Fashion Shows and Atypical Day

Up to this point there have obviously been four adoptive couples at this orphanage. We stand out during morning and evening playtimes, arriving before and leaving after the groups of children, especially last night with the threatening weather. Besides Bill and Susan and us, one couple from Ukraine has been visiting with a girl from Losha’s group, and another Russian-speaking couple have been visiting with a girl not more than a year old.

The rain and storms continued overnight. We lost power briefly at 10:45. Just as we were finishing bed time preparations by the light of the three flashlights we had so cleverly brought along and located, the power came back on. I was up at 7:30 today after a second night of great sleep. John slept well, too, and was even cool enough by morning to pull the blanket over him. The day warmed up quickly.

Today we had decided we would take the clothes along for the boys and try them on for fit. They filled a good-sized shopping bag. When we arrived I went upstairs for Dennis, John went to see if Nick was in music class. Dennis’ room was dark and quiet on the other side of the door and no one answered the buzzer, so I went down to find him outside. At Nick’s room they indicated he wasn’t there, and when he asked “Musika?” the woman said yes – but indicated something was different. John wasn’t sure what it was. We found Dennis outside with his group. Oddly he was upset, but may have just had a toy taken from him by the caretaker. He didn’t object to coming with us, just didn’t seem excited about it. We went to our outdoor stairway in the shade and spread out the blanket. Just as we started changing the first set of clothes a nurse who speaks pretty good English found us to tell us that in 15 minutes Dennis would be going to the hospital to have his heart examined. John asked if I could go with him. She said, “No, the nurse.” We don’t know if she was refusing the request or simply not understanding it. We thanked her and proceeded to whip clothes on and off of him as quickly as we could. The Barney sandals we brought and the new shoes we bought here fit well, as to all of the other clothes we brought to try on him today. He objected most to the denim overall shorts, but that may be mostly because he was tired of the whole process by then. His caretaker came by with his group to take him to get ready for the doctor just as we were putting his own onezie back on. John also called Sasha to ask if this examination was anything we should be concerned about, but he said it was routine every three months.

We went searching for Nick then, since it was after 10:30, with no success. We couldn’t find anyone in his group, so suspected a long rehearsal for tomorrow’s program. We walked around the building with all of our things, stopped in to visit briefly with Bill, Susan and Losha, then saw Dennis with his caretaker and another child out front waiting to leave. This time Dennis was very happy to see us, and raised his arms right up to be lifted. We stayed with him until they loaded up, even took a picture sitting on the nurse’s lap through the window of the ambulance van.

We did another circuit around the buildings, then walked a block to get two Coca-colas. We came back and sat on the benches near Nick’s room in case they finished before noon and came outside. We decided to check in with Oksana – it has been raining in Kyiv since the weekend. At 11:30 Nick’s group did appear and we were very excited to see each other. We went back to the stairway, laid out the blanket and started Nick’s private fashion show. He really enjoyed it, commenting on the beautiful/handsome clothes. Sometimes the only way to get him out of a shirt or pair of shorts/pants was to show him the next to try on. He also enjoyed ripping the price tags off. The only objection from him was the underwear. We aren’t sure if he was bashful about being that naked (doubtful), didn’t like them because they were all white, or was just still really upset that we made him take off the denim overalls. Those were definitely his favorite, but it was just too hot to leave them on. John got out the coloring book and a couple of crayons while I folded and packed the clothes, but the half-hour had passed in a flash, and this time real tears came to his eyes when we told him it was time to go back to his group. He said ‘no’ and ‘later’ more than once. I offered to pick him up, those tears were breaking my heart, but he wanted Papa. His group was coming around the side of the building. We loaded up and took a much longer way back to his room, and with some “1,2,3 Weeeee” en route, he was a happy boy when we arrived.

The time was short, but we got individual time with each, and we also accomplished the clothes-fitting mission.

We had bananas and the hotdogs baked in pastry for lunch.

Back to the orphanage at 4:30 PM. John stopped to use the bathroom first. While he was in the hallway he saw Nick’s group, but not Nick. We went for Dennis first. Up in the hallway was a couple and another woman who did not speak English (John asked). They were Italian and had two suitcases with them. They are likely at the same stage we were on the 17th: waiting for a meeting with the director and to meet one or more children from a referral in Kyiv.

It took several minutes for them to bring Dennis. He was happy to see us. I think he must have just been awakened from a nap and had his bed-head slicked back with water. Or maybe the water was just to cool him off. We all went to Nick’s room, but it was empty. We wondered if it was “shot day” for his group because that is the medical/nursing hallway where John saw the kids.

We went outside with Dennis. Although the temperature may have been lower, the humidity was high enough to have us all sweating and uncomfortable. The ground was still mostly wet. We went to a play area that we’ve never seen used, and is definitely not maintained. The two benches had nail heads coming up out of the wood, and when I sat on one end of a board the other end jumped in the air! We laid the blanket over the bench and gave Dennis some water right away. He still enjoys the “I’ll throw down the toys and Dad will pick them up” game very much. Dennis’ group came to the adjacent play area, but it didn’t cause the confusion like last time. After a while we spread the blanket out on the pavement to give Dennis more room.

At 5:00 John went to see if Nick was ready, they told him “5:30”. Sure enough, when John headed towards his room a caretaker was specifically bringing him to us. He was a happy boy. No tears or signs of pain, just a tiny hole in his left upper arm. Another small group that usually hangs out on a large cement outer entrance landing had to move because of the trench-digging being done nearby. (John took Nick to watch the gasoline-powered asphalt cutter for a little while.) They place a crib in the shade about 15 feet from us. Two children were in the crib, two or three more were walking around. The caretaker brought out cups of water for them. We took it as a cue to hydrate the boys again. Nick was hungrier than usual. He often refuses the cookie/crackers when asked, but today accepted the first time and asked three additional times. He and John also shared a banana later while Dennis and I took a walk. Dennis seems to have the cold now: green-yellow runny nose and cough and just not himself. He seemed tired and got fed up with the toys. I picked him up to go for a walk and he put his head on my shoulder and snuggled right in. He didn’t fall asleep, and when I sat down (on the other side of the large stump the caretaker was also using) he sat so that he could see what was going on. We gave the boys a little juice, and when Dennis finished he coughed/burped/spit up some phlegm, juice and a little bit of cookie/cracker. He felt hotter to the touch than the rest of us – maybe a little fever? When John picked him up to go back to his room at 6:30 he just sagged into his arms for the trip, but then in his room he walked right in with the caretaker. I indicated to her I thought he was warm, but she thought he felt okay. Good.

Nick tried to take the raccoon Beanie with him today, but the cow and the koala have already disappeared into his group’s room, so we said ‘no’. We met his group walking in. We said good-bye, exchanged hugs and kept waving at each other as we left the premises.

We tried to buy some non-white underwear at the department store near our Metro shop for Nick. We had a lengthy and confused discussion with a clerk about the sizes listed on the box – years? kilos? months? We finally got the right size, only to discover we almost bought him two pairs of tights – but they weren’t white!

Macaroni tuna salad and Russian-dubbed television for supper. Tomorrow is Nick’s program. Bill and Susan learned today that since the practices occurred while they had Losha for visits outside, he won’t be participating.

Two of ten days are done.

