Inspire, Summer 1995

'NewsPublication for Cedarville College Alumni A S 111 Two More Not Too Many I hristmas Day,1994. Steve '79 and Janice Thompson gather with Daniel,age 12, Carrie,9,and their two youngest children, 21-month-old twins. The little boys don't understand much of what is said to them.Perhaps they hear their names and recognize that part ofthejoy of this Christmas season is because ofthem. Butthe language,the setting,the people are all still new.Only afew days before, Steve and Janice had stepped onto a plane in Russia,carrying their new twin boys, Stephen Nikita and Robert Ilya. Adopted out ofan orphanage in Petrozavodsk,the boys begin to learn,this Christmas in Xenia,Ohio,what a family is. "I like playing with them," says Carrie, "But you don't get to do anything by yourself anymore."Indeed,the two-year- olds' pace matches their dad's rapid-fire pronunciation when he practices his profession as an auctioneer. Steve says, "Everything takes twice as long with twins.But as the Bible says,'Happy is the man who has his quiver full' ofchildren." (Psalm 127:5) Janice gets a lot ofhelp from Daniel, who shares his room with the boys,and Carrie, who is home-schooled. Bobby and Stephen are small for their age and had some minor health problems due to lack of enough milk and nutritional foods in the orphanage."They're doing well with a good diet and lots ofexercise,"Janice shares."They've each gained five to six pounds in the last few months."The boys have also changed the Thompson household. According to Janice,the biggest difference is the noise level."If they're quiet, it's bad news—they're getting into something." Steve explains,"When we realized we were not able to have more children biologically, we began to look into adoption.We were specifically looking SUMMER 1995 The Steve Thompson Family and praying for a sibling group.We would have been happy to adopt two or three children."Janice says the adoption process is a long road,but the Lord opened doors every step ofthe way. While the Thompsons were waiting for final approval to adopt the two boys,President Boris Yeltsin vetoed a law in Russia that would have prohibited foreign adoptions. Soon after the Thompsons returned, Russian legislators passed a similar six- month moratorium. The Thompsons worked through Americans for International Aid and Adoption(AIAA)to adopt the boys,a process which culminated in a ten-day trip to Russia in December. Steve and Janice have submitted reports to AIAA and Russian officials to demonstrate the twins' health and happiness. Local follow-up is being handled by Lutheran Social Services ofDayton. aI 111 I I II N The Thompsons stay in contact with the Russian translator who hosted them and plan to eventually take the boys back to visit Russia.Steve advises Christian families who are seeking to adopt not to get discouraged."It's difficult, but adoption is an achievable goal,and it's very rewarding."The entire process took the Thompsons only about 10 months. Janice adds,"Wejust feel so blessed to have them." MM.