What's New?

Marsha's Ministry

This page contains the latest news in Doug and Marsha's life and
a list of the most recently developed pages on this large web site.

Date: July 31, 2008
	Dear Reader, The summer has been great so far. Marsha and I went on a wonderful vacation throughout Florida, with a special stop at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, where we celebrated our 8th anniversary. Half way through the trip, we picked up Dimitri to have him join us at the Omni Hotel in Champions Gate, FL, where we attended the World Convention for FGBMFI, for which I (Doug) serve as a national director. Dimitri had a great time at the kids camp, provided by the convention, and Marsha provided a special song in the evening session at the request of the International President. Pictures of our vacation can be seen on our Our Vacations page. Now that I accumulated some extra space on our web site, I was able to post the many slideshow pictures from our other vacations in 2007 and 2008, which had not previous appeared on Our Vacations page. I just finished a graduate-level class in Old Testament Theology and received a high "A" in the course. I have posted one of the essays for the course on my Theology Corner page. I plan to take New Testament Theology in the Fall semester, so I am getting a head start by reading the course textbook, as well as purchasing and reading other related books. I was delighted to find out that a major paper that I had written last year, Theology of Work and Its Practical Implications, was posted onto a high-profile web site (with my permission) dealing with Work in the Marketplace (under the Theology of Work section). The site is sponsored by Os Hillman, founder and Executive Director of Marketplace Leaders Ministries and also of the International Coalition of Workplace Ministries (ICWM). I also just found out that there is a team of theologians who are working together on a project to produce a Theology of Work, under the co-chairmanship of Dr. Haddon Robinson, one of the foremost preachers in America. Marsha and I sat under Dr. Robinson's teaching in Indianapolis last year. A friend of mine from New Zealand, Alistair Mackenzie, is also on this committee. I am very interested in their results of the project, which may take several years. Their site can be found at www.TheologyofWork.org. Marsha continues to be busy with her position as Women's Ministry Director for the Assemblies of God in the Peninsular Florida district. She has been speaking somewhere in Florida every week, as well as reporting to work in Lakeland during most of the week. She is excited about the upcoming Fall Breakaway conference for women that she will be hosting in Orlando in October, with special guest preacher Judy Jacobs. I have renamed Marsha's Ministry web site to be www.MarshaWoolley.com, thus phasing out the previous site known as GodandMarsha.com. The new site has been redesigned (a little) to have a different background theme, different pictures for publicity, and simpler home page in accordance with Marsha's desires. Dimitri finished the first grade and is enjoying his summer at YMCA. He loves to swim! Isaac finished the tenth grade and spent some time in Birmingham, Alabama for the summer. Margaret continues to do well, and is a blessing to the family as she cooks most of the dinners and helps out with Dimitri, as needed.

Date: April 30, 2008
	Dear Reader, I (Doug) apologize for the delay in posting an update concerning "What's New?" Besides working 40 hours a week, almost every spare moment for the past few months, I was diligently working on my three graduate classes, which included many reading assignments, research papers, and essay exams. I needed to maintain full-time graduate student status for the first two semesters in order to receive my earned Presidential scholarship, for having completed my undergraduate degree with at least a 3.9 GPA. I am glad to say that I have completed both semesters of three graduate classes, achieving an "A" average in all classes. One of my professors, who serves as the dean of the graduate school at Southwestern A/G University, responded to my research paper saying that it should be published, and he also gave me a 100% on my final essay exam, consisting of about 50 pages. Furthermore, he said that he could not remember the last time he gave someone a 100 on an essay exam. Another professor gave me a 100 on my research project saying: "Thank you for your fantastic and interesting paper. As you already know, this will serve your ministry in years to come as you communicate it to others. I was especially impressed with the clear and simple organization of your paper as well as the perfect formatting and quality of your bibliography. This is a well-deserved grade." My overall grades for each of the three classes were 99, 99, and 98, resulting in three A+ grades. (You have to understand that I am thrilled and amazed, though I certainly worked extremely hard and often went above and beyond what was required.) All this helps solidify the desire in my heart to teach undergraduate students in my field of study. My research papers for Southwestern can be seen on my Theology Corner page. I plan to lighten my load to one graduate class per semester, and I have 6 more classes to take for my Masters Degree in Theological Studies. I also had the privilege of traveling to Colorado Springs, Colorado for Verizon business to train the technicians on ESP, a new system that will help them to monitor the status and progress of all batch mainframe system jobs. I especially enjoy the teaching aspect and the opportunity to meet other people. Also, Colorado Springs exceeded my expectations of a place to visit. It was extremely interesting to journey up Pike's Peak (the 2nd most visited mountain in the world) and to visit the Garden of the Gods, which consists of several miles of beautiful huge rocks. At Easter time, we hosted a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt and hid several hundred plastic eggs containing candy in our yard and our neighbor's yard. A dozen kids between the ages of two and nine quickly gathered as many eggs as they could find into their baskets or bags. Dimitri had a great time with his friends, and we were pleased with the response of the kids and their parents who watched on the sidelines. Marsha has been extremely busy with her new position as Women's Ministry Director for the Assemblies of God in the Peninsular Florida district. She has always kept an active schedule, but this is truly a very active schedule. She has been speaking somewhere in Florida every week, as well as reporting to work in Lakeland during most of the week. She is regaining her strength and her hair, which is short and very curly, due to chemotherapy that she had in August - October, 2007. She is flourishing, as Women's Ministries is right up her alley. Dimitri turned 8 years old in February. He continues to do very well in school and loves to socialize. He is very well liked by his teachers and peers (though he often loses his "star" in class for talking . . . He must get that from his mother). He played on a soccer team and received his first trophy for his participation. After the soccer season, Dimitri began running in 5K road races. He normally places very well as an 8-year old, especially since not too many young people can run 3.1 miles (for that matter, not too many PEOPLE can run that far). His best race was on his birthday, when he ran the 5K race at Lowry Park Zoo in 30 minutes and 21 seconds. Isaac just celebrated his 17th birthday. He recently participated in Fine Arts, a teen talent contest within our church denomination in Florida, where he performed a "human video," where he acts out a song. He achieved a respectable score, and we are proud of his effort and accomplishment. He is a leader in our church's youth group and he is planning to spend two weeks in the summer in Nicaragua. This will be his real first missions. We guess it is in his blood. Margaret continues to do well, and she has recently celebrated her 86th birthday. She is working on her book about her adventures in Africa with her editors, David and Michelle Moore. They have spent many hours on this project, but we believe it will be a great blessing to many people.

Date: Christmas, 2007
	Dear Friends, For our family, 2007 has been a year of challenges and triumphs. In February, we attended an FGBMFI convention in Washington D.C. and also toured the White House and visited our congressman in the Capitol with Isaac. We were privileged to celebrate Dimitri's first birthday with us with a pirate party with his friends. He turned seven on February 23rd. He was so excited to have a party that he hugged people as they came in the door. Doug worked for months on his Senior Project entitled Theology of Work and Its Practical Implications, to finish his last class for his 2nd B.S. degree. The professor replied that the essay-paper should be published in a journal or a book! In May, Doug graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. degree (this one in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Bible/Theology) from North Central University, a regionally accredited university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. While in Minneapolis we enjoyed staying with some friends who had adopted Dimitri's best friend from his Kazakhstan orphanage. It was wonderful to watch the boys together, to see how their lives had changed, and to compare notes with the Sutterfields on their adoption experience. The day after school was out for the summer, we embarked on a whirlwind Hawaiian vacation. It was Dimitri's first time to be in Hawaii and he loved the swimming especially. Margaret, like the rest of us, enjoyed the many wonderful views. We celebrated our 7th anniversary golfing on the Island of Molokai, followed by a romantic dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel on Maui. In July, Marsha was diagnosed with breast cancer and had major surgery within 10 days after that. We had lots of support from our church friends and family. We thank the Lord for the remarkable healing that occurred with the help of two skilled surgeons. In the beginning of August, Marsha and Doug attended the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Indianapolis, Indiana for several days. We were delighted to meet new people and get reacquainted with others we have not seen in a while, including Terry & Athena Raburn. Upon our return, Marsha began chemotherapy once every three weeks, and she had her last treatment at the end of October, with one final small surgery in early December. God has been so faithful. She is doing very well. Dimitri spent the rest of the summer enjoying activities at the YMCA. He is now in the 1st grade and loves school and his teacher. He enjoys playing outside in the cul-de-sac with friends and neighbors. He is now playing on a soccer team and loves it. Isaac is now a 16-year old sophomore in high school. He once again served as one of the "managers" of his high school football team, which enabled him to travel with the team and interact with all the players--a great thrill and confidence builder for him. He is very active in our church's youth group and still loves his Christian break dancing group. Margaret is doing remarkably well, especially considering that she had surgery in the beginning of the year. She is a great help to the family in preparing meals and looking after the kids. She also was very helpful and encouraging to Marsha as she recovered from her major surgery. She is in the process of writing a book about her adventures in Africa. Marsha had been working for Ann Taylor Loft until her surgery. During her time off, God opened a wonderful door for her to be interviewed for the position of Women's Ministry Director for the Peninsular Florida District of the Assemblies of God. After three interviews with the District Superintendent, then the executive staff, then the executive presbytery, she was unanimously voted in for the position. Our pastor Ed Russo was a great encouragement and support to us during the interview process. We couldn't ask to be in a better church. Having recovered, she is now working at the District office in Lakeland. With all the speaking opportunities that will be coming on the weekends, she has had to lay aside her responsibilities as the Singles Leader at Victorious Life Church. Doug is still working 40 hours a week at Verizon as a Systems Engineer, primarily at night from 7pm to 7am on particular nights. He is also pursuing a Masters degree through Southwestern A/G University, a regionally accredited university in Waxahachie, Texas. As a full-time student during the Fall semester, he received straight A's in his three classes. He is really enjoying his studies. He has also enjoyed teaching the Singles Sunday School class at Victorious Life Church. He continues to serve both as a national director and the webmaster for FGBMFI. Unexpectedly, Doug lost his uncle and cousin this year, but he has good memories of both of them and was glad he got to visit them in their respective states over the past few years. May we all remember the joyous occasion of Christ being born over 2,000 years ago and how he lived, died, and rose from the dead as our Savior. Merry Christmas! Further details of the entire year can be seen below for a particular period of time....

