- Well, without a doubt,

this is gonna be the bestThanksgiving ever at my house.

As many of you knowour family has expanded

to include three beautiful new daughters

and we are thanking God this year

for Alysia, Zoya, and Sophia

because it was God who redeemed them

and brought them into thiscircle of love in our family.

And so we wanna ask youto thank God with us

as we watch this testimonyof our gratitude to Him.

I've seen children aroundthe world with no hope.

I know how desperate theircircumstances can be.

But I cannot tell you why thestory of three little girls

in Berdyansk, Ukraineeffected me so strongly.

I heard about them whena couple named Nancy

and Steve Hathaway came onCBN's show "Living the Life"

to share about theirinternational adoption.

They told me a story that broke my heart.

They had gone to anorphanage with approval

for two children but they were introduced

to three sisters and thenthe orphanage director said,

"Well just a minute,"and she left the room,

obviously went and talked to the oldest

of the three sisters,and came back and said,

"It's not a problem the oldersister said she'll stay behind

so her younger sisters can have a chance."

Well, I mean all of us in thatproduction meeting just wept.

I mean, we said what kind of

and we didn't even know the ages,

but we said what kindof a child does that,

sacrifices herself so her younger siblings

can have a chance?

What would that do to achild's heart and their psyche

to know that they'reconnected somewhere to someone

that they may never see againfor the rest of their lives?

The Hathaways decidedthey couldn't break up

a sibling group and Icouldn't stop thinking

about nine-year-oldSophia, 11-year-old Zoya,

and 13-year-old Alysia.

At the time, I was fasting and praying

for my own four childrenwhen I felt God spoke to me.

"What is the fast that I require of you,

but that you take careof widows and orphans?"

I took a deep breath andasked my husband, Andy,

if we could adopt them.

- I said I think the Lord's got this,

and he's in charge of this.

And so we just need to move

from step to step to step to step.

And if the lights remain green,

we're to continue to the next step.

- So the planning began,paperwork and phone calls.

After months ofnail-biting, the word came.

We could come and get our girls.

But as fast as the joypoured into my heart,

so did the doubt.

I went back to my roomthat night and said,

"God, I don't think I can do this."

I just thought, "I'mnot big enough for this.

This is a huge job,and it's too important.

If I blow this, I mean, arethey suffering in the orphanage?

Yes, but wow, God, I mean,I don't know how to do this.

I don't know how to beeverything they probably need us

to be, and we're notperfect parents in any way."

And I felt like God kindof chuckled and said,

"You're not gonna dothis. I'm gonna do this.

And you're just gonna come with me."

I say bring it on the Sundays, okay.

- But we know, yeah...

- Our departure was only four weeks away.

CBN came over to catcha glimpse of the chaos

as we switched around living arrangements.

After all, we would have seven kids.

It's been an organizational nightmare.

- And almost every singleroom we're painting

has furniture in it.

- So we paint a wall,move the furniture back.

Paint a wall, move the furniture back.

But the day before departure,we received alarming news.

The Ukrainian governmentwas halting all adoptions

for two weeks.

It was discouragingbecause we felt so close,

but we decided to leave on schedule

and pray for a break through.

So departure day was here.

No, it's empty hun.

Oh my Lord.

Our only daughter,Tory, was going with us.

- I have a video camera charger.

- [Terry] And it's your camera right?

- Yeah, it's our camera.

- Let's add three morechildren to this maze. (laughs)

Drew was away at school,

so J.P. and Tyler wouldstay with my sister, Judy.

Bye, honey!

We were so excited.

We were on our way.

- I still don't think it's hit me

that I'm gonna be the fatherof three more children.

I mean, I don't care howmany times I've said it.

- [Terry] Time to get moving.

- It sounds like you all have a lot.

- Yeah, we have an awful lot, I'm afraid.

The temporary adoptionclosure weighed on our minds,

but we were confident leaving

as scheduled was the right decision.

Finally, we were on our way.

The initial news in Kiev was not good.

It was unlikely we wouldstart the adoption process

any earlier than the openingdate, two weeks from now.

- [Andy] Some of it wasfeeling totally out of control.

I mean, so many things were happening.

No matter what we did it didn't matter.

It was their system, and wecould not do anything about it.

- [Terry] But one week intoour trip, we got the news.

We had been approved early.

We could go get our girls.

We left the next day ona long 12-hour drive.

Tomorrow, I would meet my new daughters.

Berdyansk, Ukraine.

Six months ago, I didn't know it existed.

Now Andy and I contemplatedthe significance

this place will always have in our lives.

With knocking knees, we pulled up.

- [Man] And the orphanage is on the left.

- [Terry] The moment had arrived.

It was time to meet the girls.

Our CBN cameras did not come in.

Ironically, at the very momentI was meeting my daughters

for the first time,

outside our cameramanwas filming the faces

of those who hoped anddreamed that someone,

someday would come for them too.

(laughter)

His name is Teddy.

