Finally!

Our adoption of Raimonds was final on October 7. We have one more trip to Latvia for our Embassy Appointment to get all Raimonds’ new records and citizenship paperwork. Hopefully I will be able to post pictures soon. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

If you are interested in hosting a child for Christmas this year, please visit www.newhorizonsforchildren.org., for information and to see pictures and profiles of the children. There is a huge need for host families this year. The deadline is November 1^st. There is absolutely no obligation to adopt a child/children that you host. Hosting gives a child the opportunity to experience real family life for the holidays. Raimonds is 13 and had never received a Christmas gift until the Christmas he spent with our family.

Sincerely,

Sue Becker

Home With Raimonds

It is hard to believe we have already been home from Latvia for one month. Even Raimonds says the time has gone very quickly.

Our trip was wonderful to say the least. It was quite an adventure.

After a very short trip to Sweden for business we took a ferry across the Baltic Sea arriving in Riga, the capital of Latvia, on Sunday morning, July 12. Our apartment in Latvia was more than adequate and once getting settled we went to shop for groceries.
On Monday morning we had our first court appearance. The lawyer picked us up and took us to Raimonds home to get him. His home was in a small region about 1 1/2 hours out of Riga. He was waiting for us with his bags packed. As soon as he saw our girls, he gave them long hugs before moving on to me and Brad. It was needless to say an emotional moment for us all.

We talked for a little while with his foster mom before saying our goodbyes. We then went straight away to the orphan court. After much conversation, they granted us permission to have Raimonds stay with us in Riga, where we would be visited by a social worker to check on our progress.

We did much sight seeing, which bored Raimonds at times, except for the indoor water park at the city of Jurmala on the Baltic Sea. He did not want to leave!!

On our second visit with the social worker, she asked Raimonds if he wanted to go back to his foster family and he replied, "No, I have a new family now". Again an emotional moment.

At our 2nd court date on July 27th we were granted permission to bring Raimonds back to the US to await our the final adoption. The orphan court has made the recommendation to allow us to adopt Raimonds. We are now awaiting his US immigration approval. Once we get his approval, we will be given a court date from Latvia to determine if they will approve the adoption. We understand that this next judge is not as enthusiastic about international adoptions. We are trusting God that all is in His hands.
The orphan situation in Latvia is a sad one, especially for older boys. With a population of only 2.5 million people in the entire country of Latvia, there are 3000 orphans. Alcoholism is a huge problem among adults, and parents simply do not want their children. Once a child turns 16, they may not be adopted out of the country. There is not much to offer these children as the economic situation is quite oppressive. And with very little training - most of these children turn to drugs and alcohol. Once they turn 18 there is a government housing program, but the children are often exploited by their alcoholic parents or other adult who suddenly takes an interest in living with them in the free housing!!!

The hosting program is a real blessing for these children. Most come from such abusive family situations that even those living in the orphanages feel safe and will say they do not want to be adopted. Once hosted by a family they get a glimpse of what a real family can look like. Raimonds had lived with his foster family for 5 years. He would always say he did not want to be adopted. He felt safe with them. Being hosted by my daughter's family was his first time in the hosting program. On returning home, he said YES, I wanted to be adopted!
The hosting program also gives families an opportunity to see if that child fits in with the personality of their family. We highly recommend anyone who feels a tug of God on their hearts to consider hosting a child. New Horizons for Children is a wonderful program.

Though we have had a few rough moments here and there, we are all adjusting very well. Raimonds is a bright boy, who loves people and loves to be busy. He is bonding very well with our entire family. He has already gone on two road trips with Brad and has proved himself to be a hard worker. On this last trip, he and Brad spent the day in Washington, DC and a day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. In a few weeks he will make the Florida deliveries with Brad and take in a couple of amusement parks as well. He likes roller coasters!!!
His English is quite good for day to day conversation but we have him working with a tutor to get him up to speed on his English comprehension so we can get him up to his level in his schooling.

I am so glad that many of you have had a chance to meet him. I will try to get pictures up soon!!!
Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

Sue Becker

WE ARE LEAVING FOR LATVIA!!!