Katie's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Sweetie! I was up to see Sasha off at 7AM, so I’ve been thinking about it since before midnight back home. We waited until 3:30 PM (7:30 AM there) to call and sing “Happy Birthday” – in Russian first, of course. (Katie is my sister’s daughter, a double-digit girl today.)

We rode the Metro with Bill and Susan this morning. It was warm outside, but positively hot up in the area at the top of the stairs where we wait outside Dennis’ room. It took several minutes. We’ve noticed that the rest of his group doesn’t wear diapers outside. They put one on Dennis just for our convenience – same for Bill and Susan with Losha. He had a big humungous smile when he saw us this morning. He was ready to be carried to find Nick.


Nick was already outside, no music today for some reason. He also was happy to come with us. We let him choose the area – it has become sort of our “usual”. We don’t often see other groups settle there. Nick has been digging a hole next to the bench visit by visit. It measures about 16X8 inches and 4 -6 six inches in depth – depending on how quickly John can refill it when he isn’t looking. 
Dennis stumbled in it today – once by accidents and a few more times just because it was fun. It was a “continuous-testing-of-the-boundaries” session for Nick. We finally just put all the toys away and walked around at the end. Nick wanted John to hold him them (fortunately his back is feeling better now).



Bill and Susan were waiting for us. We ate lunch together at the cafeteria. It is fun to share common experiences, and give them a “heads-up” regarding the court appointment. We also talked about preparing the boys for the coming trips to Kyiv and home, getting them used to modified names, etc. Then they went to an Internet café and we went back to the apartment to crash for a bit. I did manage to do some medical reading while knitting, too. We had a brief rain with some good cracks of thunder and lightening.

This afternoon we bought some more phone minutes on the way back to the Metro. It wasn’t raining then, and in fact a lot of the ground had dried up. We took our umbrella just in case. Dennis appeared to be just up from a nap; his hair was wet and freshly combed. Nick got ready quickly when we came to his room. Because it was still wet in many areas we just wandered around for the first half-hour. We found a space, new for us, where it had mostly dried. Nick was still testy, but not nearly as bad. He was willing to repeat a lot more words in English today – mostly crayon colors. Both of the boys liked being “flown” through the air like airplanes. Our arms got tired of it much sooner than they. I spun with Dennis to see if he liked being dizzy: yes, if done slowly. We had to skip the juice this afternoon, because we allow Nick only one plastic cup per session, and he insisted on filing it with sand after a drink of water. We did all share a banana, though. Quite popular all around. The weather was threatening the whole time – clouds rolling through, distant thunder, the down-rush of wind that usually precedes rain. It didn’t amount to much until after we left, but we did take them inside a bit early and slowly walked the halls to each room.


It was raining a little as we headed to the Billa grocery store for a few (heavy) items. The storm really hit while we were inside. Many shoppers waited in the doorway for it to lift. We made a run for it to the Metro. Since it was still raining at our stop, we decided to have dinner at the next door McDonalds. Big Mac Menus for both (three sodas due to difficulties in communication). The timing worked out well – just tried to avoid the muddy dirt paths and huge street puddles on the way home. The mosquitoes will likely be awful next week!

Susan (who speaks Russian from her ten years in St. Petersburg and Kyiv) was able to get the details on the children’s program for Friday (National Children’s Day). All of the groups will be involved and it starts at 10:00 AM. John has the video camera all recharged and ready to go. The cable is out tonight, may just have to go to bed early.

Court Day

Sasha came in last night after 11:00. I hadn’t really fallen asleep yet. I think the extra chocolate may be helping with the accidents, but eating too much too late in the day is definitely not improving the sleep.

I was up at 7:30, John up at 8:00, Sasha around 8:30. John went out on a successful pastry hunt, buying them just out of the oven. Sasha accompanied us to the orphanage. The woman who answered the door at Dennis’ room didn’t recognize us, but one of the regular caretakers was coming up the stairs and explained. She accepted my passport and Dennis came out shortly (after all, no one is all that tall at 18 months, right?) – we needed to wait another moment for his hat. Then it was off to Nick’s room. We could hear the music upstairs, so when the door to his room was locked we went outside. We spread the blanket out under the shade of a tree not far from a bench that has no play equipment, but is frequently used. Sure enough, Dennis’ group came out and settled there. It turns out there is another Dennis in the group, one who was curious and unafraid: quite willing to hang out with us and play with our toys. Our Dennis was quite willing to go to his group and caretaker, accept one of the toys from their bag and hang out at the bench. When I went to him with arms extended and funny voice he was happy to return. But for the rest of our time there, our Dennis felt compelled to obey every time the other Dennis was called back to the group, and the other Dennis kept responding when we called ours back.

When Nick joined us he was quite unthreatened by this younger group of children and showed none of jealous behavior that was apparent when his own group was nearby the other day. John got the bubbles out at one point. It was a big hit – with another group of slightly older toddlers from the play area across the small field of grass. It was like the Pied Piper – they came en masse, delighted and enthralled by the bubbles. After John put them away, two stayed to see what was going on at our blanket. They complied when their own caretakers called them.

We relocated before bringing out the juice – didn’t want to upset the other children further. We found out today that when Nick sounds like he is saying “bug”, pointing out ants or whatever, he is actually saying the Russian word for ‘spider’, something like “bah-uug”. Oh, another correction, the cucumber soup may be more correctly translated as “Okroshka” rather than “Akroshka”. Sure would like to get it right one of these times.

When it was time to leave we were able to communicate to each caretaker that we had court today, and probably wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.

Andre had taken Sasha to start the paperwork to request the passports for the boys. When he picked us up at noon we went to the Notary’s office. The documents weren’t complete yet, but we didn’t have to wait as long. They needed our passports, Sasha had to proofread the document before it was printed on official paper, and then we all signed in four places.

For lunch we asked Andre to take us to a new place. He took us to an Armenian restaurant that specializes in shish kebobs. We all ordered the very thin, flat bread ‘lavash’ and Andre ordered a bunch of things to wrap inside: cilantro, dill, cheese, green onion tops, cucumbers, tomato, a spicy red sauce. We also had bread with cheese melted inside served pizza style – then we had our entrées! John had the chicken kebob, I had beef kebob, Sasha had a pork fillet, Andre said he was already full.

Back to the apartment with an hour before scheduled departure for court. I laid down for a little while, drank coffee I had put in the refrigerator yesterday afternoon and had chocolate (of course). The landlady stopped by to pick up the rent. We paid for 10 more days. We were both just waiting for the time to get dressed – and at 2:45 we did – both in our suits, me in heels, John with a tie. But we still had time to wait! At last (3:10) we headed out. Andre was waiting for us. We picked up the inspector at her office, then the orphanage official from work. We arrived at court right at 4:00. Other cases were running later, no surprise, and it was HOT! After standing in a very small hallway for a little while we were invited to sit down in a larger hallway where large windows were wide open. While we were waiting Sasha indicated that a man passing through in a polo shirt and khakis was our judge. I thought he was joking. I’m not sure exactly when we went into the courtroom, but it was after 4:35. It really was our judge, and he was still dressed in the polo and khakis. The court room was also quite warm. the orphanage official was there as representative of the children. The inspector was also present, along with the three of us, the judge and the assistant/secretary. The prosecutor had already reviewed the case, made a recommendation and was present “virtually”.

