Saturday, March 7, 2009

When we woke up, we had both decided we should move to the Mission. We had prayed on making the right decision about this and found it easy to make our decision this morning. Last night, a dog barked all night! (God always answers us…even through an irritating dog!) We felt bad that Jene had to help us carry all our heavy luggage again, but knew it would be the last time for awhile. We arrived at the Mission and had to carry the luggage up two more flights of stairs. We have a bedroom that is long and narrow. It has two small single beds (like children’s beds), a desk, couch, and armoire for our clothes. The kitchen, shower, and restrooms are across the hall. We then decided to walk down the street (which is a muddy dirt road with LOTS of pot holes) to go to an outside market. They are just a few booths along the road side, but some of them you can go inside, like small grocery stores. We bought fruit, milk, juice, bread and bologna.

Later, in the afternoon, we met the other couple that is staying here. Their names are Kelli and Jason Karlen . They are from Louisville, Kentucky. They are adopting a 4 year old boy from the same orphanage that our “A” is at. They seem very nice and are Christians. They have an interpreter named Oksana from Kijv. She is going home this week because she has two children and needs to get back to her family.

We also decided on names for both our children. I can’t tell you their Russian names, yet, until after court, but I will leave will type them in the order of what we will name them at court so you can get an idea. “D” Marie Czeropski and Caleb “A” Czeropski. Yes, Mary…her middle name is almost like yours! Another family member (Paul’s side) has part of their name in her first name as well as my Aunt who lives in Texas. (It’s a clue?!?!) Her first name is very pretty and sounds American, so we wanted to keep it as her first name.

We went to visit “D” at 4:00 pm. She saw us step inside the “groupa” room and paused and then ran and through her arms around me. She still goes to me first, probably because she only has woman caregivers. However, when Paul holds out his arms, she always quickly gives him a BIG hug. She smiled a few more times and laughed a little when Paul made jokes. Our interpreter, Luda , has to translate everything we say….but, I will just tell you what went on each time we are with her. I told her that we loved her name, but would like to give her an American middle name. I told her, my name was Darla Lynette Czeropski and that Paul’s name was Paul Steven Czeropski (I know Paul doesn’t really have a middle name, so we used his confirmation name to make a point. Then, I told her that we want her name to be “D” Marie Czeropski. She smiled and said, “Dah”. Which means, yes. I wrote her name on a piece of construction paper and helped her write it by hold the marker in her hand.

I gave her another piece of construction paper with her name written at the top and told her to practice and then let me see it tomorrow. We will see if she does her home work! We taught her how to play the game Memory. (Memory is a card game where you have to match different pictures. They are turned face down and then you flip one over and try to find the other one that matches it.) She picked up really fast how to play. She tries to take more than one turn even if she didn’t find a match. We let her do it sometimes, but sometimes we would say “nyet” (no) Papa’s turn and she would stop and wait. She does have a good memory and when she realized the near vicinity of a matching one, she would quickly try to turn two or three over trying to find the match. She would find it and we let her play that way, since it was hard to explain that she could only take one turn. She would always smile when she got one correct,….and we say “very good” and clap. Soon other children would come in and watch and they would clap, too and laugh!

Paul then got out the Bernstein Bears book. He read the “picnic” story. Soon he had about 8 children all around him and “D” sat the closest to turn the pages. I could tell about half way through the book she was getting annoyed with the other children sitting so close. Almost at the very end she got up and came and set by me. She looked more frustrated than mad. I don’t think she likes too many people sitting so close to her. (Brenda and Jenny, you would totally say…. “I don’t blame her!”

It was wonderful watching some of the little boys and girls with Paul. They would giggle at certain parts and clapped when he finished. We also gave her a banana and fruit roll-up at the beginning of the visit. She didn’t touch them throughout most of the visit. Half way through the visit,, she took them somewhere and didn’t come back with them. She also wanted to look at the family photo album again. She would point at pictures of Evan, Andy and Nathan and say “Brat” which is pronounced “brought” which means brother and then point at Jenny’s picture and say “Sistrah” which is obvious. She is so smart. At the end of the visit she did eat her banana, but we never saw the fruit roll-up again. We figure she stashed it somewhere for later. When we left we said “pah-kah” which means bye-bye. We told her we would be back tomorrow and she said “dah”.


March 8, 2009 Sunday

Coming to the Mission was the best thing, we could have done. God always knows what is best for us. There is a clinic on the first two floors. It is run by the Evangelical Presbyterian church. Luda invited us to go to the church this morning where her husband is the minister. I was surprised the service was similar to a very small Baptist church. The building was purchased with funds donated. It was intended to be a furniture store, but they got it at a very good price and finished it. It has beautiful wood floors, wood pews and nice wood work inside. Nothing fancy, however it was very warm and inviting. They have speakers in the front and windows all down the sides to let in the sunshine. The choir, of about 10 members of woman and men, wore robes. The pastor just wore a men’s suit. Everyone smiles, which is different, because they don’t usually smile in Ukraine.