Date: November 1, 2007
	Dear Reader, Marsha had surgery on July 24th, and the two doctors declared it a success. All traces of cancer were removed from her breast and no cancer appeared in the lymph nodes. This past Tuesday, she had her last round of chemo therapy and the prognosis looks very good for her future. Furthermore, God did another amazing thing for her in opening a wonderful door of opportunity to be the Women's Director for the Peninsular Florida District of the Assemblies of God. This is a full time position in Lakeland, FL, and would provide her further opportunities for what she loves to do on weekends--minister to women all across the state. Marsha and I had attended the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Indianapolis, Indiana for several days. During that time, I took a full-day class on Biblical Preaching which Marsha attended also. It was awesome to sit in the front row and learn from Dr. Jeff Magruder, Dr. Haddon Robinson, and Dr. Richard Dresselhaus. I also served as the voting delegate from our church (Victorious Life Church in Wesley Chapel, FL). It was a privilege to vote for our new General Superintendent, Dr. George Wood, as I have admired his knowledge of the Bible and his friendly personality. It was amazing to have a part in voting for bylaw changes, especially the one that allows divorced and remarried individuals an opportunity for ministerial credentials when the divorce occurred for Biblical reasons. We had a great time at the convention and met some wonderful people. I especially enjoyed attending the nightly college reunions that served delicious appetizers and drinks, as I got to attend a different one for each of the three nights. I attended Southeastern University from 1992-96, North Central University from 1996-2007, and Southwestern AG University from 2007-present. Margaret has been a great support for our family. She usually gets the groceries, cooks the dinners, drives the kids to school and home from school, and reads a children's Bible story to Dimitri at bed time. Dimitri just finished the first quarter of the 1st grade. He loves school and is doing very well. His report card came today and he is "On Grade Level" for every subject and making good progress academically in each subject. Marsha and I met with his teacher a few weeks ago and had many good things to say about him. She said we could quote her as saying: He is always eager to learn, and is fascinated by everything that is being taught. For example: When our tadpoles finally grew back and front legs, and became "frogletts" he was SO excited! Playing the game "Mystery Number" is one of his favorite things to do (The children are given a ziplock bag full of counting cubes. They must make as many groups of ten as they can.....then count how many ones are left over, and tell me how many cubes are in their bag.) For Dimitri, school is just plain fun! (He also already knows how to win a woman's heart.....hardly a day goes by that he does not tell me:" Mrs. Huseman, you look pretty today!" :0) ) Dimitri loves playing soccer in his under 8 league. He had his first practice last Friday and has his first game this Saturday. He was so excited about his soccer uniform and cleats that he just had to try them on and kick the ball outside. He also loves to swim in our pool and in the community pool. He is like a fish, and no longer needs assistance. He has also learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He speaks English very well, which is amazing since he only spoke Russian when he came to American in July of 2006. Oh yeah, Marsha and I readopted Dimitri in the U.S. on August 22, 2007, and the Judge ruled in our favor after seeing the wonderful personality of our little boy. The judge also let him pick a stuffed bear, which he did, and they Dimitri asked to pick a second bear for his brother Isaac. (Actually, both bears wound up in Dimitri's bed :) ) Isaac enjoys helping to manage the high school football team once again this year, now that he is in 10th grade. Doug, I, have been diligently working on three graduate level classes towards my Master's degree at SAGU. Thus far, I maintain an "A" average in each class: Biblical Preaching for the 21st Century, Research Literature and Technology, and Hermeneutics. Unexpectedly, I had lost two relatives over the past few months. My Uncle Cliff passed away while at a nursing home in New Hampshire; and my cousin Rick fell off a horse in Montana and punctured a lung and passed away as he was being flown to a hospital. I have good memories of both of them and I am glad that I got to visit them in their respective states over the past few years.

Date: July 23, 2007
	Dear Reader, Just after school had finished for the year, and Dimitri had completed Kindergarten and Isaac had completed the 9th grade, we went on a wonderful first-class family vacation to Hawaii, with a stop-over in Hollywood, California. [We had earned quite a few Skymiles on Delta especially going to Kazakhstan!] This was Dimitri's first major family vacation and he had an awesome time. We started by flying from Tampa, Florida to Hollywood, California where we spent the night and did some sightseeing of Hollywood and their famous wax museums. The next day we continued on to Honolulu and stayed at the beautiful Hilton Hawaiian Village where Dimitri got to swim in the ocean on Waikiki beach and the nice pool. Later we ate at the famous Alan Wong's Restaurant (which lived up to its reputation of having the finest food in Hawaii). Dimitri had his first limousine ride into the center of Diamond Head (the inactive volcano next to Waikiki Beach). Next we were off to the Big Island, which never ceases to amaze us with its extensive scenery of lava that makes us think we are landing on another planet. We stayed at the Disney-like Waikoloa Hilton with a picturesque room overlooking the dolphin lagoon. Later Dimitri had a thrill of swimming with the dolphins. He was so excited and brave. He also enjoyed the many pools and awesome water slides. The only thing missing was Isaac (who spent two months with his dad over the summer). Dimitri, admiring his big brother, tried to experience all the places Isaac had visited from the family pictures of previous vacations to Hawaii. We also took the time to drive to the other side of the island and visit Volcanoes National Park, which was absolutely awesome--seeing a volcano crater as well as steam vents from the ground. It was breathtaking to see the glowing lava under the full moon after sunset. Margaret also had a lovely time on the Big Island. She always loves the view of the ocean. Margaret and Marsha indulged in a hour-long massage at the spa, which they still talk about. We also attended an awesome traditional luau at the hotel, complete with smoothies and fire dancers. Then we were off to Maui for our final four days at The Westin. It turned out to be a beautiful experience from the minute we walked in the door and were given a lei and a Hawaiian punch drink. The beach, pools, and staff were all awesome and very kid friendly. Marsha and I snuck away for a day to the Island of Molokai via a ferry boat, where I played 18 holes of golf (the 11th hole had some beautiful beach/ocean scenery where the last scene of Pirates of the Caribbean III was shot). We also were privileged to have a glimpse of the famous Leper Colony where Father Damien ministered in the late 1800's. After returning to Maui before sunset, we returned to our hotel, changed clothes, and ventured out for a romantic dinner by the ocean at the Four Season's Hotel for our 7th wedding anniversary. The Ferraro's Ristorante served fine Italian food, most of which we could not read on the menu, but the close ocean view and sounds of the waves coupled with lighted torches made the evening extra special. Margaret was so gracious in helping us with Dimitri so that we could have some private time. It was a great trip! Dimitri has been enjoying the rest of the summer with the many activities provided at the YMCA, and he is now able to swim very well without any assistance. Isaac just returned from a two month visit to his dad's. Isaac missed Dimitri almost as much as Dimitri had missed Isaac. They embraced with fondness as they reunited. (It will be interesting to see who will win the war over the T.V. that is in Isaac's room since Dimitri has enjoyed it to himself for the past two months). I have gotten a jump start on my three classes that I will be taking for my Master's Degree (in Biblical Studies/Theology) at Southwestern AG University. Investing in my future (and Marsha's ministry), I purchased approximately $7,000 worth of good-quality commentaries and other Biblical books to add to my ever-growing library. I am looking forward to my first class that starts at the Leadership seminar at the General Council of the Assemblies of God in Indianapolis, Indiana next month. This class is called Biblical Preaching for the 21st Century, and the two others are Research Literature and Technology and Hermeneutics. With the jump start, I hope to have time to successfully complete the three classes during the Fall semester, and thus qualify as a full-time student and receive a Presidential scholarship from SAGU for having earned at least a 3.9 GPA from my undergraduate school, North Central University. Since both of these universities are Regionally accredited and reputable, completion of my Master's Degree will qualify me to teach undergraduate theology classes at any university, if the Lord should open such doors at some time in the future. Marsha has been teaching the Singles Sunday school class (along with Doug). As of a week ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and her surgery is tomorrow. It's been a tough struggle for her, but she is trusting God. Please remember her in your prayers.