The process and the rights of all present were briefly read, then translated by Sasha. We had to indicate if we wished to change the scheme of the process (no) and if we trusted the court (yes). They verified Sasha’s identity and credentials (seemed rather protracted) and then our identities: full names, birth dates, place of birth, current address. We each had to explain our occupations, the judge asking whether I worked in a private or public clinic, if enough public clinics were available to care for people, etc. He commented on the fact that John is younger than me (fortunately we already knew this), and asked John about the difference in income and whether he had built a home yet (supposed to plant a tree, build a home, raise a son and write a book before you die). He asked about any biological children, why adoption (did I not like babies and just wanted to skip changing diapers?), why Ukraine, and our plans for child care. After we told him we had come on mission trips he wanted to know what specific denomination we came from. We explained that the mission trips are non-denominational, but when pressed that we are Lutherans. He asked if there are many Lutherans in Ukraine. We had to admit “not many”, and he indicated that we are not very successful in evangelism. He asked about the size of the home, how many rooms, why two people needed four bathrooms. He asked if I, as a doctor, was aware of the children’s medical conditions. I said yes, and started recounting them. He wanted it in “human” language. The inspector began to fill in details and the judge whispered behind his hand that he didn’t understand any of it.

He asked if we still wanted to proceed with our petition (to adopt, to be named as their parents, to change their names): yes. Were we firm in this wish: definitely! At last he said the recommendation of the court was to grant the petition, and that it would go into effect in 10 days (after the appeal period). He also said John needed to build a home of stone and/or brink (something substantial, not with aluminum siding to save costs), that we needed to continue to try to have biological children (specifically two girls), to hang a Ukrainian flag on the other side of the house (the photo we showed him had an American flag flying) and provide the children with love – he would be checking on that himself. And so we became parents at 5:20 PM Ukraine time.


We were then invited into his air-conditioned office while they negotiated the date we could actually have the petition, Sasha persuaded them to let us pick it up late on Friday the 8th, rather than waiting until the following Monday. That will possibly allow us to go to the children’s home town to get the documents needed there on Saturday, giving us more time to complete the necessary paperwork in Kharkov on Monday and hopefully go to Kyiv that evening.

We asked for a photograph. He laughed and indicated his casual clothing – commenting that of course we understand it is very hot in the court room – then opened a wardrobe and donned a black robe and his medallion: very officious-looking.

Then we went outside where Andre waited with the other two women. The inspector also told us that we must continue to try to have other children. She specified another son and two daughters. We told her as God wills, we will accept this directive. We asked for a photograph, but the inspector wasn’t happy with her appearance today, so we will try to do this before we leave. The woman from the orphanage we see frequently, so we will do it at one of our visits. After dropping off the two women Andre took us to the Stargorod, a microbrewery and restaurant for a celebratory meal. He didn’t join us, assuring us he was still full from lunch, but also telling Sasha, we learned later, he wanted to pick his wife up from work and had other plans. We thanked him and paid him, and will see him next week.

The meal was quite good. Menus in the restaurants here are frequently more suggestions as to what might be available, or was at some undefined time in the past, not what is really being served. Three steak options were listed in the English menu, four in the Russian version – but only one, the “Lumberman” was actually available. We all had it and were very satisfied. The dessert menu included hot raspberries with ice cream, and ice cream with nuts and ground chocolate. I asked for ice cream with both raspberries and chocolate. Our young waitress assured us they were two separate choices. Sasha was able to persuade her that I wanted those three items together, and to ask the chef. When it came it was so good, John decided to order one, too. That didn’t make her too comfortable, since she had had to persuade the chef, and it hadn’t been easy. Sasha encouraged her to ask again. It did eventually arrive as ordered. Getting the check took a long, long time (with apologies) – the register was down and they were forbidden to add up the items by hand, and they were having difficulty getting the computer to do the job.

Out of the restaurant we oriented ourselves, found the Metro stop on Pushkinskaya Street we used last week, and located a store still open where we could purchase more Internet minutes (hence the lack of a post yesterday). John and I headed for home, Sasha went on farther to the train station to purchase a ticket for tomorrow. Enjoying our ability to function independently here, we will have no further work for him to do on our behalf until next week Friday. He will go to Dnipropetrovs’k to continue working on an adoption there.

It’s nearly 11:00 PM now and I’m tired. Time to get this sent by e-mail and posted. Back to the boys tomorrow!

Holidays

Guess we are all celebrating holidays today – Memorial Day at home and Trinity/Pentecost here. A lot of shops were still open (not all), but people seemed to be moving at a more relaxed pace.

We watched the table tennis championship last night: something that needed no translation, although what they found to comment on point after point for 7 games in the match is beyond me. The finalists (we think it was the finals) were both from China, the guy in blue seemed to be dominating, but the guy in red came from behind and won finally.

Up at 7:00 – showered and did some reading and knitting. Left for Metro around 9:30. We stopped at the Billa to pick up a smallish bottle of “sok” (juice) to share with Nick and Dennis.

It took them a few minutes to get Dennis ready (the caretaker answered the buzzer carrying Dennis naked from the waist down). Nick’s room was quiet and locked: they were already outside. Perhaps they did not have music class due to the holiday. His friends spotted us first and directed him our way. Nick was happy, came right up to me and holding onto his re t-shirt asked me if it /he was “kraiSEEwee” (handsome). I was glad that was a phrase/word included in the adoption phrase book so I could assure him he certainly was! We were also glad the phrase book (with a modification from Sasha) allowed us to tell them we missed them very much. It is noticeably cooler today – clouds and a good breeze. Both boys sported shorts, shorts and shoes today, although we saw some groups in just the skivvies.

We let Nick pick the spot today, but just as we were sitting down a large group of toddlers invaded ahead of a caretaker, so we chose another spot. Nick did is usual testing. Some times he does stuff we don’t think is really a problem, but we get enough looks from nearby caretakers that we set the boundary. (Bull and Susan have experienced the same.) At one point he was kicking the dirt, kicking the sand in the sand box and yelling “papika, papika”! He didn’t seem to be trying to be naughty, scared or mad at us. I caught up with him in the weeds, held him close and told him “fSYO KHArasho” (it’s okay). He settled down. Later we asked Susan if she knew what “papika” meant. She didn’t, and neither did the caretaker when she asked her (they didn’t know why Losha was saying “meeka”, either.

Dennis was cuddly, content to be on my lap for most of the morning. I offered him a half-cracker, and he took at least 30 minutes to eat it. I think deliberately draws it out, grinning every time I tell him “KUshai” (eat). Eventually he went to the sandbox and played with the truck and shovel.

We all went for a little walk and found some little play areas that are now unused. Nick found four painted stumps for us to sit on, and disappeared around the end of the wall saying “paKA”, but then returning with something (pretend) to drink.

The juice was a big hit, but the plastic disposable cups didn’t hold up to either little boy very well! When Nick kept putting the bubble blowing wand in the dirt, we used the water from his water bottle to clean it off (we bring one for each every time, refilling as needed). I don’t think it really made any difference to him, though, since we never let him drink a whole bottle of water in one session anyway.

Lunch was bread (getting dry), cheese and sausage. Sasha got us both hooked on the multivitamin fruit juice – it’s pretty sweet, so we usually just have ½ cup at a time. We both napped, and then John read one of my medical articles to me while I wove the shoulder seams and knit the neck ribbing on a sweater. I wasn’t all that interested in the article earlier, he helped a lot!

