? Do we not wish to see these children rest in the fact that they are loved and being sought after? Indeed we do!
How much more does God desire for us to rest in His love and promises? He created us, and He demonstrated His love towards us while we were sinful, hopeless orphans, by giving up His Son for us so that we might be brought into His family! He has made a way for us to become His children and He has promised to come to us once more to finally bring us home.
Today I want to encourage myself and you to fight to rest. Our minds are a place of spiritual warfare and we are called to “fight the good fight of faith”. With the power of God’s Word and His very Spirit, we can defend against the attacks of unbelief.
In the story described in Mark 9:14-29, we see that the fight for faith is not just for the sake of our relationship with our Heavenly Father, but for the sake of others that God wants to make Himself known to. God wants to glorify Himself and expand His kingdom through us (such a wonderful thought!). He does these things through our good works-which are fueled by our faith in Him!
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” –Matthew 6:33

Lori Hereford
International Social Worker

A calling like his

He knew his calling. He KNEW his Savior. He fought the GOOD fight.

Galatians 2:7-8
"On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews."

Romans 15:20
"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation."

Paul knew his place in the Body of Christ and he walked boldly with great passion and deep humility toward his mission to take the gospel to the Gentiles.I look around me in awe, as I see each part of the Body set apart for a specific purpose. Each one with their own gifts, convictions, and graces, but all united as one Body.

I am increasingly thankful to learn a little more each day of my place in the Body of Christ. To truly see and believe that I am part of one body, one Spirit, called to one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (…Ephesians 4:4-7)

Are you part of this glorious Body that is His? If so, are you being obedient to his purpose - walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called? (Ephesians 4:1)

Go boldly in the direction He is guiding you and gifting you towards. Be confident in this One Hope and give everything you have. You have the very power of God, the Holy Spirit, dwelling within you. Walk forward, He will make a way to fulfill His purpose, and you get to be part of this Glory. Thank you Jesus, our Savior.

Krisha Yanko
Development and Marketing Coordinator

God is everything that is good...

God is everything that is good, and right, and true.
He is Love, and is all that love is.
He is holy.
He is wholeness.
His heart is deliverance and restoration.
He is committed to the unchangeable character of his purposes.
These attributes stand alone. Even if there were no evidence around us of these things, this is who God is.

And among other things I’m sure, this is what He says to His Beloved, to our achy places, our unknowns, our concerns, and our questions:
I am your Maker-Creator. I set you in motion, and have plans for you that you cannot even begin to ask for or imagine, according to the purposes in my heart.
When it seems in your circumstance that you cannot find the evidence of this reality, let your belief and trust rise up in the face of who I am.
Let my character be what you hold all things up to, “knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
And hope does not put you to shame (it does not disappoint),
Because my love has been poured into your heart through the Holy Spirit who has been given to you.”
I have sealed you with a guarantee and a guide into your inheritance!
“You who have fled for refuge have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before you. You have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on your behalf…”
“For I who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ have shone in your hearts to give the light of the knowledge of my glory in the face of Jesus Christ.”

In his face, there is no other reality.
He is the only reality for you.
In his eyes, there is assurance.
There is hope.
In him, there is the tangible promise that I am committed to your good and my glory, and that I will absolutely go to whatever lengths necessary to see this through for you and in you.
In my Son, is your identity. For you have exchanged your life for his. As you surrender to this, I show you who you really are in him.
In Christ, is your new reality. For you have exchanged the false reality for a new one, for riches beyond measure. You are now a part of that reality, that family, that Kingdom.
Seek Me and seek my Kingdom above all, and all else will be added; still yourselves in the midst of your circumstance and give room for yourselves to know me there and to acknowledge my presence… this is where perspective and alignment come and give way to the discovery of what I am doing and will do.
I love you.
I am for you.
Press into me, and believe me for this.
I am here.
And I am intricately involved…

Father, I pray that we would be still. Stir up our belief and trust in you, that our communion with you, would give way to the alignment that You are taking us from grace to grace, glory to glory… that we may know You and walk with You into the good gifts and the promises that You have. And that this assurance, this reality would draw others into You.
May we give thanks in all things. God, we love You back…