Date: May 19, 2007
	Dear Reader, While Marsha, Dimitri, and I were in Minneapolis for my graduation ceremony, we stayed with a wonderful family who also adopted a son from the country of Kazakhstan. In fact, their son Christopher was best friends with Dimitri when they were together in the orphanage. They had not seen each other in two years, since it was 2 years ago that Christopher was adopted out of the orphanage. Almost a year ago, Marsha and I adopted Dimitri and I found out about his best friend and the family that adopted him and they also were excited about a possible reunion. I figured that the days surrounding my graduation in Minneapolis would provide a great opportunity to get together and share common experiences. We all had a great time. My Senior Project entitled "Theology of Work and Its Practical Implications" has been posted on my Theology Corner. On May 4th, my family (Marsha & Dimitri) watched me graduate from North Central University in Minneapolis, Summa Cum Laude. The Director of the Carlson Institute (Distance Education school) hand-delivered my paper back to me reiterating what the professor (dean of the theology department) had written: "This is one of the most thorough pieces of work I have ever corrected. Very well done. Subject covered well. Good sources. A well written paper. Should be put into a book or journal." I was thrilled to hear this (as I had put a lot of work into that paper!) and that I received an "A" in the class, thus finishing with a GPA of 3.957 as shown on my transcript. Additionally, I was honored to be one of three students to address the graduates and their families (the other two were the valedictorian and the class president). The week after, I flew to Southwestern AG University in Texas for the new student orientation for grad-school (majoring in Bible/Theology). I am looking forward to furthering my education and growing from the course materials as well as preparing for the possibility of being a teacher in a university in the subject that I am learning. Pictures of Dimitri's 7th birthday and first in the U.S. can be seen on his web page. Some pictures from our vacation to Washington D.C. in February and to Minneapolis in May can now been seen.

Date: May 2, 2007
	Dear Reader, I apologize for the delay in posting an update concerning "What's New?" Every spare moment for the past few months, I was diligently researching and writing my Senior Project entitled "Theology of Work and Its Practical Implications" (to be posted on Theology Corner soon). Having completed the project as scheduled, I am taking Marsha and Dimitri to my graduation ceremony in Minneapolis (we leave in an hour). I'll give some updated pictures of our recent trips and of Dimitri when we return, but for now, here is a quick update... Dimitri is growing by leaps and bounds. He's grown about 4 inches and gained 10 pounds since he arrived from Kazakhstan. His English vocabulary improves everyday and even the trace of Russian accent is now disappearing. We celebrated Dimitri's 7th birthday with a pirate party, complete with a live pirate and treasure hunt. He had a great time with about 20 of his friends. He is now into story writing and story telling; he's showing off all that beautiful English he's learned. Isaac is now 16 years old and staying busy with Spring Training for Football at his high school. He is once again the equipment manager for the football team. He comes home everyday sun burnt and exhausted. Most recently Isaac and the dance team that he is a part of at church (the "B" boys) received the honor of placing #1 in the district of Florida at the Fine Arts competition in Orlando. To God be the Glory! The 2 pound preemie who was never supposed to walk or talk wins a dance contest (with others). What a blessing this team and it's leaders (Josh and Ryan) have been to Isaac's life. This experience has definitely broadened his horizons and enlarged his vision. Marsha is still working for Ann Taylor Loft less and less as her Spring speaking schedule was very busy this year. She recently took even more time off to care for Margaret, who has faced more challenges than all of us lately. In the month of March, she celebrated her 85th birthday and was also diagnosed with breast cancer. After extensive tests, it was determined that surgery was needed. With great strength and faith in God, she faced the surgery and smiled all the way through. Three days after her surgery, she was laid hands on her 92 year old roommate praying for her healing as she left the hospital. She is doing great. The doctors were able to get all the cancer and no further therapy is needed at this time. Her courage and faith are an inspiration to all of us.

Date: Christmas, 2006
	Dear Friends, As with many of you, the year 2006 has been a whirlwind of activity for our family. However, without a doubt, the highlight was our trip(s) to Kazakhstan for the adoption of 6-year old Dimitri in May, June, and July. It's hard to believe that 5 months have passed since we brought him to America. Communication was difficult for the first two months as he always spoke Russian even when we acknowledged that we did not understand. We became very good at charades though. During the 3rd month, Dimitri began understanding English greatly and speaking a little English. During the past 2 months, he speaks only English, and Russian is becoming a distant memory for him. He is doing very well in his Kindergarten class. His behavior has been improving as we consistently love and correct him. He has been accomplishing so much, day by day. He impressed us by memorizing and speaking clearly his Sunday School Bible verse of John 8:12, "Jesus said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness." Dimitri loves the family and his relatives and enjoys going to Busch Gardens and Disney World, watching cartoons on TV and on DVD, and just playing games in general. Isaac is now a 15-year old freshman in high school and he adores his new brother. This year, Isaac was able to be one of the "managers" of his high school football team, which enabled him to travel with the team and interact with all the players--a great thrill and confidence builder for him. He is very active in our church's youth group and still loves his Christian break dancing group. Margaret is also doing well. She had a knee replacement in the beginning of the year, which was quite a procedure with a very extended recovery. She is now up and around, though still using her cane from time to time. She has been a great help to Marsha and still cooks for the family, and we certainly appreciate that! Every time we are tempted to think of her as 84, she jumps in her Jag and speeds around the corner out of our neighborhood, making us all think she is 20. Marsha is currently working for Ann Taylor Loft and has gone from 40 hours per week to 32 hours per week and soon to 20 hours per week. She enjoys her work but finds that having an extra family member requires more time than she anticipated. She ministered (spoke) approximately once a month at various churches and women's conventions. Coupled with Doug, we have been teaching the Single's Sunday School class for Victorious Life Church since the Spring, and prior to that, we were teaching the New Believer's class. Doug reached a milestone of 15 years--working for Verizon as a Systems Engineer, monitoring and trouble-shooting mainframe computer application systems used throughout the country. He has been working the night shift for the past 5 years. In his spare time, he learned a new computer language, "Visual Basic .NET," and wrote a professional computer program (and game) to solve (and play) the popular Sudoku puzzle. Furthering his education, Doug completed two of his last three courses (which included literary/theological essays) for another B.S. degree, maintaining just under a 4.0 GPA. All year, he has been working diligently on his extensive Senior Project entitled "Theology of Work and Its Practical Implications" which he plans to complete in the next few months and graduate from North Central University in May. Doug also put forth much effort serving as a professor for two classes at One Accord School of Ministry, teaching both the Book of Acts and Apologetics. Doug has also taught faithfully the Sunday School classes at church. He continued to serve both as a national director and the webmaster for FGBMFI. In addition to these worthwhile activities, his favorite is to spend quality time with his newly adopted son Dimitri. We all looked forward to our first Christmas with Dimitri, and he made it extra special as he was continuously filled with joyous excitement! May we all remember the joyous occasion of Christ being born over 2,000 years ago and how he lived, died, and rose from the dead as our Savior. Merry Christmas! Further details of the entire year can be seen below for a particular period of time....