This afternoon we didn’t get a response quickly at Dennis’ room, so John went off to find Nick. Eventually Dennis came, happy and reaching to be picked up. Nick often makes the same request of whichever of us isn’t carrying Dennis at the time. We understand that he is already three and expected to walk, but it is doubtful he got much holding before or since coming to the orphanage, so even if it is a response to jealousy we have decided to savor the physical contact, especially when he initiates it.

We stayed at benches near the entrance, no other children within immediate view. Nick is obsessed with sticks, especially bigger and sturdier ones. We let him play with them, cautioning when he gets close to us, or stopping him when he thwacks at the benches too hard. Once he hits any one of us the stick is confiscated and he must apologize. Today he also had to apologize for marking on my back with a red crayon. Kids! 

Dennis dissolved his cookie again. I finally fed the rest to him so he could get down off my lap and move around a bit. Copying Nick, he loves sticks. Sometimes he just picks them up and hands them to one of us. Sometimes he objects when I substitute smaller, more flexible ones for the bigger ones. He ventured off this afternoon, still within eyesight, but further than he has before. I trailed after, and when I said “paKA” (bye-bye) and also “eedee syuDA” (come here) in a questioning voice, he paused, smiled and came back. I of course swept him up with in big joyous hug.

The juice comes out when only thirty minutes are left. Dennis was messier this time – guess I better start packing the bib again. Nick would always like more (and John can’t resist his polite request in English), so we will continue to bring only smaller bottles.

When 6:30 came we were very close to Nick’s room but we gave him the option of his room or Dennis’ first, he chose Dennis’, of course.

We stopped at Billa for a few supplies, including a 6-liter bottle of water. Supper was stir fry with frozen vegetables out of a bag and a chicken breast. Sasha is due back from Kyiv after 11:00 PM. Court is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We are contemplating missing our afternoon session with the boys – either because court takes that long, or we won’t have time to change out of our suits before heading over. As dirty as we regularly get, a change of clothes would be necessary.

Church and Rest

We watched the DVD The Italian Job on my computer and ate chips last night. It’s the only movie we brought, so it might be seen more than once over the next couple of weeks.

I was up at 7:30, we were out the door around 9:15 (after hanging up another load of wash). We were in plenty of time for church which started a few minutes after 10:00. Today it was in a larger concert hall. Igor, one of the pastors, came over to talk to us and said this is where they usually meet, but sometimes because of University student concerts they have to use the other room. This place was lovely, quite ornate. Other members also came to greet us, including Denis, Katya’s father. We had a hymnal today, so by looking over someone’s shoulder we saw the number and followed along. Then Igor (who welcomed us in English and gave one of the messages last week) came to sit with us and said he would translate for us. That was a very welcome offer, although we do not feel anyone should feel obligated to provide that service for us. The hymns included mostly familiar melodies including “Sweet Hour of Prayer”, “How Great Thou Art” and “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” among others. The children also sang: “Be Careful Little Hands/Feet/Eyes/etc.” and “Everybody Ought to Know (Who Jesus Is). They again left the hall after a children’s message.

Today, on the day of Pentecost, they focused on the Trinity, God as Three in One. “Pente”cost, occurring fifty days after the Passover, was observed by the Jews as the day that the Law of Moses was given. God the Father had made himself evident from the beginning of creation. God the Son made himself known by becoming a man who walked among us on the earth. The book of the Acts of the Apostles records that on Pentecost God the Holy Spirit made himself known in a visible and powerful way. The messages focused on having the Holy Spirit in us, as David the king had (Psalm 51), being born again (Acts 2:38), no longer being slaves to sin and on how loving God meant we would keep his commandments, but the love comes first (John 14:21 and following).

We sang “Happy Birthday” to Mosha and to Sergei (one of the gentlemen who greeted us and introduced himself beforehand). We both had good chats after the service, John with Denis and I with his daughter Katya. She is now out of school for the summer. She is enjoying the heat, but is staying mostly outdoors because it is so warm in their home. She told me that in few days Igor and his family (including a son named Nikita) would be going to Maine for a month and would be staying with the same family (a former pastor here) she and her family had stayed with. She seemed pretty excited for them. She also asked about the adoption. I showed her some pictures. She admired the boys and said she would pray for them. I told her we would like that. I also told her she and her father were good at making visitors (us) feel welcome, and we appreciated that. She asked how we had found their church, so I told her of our connection to Alec and Nadya. She was delighted about this, too, and said that their church had three prayer groups, and that Nadya came to the one led by her mother. She suggested I could come this week, too, but it turns out it would conflict with our visits at the orphanage. She understood. (I also thought my presence as a non-Russian speaker would be more of a hindrance to that group than here at church). We look forward to seeing each other again next week. I want to get a photograph of us then!

Alec and Nadya have a full schedule today, but after swapping out at couch at one of their grandmother’s homes they were able to join us for lunch at the Lido Café again. It was a good visit, and they gave us less formal names children use for grandparents. We also passed along greetings as requested by William and Adele (friends from the mission trip), and obtained a correct e-mail address. Before parting we made tentative plans to get together (aside from church) next weekend. They were able to give us more information about the cucumber soup (we each had a bowl today). It is called “akroshka”. It does contain potatoes, cucumbers, diced boiled egg and dill. The meat isn’t necessarily chicken, it may even be sausage. The base is water and sour cream, or whey, and they used a white powder that may be a lemon extract.

At home I typed up the rest of the notes from our first orphanage visit (legal and medical details), John worked on some Russian (the Cyrillic words) and then cooked: “Basil Chicken with Mushrooms and Potatoes ala Butter Milk” – a new creation (and a recipe worth keeping). I think we both took naps, too. John watched part of a Jackie Chan movie and now “American Chopper”, both dubbed in Russian (too funny!). He did comment they have “Sponge Bob” here, but isn’t watching that. I’m reading more of my medical journals while knitting. I will eventually need to find buttons for the boys’ sweaters. We stumbled across a tiny shop (barely a closet) with buttons along Pushkinskaya Street the other day. Didn’t really see what I hoped for, but may need to make do.

Temperature was over 90 degrees, and the Internet news said it felt even warmer. It is supposed to cool down quite a bit by the end of the week, at least at night. Tonight we will take advantage of the coolness and accept the bugs that open windows include.

Wishing everyone a restful Sunday. Go with God this week!

It is Hot!!

Awake by 6 AM, up by 6:30, not much to do so I sorted through the digital photo album, renaming the multitude of foldrs so they will be sorted and stored chronologically. I also found photos to put in small photo albums for Nick’s and Dennis’ primary caretakers. We still hope to have Sasha find out some information for us – their daily schedules, usual and favorite foods, favorite caretakers (or those that favor them). We think we have identified one for Dennis: Katya. One woman seems to always be watching out for Nick, but we haven’t asked her name yet. No rush on the information, after all we don’t even go to court until Tuesday.

We definitely took it easy this morning and didn’t leave the apartment until noon. We walked over to the “University” Metro stop (I call it the Lenin stop, since his statue so prominently overshadows the large square nearby). We stopped at one of the tiny enclosed shops underground and shared a cherry-filled pastry. We took the Metro to the “Historical Museum” stop near Alec and Nadya’s church. We went first to the Kodak shop to have the digital photos I had chosen printed. Our clerk needed slight help from another to understand that we wanted two copies of each picture; otherwise she was very efficient, enhancing the photos and ordering them with lightening speed. We received a slip that said they would be ready at 13:45 (one hour), and paid the 68 grevna.

