March 5, 2009 Thursday

Yulia and Yuri picked us up at our Kyiv flat at 10:20 as we were now catching the 11:00PM train to Odesa. The only problem was that the taxi Yulia called didn’t show up! No problem – Yuri quickly flagged a passing van with the wave of his hand. Good thing the couple that stopped had a van as I was already pondering how the 4 of us AND our luggage would fit into a subcompact-size taxi. God took care of us – as He always does even in the smallest of details. We arrived at the train station (the building we had walked to the day before thinking it looked like a mall from a distance – must have been the tourists in us) and Yuri swung into action. He grabbed two of the big suitcases, assigned the other two to me, and gave the two rolling backpacks to Darla. This worked great going into the train station and even up the escalator, but then we had 4 or 5 flights to walk down. Yes, we carried our bags down all these stairs, but not without a huff and a puff. Darla and I soon realized again why so many people who have gone the route of adopting from the Ukraine recommended an exercise/training program in advance of travel – didn’t those extra trips up and down the stairs at our house while packing count? Well, we managed to re-engage our rolling luggage caravan and walked along our train for what seemed like a mile, but in reality weren’t more than 25 or 30 cars. Of course we were in the very last car. Evan, all your mom could think about was that it reminded her of the train station in the movie “Harry Potter”. Now, while these trains are designed for overnight travel, I suspect most people don’t carry as much luggage judging by the looks we got as we schlepped our bags down the aisle. We caught up with Yulia and learned two men had taken our car and didn’t seem to understand Russian/Ukrainian or English. The train stewardess directed us into what had been the car of these two guys and it turned out to be another blessing (Praise Jesus!) as our assigned car was right next to the door leading to the bathroom – and it was busy all night!!!

Yuri and Yulia quickly ran down the “Riding the Sleeper Train for Beginners” stuff with us such as locking/ unlocking the door and laying out bedding. They wished us well, informed us that Jene (pronounced Szehn-a) would come to our car in Odesa, and we said our goodbyes for the next few weeks…..and we were off!!!
As the train pulled out of the station we found it surprisingly easy to fall asleep but not so easy to stay asleep. Random people wandering up and down the aisle were not a big help but we made do. As I drifted off the second or third time a medley of war movie train scenes played in my mind – “Reds”, “Dr. Zhivago”, and others. I kept thinking that this rail line may have been one used by the USSR to move troops to Romania to try halting the spread of Nazi soldiers in WWII – fun stuff, huh? Well, it had been a long day waiting and we WERE on our way to meet our kids!!!!


March 6, 2009 Friday

The train ride in all honesty was nowhere near as bad as the one we’d formed in our minds from reading of other’s experiences. The temperature was near perfect for sleeping and the bathroom was tolerable. We were both awake by 8:00 AM with less than an hour to go until we got into Odesa. We prayed together again, thanking the Lord for the smoothness of our travels and asking for His protection and blessing. Just after we arrived in Odesa, Jene arrived on cue at our door and we were quickly doing the luggage trick in reverse albeit with no audience this time. We had to climb down into the track area and carry our bags across 4 or 5 sets of track and then rolled the bags to Jene’s car. We hopped in and departed for a real-life James Bond thrill ride. Jene expertly maneuvered us out of Odesa and onto a series of rural roads – it was at this point that I thought of you, dad and your creation of the Polish James Bond (Jimmy Bonski) when we were kids. As we neared the town of B-D, Jene stopped alongside another car and collected money for some unknown reason. This only further confirmed my suspicion that we were riding with the real life Ukrainian James Bond. The remainder of the ride to and through B-D was no letdown at all. Oh, one sightseeing point here - at several times during our drive we got sight of the Black Sea. As it was grey outside and drizzling, and the sea so choppy it reminded me of Lake Michigan in days gone by (many, many days gone by).