Date: October 5, 2006
	Dear Reader, Dimitri has been in America for two and a half months. He is thoroughly enjoying his new life! A webpage for Dimitri is now available for viewing. It contains many pictures from his first days in America along with our recent trip to Disney World with our family and a trip to Busch Gardens. Dimitri started Elementary School in August and is enjoying his new Kindergarten class. Originally he was placed in the first grade for a month, according to his age group (6), but since he is just learning the English alphabet (instead of reading on his own) and since his behaviors are more in line with younger kids, we requested to have him placed in Kindergarten. Although his teacher enjoyed having him, she whole-heartedly agreed with our decision as did his English teacher, followed by the administrators. For me, Doug, I've been working my normal 40 hours per week during the night shifts at Verizon and spending about the same amount of time (40 hours per week) with Dimitri when he is not in school (and I am not having to sleep in preparation for my night-shift work). On the very first day that Dimitri met Marsha and I, the director of the orphanage told us that "Dimitri dreams of having a close father." Some of our favorite activities include swimming in the community pool that has a big slide (or swimming in our own pool), going to Busch Gardens and going on the rides, and playing bowling on the computer. We have shared many other experiences together. It has been a joy teaching him, training him, and seeing him grow and improve in different areas. The rest of the family also enjoys his active personality, and yet there are times of correction and discipline. For the past 5 weeks, I've been teaching the college-level course, Book of Acts, to six interns from One Accord School of Ministry. They have also asked me to teach Apologetics for the next semester, so I will continue to be busy studying, teaching, and pouring my life into these worthwhile students. At the same time, I have been, and will be, working on my final class for my B.S. degree at North Central University. My Senior Project will consist of a 30-60 page essay on The Theology of Work and Its Practical Applications. I have already bought about 150 books related to this topic. (Perhaps I need to limit my reading if I hope to finish the essay by the beginning of 2007 and graduate in May of 2007) Having receive an "A" in the previous class, Value and Meaning in Literature, I am still maintaining a 3.95 GPA as I go into the final stretch. Marsha is now working part-time for Ann Taylor Loft in Citrus Town Center. She enjoys selling ladies clothes (and buying them). She has been speaking a couple times a month at different events, and Marsha will be ministering at the District Assemblies of God Women's Meeting this weekend. Being the mother of two boys has kept her busier than she would have ever thought. Marsha and I have been teaching the Single Adults Sunday School class at Victorious Life Church ever since we have been back from Kazakhstan. Isaac has been attending High School as a ninth grader. He has been helping the HS football team, and he enjoys being a part of the team. Margaret has been editing her book (with Doug's help) that describes her adventures in Africa as a missionary. As always, she is helpful in preparing the evening meals.

Date: July 21, 2006
	Dear Reader, Dimitri and I are back from Kazakhstan! I've updated the figures and events on our Adoption in Kazakhstan page. All the e-mails that we sent to friends updating them on our adoption journey can be found on our Adoption in Kazakhstan E-mails page (along with a few pictures). Everything went as planned (from the schedule given in our previous e-mail), and our adoption of 6-year old Dimitri Joseph Woolley is complete. He arrived home on Wednesday evening, July 19th. The household members greeted Dimitri and I at the Tampa Airport along with my mother, Sigrid. Everyone in our family and extended family is very pleased with Dimitri. He is excited about life and about being in our family. He charms almost everyone with his friendly personality and his enthusiastic exploration of his new world. Marsha did a great job arranging Dimitri's room while I was gone for one week. We missed each other very much but kept in touch via phone. What an experience it was for me to be with a new child (who only speaks Russian), 24-hours a day, for 6 days! While it was good, it is very good to be at home now with the support of others!

Date: July 12, 2006
	Dear Reader, Today, right now, I am leaving for the airport to travel back to Kazakhstan to pick up Dimitri. Please pray that all goes well. If so, then, I arrive in Almaty on July 14th, Friday, at 5:15 AM, then travel to Kostanai and then to Rudny to pick up Dimitri and stay for 2 nights in Kostanai. On Sunday morning, we fly to Almaty. Monday, July 17th - medical exam Tuesday, July 18th - Visa interview Wednesday, July 19th - fly out of Almaty with Dimitri back to Tampa, FL, USA! Marsha has been getting his room ready for his arrival. Since only 1 of us is required to return to Kazakhstan to finalize the adoption and bring Dimitri back, Marsha will be staying home. (It also saves us $2400 and it is a tough trip).

Date: June 29, 2006
	Dear Reader, On June 26, we officially became parents to 6-year old Dimitri Joseph Woolley. The two week appeal process ended on the 26th. Our "power of attorney" was able to fill out paperwork in Kazakhstan to obtain his new birth certificate with our names on it. This was obtained today, June 29th, along with an adoption certificate. He will also obtain a Kazakhstan passport. Once the paperwork is complete in about 2 weeks, we will return to Almaty, Kazakhstan and meet Dimitri. There we will have an American doctor give Dimitri a physical exam which is then needed for an IR-3 immigrant Visa to the U.S., which would be obtained the following day. Hopefully, we can leave for America the day after getting the visa! My Sudoku computer program version 2.2 is now available on my Sudoku page.

Date: June 22, 2006
	Dear Reader, We have posted all the e-mails we sent to our friends during our adoption journey. These E-mails were sent to our friends to inform them of our adoption journey and to provide a focus for which to pray for us. We appreciated that support! Although the change of the law in Kazakhstan took us by surprise, it did not take God by surprise. We believe that God used it to direct us on the path He wanted us to take. I've updated the figures on our Adoption in Kazakhstan. During our trip (and afterwards), both Marsha and I read through the long novel by Russian Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov. I've completed my final essay for my NCU course, Value & Meaning in Literature, entitled Father Zossima's World View in The Brothers Karamazov. The essay can also be referenced on my theology corner (both in html and pdf formats). Having taken the final exam the day before, I am now complete with this class. I only have one class remaining for an Interdisciplinary Studies B.S. degree at North Central University. I anticipate that it will take me a whole year to complete my Senior Project and thus I plan to graduate in May of 2007. Our family is planning to be at the graduation ceremony in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It will be extra fun since Dimitri's close friend from the orphanage (who was adopted by a family in South Saint Paul, MN a year ago) is in the area where we are going, so they will be able to meet once again and Marsha and I will enjoy socializing with the family.

Date: June 13, 2006
	Dear Reader, Pictures from our trip to Holland and Kazakhstan are now viewable on our Vacations page! We have chosen to adopt 6-year old Dimitri. The judge in Kazakhstan ruled favorably on our behalf. We will return to Kazakhstan to pick him up in the early part of July. I've updated the "latest news" on our Adoption in Kazakhstan from the latest e-mail that was sent prior to leaving Kazakhstan. Much more details will follow shortly.

Date: May 6, 2006
	Dear Reader, We are on our way to Kazakhstan for our adoption! We sent an e-mail to our friends on our list yesterday updating everyone of our adoption plans. If for some reason you did not receive that e-mail and would like to receive the latest news and picture(s) of the children we select (perhaps after May 11th), please e-mail me of your interest, and I will include you on the e-mail distribution for this purpose. You may see the details of our adoption on our web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan. The latest version of my Sudoku Puzzle program (v2.1 on 5/3/06) can be downloaded from my Sudoku v2 page. I will spend the next month (overseas) not updating it; Instead both of us will read two books related to adopting toddlers & attachment/bonding and then I will focus on my studies for Value & Meaning in Literature by reading The Brothers Karamazov, written by Russian Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and writing an essay on "Father Zossima's world view." Maybe I will solve a few Sudoku puzzles from the one puzzle book that I will bring. Marsha and I met with Isaac's teachers and administrators for a yearly performance review. Isaac is doing very well in this school. They had many nice things to say about Isaac. While he is still struggling with math (and is far below his 8th grade level for it), he is reading at a 9th grade level, which impressed everyone there who knows him! We are pleased with his performance and the help and attention he is receiving at his new school. Margaret has been driving again. She is recovering nicely from her knee surgery from several months ago.

