Psalm 23:5 - Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Do I have enemies? Sure! Enemies of what is pure, honest, lovely, just, and right. My enemies come in all shapes and sizes and manifest themselves in so many ways in my life. Most often, however, the enemy is the one that I stare at in the mirror every day.

There is so much going on as far as complexity, yet on this birthday my Lord and my God has truly prepared a table before me. He has given me every provision and blessing that I could imagine. There is nothing on this earth that I would rather have happening on this birthday, aside from having my whole family present, then what will happen this day.

In a way that only God can orchestrate, our dossier was submitted to the SDA in Ukraine on Charrissa's birthday and the children will be leaving the orphanage FOREVER on my birthday. Why? Because He is God and He continually reminds me that He is over it all. There is not one detail that my Lord does not know about. There is nothing too small or big for Him. I love it when He shows His hand in this way. It is no different than on our wedding day, when my wifes grandmother came to my wife and said, "do you know what today is?" My wife said something along the lines of "my wedding day." To which, her grandmother said, "it is my and your grandfather's 50th wedding anniversary." Amazing! These are just little things and there are dozens more where God is, well, just God, showing Himself in wonderful ways and it is awesome!

Tonight it just so happened that our favorite people were working in Max's groupa. I asked if they would be willing to say something on a video to Max before we left so that I could show it to him later on (this was done via a translator program on my phone - not always perfect but better than cherades by a long shot). They actually invited Isaac and I into the groupa and they showed us the area and all of their toys that they have for the children. I was able to play with all of the other children in Max's groupa - well after we were done the little ones that were in bed when we started, were up and playing with all of us. What a joy! They showed us Max's bed, his toilet area, and his many favorite toys. They really love him here and do a great job of caring for him. This group of care givers in Max's groupa are fantastic. In communicating to them, I thanked them for doing such a great job and asked them how long the children are allowed to stay in the orphanage. The answer was not older than 6 years old - which confirmed what I was told when we were heading to this region. Max will be turning 6 on February 5, just over 2 months away. Thank you Lord for allowing us to save this wonderful boy. Thank you for opening our eyes. Isaac and I had a WONDERFUL time with these workers and bid one another a tearful good bye, as they will not be working tomorrow morning when we take Max and Ivanna on their next step toward home and one big step out of the orphanage.

What will I be doing on my birthday? I have been given the honor of escorting two amazing children, hand made by God, out of an orphanage system. I have been given the honor of preventing them from going to a mental institution, where they would have lived out their days, and I have been given the honor of loving them for the rest of their or my life. This will be an amazing birthday for sure.

My cup runneth over!