I recognized two of the songs. One was Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow and How Great Thou Art. Luda translated the service for us. It was Women’s Day and so the topic of the entire service was directed towards the woman. (Lucky, me!!!!) An older man and woman sang a song for mother’s who pray for their children who are not saved. She sang with lot’s of emotion. He would come in on the chorus and sang harmony. He also played the accordion. The music had a Russian flare! Another man sang a special song playing the guitar. The pastor’s sermon was moving. He made a point to explain that Woman’s Day is important because at one time woman were treated with no dignity. He went on to say that this is wrong. That woman should be loved, protected and held up high because of all the responsibilities they have to care for the family and this is the way God expects for men to treat the woman.

At the end, there were announcements. A lady came up and gave “Congratulations” to two different people that had birthday’s that week. (Brenda this reminded me of when we used to go to Southern Hills in the early days) The children also came up front and one boy recited a poem. They gave pictures to their mother’s. Two women said special prayers for the children.

Then unbeknownst to us, the pastor walked back to us and wanted Paul to announce his name and me to introduce myself. Then Luda said for Paul to tell why we were here. Paul said “We feel that God asked us to come and adopt two children”. I barely could hold back from crying out loud. (I’m getting all choked up just remembering it again). Everyone clapped. Then the pastor said the last prayer and told people to greet each other before they left. Several people came up to us and shook our hands. We just kept saying “Drast-voo-ti-yuh” which means “hello”. We’d smile, they’d smile. It was truly an emotional morning! A wonderful, beautiful gift from God that I will never forget! Kelli, Jason and Oksana also came to the service.

Afterwards, Kelli asked if we would like to go where they were going for lunch. We ended up at a restaurant by the Black Sea. It was beautiful. Fishermen were out on the wharf. We thought the restaurant was closed, but found that even if they were, they were willing to serve us. It was beautiful inside. They took us to a special place. It had Grecian dйcor. The food was delicious! We loved our visit, also. We returned to the flat and then went to visit “D” at 4:00.

We had to go without Luda to the orphanage. She was with her family because it was like “mother’s day” in America. When we got to the orphanage “D” was outside because it was a beautiful day. She took us to a monkey bars set that was something out of the 60’s with very thin bars and rusty. She was playing with one boy, who seemed very sweet. I know she will love to play with Nathan. We didn’t stay outside very long because there was nothing really to do. The kids just basically play chase, because what little playground equipment is available is broken. Really they just basically walk around. It’s kind of sad.

Paul had purchased a doll for “D” last night. A Barbie kind of doll, whose name is Susy. The only one we could find that didn’t look like “tramp” Barbie. (I thought the ones in America were dressed provocative?!?!) This one was a princess, with a pink ball gown and a tiara with pink high heel shoes. He gave her the present and she opened it. She immediately said something and started to run out of the room and then came back without it. I tried to explain to her to take me where it was. She had set it beside one of the caregivers that was busy disciplining some older boys. I think she thought she had to see if it was okay. I told her in Russian, “don’t worry, it’s okay”. She gave it back to me and I opened it and she was smiling when I gave it to her.

She left the room again and ran back in and brought me the construction paper that I had given her as home. She was giggling the entire time. When we opened it…she had spelled her name below the one I had written. We both clapped and with excitement said “very good”. She was thrilled! The only letter that was incorrect was the “S”. It was backwards. A common mistake because she is only in the 1st grade here. Plus, she had never written English letters. I gave her another piece of construction paper and she tried to write her name, but only got out the first three letters out without having to look. She also got the “M” in Marie. I was amazed! I think she will do just fine in school at Andover Elementary. She is a quick learner.

She looked at the picture album again with another boy. They would just laugh and laugh when they saw Jenny’s dog “Bella” with a sweater on. The little boy kept trying to tell Paul about every picture, not caring if he spoke Russian. It was like he was trying to teach Paul Russian.

We gave “D” an orange and cut it up for her. She gobbled it up so fast! I could barely cut it up in time. I don’t think they get much fruit. I also brought 4 “snap” hair clips and 4 pony-tail holders. She wanted me to do her hair so I put two small braids down each side and pulled them behind with the pony-tale holders. We have taken lots of pictures, so hopefully soon we can show you everything we are talking about. When we left, I wanted her to put “Susy” back in the backpack I bring, because I was afraid it would get stolen or messed up. She would not agree to that by her actions and obviously, I was not going to demand it back. I tried to make her understand that she need to take care of it. She took her arms and squeezed it close to her chest and looked me in the eye and said “Dah”. Somehow she had understood the importance of protecting it. Amazing!

When we got back to the Mission, Oksana had made “borscht”. It is like “grandmother’s” (my mom’s) stew! It was made with beets instead of tomatoes, but I could tell no difference.


March 9, 2009 Monday

It is Monday morning. I have had “allergy” problems the last few days. I also must have pulled my left shoulder carrying the bags all those times. I am hopeful it gets better. Nothing I can’t handle, but I am praying that God will keep it under control so I don’t get an infection. Luckily we live above the clinic, if it does get out of hand.