We walked around the nearby blocks and found an indoor market with multiple open shops side-by-side going up three stories. They had clothing for men, for women, for children – casual and nicer. We also wandered past/through shops with business supplies, shoes (of course), jewelry, a music store, a needlework shop, Ukrainian “artifacts” – just about everyting. We came out with only one additional lightweight shirt for each boy (made in Ukraine) and two more bottles of bubbles. As the heat wears on the clothes we already have seem heavier and heavier. Have you heard we are breaking 70-year-old records for heat? And it was hotter here than in Jakarta this week! We also each had an ice cream cone – a single dip of chocolate for me, double for John – and less expensive than McD’s. :)

Next we headed for the market Alec and Nadya had taken us to on Sunday. The Metro stop is at the top of the hill. You simply go down the hill and just past the Billa grocery store (yes, a chain) the market begins on the right. I think we walked nearly all of it this time. You can buy just about everything here – from food in bulk, to seeds and plants, adult and children’s clothing and shoes, all the baby supplies, cosmetics, the kitchen sink and toilet seats. Here we bought a plastic train for the boys (hoping to explain that we will ride on a train, and then on a plane), and a very light-weight polo for John (only $2). Did I mention it has been very hot? Bill and Susan heard it is supposed to continue through June 1st. We had no luck finding suitable dress shorts for John: nothing in dark blue. It’s hot!

That about finished us. We bought cold Cokes at the Billa, climbed the hill, picked up the photos at the Kodak shop, a small photo album at an underground shop (I already had one from home) and took the Metro back. We agreed weren’t all that hungry but as we came up to ground level we smelled hamburgers and suddenly the appetite awakened. The fast food stand also sold hot dogs, pizzas and something many people ordered but we didn’t recognize – something deep-fried. The burgers were tasty and hot. Then we walked home, changed into our coolest clothing, and although it was only 3:30 felt done in for the day.

We let the washing machine do a couple of loads for us. We weren’t inclined much of anything.

By 6:30 John was hungry, so we went to the Mandarin (the Ukrainian cafeteria by our nearest Metro stop). By then they had only enough kroshki for one, but I really wasn’t very hungry.

As far as the house in Iowa goes, only slight temporary steps have been made. When Becky talked to the foreman this week, the carpenter had already left for the Indianapolis 500 and wouldn’t be back until Tuesday.

We did act the tourists and take a couple of photos, and saved a couple of the boys for the weekend, too. Tomorrow is Sunday – hope to see Alec, Nadya and young Katya who speaks English so well. Worshiping with our Christian brothers and sisters will be the highlight of the weekend.

No, not Friday!

We went to bed a little earlier last night at 10:00, so getting up at 7:00 gave me nine full hours of sleep. John was up before 8:00 also having slept well. When he’s awake, though, his lower back has been quite uncomfortable. He cooked omelets for breakfast. He’s a good cook and attentive husband!

We were at the orphanage just before 10:00. Dennis was quickly brought for us with no hesitation on his part. Nick was at music so we found a place outside – same area we started yesterday afternoon and then vacated thinking another group wanted it. This time, when Nick came out with his group, they stayed in that area near us. Bill, Sue and Losha were just on the other side of the bush and play equipment behind us. The proximity of Nick’s group led to an altercation with one of his group-mates, Vanya. For the most part the other children were encouraged to keep their distance and play with the many toys that had been brought out and emptied from a cloth sack. When Vanya came over Nick had the drawing paper and a few crayons up on the bench next to John. He initially offered Vanya a crayon, but then vehemently objected when Vanya started to color with it. John intervened and Vanya had his chance to color, but he got clobbered a couple of times by Nick. John made him apologize, at least once, and we encouraged him to come and play on the blanket which was situated on the side of the bench away from the group. We assured him that the “machina” (truck) that we brought today was Nick’s, not Vanya’s, and that he had the privilege of the blanket, Vanya being told “nyet” (no), when he tried to cross that boundary. Nick tried to make the other children jealous too, showing off the truck and water bottles. We understood, but made him stop. Vanya may have a career as a lawyer someday, given the chance. He addressed John directly, and clearly was making the request, and then stating his arguments as to why he should/could be allowed to play with our other toys quite eloquently and with endearing passion. He was patting himself on the chest, tilting his head just so, using his most charming voice – oh to have that on video and know just what he was saying!!! John was not persuaded (but I was ducked behind Dennis chuckling) and when a few more of the group came over the caretakers called them all back. John retrieved the purple crayon from an unpleased Vanya who even refused to take his drawing with him. Nick, however, was now content to lie against Papa in peace.

Last night we prayed that the boys would grow in wisdom and stature. Do you suppose that is why Dennis tried to eat my flexible ruler today? It was pretty easy to get smiles from him today – cuddling, funny voices, raspberries or simple kisses on that marvelous bare belly (back to leopard skivvies for the entire group today). He did manage to eat bits of crayon when I wasn’t paying attention. I know that won’t hurt him, but I wonder what the caretakers will think of my parental diligence as they change his diapers over the next day or so . . . 

When Nick’s group cleaned up toys and headed in at 11:40 they called Nick, too. He wanted to take the machina, but we held on to it so he would have it this afternoon. He was as reluctant as we to have our time cut short, but we all acquiesced with many “paka”s (good-byes) as they made their way around the perimeter bushes. Dennis readily took Papa’s finger for the walk inside, and reached up when Papa reached down to lift him. When we got to his room it wasn’t his favorite caretaker who brought him into the room, and he actually looked reluctant, too. And today is Friday . . .

We took four Metro stops to Pushkinskaya Street to find the department store (Andrushka) Bill and Sue had heard about. It is a children’s store with strollers, car seats, clothes, toys of all sorts and even bubbles. We bought a hat for each of the boys and the last bottle of bubbles. We were looking for a few linens, but only saw stores for shoes (shoes, shoes everywhere), expensive clothing, purses and cell phones. We had dessert first on the way back to the Metro stop. It was very sweet peanut butter filling an ice cream cone with a layer of chocolate on top (two for 3 grevna, about 60 cents). Back at our Metro stop we went to the cafeteria for some kroshki (for those of you wondering, it has a milk base, and we find diced cucumbers, potatoes, chives, chicken, boiled eggs, dill and a hint of lemon). Never really thought I’d enjoy cold soup, but on these hot days I think I could eat it every day. That and a coke were actually all that John had. My appetite, however, doesn’t seem to dissipate in the heat, so I also had two cubes of beef with mushrooms and onions on the side, a tomato and cucumber salad, and a poppy seed-filled roll (only one grevna) with a Coke Light (or Coke “White”? The bottle is actually opaque.) Our Sasha, now in Kiev called to check on us and our plans for the weekend. He has the paperwork we need to proceed with the court date on Tuesday – hurray! By the way, court is closed Monday because of “Trinity” (Pentecost) on Sunday. Interesting.

We have noticed as we walk or while we wait that the older adults are much more likely to respond to “Zdrastfootya” (formal hello) than the younger people. The other day just as we left our apartment building I gave the formal greeting to an older man, then the informal “preevyet” while giving a little wave to his toy poodle. He seemed to think that was very funny, stopping to laugh and comment. I only know he repeated the “preevyet” looking down at the dog and back at me. I think it made his day.