We leave for Latvia on July 8th. We actually have business in Sweden for the first few days and then will travel by an overnight ferry across the Baltic Sea, arriving in Riga on July 12th. Our two youngest daughters are going with us. Our first court date is on July 13. The adoption attorney will pick us up and take us to get Raimonds. We will go to court together. At this first hearing we hopefully will be awarded “care giving” of Raimonds. He will live with us in an apartment in the capital city of Riga. We will be visited by social workers several times over the course of two weeks. On July 27th we will have our second court hearing where the court will determine if we are a good family for Raimonds and he for us. If the court rules in our favor, we will be allowed to bring Raimonds home to the US with us. We will have one day to get his paper work in order for his travel to the US. We will leave Latvia on July 29th and return to Atlanta on July 31st.

Due to the length of time we were required to be in Latvia, we felt it was important for our daughters to go with us. Lydia and Olivia are 17 and 13 years old. We thought it would be more fun for Raimonds to have his potential sisters along as well as a great time of bonding for us all as a family.

We have seen God’s hand in all of our travel arrangements. Housing and eating was going to be quite costly. We were told hotels were about $150- 175/night. With our court dates 14 days apart it meant a 16 day stay at the least, putting the cost of our lodging alone at over $2400. However we were told of a Christian lady there that has a heart for these orphans and who wants to help the adoptive families traveling to Latvia. She found us a 2 bedroom apartment in Riga for $590 for the entire time we are there!!! It has a full kitchen and is in walking distance of fresh food markets. So we will be able to prepare much of our own food.

We are looking forward to this time together with Raimonds and our girls. Please pray for safe travels, continued favor and for God to prepare Raimonds heart to receive Him. We have been told to expect the unexpected but we would covet your prayers for a stress free trip and that all would go according to plans but the grace and wisdom to handle whatever may come our way!!!

Thank you for the love and support you have shown our family through this very exciting venture in our lives.

Adoption Update

We have finally received our first orphan court date in Latvia. We are so excited though we will have to be in Latvia longer than we anticipated. Our first court appearance is July 13th and the second is July 27th. If all goes well ( and we are expecting that it will), we will be bringing Raimonds home on July 29th. Raimonds will be living with us once we have made our first court appearance. We are so very excited to see him again.
Hotel costs were a big concern, but we were given the name of a Christian lady who has a real heart for orphans and she enjoys helping those coming for adoption to find places to stay. We were told to expect at least $100 - 150/night. With 17 nights that was really going to add up fast - then food costs. This lady has found us an apartment for about $600 for the entire time! It has a kitchen and a food market close by. She is still checking on other options.
This is the time when the rest of the fees come due and of course our travel expenses. We have raised just enough money so far - thanks to all of you who have given so generously. If you would still like to make a contribution it is not too late!!!! Any gift would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely, Sue Becker
Send gift to: 561 Dogwood Hills Lane
Canton, GA 30115

Update on Adoption

Thank you SO much for your generous response to our adoption of Raimonds. The card, letters and gifts were overwhelming! So far we have received about $6000 which has covered our immediate expenses. We will need more in the next few weeks as we prepare to take our first trip to Latvia. So it is not too late to give if you did not have the opportunity and would still like to contribute.

All of our paper work has been completed and sent to Latvia and US immigration. Now we wait for our approval from immigration and invitation from Latvia. We are very excited. We can not wait to bring Raimonds home!!! Thank you again for all your prayers and support!