Date: April 27, 2006
	Dear Reader, Our Letter of Invitation to travel to Kazakhstan for our adoption has arrived!!!!!! We are being requested to arrive in the city/region of Kostanay on May 10th. This means that we need to fly into Almaty, Kazakhstan on May 8th or 9th. Things are moving quickly! Once in the region, we will probably select two young children (boy & girl), trusting the Lord to guide us. We are required by their law to bond with the children for two weeks prior to the court hearing. (This should be enjoyable). All this, with our travel, may take 3 - 4 weeks. Since there is a two week appeal process after the court hearing, Marsha and I plan to return home during those two weeks and get prepared for our new addition(s) to the family. (I, Doug, will go back to work at Verizon for those two weeks). When the time is ready, we will go back to Kostanay, Kazakhstan to finalize the adoption and return with our child(ren). This 2nd trip may only take a week or two. You may see the details on our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan. I have been spending a lot of time in the off-hours enhancing my Visual Basic .NET program to solve the Sudoku puzzle. I have made many enhancements to the program, and now it is able to solve any puzzle in the world (given that it is solvable). The program will solve most puzzles within a second, while solving the very hardest ones may take a few minutes. It has turned out to be a very enjoyable game as well, for the user. It also shows the user step-by-step how to solve the puzzle, using particular strategies. Feel free to surf onto my Sudoku v2 page, check out it's features, and download a copy of my newly released Sudoku v2.1 program. It uses the new .NET 2.0 framework that comes with Visual Studio 2005. The framework can be simply downloaded from Microsoft's web site, enabling you to run the Sudoku program. Instructions are on my Sudoku v2 page.

Date: April 11, 2006
	Dear Reader, Concerning our adoption process, yesterday we were e-mailed by Adoption Ark saying that "the region informed our representative that they will invite you in May. There is no more info provided--they just told that they will see you in the region in May and they will provide the LOI [Letter of Invitation] for you to be able to travel." Marsha was excited since our travel plans seem to be definite for the month of May. You may see the details on our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan. Marsha and I have been teaching the Single Adults' Sunday School class for the past month, and things are going very well. For the past two weeks, we have been teaching about crisis (especially as the relate to relationships) and the "slippery slope" timeline of a crisis. A person can become bitter or better through the crisis, the difference between the two words is the letter "i"-- I make the difference (in my attitude) whether I will be come bitter or better from a crisis. Each class member received a copy of my essay that I did for my Crisis Counseling class in 1999, entitled Crisis Counseling Theory and Intervention, which can also be found on my theological corner. I was ecstatic to receive a 100 on my mid-term essay for Value and Meaning of Literature. The professor wrote, "Very well done--You have an excellent writing style. Nice sentence variety. Your ideas are thoroughly developed. Wonderful!" This is a big improvement from my English & Literature days in High School! The essay is entitled Comparison of the Novels by C. S. Lewis and Albert Camus, and can be found on my theological corner. I have started reading the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov. Marsha was suppose to have surgery on March 22nd, but something wonderful happened instead. She shares, "On March 20th, I had an appointment with my doctor for a pre-op consultation. My surgery was scheduled for Wednesday the 22nd at 2:45p. As most people know, a pre-op is a formality prior to surgery where consent forms are signed and blood work is drawn. Dr. Wilkerson also ordered a last ultrasound to see the size of the ovarian cyst. It had been around 8.5 cm and had been growing at a rate of 1.5 cm per week. The ultrasound was performed and the tech did say it was smaller but I presumed not small enough because all the forms were then presented to me. When I had asked my doctor if a cyst this size could dissipate he had said 'no, not usually when they get to this size.' I signed so many forms: 1) explanatory surgery consent 2) consent for removal of cyst and ovary 3) consent for removal of both ovaries and uterus and on and on. I then waited and waited. The nurse said he would explain all the procedures to me when he came in. When Dr. Wilkerson came in he had a big smile and jokingly hit me with my chart and said 'What did you do? -- Pray for a miracle all weekend? The cyst has shrunk significantly. It's barely 5 cm at its widest point and the center is completely clear. The rest will dissipate into your body. I don't see any reason to perform the surgery.' Praise God!!! Addendum: On April 17th, Marsha had a follow-up appointment and the doctor said that the cyst is all gone! For the past two weeks, Marsha has been working/training at Bealls in New Tampa, as an area manager--overseeing multiple departments within a store. Once the training is complete, she will work at the store on Dale Mabry. The extended family is back from their cruise. They enjoyed themselves. My nephew Ryan got me hooked on Sudoku when he showed me his book that he was bringing on the cruise. It seems to be the "Rubik's Cube of the 21st century." The Suduko puzzle consists of a 9x9 grid of squares with some of the digits 1 through 9 placed in the grid. The object is to place the digits 1 through 9 in all the other empty squares so that each row, column, and 3x3 sub-grid has the digits used exactly once. Since people use logic to systematically solve this puzzle, I figured that this puzzle would be a good project to program into the computer. I have been learning Visual Basic .NET 2003 for the past two months and needed a good project to put into practice the principles I have been learning. After 24 hours, I was able to put together a functional version of the Sudoku game. For the past two weeks, I have been enhancing it to be a fully functional game with a graphical user interface. It also serves as a tool to solve the puzzle. It is able to solve all but the hardest puzzles and deliver a step-by-step solution with strategies for the user. Addendum: On April 20th, I have created a Sudoku v2 page. Margaret's had her knee surgery on February 28th at Tampa General Hospital. She has made good progress in recovering and her physical therapist said today that she would not need to return to help her since she is doing so well. It will still be a few weeks before Margaret can drive. Isaac has been riding the bus for the past two weeks, ever since Marsha started working. I assisted him onto the bus the first day (to give the bus driver the permission slip from his school that he can take the bus). Marsha had also written a little note asking the driver for Isaac to sit closer to the front due to his instability in walking. The bus driver assigned him the first seat. All is well.

Date: March 17, 2006
	Dear Reader, Concerning our adoption process, we were just notified that our dossier was approved by Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kazakhstan! The paperwork is currently being reviewed by the Ministry of Education and Science, and Alla at Adoption Ark says "it can be released [approved] very soon, maybe in a few days or next week and forwarded to the region." Thus, we may obtain our Letter of Invitation to travel to Kazakhstan to adopt our children within the next three weeks or so. You may see the details on our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan. I am still working at Verizon as a Systems Engineer, overseeing and monitoring half of all the mainframe applications that run for Verizon. As of this past week, we have a new manager (Tom Crane) whom I had the privilege of meeting when I traveled to NY, MA, and NJ to give ESP training. This will be the first time that I (and my co-workers) are reporting to a manager that resides outside the state. I was delighted to receive a score of 100 on my 2nd exam in the course Value and Meaning of Literature. I just completed my midterm essay for the class entitled Comparison of the Novels by C. S. Lewis and Albert Camus, which shows similarities and differences in the way they refer to the Genesis account of the fall of humanity. To read my class essays, visit my theological corner. Now I will need to tackle the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov. Marsha and I have been asked by the pastoral staff at Victorious Life Church to teach the Single Adults Sunday School class (at the recommendation of the previous Single's Pastor) since the Single's Pastor just moved out of state. Marsha was excited about this opportunity to meet the needs of these wonderful people. As a result, we will be relinquishing our responsibilities for the New Believers class (that we've taught for 2 years) as of this Sunday. Marsha has been offered an area manager position with Bealls, overseeing multiple departments. Originally she was scheduled to start working there in the middle of March, after taking care of Margaret for a few weeks after her knee surgery. However, now Marsha will need to have surgery due to a large cyst on her ovary that is causing her pain in her stomach. The doctor has scheduled the surgery for Wednesday, March 22nd. We are hoping that she will recover quickly so that she can travel comfortably to Kazakhstan once we receive our final approval and Letter of Invitation. Marsha was the featured speaker at a large Women's Conference, hosted by VLC for the AG sectional area. The meetings went well. She also spoke at New Beginnings Fellowship in Tampa as Pastor Paul & Claire Hollis were on a cruise. Speaking about cruises, my mom (Sigrid), my brother (Brad), and my other brother (Craig) and his family (wife, kids, mother-in-law) are all going on a week-long cruise, departing from Cape Canaveral. All excited, the gang will hook up the night before at the Radisson Resort at the Port. I will drive my mom there tomorrow, and on the way I will visit a long-time friend, Charlie Crisafulli, on Merritt Island. He served as the a national director and state chairman for Full Gospel Business Men's Fellowship International a decade ago. He was instrumental in mentoring me in the fellowship. Coming close to 90 years of age, he is still healthy and active, living on 40 beautiful acres. It will be nice to have lunch and fellowship with Charlie and Beverly tomorrow at their place. They were very much hoping that Marsha would join us but she will need to stay at home to assist her mother Margaret who is recovering from surgery. Margaret's had her knee surgery on February 28th at Tampa General Hospital. She has been home for the past 2 weeks and is recovering, but she says she is in a lot of pain. A nurse checks on her each day and helps her perform special exercises. Isaac is still doing well in the public school in the New Tampa that he has been attending for the past two months. The next challenge will be having him ride the bus for the first time instead of being driven by mom to and from school. Marsha says that she enjoys driving him and spending time with him and it is not a long drive, like it was before when he attended the other school.

