PUNO SNIJEG!!! (ALOT OF SNOW!!!)

So, I've had some people email me asking if I'm okay. I thought posting this would be the easiest way to let people know how I am and what the situation here in BiH is.
We've gotten snow...LOTS of snow! Much of Europe is covered and dealing with freezing temperatures. I'll explain what I know of the situation, but if you want to know more I've included several articles you can read about what's going on here.
-We've gotten about 4 feet of snow in Sarajevo. BiH has been declared as in a state of emergency. The city is up and running again (buses, trams, etc). There aren't many cars on the road because most parking lots are covered and people have to dig out their cars. People are digging pathways to walk and for the most part things are "normal". They have done a GREAT job within the city of getting plows and such going to clear the roads. SO things weren't slowed down for long.
Someone here described the city like this and I think it's appropriate: "I feel like I live in an ant farm. There's paths through the mounds of snow everywhere and little black and brown bodies (people's coats) scurrying around through the paths." And I agree it does resemble an ant farm!
All that to say I am fine. I have heat, I have electricity, I have water. I am blessed!
-Sarajevo is in a valley. There are many people who live in the mountains along this valley. Most of them are stuck because snowplows can't get to the remote areas.
-People in villages usually don't have radiators. They use wood ovens. So for those in remote areas many don't have electricity or water due to the weather. Some are running low on wood and can't get more. This is causing major problems. As I write this I can hear helicopters. This is because they are using helicopters to fly in food to remote areas that are "trapped" and can't get out of the snow.
-There have been over 350 people across Europe who have died due to the weather/temperatures. And there are still MANY people without heat, electricity, and water in Europe battling the climates.
-The temperatures here in BiH are suppose to stay between 5-12*F over the next ten days. And more snow is predicted in the coming days.
IF you are wanting to know how you can pray, here are some things:
1. Pray for the weather to STOP!!! As beautiful as snow is and so gentle and dainty, when it piles up like this it causes massive problems. So, pray that this winter weather will cease.
2. Pray for those who are in bad situations. People who have no heat, electricity, water. Pray that people who can, will help. We are trying to help where we can, but we can't obviously get everywhere and are limited on resources ourselves.
3. Pray for the governments of all these countries as they deal with handeling this winter situation. This snow will eventualy melt and depending on how and when that happens, this could also cause issues.

Here are some links with more info on the situation with this winter weather:
http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2012/02/07/europes-severe-weather-kills-from-england-to-greece/

http://www.newsday.com/news/world/snow-traps-thousands-in-bosnian-villages-1.3509635

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/05/thousands-trapped-by-snow-in-bosnia/

http://news.yahoo.com/bosnian-authorities-declare-state-emergency-144026917.html

If you do have any questions, please feel free to email me!

In Need of a Little Pomoć (Help)

So it's been snowing the past couple of days...okay maybe more like it's snowed about 3-4 feet in the past day and a half! This morning I decided to venture out and take some pictures. And as He often does the Lord not only allowed me to take some beautiful pictures, but gave me a wonderful blessing to go with them....

You see last night I was a bit discouraged. I talked to my sister a few days ago, and all was "normal". Meaning she was running around like crazy taking care of her girls, and trying to get paperwork ready for their upcoming trip. If you haven't heard, they are in the process of adopting. They were suppose to be going this month for a court hearing which was SUCH exciting news since we are all SO ready for my precious nephew, Levi, to be home.

I got on facebook last night and saw a new "update" from Amber on her blog. It was titled, "Indian Giver", and my heart dropped a little. In all honesty, I didn't want to read the post. I didn't want to hear this news. I mean, I'm just the "aunt" and this has been an emotional roller coaster from the start. So, I KNOW this has been a hard ride for my sister and brother-in-law...

Of course upon reading the post she stated their trip was cancelled, their court date was cancelled, and now they do what they've been doing a lot of....they wait. Because of the upcoming elections there's much uncertainty for many families trying to adopt from Russia. After the elections they will know more about how to proceed, but basically for now, families wait, children who have parents longing to hold them wait, and as this is far bigger than adoption, a country waits to find out "what next?"

I was laying in bed last night praying for Levi...for Amber and Dust, and the Roo and the Squish, and for Russia. As my sister posted, "God IS in control." They have no control over what's going to happen, no one does, but we know God holds all things in His hands. He knows the outcome...I was dwelling on this through tears, and just praying that as I, Amber, Dust, no one can do anything, that God would just hold my sweet nephew, trusting that no matter what, Levi belongs to his Father...I've told Amber so many times "Just hand it over to the Lord." And as an aunt, my words were coming back to me, "Court, hand Levi over to the Lord. You have no control, and that's all you can do. He's taking care of him."

So I woke up this morning with Levi on my heart, and as I went out to take some pictures the Lord gentle reminded me of His guidance and leading in all things..

.

I was about to go back to my apartment when I turned around and saw this sweet older lady making her way through the snow. I took a picture and then heard her asking for help. I walked up to her and she grabbed my arm. It was clear she was having trouble balancing herself through the thick, powdery snow. I asked her (in my broken Bosnian) if she needed help getting through the snow. She smiled and nodded her head. So, I walked in front of her as she held my hand through the track of snow, and I tried to pack down the path as much as possible so she would have better footing. We made it across, her speaking in Bosnian the whole time, and me trying to tell her I don't speak much Bosnian. She told me "thank you" and she was on her way.

I know that if I wouldn't have been there to help her someone would have come along, but I praise God for the opportunity to just be there because He reminded me of something very sweet. There are many times in life when we are like this lady. The path we see before us is scary, we don't know how stable it is, we feel wobblely and unbalanced, unsure if the path under us will give way, we feel like there's nothing to hold on to and we could loose our footing at any moment and fall over. But we have a God who wants grab our hand and guide us through the path He's set before us. Even though we might still wooble a little and even slip some, He is there to hold on to us to make sure we make it across.

I needed to be reminded of that today...I know God is in control, but sometimes I forget that His control even includes the little details like packing down the snow on the path to help us with each step.

So as much as I enjoyed the beauty in the snow all around me this morning, I moreso praise God for the gracious reminder that He IS in control of every little detail...So, now we wait trusting in Him as we continue on this path of bringing Levi home.