Get Your Tissues

Today started pretty uneventful since E was in school all day. We are leaving her town at 3:00 am on Wednesday to head home to wait for court, so we did some laundry and some packing. I really hate to leave E but I am SO ready to see F, I miss that precious angel.  

J and L went to the toy store to look around and waste sometime while E was at school.  Of course he found a Hot Wheel with Russian writing. He was pretty excited. 

We arrived at the orphanage and E was finishing up her schoolwork.  Side note.....these kids have a TON of schoolwork. The kids in the states have nothing to complain about when it comes to the amount of homework, compared to these kids!  She finished her work and it was off to play ??????? yep, you guessed it.....Uno!!  She is getting closer to doing "The Bridge" after all of her practice.  Then onto Fruit Ninja.  She is very thoughtful.  She passes the IPad to the other kids as soon as her turn is over.  We added minutes to her phone (she was totally out) and she was VERY excited.  She added our Ukrainian phone numbers under "Momma and Poppa."  

Ok, here comes some sadness.  Our facilitator let her know that we were leaving Wednesday to go home to work while we wait for court, but we would be back.  And tomorrow is our last day.  She was heartbroken.  There were no tears, but we definitly anticipate them tomorrow.  She is so sweet and has opened up to us so much.  We can tell that the boys of the orphanage are picking on her.  We assume because she is leaving.  You don't have to speak the lanuage to recognize it.  We heard her say to one of them, very affirmatively, "Moy Poppa!!!!"  (My poppa!!!!)  

Ready for the tears???? Remember me telling you about O, the friend of E, that asked to go on the walk with us?  This girl has stolen my heart.  She is so timid and precious and thoughtful.  She just wants to be loved.  She waited for us outside today (E was inside doing her school work) to hug us and walk us into see E.  Well anyway, after they had dinner, our facilitator said that O wanted to talk to her in private.  Afterwards, we said goodnight giving hugs and kisses to both E and O.  As we were heading towards the bus, I asked if she would share what O wanted to talk to her about.  Here is comes..... O asked her if she could help her find a family like ours.  She wants to be in a family too!!!!  Are you crying now?????  How stinking sweet is that???  BREAKS MY HEART!!!!!  I really want to find a family for this precious girl, and will pray to God for guidance with her.  

Tomorrow is our last day with E until court.  We have been blessed by the director to be able to spend a little more time with her tomorrow outside of the orphanage. 

A Great Few Days

I can't even begin to explain how great E is.  She is so sweet (I know....I know...I keep saying that). We took her out walking in her little town. There is a huge open market here. We bought her a sweater and other personal items. She was SO proud of her sack with her new sweater in it. Some small things that I have noticed that show she's getting closer to us are obvious, like she is more joking with us now. She started counting to 12 in English....just out of the blue. I told her "your Angliyskiy good."  She giggled and said, "Momma Russkiy problema!"  We all died laughing. But a more subtle thing is she comes and stands next to us when we are paying for something. If we are having a problem communicating to the clerk with what we want, she speaks for us. I think that is amazing progress for a child that was once very timid and worried about communicating with us.

Another awesome moment was when E picked her middle name. Woohoo!!!  We gave her 3 options. And she picked her name right away!

Today we arrived at the orphanage to take her out for a few hours. When we arrived, E asked for my phone (to use Google translate). She handed it to her friend O.  O started typing. When she handed it back to me, it translated to "can please you and I go for a walk with E please if you agree?"  How sweet was that!!!  Of course we said yes!  We had a great day walking around the town. We went to the little arcade type place. We played air hockey. The girls had so much fun. I don't think O had ever played before. She and E had an intense game going on. Each of them ended up with a scrape on their finger. It was hilarious!!!!!

Here's L kicking booty at air hockey! 

We explored the old city wall, seriously ancient (at the recommendation of the orphanage director).  I am trying to be vague with details (as you can tell) or I would have a lot to tell you about this place.  Here are a few pictures. 

Gorgeous! 

After being out exploring for a while, we had to get the girls back to the orphanage. But first, we stopped by the bakery for E to pick out a cake.  They kids at the orphanage were putting on a "Saying Good-Bye to Autumn" performance. So we wanted to buy cake for all the kids to eat after the performance. This is what E picked. 

It was INSANELY good. Nothing like an American cake.  The type of cake.....Tiramisu!!!  Oh it was SOOO good!  E was so proud carrying the cake into the orphanage. It's amazing the things we take for granted in the U.S.  Going to the grocery store to pick out a "store made cake" would seem rather cheap to some people but to E, it was worth a million bucks.  

