Emily and I have been sponsoring a young lady named Lena for several years. She grew up in Murom orphanage in the Vladimir region of Russia. Lena is absolutely brilliant and has just graduated from the University of Vladimir with a degree in foreign languages.

For those of you who have seen the One Orphan video Children’s HopeChest produced, she’s the girl in the video. Abandoned by her alcoholic mother, never knew her father, and left alone in an orphanage. If you would like a copy of this DVD, request one here: chc@hopechest.org.

The great news is, she has recently arrived in the US and is living with us! She will be working at CHC and speaking at churches around the country sharing her story. She’s doing awesome and is excited about her first trip to the US and the holidays with our family. All of the kids are already calling her their Big Sister! Now we have two Russian daughters.

Can you adopt someone who’s 23?!