Because when he was a puppy,he looked like a teddy bear.

And your birthday is thesame as his birthday.

We were in the orphanagedirector's office.

The girls sang for us.

All three of themtogether sang a folk song,

and Sophia did some gymnastics things.

And just before we left, wewere hugging the girls goodbye,

and Alysia, who's the oldest,

who I think has a littlebit more of a sense

of what's gone on here,just kind of came up

and gave me a big hug andshe whispered something

in Russian in my ear,

And the translator happenedto be standing next to me,

and she said, "Thank you for coming."

Because I think she gets it, you know.

She understands thatthey were in a dark place

without light and therewas redemption for them,

not because of us, butbecause God has a plan

and purpose for their lives.

(laughter)

Yes, and your beds are allready for you in America.

The next several dayswere filled with getting

to know each other.

It's all lines, see?

Alysia was puzzled by our American crafts,

but my determined Sophia caught right on.

And my Zoya, well she wasmesmerized by Andy's video camera.

This is good.

Several days went by

while we completed the adoption process.

It gave us a chance to spendtime with all the children.

And my girls were thrilledthat we brought presents.

Thanks to OperationBlessing and CBN WorldReach

and our partners, wehad enough for everyone.

The director said no one hadever blessed their children

like this before.

But there were sad times too.

You can just sense what they're thinking.

One more couple arrives,one more adoption completed,

and they're still leftwithout a mom and dad.

My own children at timescould not hold back the tears

of sadness for those left behind.

Their artwork hangingin the hall expresses

these kids' deep longing for a family.

A longing we were able to fulfill

for at least three little girls.

Welcome to our home.

- [Woman] Hi, everybody!

- Hi! (laughter)

Hello, buddy.

How are you?

- Oh, I'm so glad you're back.

(laughter)

- We're home, we're home.

Say, "Hello."

Say, "Hi Soph."

Say, "Hi Soph."

(laughter)

Who are those girls, huh?

Look at me.

This is Zoya, Teddy.

- [Zoya] (speaks in Russian)

- Teddy, you're not supposedto be on Alysia's bed,

you little snook.

Just walking in andwatching their curiosity.

Everything is new.

Everything is an adventure.

Uh-oh.

- Yes!

- [Terry] It's all been very intriguing.

And as we begin our new life together,

Andy and I want to tell youhow much we've appreciated all

of you standing with us, praying for us,

and believing God for a miracle.

I don't think we couldhave made it without people

who prayed for us.

And that's what being family is.

It's when we come up alongside each other,

and we say, "You know what?You're gonna make it."

That's why God puts us in families

because it gets us to the finish line.

- "♪ So many days went by.

So many nights I cried.

Thinking I bore my burdens alone.

Wonder where I would be

if no one had trusted me for me.

Oh, thank God I had a friend.

Cuz somebody prayed for me.

Somebody prayed for me.

Someone who took my heart to heaven

on bended knee.

Somebody wouldn't stop believing

'til God had met my need.

And I'm stronger today cuzsomebody prayed for me.

Somebody wouldn't stop believing

'til God had met my need.

Now I'm stronger today cuz somebody prayed

for me.

- Every child wants to belong.

They wanna know that they'reloved and they're wanted.

We think family is God's idea.

How can you enjoy that whenyou know there are some

who don't have it if you have any ability

to make a difference.

- Well Terry, I'd say you'rereally making a difference

in their lives.

- You know the thing that'shappened for me in this

is that I see God'ssalvation of all of us.

That we were, you said it earlier,

when we were still in the far country

before we ever knew we existed,

He was planning a place for us in Him.

And everything aboutgrace and understanding

who God is as a fatherand how much He loves us

has become fresh to me as Iwatch Him make Himself real

to these girls.

As I watch Him remove theirshame, heal their hurts,

give them a hope and a future

and an inheritance that'sa forever inheritance.

Adoption is just an incrediblereflection of what God does

for every one of us who come to Him.

It's amazing.- We're all adopted

into this family, and He came.

He left heaven, hecame, and sought us out,

and said, "You're mine. You're mine.

No longer are you some alien rebellious...

You're mine.

You're part of my family,

and I have given you the authority

to say that you're the children of God."

What great love, what great love.

If you're interested infinding meaning and purpose

for life, and I'm talkinglife with a capital L,

there's no better way than togive yourself so that others,

those orphans, can havea hope and a future.

If you want to know more information

about how you can adopt,

it's not necessarily just the Ukraine.

There are other places in China and India,

throughout Africa, SouthAmerica, right here at home

in the good ol' U.S. of A.

There are plenty ofchildren needing families.

If you'd like more information,just log on to CBN.com.

We'll point you in the right direction.

We'll sort of hold yourhand information-wise

as you take this great leap of faith.

If you don't have access tothe web, you can call us.

1-800-759-0700.

Terry?

- Well up next, the table's turn.

Scott Ross takes us behind the scenes

of the Robertson householdwith Dede Robertson.