Date: February 25, 2006
	Dear Reader, On January 24th, I received sad news from Alla (at Adoption Ark) that our children in Kazakhstan (Vita & Russ) are no longer adoptable since their mother has been recently visiting them in the orphanage. Several hours later, after having some time to mourn, I delicately broke the news to Marsha who was totally heart-broken. Eventually we looked on the bright-side in that we can now choose a child or two that is much younger--perhaps a toddler or a baby. While the option of "unofficially pre-selecting" a child is no longer available with Adoption Ark (due to changes in the adoption process), once we are approved by Kazakhstan (perhaps in March), Adoption Ark will send our paperwork (and us) to a region that has the most children that meet our criteria--young boys and girls that are healthy. We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails! (We trust God to guide us!) You may see the details on our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan. I completed a course on Apologetics via North Central University, receiving an "A" in the class and a 100 on the essay. In fact, the professor wrote, "Excellent paper! One of the most complete, and most well written papers I've seen on this topic. Good bibliography of references. Very interesting to read! Good work!" For those interested, my essay explaining Apologetics may be read on my Theology Corner page (in either HTML or PDF format). My transcript page has been updated to include the latest "A", maintaining a 3.95 GPA. Currently, I am finishing a course on the Value and Meaning of Literature. Marsha closed the stores of Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate at Citrus Park Mall at the end of January. She is now receiving about two months of severance pay. She has just been offered an area manager position with Bealls, overseeing multiple departments. She said that she would start working there in the middle of March, after taking care of Margaret for a few weeks after her anticipated February 28th knee surgery. Marsha is the featured speaker at a large Women's Conference, hosted by VLC for the AG sectional area. She is excited about it and is studying and preparing prayerfully. Isaac has transitioned to a new public school in the New Tampa area where we live. Marsha resisted the idea of taking him out of the private school and into the "L--" school. As I persistently argued the benefits of him going to this new school, she would often interrupt and say, "Don't say that 'L' word!" After obtaining much assistance from the staff at the new school, Marsha was persuaded to have Isaac try the new school. Marsha picked up Isaac from his first day and Isaac was crying and said he hated it because the school is so big (1600+ students) and he had trouble getting from class to class. Marsha was frustrated and upset, but Isaac went back to school the next day and enjoyed the school tremendously. He loves his teachers, who think the world of him. He has been enjoying the school every day for the past month! His mom is elated! The classes have been tailored for his special needs, and he has been placed in a regular reading class, since they have noticed that this is a strong area of his! Margaret's surgery on her knee is scheduled for Tuesday, February 28th. She will be in Tampa General Hospital for about 3 days. Marsha has planned it to be off from work for the first 2 weeks after this to care for her mom, though there will be some hospital staff members who will also check up on Margaret.

Date: January 9, 2006
	Dear Reader, We are thrilled! We just found out that on January 5th (the day before the Russian observance of Christmas), the Kazakhstan Embassy in D.C. approved our adoption dossier and has sent it on its way to Kazakhstan to be reviewed and approved by 2 other ministries: the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. Afterwards, the documents will land into the region where our two children (Russ and Vita) are located and then a letter of invitation to travel will be prepared for us. According to Adoption Ark, Inc., we are the first ones to be approved since the new adoption requirements were recently put in place. They estimate that the rest of the approval process may take another 2 months, then we will travel to Kazakhstan for two trips, the first will last about 3 weeks and the second will be a month later and last about 1 week. You may see the details on our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan. I completed a course on Apologetics via North Central University, scoring 96 on the final exam. For those interested, my essay explaining Apologetics may be read on my Theology Corner page (in either HTML or PDF format). Soon afterwards and at times simultaneously, I taught an 8-week course on Apologetics for One Accord School of Ministry. Marsha and I hosted the interns in the Apologetics class at our home for a nice dinner followed by a study session to review for their final exam. Pictures of this event and the class can be seen on my Teaching One Accord page. Currently, I am taking a course on the Value and Meaning of Literature and I have been reading one of C. S. Lewis' novels, Perelandra. Our family recently enjoyed the movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, based on C. S. Lewis' book. We also enjoyed seeing the newly made movie King Kong. I have just enrolled for my last class prior to graduation: the Senior Project. I hope to complete both courses within the next 6 months and graduate Summa Cum Laude with an Interdisciplinary Studies degree (in essence, a Theology degree), after which I plan to matriculate in graduate school at Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU) in the Fall to eventually attain a Masters degree in Theology via distance education. In my spare time, I plan to continue to work 40 hours a week for Verizon as a Systems Engineer. We enjoyed our Christmas celebration. After our family attended a 1-hour Christmas Eve service at Victorious Life Church in Wesley Chapel (with my mom and brother Brad), we went to my brother Craig's home to exchange gifts. We also brought Peanut (the poodle) to meet Rocky, their dog. It was fun having the dogs with us. Craig and Barbara were fantastic hosts and had great food for all of us! Marsha is working at Citrus Park Mall until the end of the month, after which Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate will be closing its doors nationwide. Marsha will receive about 2 months of salary as a severance package. On the ministry side, some doors seem to be opening up for Marsha within the AG in the district. Isaac is still in his new private school. He spends half the day in his original class and half the day in a different class that is a bit more advanced. Margaret's surgery on her knee has been postponed until the end of February.

Date: November 15, 2005
	Dear Reader, For the past two months, the Kazakhstan Embassy has been in the process of changing its requirements for internationals to adopt from their country. The new forms were disbursed to the adoption agencies last week and our adoption agency (Adoption Ark, Inc.) has put together the new forms that are required for us. We got a head start on two of the new requirements: (1) clearance from the FBI using our fingerprints, (2) medical clearance using a different list. We just completed the remaining 13 new documents and have had them notarized and apostilled (Marsha and my mom took them to Tallahassee on Nov. 15th). Via FedEx, I have just sent the entire dossier and 3 copies of it to Adoption Ark for translation and delivery to the Kazakhstan Embassy in D.C., after which it will take about 3 to 4 months before we are approved by the ministries in Kazakhstan to adopt. However, once approved, we can immediately travel to the country to pick up our precious children: Vita and Russ. Please see our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan! Marsha and I just returned from a one week vacation in Maui, Hawaii. We stayed at the beautiful Four Seasons Resort on the Wailea coast. You may view a slide show of our 200+ pictures in Maui and our mini-trip to the island of Lanai. Just click the link for our Maui trip on our Vacations page! This is probably our last vacation together without new additions to our family! Traveling to Freehold, New Jersey on business for Verizon in September, I (Doug) provided technical training on ESP (Enterprise Systems Platform) to 20+ technicians, using training documentation that I had developed in Tampa prior to my trip. A picture and description of my work at Freehold Data Center can be seen on Doug's Work Life page. Marsha and I hosted the interns in the Book of Acts class at our home for a nice dinner followed by a study session to review for their final exam. At the same time, we celebrated my birthday. Pictures of this event and the class can be seen on my Teaching One Accord page. Currently I am finishing a course on Apologetics, and I just started teaching a course on Apologetics to the One Accord group. I am also taking a course on the Value and Meaning of Literature and I have been reading one of C. S. Lewis' novels, Perelandra. Marsha is still working at Citrus Park Mall, though it is becoming clearer that Casual Corner and Petite Sophisticate will be closing its doors at the end of January. Marsha was just quoted her severance package amount, if she stays till the end. The last days can be tough, so we are hoping she can endure to the end. Isaac enjoys his new private school. The teacher thinks that Isaac is doing so well in his class that he should be placed in a different class within his school. This may happen soon. Driving Isaac to and from school each day has been a difficult journey, but Marsha and Margaret are both motivated to help Isaac to get the special attention he is getting at this school. Maybe he will return to a school in New Tampa next year? Margaret's surgery on her knee has been postponed until January.

