The first birthday our son Kolya celebrated with our family was his 9th birthday.  As we approached the month of February, he kept telling me (in his broken English) that his birthday was Feb 1. I kept telling him that, no, it was actually Feb 22.

In the orphanage where he’d celebrated his first 8 birthdays, they had one celebration on the first of every month for anyone whose birthday fell within that month.  Kolya figured his birthday was Feb 1…that’s when it had been celebrated every year of his young life!

For the past 9 years, however, there’s been no group birthday celebration.  On Feb 22, we celebrate him and all that God is doing in his life!

This young man has lived a lifetime in 18 years.  He’s crossed the ocean to live in another country.  He’s come to learn what family is all about.  He’s overcome language barriers and worked hard in school.  He’s learned how to work hard and earned a job working for a brick mason.  He’s learned that God has given him a gift with woodworking and the industrial arts.  He has a servant heart and runs the sound at church on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Check out this castle he’s spent the last 2-1/2 months making!

Most importantly, however, he’s come to know Jesus Christ as his Savior.  At the age of nine, he’d never heard of Jesus.  What a privilege it has been to watch him grow into the young man who loves God that he has become.  (If you’ve never read our adoption story, you can do that here.)

Happy Birthday, Kolya.  Today we celebrate YOU!