Kara Leigh Prichard
Birthmother Counselor

He Knows His Plans…

As an adolescent I was drawn to mission work. I dreamed and prayed for an opportunity to go overseas on a mission trip. My heart always longed for Russia, but God closed that door for me, and gave me something greater. In the summer of 1998 I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I traveled to Ukraine, to a little city 50 miles from Chernobyl called Chernihiv. I had the opportunity to live in an orphanage for an entire month. God revealed to me His love and mercy and His desire for us to care for the orphans. These precious children were looking for love and acceptance; they too had dreams. They dreamed to have a family that would take care of them and love them. It seems to us, those who have been loved and cared for by a family, as an unfamiliar dream, but this was their only dream and desire. These children would light up with just the mention of Jesus; they knew that He created them and loved them and has a plan for them. The very mention of His name brought hope to those little faces. This very experience created a passion within me to become involved in an orphan care ministry. As I moved on in life I wondered if and when God would ever give me the desire of my heart. As a staff member with Lifeline I now have been given the desire of my heart. I have the privilege to see God at work through our orphan care ministry all over the world, and see the light of Jesus in these precious children and the families who love and care for them. I know one day I will return to Ukraine and see those precious children again. This verse was given to me while in Ukraine in the summer of 1998. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”(Jeremiah 29:11) This is one of the key verses Lifeline uses. When I heard this I knew God had me exactly where He wanted me. I encourage you to seek God with all your heart for your dreams and desires, so you too can have the desires God wants for you.

Serving Him Gladly,

Joanna L. Turner
Birth Mother Counselor

You Can't Miss Out

I’m so thankful for Dave Wood’s recent entry. I’m thankful for hearing the big picture about our country- though sad- and yet, also hearing about hope because the Lord is working in His people (as He will continue to do until the end) - but especially in the area of loving orphans. He is such a kind, gentle and strong Father.

I have worked over these past 8 years with women, mostly single, as they consider future plans for themselves and their child(ren). I want them to know what I have had to be reminded of way too often:

1) I will not miss out on God’s perfect, good, and pleasing will. At the same time, I have responsibility. I’m commanded to seek the Lord and His kingdom first (Matt. 6:33) and then “all these things” will be given us. I’m commanded to love Him with ALL my heart, mind, soul, and strength (Matt. 22:37-40). I’m told if I draw near to Him, He will draw near to me (James 4:7-8) and to not be double minded (have my mind/heart in the Lord AND….). (We cannot serve two masters -Matthew 6:24) I’m told that if I delight myself in the Lord, He will give me the desires of my heart (because my delight is in Him). I’m told if I don’t conform to the world, but am transformed and renew my mind, I will KNOW His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Rom. 12:2). He is a good Father and knows how to give good gifts to His children- and knows what gifts are best (Matt. 7:11) When I really take the time to do less and sit in His presence, to tell Him what’s on my heart, to read truth and dwell on it, to tell Him how awesome He is (and He is regardless of what’s happening in my life), to express thanks to Him, and to pray for the saints & those who don’t know Him, I am most at peace. I see Him move. I feel content. He fulfills these promises to draw near to me, to give me the desire of my heart. I am called to trust in truth even when it doesn’t look good around me or I’m hurting. Faith does not disappoint. I’d love for the women we work with to know this in the depth of their hearts and (as I need to) sit and walk in it.

2) Been reading through a book Captivating. It’s for women, though all could learn from it. It shares how women reflect a part of the Lord in that He wants to be pursued by us (not that He needs us, mind you), but He is a relational God and delights in relating with us (for some strange but great reason). One of the bottom lines for why women do some of the things they do to seek attention is to know “am I lovely?” Wow. What a question. As those made in His image, I’d say we all reflect the beauty and loveliness of God in some way. However, in Him, through the blood, through how He’s made us- we are lovely. The more we grow in Him, the more we reflect Him and are lovelier. We can’t be prideful about it as He is the ultimate lovely One, and we are just poor reflections of Him. But, the truth is, no one, no thing, no anything besides Him truly makes us lovely. Oh, that our women would know that they can truly be lovely –especially before our perfect Father, Brother, Friend, Lover who delights in His children.