Date: September 19, 2005
	Dear Reader, Although we were led to pursue an adoption in Ukraine from October 2004 through August 2005, it seemed that the adoption process became much less efficient and there have been far fewer healthy children from which to select (based on the group newsletters that are distributed daily from Ukrainian Angels, Inc.). Many more couples were coming home from Ukraine without having selected a child they could live with. Additionally, we received a letter from the National Adoption Center (NAC) in July 2005 stating that an invitation letter will be sent to us in December or January for an appointment in 2006 since all appointments in 2005 are taken. Disappointing. You may view our Adoption in Ukraine page for details. Additionally, it seems that the NAC is experiencing many organizational changes. Also, just recently, the president of Ukraine announced that there would be organizational changes in his government to combat existing corruption, with several top-level persons being fired or resigning. Due to the delay of our appointment, our dossier documents will be expiring and need to be redone prior to traveling to Ukraine. Thus, since the documents need to be redone anyway, it seems that now would be a good time to simply switch to a different country that would require us to update our documents as well. Previously, independent adoption in Ukraine was ideal as it saved much money. However, since finding out that our companies and the IRS will cover $44,000 in expenses for 2 children, money is not as big an issue. Thus we are willing to work with a reputable adoption agency that works in another Eastern European area. At this point, we feel that by going through our adoption agency and changing to Kazakhstan, we have a much better chance of adopting healthy children and having a pleasant experience. In the latter part of August 2005, Marsha was directed by a coworker to checkout an adoption web site called www.precious.org. From there she and I found two adorable children that can be unofficially pre-selected from Kazakhstan via Adoption Ark, Inc. These two children are siblings. As of August 2005, Russ is 6 and his sister Vita is 7 1/2. They are described as healthy and intelligent. After thought and prayer, we believe that God is now guiding us in this direction and that these two children should be part of our family. Please see our new web page entitled Adoption in Kazakhstan! I, Doug, am currently teaching the Book of Acts in the One Accord School of Ministries, while at the same time, taking and finishing a course on Apologetics. Putting together all the forms for the adoption is very detail oriented and time-consuming, but this second time around is much easier. Marsha is working at Citrus Park Mall, though rumor has it that Casual Corner may be bought or sold off. Isaac enjoys his new private school, but he has been ill during the past two weeks so he has been at home and visiting multiple doctor specialists. He is doing fine and should be going back to school very soon. Margaret is planning to have surgery on her knee in the beginning of November. Isaac will be starting a new school in August. It is a school that has a wonderful reputation in helping special needs children. Margaret is doing well, though now that our adoption is postponed to 2006, she is planning to have surgery on her knee. She is also writing a book on the computer that documents her life story. Our dog Peanut has become addicted to the doggie treats called "greenies" that Marsha loves to give him. These green chewable toothbrushes also clean his teeth and supposedly give him fresher breath, though only Marsha tests that out.

Date: July 23, 2005
	Dear Reader, Our letter requesting an adoption appointment (between July and October, 2005 or ASAP) was given to Ukraine's NAC on May 28th. Having waited patiently (and at moments anxiously) for our appointment date from the NAC, we did receive a letter from the NAC yesterday. However, they state that they will provide us with an invitation letter in December or January for a date in 2006. Marsha and I were disappointed, especially since we were opening the letter with anticipation of finding out our date of travel. The English contents of the letter from the Director states the following: The Adoption Center has received your proposals concerning possible time of your visit to the Center. As the final schedule of visits with the purpose of studying the orphan children databank in 2005 for foreign citizens being the prospective adoptive parents have already been approved, your proposals may be considered only in 2006. The invitation letter concerning the approval of the date of your visit to the Center will be sent to you in December 2005 - January 2006. We pray that the Lord will guide us according to His will. To see the details and the latest on our adoption journey, please see our Adoption in Ukraine page. On the bright side, Marsha and I celebrated our 5-year anniversary on June 3rd at an extra special place (Victoria & Albert's) with some special friends (Pastor Tracy & Denise Larson)! You may view the pictures and the update on our anniversaries page. Having completed a course in Church History II, I have posted two of the required essays on my Theology Corner page. I just received the grade back from the main essay entitled Origins and Early Growth of the Pentecostal Movement and the Assemblies of God. Encouraging to me, the professor gave the six-page essay a "100" with the following comments: Excellent paper! One of the most complete, and most well written, papers I've seen on this topic. Good bibliography of references. Very interest to read! Good work! On my Audio Sermons page, I've added a short sermon that I preached in November of 2001 entitled Dealing with Crisis. I've also added a recording of Isaac's first time preaching (sort of) when he was about 5 years old. I have added a page that shows Marsha's College transcripts from her freshman year at Southeastern Bible College in Lakeland, FL. My university transcripts have been updated also to include an "A" in Church History II. I am currently enrolled in Value and Meaning in Literature. I have about 2 classes left for another Bachelor of Science degree--this one in Theology (actually called Interdisciplinary Studies). Having searched for an accredited Graduate School to attend afterwards, I found Southwestern Assemblies of God University to be very accommodating. They will grant a 36-hour Masters of Theology in NT for work done via correspondence! Not many accredited schools have a non-residency requirement for grad work. Besides growing and learning from the courses, the degree would enable me to teach Bible classes adjunct in a University. Since my brother Brad has discontinued using AOL, he has relinquished his web page to me, and thus I've added a page to describe the world of Brad. Isaac will be starting a new school in August. It is a school that has a wonderful reputation in helping special needs children. Margaret is doing well, though now that our adoption is postponed to 2006, she is planning to have surgery on her knee. She is also writing a book on the computer that documents her life story. Our dog Peanut has become addicted to the doggie treats called "greenies" that Marsha loves to give him. These green chewable toothbrushes also clean his teeth and supposedly give him fresher breath, though only Marsha tests that out.

Date: May 20, 2005
	Dear Reader, We received news from the National Adoption Center (NAC) in Kiev, Ukraine on May 18th via letter (and by e-mail from our liaison) that we have been approved to proceed with the Adoption and to request a date for an appointment with the NAC!!! We have completed our "request for appointment" letter and have sent it to our facilitator in Ukraine via FedEx. She will translate it and deliver it to the NAC. We are requesting an appointment date somewhere between July and October of 2005, yet it could be later than that. We hope to adopt a boy and a girl under the age of 7, preferably even younger. To see the details and the latest on our adoption journey, please see our Adoption in Ukraine page. Traveling to Andover, Massachusetts on business for Verizon in May, I provided technical training on ESP (Enterprise Systems Platform) to 10 technicians, using training documentation that I had developed in Tampa prior to my trip. A picture and description of my work at Andover Data Center can be seen on Doug's Work Life page. In addition to working 3 days and nights, I also managed to travel to Boston, to New Hampshire and to Maine with Marsha, who came for the first two days of the trip. We visited Uncle Cliff in New Hampshire and we ate at the fabulous Cliff's House Resort & Spa in Ogunquit, Maine. You may view the pictures on our vacations page under New England 2005.

Date: May 7, 2005
	Dear Reader, We are still praying that we will hear positive news from the National Adoption Center (NAC) in Kiev, Ukraine within the next few weeks. If approved, we will then set an appointment with the NAC to travel to Ukraine to adopt a boy and a girl under the age of 7, preferably even younger. To see the details and the latest on our adoption journey, please see our Adoption in Ukraine page. Traveling to New York on business for Verizon in April, I provided technical training on ESP (Enterprise Systems Platform) to technicians, a project lead, and a technical manager at Blue Hill, using training documentation that I had developed in Tampa prior to my trip. A picture and description of my work at Blue Hill Data Center can be seen on Doug's Work Life page. In addition to working 3 days and nights, I also managed to visit a friend of the family in NYC (Alice Herber) and some relatives in Croton-on-Hudson (Rich and Sharon Woolley). I also passed by Phelps Memorial Hospital Center in Sleepy Hollow, NY, where I was born (the town was named North Tarrytown in 1966) and I have included a picture of it on the page About Doug. Our family just returned from a brief vacation to Disney World in Kissimmee, Florida. You may view the pictures on our vacations page under Disney World in April 2005. Realizing that the interns will be having a summer break soon, I have put together a page that describes my three semesters of teaching in One Accord School of Ministry and have posted a few of the pictures taken of the interns as they came over to our home and fellowshipped with us over dinner.