So all the kids did their performance AND even included L in the performance and asked her to sing a song!!!  It was such a nice evening. 

After the performance it was dinner tme for the kids. The teacher even had plates made for us!  We got to eat dinner with E at the orphanage and with all the kids. We were so humbled by their hospitality and kindness to us.  And the orphanage food????? Delicious. All 3 of us were clean platers!  Lol. 

So the sad parts.....this amazing orphanage (I know, sounds like an oxymoron) is closing!!!! All the kids will be moved at the end of December. I'm not quite sure where yet.  We are PRAYING that our 10 days will be up the day before the move (if things go as we hope for a "Plan A." )

Other sad new....we have to leave our precious E to go home and wait for court. I'm so torn. I am SOOOO ready to go home, I miss F.  I can't wait to hold my little baby!!!  Buuuuut, I am going to miss E!  I pray she handles our leaving as well as can be expected. We pray that it is only for a few weeks.  We are praying for a court date of 12/13.  E knows we have some pretty amazing and treasured photos on our camera and we will get them developed in the States and bring them back to her and the other kids, so hopefully this will give her something to look forward to.....other than seeing us again...of course ;-) 

We Have a Yes!

 It has been a crazy few days. I just now have internet and the time to catch up. 

So Tuesday we were picked up at our house at 2:00pm, made it to SDA around 3:30pm to wait in line to pick-up our referral (and yes, there was someone else waiting and a couple came in a few minutes after us).  At 4:08pm, the woman who was waiting before us let us go first (she knew we had to catch our train).  Such a wonderful blessing.  We picked up our referral effortlessly. We picked up our facilitator and headed for the train. The driver was VERY worried about his car. It was one of the rare moments that you WISHED he drove like every other crazy Ukrainian driver. It was SO frustrating. But....we did make it to our train....with a whole 15 minutes to spare!  

We had the whole train car to ourselves (since it sleeps 4).  We had a nice time visiting with our facilitator. She brought a "picnic" for us, very thoughtful.  But have to tell you, it was NOT the best train ride.  It was an older train than the last time and it was HOT.  And I'm not exaggerating. Like my chocolate MELTED, I'm serious, actually melted, it was so hot!!!!!

We arrived at the train station at 9:30 am the next morning, Wednesday. For those of you counting, it was a 15 1/2 hour train ride.....then a 2 hour car ride to the orphanage. 

So we arrived at the orphanage, phew, finally!  Annnnnd we meet her (I will call her E). She is so precious and sweet.  She wanted hugs and didn't stiffen up when we showed her affection. She loved our gifts. We spent the evening with the kids watching them do homework and trying to help when we could. There was an algebra problem that stumped the kids, myself, J, and our facilitator!!!  The "teacher" at the orphanage finally got it!  The kids get a meal when they get home from school. (The orphans are not fed lunch at school, the government only pays for lunch for the kids in primary school.  So that is 8:00 am to 4:00 pm without anything to eat).  Later, they then get a snack.  And later still,  dinner. They are very well fed at her orphanage. 

When we talked with E, she was concerned about learning English and afraid kids would make fun of her at school (breaks my heart).  We tried to assure her that the kids at her school have been praying for her, they would not make fun of her.  And, we let her know that her worries about learning the language are valid. It's been difficult for us trying to learn Russian but I know I'm eventually going back to America. We are asking her to make a complete change just by TRUSTING us.  I really can't express how sweet she is.  She WANTS to be loved!

The kids are putting on a performance Sunday so we left before it was time to practice. Plus, we needed to get an apartment and run to the market.  We told E we would be back to see her after school tomorrow.  Hugs and kisses good-bye!   The apartment we found did not have internet but the owner would have it installed the next day.  

Thursday, we finally did get internet. We went back to the orphanage after school.  We played Trouble and the kids were so fascinated by the dice in the bubble and making it "pop."  Then more of the kids finished their work and we decided to play Uno so we all could play. It was fun. The kids were fascinated with how J and I shuffle the cards. We can do "The Bridge."  They all tried several times. It was neat to see E think that her new Momma and Poppa we pretty cool, and so did her friends. I'm FINALLY cool, if only for a short time.  

When snack time came, the cook prepared enough for us as well.  E liked eating with us instead of us just staring at her while she ate, lol. After, snack we went outside to play. We had a pretty pathetic game of volleyball going on. Then, it was dinner time. (Ok, did stare at her eating but the cook apologized for not having enough for us, how stinking sweet). 

After dinner, we watched them practice for their performance on Sunday.  It was so cute. I can't wait until Sunday to watch the performance. We are going to take cake for all the kids to eat afterwards. 