And when we rest in these truths (and get rid of the sin that so easily entangles, keeping our eyes on Him), we are better for ourselves- AND- those around us- spouses, family, friends, children, orphans, saints, unbelievers. We follow His command to love our “neighbor” as ourselves. We can be confident in Him and His perfect plan and then love more completely and wholly because we trust, we sit in truth; we know He’s working it out for our (moral) good. He’s got us.

Gina Linden
Birthmother Counselor

Thoughts from a Mother in Waiting

My wife recently posted on her blog her thoughts about our child who we are anxiously waiting to meet. I believe that these thoughts resonate with many of the parents who are eagerly awaiting the day that they will hold their child in their arms.

I am really thinking about the baby we will adopt tonight....well, all the time and just writing about a sample of my thoughts tonight in our quiet home while my boys breathe deep, slow sleeping breaths. I wonder...

Will it be a boy or a girl?
Will it be more than one?
How old will he/she/they be?
When will we see him for the first time?
What will his given name be?
What will we name him?
What will his story be?
Will he be crying at night in the orphanage?
Does he have siblings?
What is his birth mama thinking and feeling?
Has he been conceived?
Where will he be born?
What will be the day that I hold him for the first time?
Will my eyes ever dry in thinking and praying for this precious child?
What will the 24+ hour flight to and from Uganda be like?
What will we do while we're in Uganda?
What will my boys think about a foreign country?
What will it feel like to have baby home at last?
What will his/her birthday be?
What will we do for their birthday party?
Will I ever stop staring at my children...all of them?
Will this overwhelming sense of gratitude for being on this journey ever cease...I hope not.

I don't have any answers for my questions, hopes, dreams....I imagine many different scenarios, faces, paths. And for those I am deeply thankful. The greatest gift of all right now...


"My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:15-16)


And my response...

"How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!" (Psalm 139:17)


He knows. He cares.

Post by Daniel Taylor
Georgia State Director of Lifeline Children’s Services

Original Blog by: Sarah Taylor
Former Lifeline employee and wife of Daniel

*Daniel, Sarah, and their two sons are currently in process to adopt a child from Uganda.

Where is the HOPE?

One of the things we often communicate in our meetings is the fact that America is NOT the hope for orphaned children around the world. We say this, because unfortunately, so many believe it is. They think if we can somehow get these precious children to the USA their lives will be so much better.. when in fact, this may NOT be the case!

The hard cold fact is that America is suffering from a rapid increase in moral decay and dysfunctional relationships. Can you believe that the US now leads the nations around the world in marital breakup.. with 50% of our marriages ending in divorce? Our national leaders cannot even decide what defines a “family” as we are flooded with more diverse relationships and lifestyles. America has all but turned a blind eye to the termination of pregnancy through abortion with numbers now approaching 50 million innocent babies.

Flipping through the tv channels last night I could not pause on anything for more than a moment without overt invitations appealing to greed, power, and sex. Christianity is viewed as a hypocritical joke and the History channel is doing a full on attack to undermine it.
Violent crime has risen almost 500% since my children were born.. The US is now the leading industrialized nation around the globe in murder and rape. Drugs, alcohol, and violence are common place in our schools, our families, and our communities.

Suicide is now the leading cause of death in the US among those in their teens and 20’s.. is there not something incredibly sad about that? Our schools have to be trained in lock down procedures because violence has become so common place. When I was a kid the big disciple issues at school were talking too loud and chewing gum. Drop out rates in our high schools are now over 60% in major cities and national SAT scores continue a two decade decline.

Two weeks ago I was in China and it stuck out to me how modern and beautiful their cities look.. they are investing our dollars well. The infrastructure in America is in decline.. our roads, rails, and airports look third world by comparison. Our cities are less safe than almost every international country we work in.

No, America is NOT the hope for the orphaned!