Date: April 12, 2005
	Dear Reader, Our dossier (of translated documents for the adoption in Ukraine) was received and registered by the National Adoption Center (NAC) in Kiev, Ukraine on April 12, 2005! We were notified of this via e-mail from our translator Julia (residing in Orlando, FL) who was contacted by Valentina, our facilitator in Ukraine, who submitted the documents to the NAC. Considering that some applicants have been waiting for months to be registered, we are fortunate to have been registered within one month of trying to submit the documents to the NAC, and we thank the Lord for the answer to this prayer. We are still praying to adopt a boy and a girl under the age of 7, preferably even younger. To see the details and the latest on our adoption journey, please see our Adoption in Ukraine page. A page has been created for Marsha's dad, the late William Earl Lovick (nicknamed Bill). After a full year of work, I have finished converting over 160 hours of sermons of Dr. Bill Lovick (from 1978-81) from audio cassettes to MP3 files, and have placed them on 5 CDs. I am excited about this new technology and the ability to preserve a rich heritage of Biblical preaching from a pastor & missionary who positively impacted the lives of thousands of people, including Marsha. There is link from his page to a list of the contents of 5 CDs of Dr. Bill Lovick's sermons, each packed with 33 hours of sermons in MP3 file format. Also, I have placed an excellent sermon/testimony of Dr. Lovick on his page that describes the Lovick's missionary journeys and another audio clip that gives a short introduction (by the music minister) describing Dr. Lovick as "probably the most sought after missionary speaker in the world!"

Date: March 17, 2005
	Dear Reader, Marsha and I (Doug) took a vacation trip to Kiev, Ukraine and to Germany (Darmstadt & Frankfurt). You may view the 200 pictures from our journey via a slide show on our vacations page under Ukraine 2005 Feb. We spent a lovely 24 hours in Germany with my distant relative, Irma Stammberger (her web page has been updated with our recent visit). Irma cooked delicious bratwurst for us for lunch, took us site seeing, helped us buy some nice boots for the snow in Ukraine (and in Germany), treated us to a superb restaurant (Altes Schalthaus), and then provided a room in her home in which to sleep. Next, we spent 3 days in Kiev, Ukraine, where Roman Korniyko and Ruslan Malyuta picked us up, took us site seeing, and provided a place for us to stay at Father's House, in which they serve as the president and vice-president, respectively. On the next day, we attended their Sunday morning church service and saw a baptism ceremony for about 20 adults. Afterwards, we met Lyuda Litvin, an excellent translator with Father's House, and we attended a church service at the Embassy of God (the largest Evangelical Charismatic church in Europe with 20,000 members) and Marsha and I had the privilege of meeting with Pastor Sunday Adelaja, at his request after the service. After a wonderful time of fellowship in his office, he invited Marsha and I to share/minister to the leadership of the 2,000 home groups that would meet the following night for their monthly leaders meeting at the church. Next, we treated Roman & Natasha, Ruslan & Anya, and Lyuda Litvin to a nice Steak restaurant. On the next day, Lyuda, took around town and we experienced the Metro. We also met two professional ladies (with lots of international adoption experience) who will serve as our facilitator and translator for our adoption in Ukraine, when we return in the summer (hopefully). In the evening, Lyuda took us to the Embassy of God where Marsha and I ministered to the leadership. What an experience! The next morning, we said goodbye to our friends and the children at the orphanage of Father's House and went to the Borispol Airport in Kiev to fly home. Unfortunately, our passports were stolen out of my handbag attached to my luggage carry-on. Perhaps it happened as we were shuttled like cattle onto the crowded bus that took us to our plane. I noticed that my entire black folder containing our passports was missing after we had landed in Frankfurt and we were about transfer to our plane to the U.S. What an ordeal! We had to sleep in the terminal since we could not leave the airport (reminds us of The Terminal movie with Tom Hanks, which we bought and watched when we arrived home). In the morning, the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt worked with us to leave the airport and obtain new passports at the consulate. It cost us a bit of money for the visa to leave the airport, the taxi rides, the new passports, pictures, storage for luggage, but we were relieved to have passports that allowed us to return home! United Airlines was so nice and understanding about our situation that they waived the ticket change-fee (that their partner Lufthansa had charged us for changing the itinerary). We were glad to arrive home, precisely 24 hours later than originally anticipated. Pictures of our adventure can be seen on our vacations page under Ukraine 2005 Feb. Concerning the adoption process, we received approval from the State of Florida and from the U.S. Government (Homeland Security) to proceed with the adoption. All our dossier documents were apostilled by the Secretary of State (Florida) and we received our documents just hours prior to flying to Ukraine on vacation on Feb. 24th. While in Kiev, we chose a facilitator and translator who will help us with the adoption process in Ukraine. We hand-delivered to Valentina and Alla our documents along with some money to have them translated and notarized and submitted to the National Adoption Center (NAC). Because of the vast number of people wanting to adopt, the NAC regulates the number of adoptions each week and randomly selects applications once a week on Tuesdays. We are just waiting for the day that our dossier will be selected for registration and to be reviewed, with the hopes that they will approve us for adoption. We still would like to adopt a boy and a girl under the age of 7, preferably even younger. To see the details and the latest on our adoption journey, please see our Adoption in Ukraine page. Marsha, Isaac, and Margaret drove to Alabama where Marsha was the main speaker at a Missions Banquet in Eufaula during the weekend of March 5th. This left Doug and Peanut to fend for themselves at home. For the past 6 weeks, we hosted a home group session at our home for the 40 Days of Purpose. During the two weeks that Marsha and I were away (in D.C. or in Ukraine), Margaret facilitated and led the session, which she was happy to do. I know that I grew spiritually as a result of the 40 days of devotional reading from Rick Warren's book, and we developed some closer relationships with those who participated in the weekly sessions. I, Doug, have just finished teaching (for the 3rd semester in a row) a college Bible class to the interns of One Accord Ministries. This semester the course was Biblical Interpretation or basically, Hermeneutics. We wrapped things up for the interns with a pizza party and study session for the final exam at our home. I am now able to focus on my own personal studies once again and to finish my Church History II course.

Date: February 13, 2005
	Dear Reader, Marsha, Isaac and I (Doug) took a vacation trip to Washington D.C. We stayed for 3 nights at the Crystal City Hilton hotel, where the FGBMFI regional D.C. convention was being held. In addition to attending and participating in the convention, we did have a chance to go site seeing and visit some historical places. Isaac enjoyed seeing some places and buildings that he had only seen on TV. Many pictures from our journey can be seen on our vacations page under Washington D.C. 2005. Serving as a National Director for FGBMFI, I wanted to attend this special convention that honored our military. During the board meeting, I shared about the internet and web sites to 40 other directors (and special guests) in attendance. Marsha was given the opportunity to sing two songs at the convention that blessed many people. Isaac was having quite a few pains in his head and had to skip the last evenings sessions. Bob Bassler from Indiana felt led of the Lord to ask permission to visit Isaac in his room and share with him and then pray for him. Isaac felt better and was encouraged spiritually. We also had an opportunity to visit Word of Life Assembly of God for their Sunday morning service and Pastor Wendel Cover invited Marsha to sing a song for the congregation. Afterwards, Pastor Cover and his wife Lois took us out to Mike's American Grill for a delicious meal and wonderful fellowship. Marsha, Isaac and I all had a great time in D.C. and in Virginia. Our church, Victorious Life Church, is participating in *40 Days of Purpose,* and Margaret, Marsha and I are hosts for one of a hundred home groups that are meeting together to study Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life. Each day for 40 days, every participant commits to reading one chapter of devotional material in the book, enabling spiritual growth as we discover why God created us and discover our true reason and purpose for life! Since Marsha and I were in D.C. last week, Margaret hosted the group and led the discussion with those in attendance at our home. Each week we also view a 20 minute video teaching by Rick Warren. This week, I led the study and discussion. We have four more meetings (total of 6 weeks or 40 days). Margaret will again host the group when Marsha and I are in Ukraine at the end of the month. Marsha and I have made great progress on our Adoption paperwork! All documents were submitted for the Home Study and we have been approved by the State of Florida to adopt! Next, we have also submitted all our paperwork to Homeland Security (BCIS) and have gotten our fingerprints taken (along with Margaret's). Any day now, we expect to have an I-171H form sent to us stating that we are approved by the U.S. government to proceed with the adoption from Ukraine. After that, we will have our dossier (documents) apostilled and sent to our translators in Ukraine to translate the documents and submit them to the National Adoption Center in Kiev. Marsha and I will be taking a tourist trip to Kiev at the end of February to get acquainted with the country, culture, and people prior to our lengthy trip in the summer for the actual adoption. Once we are back from our short tourist trip, we will post the pictures on our site! Please see our Adoption in Ukraine page for our step-by-step international adoption journey.

Date: Christmas, 2004
	Dear Friends, Looking over the past year, we were very blessed and had many positive experienc

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