Saturday, December 13-An Unexpected Surprise

We went to visit A at 2:00 this afternoon at the sanatorium. It seems like it is better than some of the sanatoriums I have read about. The staff are caring, and Oksana says they have very good doctors. It isn’t just for orphans. People in the city bring their children there for care also. When A sees us, she gives me a hug. Then Jim holds out his arms, and she gives him one also. They find us a room to meet in. Today it is just Jim and I, A and Oksana. We meet for an hour and a half and talk very candidly with each other. She is good about expressing her feelings openly. We tell her why we want to adopt from Ukraine, and today we also tell her we are trying to adopt two boys. We pull out pictures of the summer 2008 camp to show her the boys. She points to a picture and says, “Vanya.” I ask, “Is he here?” She nods yes. We can’t believe it. We didn’t think we were going to be able to see him, and we had been so disappointed. He is also in the sanatorium for a positive TB reaction. We laugh and tell A, “Well, now you can really find out what we are like because Vanya stayed with us for 10 days this past summer. You will get the inside scoop!” We plan a surprise. After we finish visiting with A, she goes to find Vanya and doesn’t tell him we are here. Vanya comes down the stairs, sees us and comes running into our arms. What a joy to see him again. I wish we could take all of these kids home. A crowd of kids gathers around as Vanya looks at all the pictures we brought from the past summer. Vanya asks us to say hello to Clarke, Kris, Eric, Angie, Felix, Heidi, Karly and McLane. It is another “coincidence” that we know is not really a coincidence. We have seen God’s hand so many times this past week, and we are thankful. We will get to visit them both tomorrow.