We just want to thank God for directing us to the Mission. Everything has been wonderful. Today, was our “shower day”. We take turns with the other couple to preserve hot water. Also, we have to take our showers before 8:30, because the clinic needs to use the hot water. The shower really helped me feel better!
Paul read the bible out loud for us this morning.

I John 1:16 stood out.

“From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another!”

We can’t even begin to list the blessings. Our hearts are overwhelmed with love for our God who has given us more and more blessings than we deserve. He keeps on showering us with love and blessings each moment of the day. The song we sang at church this morning, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow” keeps ringing in my ears!

We went this morning to see “D” at 10:00. We are allowed to see her from 10:00 – 12:00 and then again from 4:00-6:00. This was the first morning visit. We didn’t have Luda because she teaches “English” in the mornings. The first thing we noticed is that she had on a different pair of shoes. These had the strap hanging behind because they had broken. Someone at some point had tried to tie them with a piece of ribbon, but that had not worked either. We decided then that after we left we would go buy her some slippers. The kids have a pair of shoes or slippers they wear on the inside and then boots for the outside. We also noticed, except for the first day we saw her, that she is wearing the same clothes every day. Up until today her shoes were different. We are unsure why. I traced her foot on a piece of paper because their shoe sizes are so different. The pair of sandals she had on had a 31 on the bottom., so we wrote that down, knowing that she would have to have a bigger size.

We did a lot of the same things this morning.. She was eager to practice writing her name. She really loved taking pictures with our camera and took some pictures of her “groupa”. Her and Paul enjoyed squaring off in the “memory game”. He was unfortunately no match for her. She really is very bright and there is a sense of competitiveness that will help her in a house with all boys. She loved the Reeses peanut butter cup and ate it immediately when we gave it to her. No stashing this time. The cookie we gave her yesterday she gave to another boy and he stuck it in his pocket. I guess she didn’t want it. She did say something to me before she gave it to him, which was basically asking me if it was okay. When it was time to go, we tried to tell her that we would be back in the afternoon. We really don’t know if she understood.

After the orphanage we went to a big supermarket that was something like a Super Walmart. It was very organized. We found the section for little girl’s slippers. I found a pair of fuzzy orange with different colors of flowers on the top. They are a slip on, but have a strap in the back. The size was 34/35 so that tells you how much too small her sandals were. We also got her leggings. We also ate at the “Walmart”. It was cafeteria style. I got Borsch and Paul got a number of items. The dessert was cake with pudding in the middle. It was delicious! We shopped for more food to cook and found two pizzas for tonight. We had to use the restrooms there. They were the one with the “hole in the ground”. They were very clean, but obviously a little difficult for “me” to use. They actually automatic flush, automatic sinks and hand dryers. I was shocked. You learn to appreciate so many things by staying in Ukraine.

We went back to the Mission and I worked on the blog, while Paul took a nap. We went back to see “D” at 4:00. Luda went with us this time. I gave her the slippers, first. She loved them and was eager to put them on. I noticed that the shoes she had on were different from the ones in the morning. The ones she had on were way too small. They also had a slight heel so she was having to walk with part of her heel hanging off the back. The slippers fit perfectly. She took the leggings out of the room and hopefully we will see them on her tomorrow. We also have to buy her socks, because the leggings only go to the ankle and the socks she has on have holes all in the bottom. We took her a bag of animal cookies hoping she would share with her groupa. We explained to her that it is important to share. That when she goes to America, the other children will not get to go and will not have as much as her. That we always want her to share because it shows how much she loves people. That we always have more and should give to others what we have that is extra because it is kind. She said “dah” and then ran into the other room. She came back in and said “that is it”. We know she did not share with everyone, because it was just too quick. She probably only shared with 2 or 3. This may take a lot of time for her to learn, because at the orphanage everything is everyone’s, but when we bring her things, it is understood that it is just hers. She doesn’t want it to run out. She doesn’t believe that there will be more.
We pulled out “play-doh” and she showed no emotion. We asked her if she knew what “play-doh” was. She said “nyet”. I opened a container and took about the “play-doh”. I put it in her hands and helped her squeeze it together. She said “soft” in Russian. As we were making several items, she copied my “smiley face” and then made a flower, pizza, and then got out a different color and made another flower using the different colors.

We were running out of things to do, so we played hide-and –seek, taking turns hiding the container of play-doh. “D” was giggling as Paul hammed it up, by pretending he didn’t know where it was. The longer it took him to find it the more she giggled. .

After that we wanted her to talk, so we asked her if she remembered the plane ride to America she took in 2007. She remembered the headphones and being fed on the plane. She didn’t remember much about America except playing. About 15 minutes before it was time to go, she seemed to want to go back to her “groupa”. We said our good-byes and told her we would be back tomorrow.
We went back to the Mission and had our PIZZA….yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!