We Met the Kids!

Thursday night we picked up our referrals at the SDA. Then a driver picked us up to go to the train station. The traffic was ridiculous. It took us an hour to go a very short distance. It didn’t matter, though, because we were still an hour early for the train. So we sat in the driver’s car and ate some bread, meat and cheese we had with us. Valentin had arranged for a porter to come pick up our bags at 9 p.m. The driver’s wife went with us to help us find our compartment and show us how to lock it. It was a surreal scene walking down this long train platform past WWII trains with our breath steaming out from the cold. You feel like you have stepped back in time here. The people dress very classy with long coats, ornate fur hats, and of course the trademark black boots. I often think if I pinch myself, I will wake up. Are we truly here? As many of you know, I was not looking forward to the train ride as we had heard it is extremely hot. V was not able to book us 2nd class berths, so we were in 1st class. The cabin was very nice with two beds, a table, TV, outlets, and the temperature was comfortable all night. I guess there is a huge difference between 1st and 2nd class, and we were pleasantly surprised. They even brought us hot tea in the morning.

We arrived in Kherson around 10:30 Friday a.m. and tried to get ourselves presentable for this big day. Oksana met us at the train station, and off we went. We dropped our luggage off at the Bible House Felix & Heidi had arranged for us. We are looking forward to getting to know the people here more this weekend. Then we jumped back in the car for the meeting with the first inspector. They changed the law on Dec 1. Before the inspector would give you a letter giving you permission to go to the orphanage. Now an inspector has to go with you to witness the initial reaction between the prospective parents and the child. We walked into the inspector’s office, and there were two ladies. A long conversation ensued between them and Oksana. Apparently there are also some new medical forms that need to be filled out, and they gave some extra ones to O for our meeting with the boys’ inspector. When there was a lull in their conversation, I pulled out the photo album of our families and home and also some pictures of the boys from this summer. They carefully looked over each one commenting and enjoying them. I think it really helped them feel more comfortable with us. Then one of the inspectors came in our car, and we were off to meet A. This was a big moment, and Jim and I were both looking forward to seeing what she looked like as we knew the picture we had seen was not a good indicator. We were also wondering if this was the same internat that Felix & Heidi’s two girls are at. Check out their blog to read about Z&R. Heidi had described the outside of it, and as we pulled up we realized it was the same place! Wouldn’t it be amazing if we are all able to get these girls, and they will ultimately live 10 minutes apart in CO! Of course, it is bittersweet because Felix & Heidi are not able to get their girls yet, and we feel sorry for Z&R that A might be adopted first when they have been hoping so long. That is the hardest part about adopting internationally, knowing these kids have had so many hopes dashed in their lifetime and not wanting to be a part of another hurt.

We are ushered into the orphanage director’s office. People keep coming in, and every time Jim and I turn towards the door hoping it will be A. Two lawyers from the internat are also there to witness our first meeting-no pressure! All of a sudden we get up and are told the director is busy, so we will go meet her with the social worker. We head to another room passing classrooms hoping to get a glimpse of Felix & Heidi’s R. As before, people keep coming in and out, but no A. Finally her teacher comes in and tells us she has been at the sanitorium since Sept for a TB reaction. This is very common here and does not alarm us. So at this point we have to hire another cab to get us all to the sanatorium. It is about 15 min away. We get there and head into the hospital administrator’s office. She is an older lady with bright red hair piled on top of her head. She starts asking us lots of questions about our family, why we want to adopt, etc. She is very nice. No one has told A that we are coming. This poor 12.5 year old girl is about to get a huge shock, and both of us feel for her. In she walks to a room full of people “witnessing” our first meeting. She is beautiful and smiles shyly. Then A says in perfect English, “Hi. My name is A___,” and we all laugh because we weren’t expecting that. The hospital administrator starts telling her a lot of things. O is translating for us. She tells her she has a big decision to make, but she doesn’t have to make it today. I go over and sit next to her. We have brought her a cute stuffed dog we bought in Kiev. Then I pull out the photo album, and we talk about all of the pictures of Austin and Tatum, grandparents, great-grandparents, uncles and aunts and our home. We leave it for her to look at later. We have translated all of the picture labels into Russian so she can read it for herself. The last page we have blank, and the label says, “Our new family.” Jim asks her what she likes to do, about her favorite teacher… She tells us she went to the US for two weeks one time as a part of The Russian Shoemaker, and she likes to sing and dance. We tell her we will come back tomorrow to visit again. The whole meeting was about 20 minutes. Then the hosp admin asks us more questions mostly wondering why we would want to adopt a child this old. She can’t seem to understand it, but she likes us and hopes it all works out. Many have prayed for us to have favor with the officials here, and it is going very well at this point. They ask if we like her right before we leave, and we say “Da!”

Now we are off to the next inspector’s office to go visit the boys. We can hardly wait to see them and all of the Ukraine Orphan Outreach 2008 camp kids. In the office are three ladies. The atmosphere is not as relaxed here. This is their first international adoption, and they want to make sure everything is done right. They talk for a long time about the boys’ siblings and if it is legal to separate them. The law is clear when it is and is not, we just have to find out what the exact status is, which is easier said than done. Documents are pulled out and discussed. Then they decide two of them will come to the first meeting because they want to make sure everything is done right. So we hire another car and take off to Staris Burivka about 40 min away. It is a small remote village, and the roads aren’t even paved. We pull up, and lots of kids come out to look, but no familiar faces yet. We walk in and see Natasha who chaperoned the camp kids this summer. I was wondering if it is okay to hug her in front of the inspectors, but I can’t help myself and give her a big hug. Then she reaches up and hugs Jim also. We go into an office with her, another assistant director, the two inspectors and Oksana, our facilitator. Another long conversation, lots of documents being pulled out of books and examined. We are wondering if we will get to meet the kids because it is past 3 p.m. on Friday at this point, and the offices close at 4. Finally, they agree to bring in the boys. We are not going to say anything about adoption at this point since the sibling issues are not resolved, but they need to witness our first meeting. We are glad they are being sensitive to the boys’ feelings. Vasya & Sasha come in and are happy to see us. Lots of hugs, and they each sit on our laps while the inspector questions them. Then the five ladies go back to their conversations, and we spend some time with the boys looking at photos, eating M&Ms and just waiting. Sasha tells us Vitaly and Zshenia were fostered a week ago by a Ukrainian family. I double check with Oksana, is she sure they aren’t talking about things that the boys can understand that will be getting their hopes up? She says it is okay. Then the inspectors leave, and it is agreed on Monday we will try and find out more about the legal status of the siblings. We ask to see all of the camp kids. She confirms Vitaly and Zshenia are not here anymore. Vanya is in the sanatorium for TB exposure. The first one in is little Natasha. She sees us, smiles and runs to us. Then Vova comes in, more smiles and hugs. Katya from another UOO camp comes in, and we meet her. Finally, Ilona, shyly smiling. We cajole her into a hug. I also give her a big hug from her Grandma Judy. Then it is time for us to go. As we are in the courtyard, we see little Natasha waving to us. A bunch of kids are in a playroom. Natasha takes us in, and they appear to be making up a play. So we watch them be silly for awhile acting and dancing. Ilona comes up and hands me an envelope to give to Grandma Judy. Then we are off. It is almost 5 p.m. We ate a half a power bar before we got off the train this morning and have not eaten or used the bathroom since then, except for the M&Ms. It is an hour back to Kherson. We buy a few groceries, send Austin & Tatum an email, then fall into bed. We hope and pray that we can bring all three of these kids home. We love them already. One has to decide if she wants us, and the boys’ fate is in the hands of the officials. Please keep praying.