We were back at 4:20, and both went for Nick first. It looked like they bumped him up in line so he could get a drink before coming outside. Then we let him lead us to Dennis. He likes to be in charge, and seems happy enough to include Dennis. Dennis was ready quickly, shoes and hat plus the skivvies. We camped out at the bench close to the main entrance. The sun was already behind the building so we didn’t have to worry about moving or providing bodily shields. It was also good to be away from all of the other children this time. Nick was most interested in the nearby sources of dirt, using the sand shovel and dump truck to move it back and forth, back and forth. We tried to keep him from destroying the small green plants that looked to be deliberately planted and weeded: tough job. Dennis had time with each Mama and Papa. He got bored, though, and wanted to go on an adventure (for a walk). Unfortunately it got cut short because Nick, fearing to be left out and running to catch up, wiped out and needed to be cleaned up, yet again. Nick remains fascinated by bugs, until he discovers one on him, then he is frightened. We said “Das vadanya” to many people who work there – outdoors, indoors as caretakers, administrators and probably cooks as they left for the day, perhaps for the weekend. Everyone was very friendly to us and the boys, some asking Nick if we were the mama and papa. Once Nick pretended he was going back inside. We asked “paka?” (good-bye?) and made very sad faces. He quickly changed his direction and said “no, later” in Russian. Too soon, however, it was time to take them back to their groups.
Nick managed to hold onto the Koala beanie. Since the caretaker allowed it so did we. After all, it will be a very long weekend apart, and we doubt he understood we won’t be there tomorrow. We tried to tell him “Monday”, but what does that mean to any three-year-old?

We walked back toward the Metro with Bill and Susan, exchanging phone numbers before stopping at the Billa grocery store. I stocked up on chocolate: comfort food and for anti-accidents, of course (maybe Nick needs some…) We also bought a few staples.


John’s back seems worse tonight than this morning. He did take some aspirin for our afternoon visit, but I’m not sure it helped much. We’ll certainly be able to take it easy this weekend. Plans include shopping for a few things, getting some digital pictures printed and church on Sunday.

A Week Later: Reaching to be Held!

Sasha left at 2:30 to catch a train. I know because I got up to lock the door behind him. I wasn’t sleeping great anyway. Is it the new surroundings that make me clumsier than usual, or do I just not notice all my bumps and bruises at home? Back on arrival day in Kharkov, I banged the back of my calf with my very heavy backpack while getting off the train. That bruise, almost three inches in diameter, did indeed turn deep shades of purple, etc. Fortunately all the skirts I brought, and of course the pants, cover it. Now all that remains is a violet crescent. Yesterday I tripped over shoes in our room and into the stroller and banged up my right little toe. It HURT!!! I found an empty ice cube tray in the freezer, so had to wait for ice. It was pretty achy last night, even propped up on the folded blanket from our bed. Now that that has improved considerably, I was reaching under a raised sandbox to retrieve a ball and bashed my skull on the sturdy metal covering used to shield the children from the sun. (It is high enough for three-year-olds, of course.) No blood or anything, but certainly a valid reason to pick up and eat much more dark chocolate, yes? After all, it is full of anti-accidents, right?

Back to the boys. We were even a little early today, but at Dennis’ room the woman who answered the door indicated that they were “na oolitza” (literally ‘on the street’, i.e. outside) already. I gave her my passport. We stopped by Nick’s room, but it was dark and quiet and we could hear the music class upstairs, so we headed outdoors.

We found Dennis’ group without a problem. He was carrying the Pooh-bear ball we had given him the very first day. After greeting the caretakers and Dennis, John offered him an index finger, which he has taken readily before – but he lifted his arms to be picked up! Yea! The caretakers and I exchanged the thumbs-up sign and smiles. We found a bench in the shade, but over the two hours had to move to another bench in that area and then back again to avoid full sun exposure. The boys were shirtless and Dennis barefoot.

After the usual first half- hour, John went to find Nick in his room. His favorite honey-bee hat wasn’t in his locker, so he instructed Papa to get it down from over the other lockers, and made sure he brought the right one. Then he insisted they go look for Mama at Dennis’ room, even though Papa tried to convince him we were already outside. He got the idea when nobody was there. I got my hug when they reached us – such a delightful embrace!

Dennis figured out how to blow the bubbles today! I don’t have any idea at what age that should be expected. I know some kids manage to blow out the cake candles on their second birthday, but Dennis actually held the wand a few inches from his face and produced a few bubbles! (This bottle hasn’t been very bubble-bountiful, even Mama and Papa have some trouble getting them to work.) I was way impressed. The bubbles also led to his first temper tantrum with us, and almost all of the vocalizations we have heard so far. When we brought out the bubbles a second time, he insisted on putting the wand to his mouth and tasting the soap – again and again. Mama finally took the bubbles away and he went off into the weeds loudly protesting. He didn’t go too far, and when the sound diminished a bit I went and rescued him. I know the children all get reprimanded frequently, I don’t know how often they get rescued or comforted. No more bubbles, but I did give a half-cracker, something that does belong in the mouth.

Still the same toys. Nick continued to deepen a hole in the dirt he started a few days ago. He poured the dirt various places, after showing me each well-filled large stacking block. He also wanted to be near me with the coloring pages, although he also wanted to be sure John was paying attention from the other bench. His naughtiness was all reserved for the walk back to his room after dropping Dennis off: hitting, pinching, laying on the floor. We sat him down on a chair en route and insisted on an “I’m sorry, Mama”, before continuing. He tried to insert something other than “mama”, we didn’t understand, but held in there until he said “mama”. Back at his room all was forgiven on both sides and we said good-bye with hugs and “patuum” (later).

We tried to find a shopping mall at the Metro stop beyond our usual, but it was so hot, and all we saw were very expensive shoes, so we walked home and crashed. We did pick up three wieners in pastry on the way (a little more than $1 total). An easy lunch.

John packed the touch-and-feel kitty book and the small airplane for the afternoon. Once again we were a little early. When they brought Dennis out he looked a bit dazed, like he had been sleeping, but he reached up to me and came readily (and I was all smiles). The woman who brought him out is the one who brought Dennis up the stairs the first time we saw him, the one who said he was “excellent” and gave us the thumbs-up. John asked her name: Katya.

Nick was waiting just inside the door when we came to his room. Outdoors it is sometimes hard to know where to settle. We don’t know if the various groups of children have assigned play areas, if they rotate, how close they can be to us, etc. We started where we were yesterday afternoon, where no groups had stationed themselves because the men were digging trenches so close (I think). But just after we settled on the blanket a large group of children came, and they stopped short and joined the group right next to us. We decided to relocate because it was a bigger play area with lots of equipment, and the new group was older and larger. (When we went by later the two groups had stayed together. I think it gives the caretakers a bit of a chance to visit with other adults, too.)


So we laid the blanket out on a grassy (weedy) area that we hoped would stay protected from the sun, but we did have to move once and near the end I sat where I could shield Dennis. (He had shoes this afternoon, no hat except when he “borrowed” Nick’s.) Dennis sat himself down on the blanket and was content to play with the toys there. We tickled each other under the nose with grass that had gone to seed. Nick was a bit cranky, hitting everything with his water bottle, pulling at my earring, throwing crayons. I had some rambunctious play with him, still seated, blowing raspberries into his belly, turning him upside-down, etc. John was shielding Dennis from the sun. He later settled down to sit in John’s lap and color for a very long time. Great photos. They ended the afternoon throwing, and crumpling, paper airplanes.