Once in B-D Jene takes our dossier packet that Yulia had entrusted to us the night before and went into the B-D regional inspector’s office. We observed many people walking around while we waited – not an uncommon occurrence in the Ukraine by any means, but many of these people were toting flowers, candy, or bottles of wine/champagne. This IS the weekend of Women’s day after all – boy, did Darla luck out or what??? Jene returned and took us to our “hotel”, more of a B & B with a smiling blonde innkeeper named Lena. She showed us a nice room on the 3rd floor (okay, but who is going to carry all those bags up????) but when I inquired about a stove/cooking facilities we went down to the second floor and we quickly agreed on a room right next to the common kitchen area. Yes!!!! We WILL have coffee!!! Even though Jene was due back in 20 minutes to take us to the orphanage, I managed to make a pot of coffee and we each had a few sips of the finished product before Jene returned. Up to this point, we hadn’t eaten since the night before and it was around 12:00 noon.

The excitement was now soooooo high – we were going to meet D!!!! First, a stop to pick up our translator/interpreter named Luda and then to the Inspector’s office to go over some of her questions and receive the official document allowing us to visit “D” (and eventually “A” once he’s transferred to the same orphanage). From here it was off to the office of Olga the orphanage director. We were greeted by a very kind and seemingly sharp woman. She began asking us the same questions we’d answered several times already – what is our family like, how many kids do we have, why do we want to adopt, etc. Just then three of the children from the orphanage came in with cards and a blooming plant – a gift for Olga for Women’s Day. I wanted to pick up each of these small children and hold them tight. Darla said she also was on the verge of tears, but knew she had to control her emotions, which was extremely hard to do under the circumstances.

After the kids left, Olga began giving us a detailed history of “D’s” life from what was known – that her and “A” had been abandoned in 2004 when their mother left them at a babysitters and then never returned. Tears filled my eyes (yes Evan, Andy, and Nathan – imagine that) hearing about the harsh life these two kids had experienced to date. We learned that “D” was very quiet and withdrawn for a time when she came to the orphanage and we also learned she has never seen” A” since they were abandoned nearly 5 years ago.

We listened and absorbed what Olga told us and asked as many questions as we could think of. The next thing we know this precious little girl with long dark hair in a pony tail walked into the room – it was D!!! Olga addressed “D” in Russian and Luda explained that Olga was now telling ‘D” about us. Olga told her that we came very far and we wanted her to be our daughter – and she smiled and immediately turned and hugged Darla! We both nearly lost it at this point – and then when ‘D” hugged me, I did lose it! Thank you Lord God for carrying us on your mission and having us care for one of your little ones – soon to be two of your little ones!

Darla presented “D” with the little white teddy bear we had brought just for this meeting and ”D” smiled as she took it. Olga continued explaining to “D” and us what would happen next including our visitation schedule at the orphanage. This was when "D" learned that “A” was part of the adoption – and that he was coming to be our son! “D” smiled again and was happy that we could all be together. We will never forget these precious moments – “D” hugging Darla and then taking her hand and leading us through the orphanage on a tour. “D” showed us her room and the classroom where she attends school. Her friends huddled around us and we were happy to see “D” share her new teddy bear with another girl – ahhhh, sharing! Darla commented that looking in those other precious children’s faces was so hard. They just stare at you and smile. They look right in your eyes just wanting to feel love.

We also met with the orphanage doctor who gave us the medical history of “D” – some slower development issues atypical in orphaned children but nothing else other than a physically healthy girl. Darla and I had already discussed and agreed upon some counseling for “D” when we return home (sounds great to say that!) to address any issues from her being abandoned. Actually we’ll address this with both “D” & “A” and will need all of your prayers during the months of transition that lie ahead. As it was now past 2:30 PM “D” was off to lunch and we were off to eat as well.
We went back to the flat and are still contemplating moving to a missionary housing situation. We have no internet at this flat and it makes it very difficult for us not to have contact with our sons. If we go to the missionary housing we will be able to use the internet there. The downside would be that we will have to share bathrooms/kitchen common areas, but will have our own bedroom. It is on the top floor of a doctor’s office so everything is really clean. Another couple that is adopting is staying there. When we went to see it this afternoon, they were having a bible study in one of the rooms. Since we also wanted to come here for opportunities to serve, we are thinking this may open up other opportunities. We will pray on it and decide tomorrow morning. The upside is that it will be a little bit less per night and saving money is always good.

Thanks to all who have been following our journey to date and praying for us. The Lord has made the path very clear and easy to follow to this point and we are grateful to all of you for your love and support!