So please tell me that there is good news.. There’s Tremendous News!!
..Christ in you is the hope of glory and the hope for the orphaned!! As the world grows darker there has been an exciting and unmistakable paradigm shift among Christians. Never have so many, who claim to be followers of Christ, taken their role as “light” in a dark world so seriously. No where is this more clearly seen than in relationship to orphans. The number of Christians engaged in adoption and orphan care is dramatically on the rise. Churches are taking their role seriously and launching orphan care and adoption ministries at an astounding rate. Mission trips have become less about painting a church building oversees and more about caring for precious orphans in distress.

Something HUGE is happening! Something that just now people are waking up to.. and its taking place in communities all over our nation. Christians are becoming more purposeful with their lives. They aren’t buying the “bigger is better” philosophy any longer. So many Christians are engaging in a passion that is nearest to the heart of God.. caring for the “least of these”, the fatherless, the defenseless, the orphan. I see it everywhere I go. Christians are adopting children into their own families and they are also facilitating for orphan adoptions and foster care for children in their country of origin. The Lord is smiling!

Blessings,

Dave Wood
International Director

Once in a Lifetime

I vividly remember standing on the steps of the Great Wall two summers ago, gazing at God's creation and taking in all the beauty in the hills of China. It was breathtaking and will be forever a memory impressed on my heart. It was my first time to go outside of the United States, and a trip that broadened my perspective and view of the Lord's greatness. To me, that trip seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. This past week I was reminded that just as that summer felt like an opportunity and moment that may only happen once in my life, our lives here on earth are exactly the same. The Lord has given us one lifetime to use, and to use for Him. We have on shot to make a lasting impression in this world. At the most, I have about 70 more years to do all that He has intended for me. Will I let that go to waste? As believers, we are called to follow Jesus with everything we have. And the wonderful thing about that is that our God is worthy of our constant praise. He is worthy of living a life that points directly at Him and that strives to make an eternal difference in the lives of others we interact with.

Paul states in Ephesians 1:6 (NIV), "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." The Message translation states, "While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk—better yet, run!—on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere." What a challenge and charge! To not possess idle hands or be distracted by paths that may seem fulfilling, but lead to an end of emptiness. I want to strive to RUN for Christ throughout this life He has given me.

Briana Gray
Administrative Assistant

fighting

I feel like a prevalent sentiment in any adoption process is the feeling that you are fighting… whether you are an adoptive family or someone working in the field of adoption. Fighting for children, fighting for your family, fighting to complete your family, fighting on behalf of the orphan, fighting against governments, fighting against regulations, fighting against bureaucracy, fighting to lessen time frames, fighting to meet a deadline, and/or fighting for the promise you feel God has in store for you. I feel that one area of fighting that is often overlooked (by me at least) among all the other areas we find ourselves fighting in is fighting to know Him more intimately. Above all of these other things we are fighting for or against, we must remember that is the ultimate goal. Knowing Christ and bringing Him glory. Moment by moment, day by day. When things go well and when they do not. A lot easier said than done. He must be our focus and He must be our finish line. Our eyes must remain on Him as we trust that His eyes will remain on our battles, no matter how big or small. He cares about them even more than we do and He can handle them much better than we can! I hope the following passage encourages you today.

2 Chronicles 20:3-9, 12, 15, 17
Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you – for your name is in this house – and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’… O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you… Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s… You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

Allison Fuqua
International Social Worker

Meet Sasha

My name is Sasha. My birthday is June 23, 1998. I am twelve years old and I have lived in an orphanage in Ukraine since I was six months old. I am HIV positive and have been HIV positive since birth. I enjoy school and I love to learn, but have not had a lot of schooling. I can pick up things very quickly. I enjoy drawing, love to play sports, and I am healthy. It is easy for me to talk to others and I have a great personality. I would love to be in a forever family who would love and take care of me.

If you want to learn more about this little boy from Ukraine, please contact Jana Lombardo at jana.lombardo@lifelineadoption.org to see how you can be part of finding him a family or being the family who brings him home. Please pray for Sasha as he waits.