Brad and Sue Becker
561 Dogwood Hills Lane
Canton, GA 30115

Final Praise and Update! August 13th, 2007

First I must thank everyone for all your prayers. God certainly heard the "cries of His people" as you have stood so faithfully in intercession for me.
I went into surgery on May 9th. There were still some concerns in the surgeon's mind about possible complications and the spread of cancer throughout my intestines. Even though there were no indications of this, he said he would not know until he got inside. If it had spread, he would not be able to reconnect my bowels.
But God had given me such peace.
All year I have been studying a different name of God each week. How interesting that the very week before my surgery I would study Yaweh Rophe - The Lord Who Heals!!! Just a few days before my surgery my reading for the day included the verse 2 Kings 20:5 - "This is what the LORD, the God of you father David, says: I have heard your prayers and seen your tears; I will heal you." Even as I write this I am overwhelmed by God's presence and His personal assurance to heal me. What a mighty God we serve!
The preparation for surgery began 2 days before as I had to do a very significant bowel cleanse. I will spare the details but needless to say the night before the surgery was sleepless. I was up and down all night but was encouraged by the thought that in just a few hours I would be asleep for hours! In my sleeplessness I prayed for the surgeon. I prayed for a good night's sleep for him!
God gave me assurance that he was hearing me once again as the first thing the surgeon said to me when he walked in was that he had had 10 ours of sleep that night! That was the last thing I remember until I saw him when I awoke. The next thing I remember was the surgeon standing by my bed telling me that the surgery was a complete SUCCESS and that NONE of the possible complications that we had discussed were there! He was able to reconnect my bowels and there was no visible evidence of cancer anywhere. And believe me he went looking.
He gave Brad a detailed description. He said he went on a cancer search. He actually stretched out my intestines and looked them over then put them back in place. He took biopsies all during surgery and all came back negative. He also took biopsies that would be sent for further, more accurate, evaluation - 14 Lymph nodes, tissue coming right up to the tumor site as well as in other locations throughout my bowels and abdominal cavity. The final biopsy report showed everything NEGATIVE!!!!!!!!
What a mighty God we serve!!!!
My estimated stay in the hospital was 10 days - I was released in 6 and was able to attend my girls dance recital just 8 days after surgery!
Recovery has seemed long and slow at times. But when I get impatient or discouraged I just remind myself of where I have been and how far I have come and that I am on this side of it all!!!
I am focusing right now on building my body back up including my immune system, as well as my liver, kidneys and bladder which have all been greatly stressed through the onslaught of chemicals put in my body- from chemo, radiation, to anesthesia, pain medication, catheters etc.
I continued a pretty intense nutritional protocol through it all which I know helped me tremendously.
My first speaking event was just 3 weeks after surgery at the Richmond Virginia Home school Convention. I struggled with discouragement as I tried to prepare to speak. Would anyone still want to listen to me after all I had gone through? Would stressing the importance of eating healthy diminish my faith in the supernatural healing that God had done in my life? As I sought the Lord for His wisdom and peace He so graciously answered my prayers. He spoke so clearly to my spirit that His hand was in it all. He said to me "Don't you see that it was I who led you to this way of eating 17 years ago" Then I was reminded of one of the doctor's comments to me as I questioned him on how this could happen to me. He speculated to me that, probably ,had I not changed the way I was eating so many years before, that I would have been in this place 10 years sooner. Wow, I remembered how God had healed me then, as I had struggled with bowel issues for most of my life until changing to REAL BREAD. God then reminded me that it was Him that had shown me, so very lovingly, the spiritual roots of my physical infirmity. He also reminded me that it was Him that had lead me every step of the way through my pathway of healing. From the doctors, nutritionists, surgeons and my precious church familiy of prayer warriors who never gave up - He was in it all. So to stress one aspect was not to diminish Him in any way but reveal His concern in all areas of our life. I was led to share that day all that God had done in my life both spiritually and physically. It was an incredible experience especially since over 200 people came to my workshop to hear me speak!!!! How blessed and humbled by God I was that day and everyday.
It has been 3 months now since surgery and I am almost back to full speed. I do tire easily and so I am trying to pace myself. When I have a full day it seems I have to have a rest day.
This week I am studying the name of God - Yaweh Roi - The Lord is my Shepherd.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for YOU ARE WITH ME"!! Psalm 23:4 (empahsis mine!)
I will teaching my first cooking class in almost a year on Saturday August 18th. Hope to see some of you there!!!
Thank you and God Bless you all.
Sincerely, Sue Becker

Good News!!

Sue went in to surgery yesterday (5/9/07) to remove the tumor. After several hours, Brad got a great report from the doctor. There did NOT appear to be any signs of cancer anywhere else, but the Dr. took several samples for biopsy in the coming days. There was some collateral damage to the small intestine from the radiation treatments; otherwise, everything looked good. Sue will be in the hospital about a week as her reconnected colon heals and they make sure everything "works"!