When we took Dennis back I carried him, and he put his head down and held on to my shoulder. Nick clearly asked Papa to carry him, too, so he did! Since it wasn’t quite 6:30, we sat on the couches upstairs until it was time. Nick didn’t quite understand why, but he was willing to sit with Papa and delay the return to his own group. The same caretaker welcomed Dennis back. She commented (by gestures and with approval) on the resemblance between me and Dennis, and John and Nick. We agreed: very good (in Russian). On the way to Nick’s room, he resumed the “1-2-3-weeee” game we had started earlier today. It requires a hand from both Papa and Mama. We had him repeat the numbers, going as high as seven, in English. We had to find his group outside when the room was empty. He was perfectly happy during the search, until it ended, and our day was ended. Tomorrow it will be “das vadanya” for two long days . . .

We rode the Metro back with Bill and Sue. They continue to have good visits, too. John and I stopped for ice cream at McDonald’s (too economical to pass up, tasty, too!). Sue went off to work out, Bill had to go back to their facilitator. We had tuna salad for supper, John cooked while I typed. It was good, light, cool meal, and also tasty!

Sasha from Kyiv called to check on us today. All is well at this end!

Court Date Set!!!

Up at 7:00 this morning for some coffee and quiet reading. What would you like to know about wound closures or spina bifida?

Sasha left before 9:00 for his errands to the court and police inspector. Domestic note: the small garbage pail under the kitchen sink was full to the max, and smelled accordingly. John was the manly man and took it out to find a dumpster and empty the pail. (Normally he puts our garbage out Wednesday evening at home.) We left at 9:35. We missed the walking short cut near the orphanage, so it took a full thirty minutes.

John went for Nick. He would be in class for another half-hour. We waited about 20 minutes total for Dennis. Not sure why, although they did tell us! I carried Dennis down. He put his head down on my shoulder and snuggled in for the whole walk. Just wait till you get to cuddle with him! Once we sat down, he popped right up to see what Papa and Nick were doing. Today is hotter yet, so the uniform for both was leopard-spotted skivvies. The only additions were diaper and shoes for Dennis, the honey-bee hat for Nick. The benches in the shade were all taken, so we camped out on some steps. We had to take toys away from Nick at various times because he wanted to throw what wasn’t meant to be thrown, otherwise the boundary-testing was much less intense than yesterday. Dennis pulled the bubbles out of the backpack, and today he wanted to play with them. He liked dipping the wand up and down in the bottle just like he had seen Nick do on previous days. Rather than trying to blow at the circles, however, he put them to his mouth and tasted them. Eventually that became a game as Mama would tell him “nee KU-shai” (something like ‘not eat’) again and again. I offered him a half-cookie at that point to distinguish between edible and non-edible, but the game continued. He did eat the cookie, though, and in a more typical fashion – bite, chew and swallow, get distracted, bite, chew and swallow, holding the cookie away from him.

When we returned Nick to his group, they were standing outside, sans skivvies. Apparently this is bath day. We also saw some pretty intensive cleaning going on all over the orphanage – curtains and drapes removed, men cleaning above very high windows in the stairwells, etc. Outside new wiring is being laid to the outdoor lights, trenches being dug by back-breaking manual labor. Nick is interested in the multicolored scaffolding they use and move around.

We stopped at the grocery store Billa next to the Metro station before coming back. Their logo is a big yellow shopping/grocery bag that rotates on a sign high over head. It is part of a chain. We saw another one near the church Sunday. We were in luck. Not only a blanket we can lay on the ground for visits, but a light-weight nice shirt I can be more comfortable in (about $5). Lunch was at McDonalds.

Back at the apartment Sasha called to see if we were back. When he arrived he had good news: Sasha in Kyiv could have the necessary paperwork back to us Friday, and we could get a court date already next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Say – that bump on my forehead from the train – it fortunately never did turn purple, but since
Sunday has been going through the green/yellow stage. I draped my hair over it for church, but no one seems to have noticed this week.

For the afternoon visit we took the Metro back, and in the very same car were Bill and Sue, the other American couple hoping to adopt from the same baby house. Turns out she has quite a history with Ukraine, having worked in Kyiv for five years, following five years in St. Petersburg, Russia. They have been given more medical concerns regarding their little fellow, so are trying to sort out how serious it all is.

John went to find Nick, per usual. He was watching for John through a window. When they came down the hall where I was waiting for Dennis he came running and gave me a hug.  Having the blanket worked out well. Dennis sat on it most of the time playing with the usual toys. Nick had great fun with a couple of sticks he broke out of a bush, thwacking away at the dirt or a solid bench. For the most part he was careful around us, and John only had to take custody of the stick once. Mama did have to clean up and band-aid blister on his index finger, though. Only twice did he throw things at or hit one of us, and both times he say “excuse me” in Russian without too much resistance. He also discovered a water bottle we were carrying. He asked for drinks frequently during the two hours. He is learning to say “water, please” (in order to get another drink). Dennis was happy to just play with the closed water bottle. Nick and John also spent some time watching the men work to dig the trenches.

Bill and Sue with their boy and another couple with a little girl were all in the same general area, although we kept to our own activities.

Does two hours ever pass this quickly anywhere else? We packed up, took Nick to his room, found it empty so found the group outside. We took Dennis up to his room. When I let him walk up the steps he was as energetic and happy as the first time we saw him with the caretaker before our meeting with the director. Furthermore, as he neared the top he put his right foot up two steps instead of one – quite a stretch for an eighteen-month-old. I put it back down a step, he grinned and moved it back up. We repeated that a couple of times. Oh how hard it was to leave him there. I told him I loved him, in Russian and English.

We went back on the Metro with Bill and Sue. Sasha was at the train station buying a ticket. He is going to Kiev tomorrow. He led us through a typical court appointment tonight; ours is scheduled for Tuesday – hurray! He will be back before then. (Remember, we still have to wait 10 days after that for the appeal period. Wait through that weekend, secure a bunch of paperwork in the boys’ hometown, here in Kharkov, then in Kiev). He also told us that June 1st is national “Children’s Day”, and thus the reason for all of the sprucing up at the orphanage and the program where Nick will be a prince. He is confident we will be able to attend the presentation. Also, departure on June 16th is still a possibility.

Documents and Discipline

First a tidbit from yesterday:
Nick seems to be developing a bit of a cold or allergies – he gets a runny nose from time to time (today also a cough, so probably a cold). Anyway, it gave John sweet, fatherly pleasure to help him blow it.  He was really touched and enjoyed the moment. Nick likes pulling the tissues out of the pocket pack, as well as the wipes out of their package and wiping up himself, the toys, the bench, etc.

Today I got up at 8:00 AM, showered, settled in with coffee and devotions and then the guys were up – politely inviting each other to shower first. John won: he joined me for coffee while Sasha showered first. We boiled up some more eggs. We each had one and some multivitamin juice for breakfast. Coffee too, of course.

Andre’ picked us up before 10:00, and off we went to the orphanage. Sasha and Andre’ went to the police inspector with a representative from the orphanage. This inspector is only available Tuesday through Friday and Saturday morning, Sasha discovered when he first tried to go on Monday. The inspector, therefore, was very busy this morning, and told Sasha to come back tonight or tomorrow. He also tried to reach the other inspector, but she was still in court.