The best part so far, we learned that E said "Yes" to the adoption!!!!  We are so blessed. Praising God how each of our sadnesses, He has turned into a blessing.  And he has had this all planned, He already had her picked for us when we started this process. We believe God let us show love to K (and hopefully plant a seed in her) but ultimately He was bringing us to E (who we would not have known without K).  We just need to be obedient and follow Him. And I KNOW it is hard, trust me, I've been in Ukraine WAY longer than ever expected. But God has placed the most wonderful people in our lives to help accommodate us at work and home!  

Finally I will include pictures of our laundry day. We have to wear clothes many times before it is deemed dirty. 

Welcoming J, Exploring Kiev annnnnd We Have a Child!

Friday around 11:30 am in Ukraine I spoke to our facilitator and he let me know that our paperwork WAS received by the psychologist at the SDA and we have an appointment on Monday!  I cried and cried. My hands were shaking. I screamed "Thank you Lord!!!"  Our facilitator said "Now go buy your husband a plane ticket."  And that's what I did. I called J around 4:30 am (his time) to tell him he had to catch the flight out at 1:00 pm. 

J's plane landed on Saturday at 1:00 pm (Ukraine time).  And I had my arms around him at 2:30pm!!  I can't even express how wonderful it was to be with my husband again. 

We just hung out for a while and then skyped with our little sweetie, F.  She was so funny. She was bouncing off the walls at the grandparents house.  It definitely helps with the guilt of leaving her by seeing how happy she is at her grandparents' house.  But then again, she has the BEST grandparents EVER!!!  True story. 

Anyway on Sunday we went to church at ICA. Love that church body. Such a warm group of believers who truly have a passion to serve God. 

After church we had lunch with another waiting adoptive family.  It has been such a blessing to have them as a support system while we all are waiting....and waiting. 

After lunch we took L to explore Kiev. We went to explore the Lavra and then to the Motherland Monument and the World War II museum. 

The pictures cannot even capture how HUGE this monument is. It's so amazing.  Ukraine is amazing!  I'm already plotting .... I mean planning.....my return.  Good thing my family loves Ukraine as much as I do. It just gets into your heart. 

Today was our SDA appointment. We were so excited.  It went very well and we have a child to meet.  We can't wait to pick-up our referral tomorrow and head out on the 6pm train. We will officially meet our child on Wednesday. We are praying her heart is open to adoption and our family. 

And this is the confidence that we have before him: that whenever we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him. 

1 John 5:14-15

We plan on returing to the states to wait for the court date. SOOOOO we "may" be home for Thanksgiving. Woohoo!  But, we will see, it is Ukraine after all ;-) 

 

Still No News....a Blessed Day

Today is Wednesday (not quite sure of the date, lol) I think it's 11/13. 

We still have no news on our second SDA appointment. We submitted the request last Tuesday. Now may be the time to start to worry. Please pray we hear positive news tomorrow. 

Today I went to a bible study.  It was so wonderful. It was with a small group of women here in Kiev, not all believers. It was the first time I have been to a bible study where not everyone was a believer. It definitely was such a blessing to be able to be in God's Word, true scripture, with other women who just aren't quite sure yet.  Praying that the seeds are planted and growing. An encouraging moment was when one of the women actually downloaded The Bible App to her phone today!!!  Definitely encouraging. 

Another blessing was this gift I received. 

For those that may not know, it is The Jesus Storybook Bible, in Russian. I'm so excited at the thought of giving it to our new daughter......just have to get the SDA appointment so we can MEET her!!

 

Meanwhile, I'm missing this precious child!!  

Please pray that God's path for us is crystal clear and for peace as we wait! 

THEEEEEE Update

It is Saturday night here in Ukraine.  J has reeeally been trying to get me to blog.  I honestly have not felt up to it, it's been very rough on me.  I have prayed and feel that I am ready to share.....what details I feel comfortable sharing.

SOOOO, October 26, 2013 we arrived bright and early at the airport to start our adventure, thanks to dear ol' dad.  However, our plane was running 20 minutes late, I only panicked stightly.  (Roll eyes now) We were finally all aboard and taxing out when we slowed down....then stopped.....then TURNED AROUND!  WHAT?????!!!  Yep, we went BACK to the gate, a passenger was having a panic attack.  So we all had to wait for the medic, then get off the plane and wait for there to be another security check  before we could all board again.  NOW I am panicking!!!  But all in all we did arrive in Kiev on time.  The best part was the babushka that sat next to me from New York to Istanbul that drank whiskey! 

October 27th,  we land in Kiev and we are greeted by our driver Stas.  He takes us on a near death ride to the house where we are staying.  (Seriously, I say near death because we drove the wrong way on a one-way road at a less than calm rate of speed)  We are staying with a missionary couple that is ABSOLUTELY hospitable.  They are so wonderful, I just can't even describe how wonderful they are.  Also, staying with the missionaries is another adoptive family from our town on the end of their   adoption journey.  It was great to see a familiar face in a city of 5,000,000 people. 

This is another reason why the rock...pumpkin cookies!!!!

October 28th, Monday, we are given a personal escort to our "dry run" into Kiev where our SDA appointment will be, by the missionaries.  Seriously, these people are great.  So this definitely helps calm J and my fears about getting lost when we have to do it for real the next day.  While we are standing at the SDA, another adoptive family (I met on FB) came walking out of their appointment!!  It was so exciting to finally meet them.  We all had a very fruitful lunch together.   We then got a call from our regional facilitator stating that she would meet us to help us buy our train tickets so we can leave on Wednesday to where K lives.

October 29th, Tuesday, our SDA appointment.  Everything went very well.  We saw K's file.  The picture of her made both J and I cry.  She looked to sad.  We received personal information about her and we were sent on our way.  We were told to come back the next day between 4-5 to pick-up the referral letter and our dossier.

October 30th, Wednesday, we packed our bags, met our driver and went to the SDA to get our referral letter.  We then ate dinner and our driver drove us to the train station.  He waited with us and made sure we got onto the correct car and into our cabin.  He was such a sweet man, Ruslan.  He even bought us chocolates.  Such a doll.

The cabin slept 4 (we purchased all 4 beds).  None of us had been on a train before so this was quite the experience.  J and I talked, visited with each other and reflected on our journey so far.  L just read and read and read.

October 31st, Thursday, we arrive at the train station in Simferopol.  We are met by our facilitator and driver.  We then make the several hour drive to the area K lives.  Upon our arrive to her town, we are taken to the office of the director so we can finally meet K.  She was waiting in the hall.  As soon as she saw me she RAN to me and gave me such a huge hug!!!  It was so precious.  We went into the office, where hugs and kisses continued.  She was asked if she wanted us to adopt her and she said "Da!!!"  

From there it is a whorl wind.  We were moved into an apartment, ate dinner, went to the notary, went to the market and finally back to the apartment to SLEEEEEP!!!

November 1st, Friday (The day our world came crashing down, so get ready).  We met with the facilitator and K.  We went to the children's hospital for the medicals to be done on K.  While we were there, some children from her old orphanage (she is now at trade school) were there.  It was so good to hug and kiss the faces I have seen these last 8 months in all of K's pictures to me.


After the medicals we went to her school where she officially wrote out that she wanted to be adopted by us.  We were able to spend some time with her that afternoon.

Jump to later that evening.   We receive "The Call,"  that she has changed her mind and said no to the adoption and we needed to come in for a meeting.  The walk was as if my feet were moving but I couldn't feel a thing.  I couldn't even cry because I couldn't process what was happening.  My ears were ringing.  My head was spinning.  She said "No."  Is this seriously happening????

She did in fact say "No."

J, L and I cried all night long.  This was so devastating.  We were so deep in our grief that we were not able to feel God's comfort and trust His plan.  How were we supposed to trust God's plan when he brought us half-way around the world and away from our toddler at home for ...a ......NO!!!  Seriously???!!!  I wanted to pack my bags and get on the first plane to home.  I was DONE!!!

One phone call we received was a friend to pray with us and remind us that God DOES  have a greater plan, it just doesn't look like what we wanted.  She reminded me that K is still our daughter, she will just be living in Ukraine while God prepares the daughter that will be living in our home.  She shared her story with us, which is somewhat similar to ours.  She got it, she knows our pain and she can share how God had a greater plan for her family too.  So J and I prayed and prayed to make the path for us crystal clear, like so clear that its a plain as the nose on my face.   So we decided to stay in Ukraine and ask for a second appointment with SDA so we could receive a referral on another girl, our daughter.

November 3rd, Sunday.  All the trains to go back to Kiev were sold out.  Seriously, SOLD OUT!  Well, plane it is. We hopped on a plane and arrived back in Kiev (staying with the missionaries again)  on Sunday night.

The next few days we signed more paperwork, filed our request for another appointment with SDA to receive a referral for another girl, J flew back home to work and now L and I are here......in Ukraine.......waiting.

Please keep us, and our unknown daughter, in your thoughts and prayers.  Please pray for a smooth process and that she has an open heart to join our family and trust her future to us.  Please continue to pray for K, she may have heartbreak one day when the reality of her decision reveals itself.