We picked up Dennis first – hair was still wet! Then we went to Nick’s room. We were told he was upstairs, having a music class. The caretaker indicated we should stay put and she would bring him, but returned and told us “patuum”, which Sasha had fortunately taught us means “later”. I had her show me on my watch how much later (half-hour). We told her it was okay. We agree that he shouldn’t miss his classes. Part of these may be rehearsals for the program on June 1st that the director told us about at our first orphanage visit. Nick is to play a prince. We can’t wait, hoping to videotape it for him! That gave us alone time with Dennis again, which is not bad, since he finds Nick so entertaining (and therefore distracting), and Nick demands much of John’s attention. He clearly indicated by adamantly handing the items, that John was to hold the books (pad of paper, coloring book, touch and feel dog book). Mama was to hold the beanies and bubbles. In fact throughout the morning, every time I set the bubbles down, he handed them back to me. He wasn’t actually interested in having me blow them; I just need to hold them. (“Gotta know when to hold ‘em, know when to blow ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run . . .”)

John went for Nick after the half hour was up. His entire group was coming outside, each with a slice of an apple for a snack. We had pretty much the usual activities with the ball, the coloring, the bubbles (although they are losing popularity), the rings and cups. Today, however, Dennis was determined to color on the same page as Nick (Nick acquiesced) and later followed behind Nick, copying his activities of swatting at the same grass and weeds with a stick. As noon approached Nick’s group was still outside playing in an area with more playground equipment, so although he watched us as we walked away (and later spotted us driving away in the van), he didn’t seem upset.
We had also assured him we would be back later (part Russian, mostly English).


We ate lunch at the same cafeteria below the department store as Sunday night. We all had the cold cucumber soup (kroshki) and other things (enough of the menu details . . .). John and I decided to check upstairs in the children’s clothes shop for hats, but nothing was suitable. Sasha headed back to the apartment on foot, sending Andre’ off until later. When we reached the apartment (it is a short walk), no one was home, and Sasha had the only key. We waited a while (I had my knitting on hand, of course) then gave him a call. Thanks, Lord, for cell phones! He said while walking home he had received a call to go to the inspector immediately, so he had called Andre’ back and was currently in the inspector’s office and he would call when he was done. We told him not to worry, and take his time. We were deliberately not being anxious about the reason for the urgency of the meeting, although the temptation existed.

We lounged outside on the short walls leading into the apartment building. I worked out the placement for the airplane on Nick’s sweater; John took some photos of the building. When Sasha returned an hour or so later, he explained that the inspector called and said she was done in court and wanted a ride back to her office. He had to wait for Andre’, pick up the representative from the orphanage and the inspector, and after the documents were made go to an outside place and get five copies of everything made and take them back to the inspector. Some of those copies went out on the 16:00 train to Kyiv. It is an informal, but common and reliable way to have packages delivered quickly. Sasha carries with him plastic report covers, large envelops and glue. The package is given to the train conductor with some money ($2). Sasha in Kyiv will meet the train and be given the package after proving his identity. This paper work starts a process in Kyiv that takes about five business days. After that we can have a court appointment here in Kharkov (the one where we both have to wear suits). Then we must wait (at least) ten days during which time an appeal could be filed to delay or prevent the adoption. (In the past the waiting period was thirty days, but could be waived in special circumstances, the current ten days is mandatory). Hopefully on the eleventh day the court decree goes into effect and we receive an official copy. Then, with the boys in our custody, we have to go to their hometown to have the local legal authorities change their birth certificates to reflect their new names and parentage. That takes a couple of days. Once we get back to Kyiv it will be roughly five days to get passports, visas, and other documentation (i.e. June 16th is pretty much the earliest we would leave Ukraine and even that, perhaps, is optimistic). That’s how we understand it at this very moment, anyway. 

While we went back to the orphanage Sasha settled in at an Internet café on Lenin Prospect to prepare paperwork in Ukrainian. It was the petition for court asking for permission to adopt, rename the children, etc. He hopes to submit it tomorrow. When Andre’ dropped us off at the orphanage we paid him and said good-bye until tomorrow since we would be taking the Metro back.

John went off to find Nick. His group was getting ready to go outside. His caretaker told him to switch shoes. Then he told John he needed to go to the bathroom. The caretaker sent him back briefly and then they were off. I went up to Dennis’ room, but received no response to the buzzer and heard no noises from inside. I thought perhaps his group had already gone outside (it was after 4:30), but though I met John and Nick (and enjoyed his hearty hug) we found no Dennis. We all went back up to his room, and this time they quickly came, Dennis dressed with hat and all. I offered him only the purple stacking ring and we were off. Sue and Bill were also outside with their little guy.

Today was an important day, marking the first serious confrontation between Nick and “Papa”. He went beyond the playful naughtiness of past visits and was refusing, resisting and struggling, even though we were very clear (and it was understood) what specific behavior was unacceptable. It took a long time and many pleas of “Papa . . .(something)” while he pulled and squirmed and tried to escape. He obviously tried to appeal to me, too, but I set him back down next to John. At last he was still for all of five seconds and John was able to tell him “kha-ra-SHO” (good, or okay) and release him. Whew! Papa felt bad, but the rest of the visit was good, and he got a big, voluntary hug when we had to leave. Once again it proved helpful to be able to tell him, in Russian, that we would have to return to his group soon, and then ‘now’. No one was in his room, and when we went back outside, he did try to direct us away from his group, but the caretaker called out his name. Busted! Dennis actually was reluctant when we put away the toys outside, and when we left him in his room, first time for this.

We took the Metro back and called Sasha from the station. After three hours he was still working on the official petition, so we stopped at the McDonald’s next door for the use of the restrooms, a latte, French fries and ice cream (two cones for 60 cents). We found Sasha in the Internet café (not the one in our building) and retrieved the key for the apartment. Now, technically, our first five days have elapsed and we should be paying ahead for the next five. Well, perhaps. Perhaps if the second key should arrive tonight, the payment will be tomorrow. Perhaps . . .

We had spaghetti leftovers for supper. Then Sasha translated the official documents out loud to us (sounding official enough to give me goosebumps) and we each signed three copies. John even took pictures.

The toys have gotten quite dirty between Dennis throwing the rings on the ground and Nick moving dirt with the stacking blocks, so John washed them up. I had done the same on Sunday.

Tomorrow morning Sasha hopes to go both to court and to the police inspector, so we will take ourselves to the orphanage. It actually wouldn’t be a bad walk, maybe an hour in length, but the Metro is too inexpensive and convenient to resist.

Running To Meet

Sasha was up at 7 AM today to be the first at the inspector’s office to deliver the papers he received from the orphanage late on Friday. I got up sometime before that to take down the laundry, then went back to bed. Slept well last night, but we didn’t go to bed until 11:00.

Sasha was indeed first at the office, and saw another American couple here to adopt. Andre’s van broke down, but John had already worked out the Metro route to the orphanage, so we met Sasha at Metro station #23 and finished the ten-minute walk together. Dennis’ group was already outside. Nick was having some classes and would be out in thirty minutes or so. It is hot today: 90+ degrees predicted. The “uniform” of the morning was hat (always when outside), T-shirt and underpants. Dennis was even barefoot. We circled the buildings until we came to Dennis’ group. His caretaker accepted my passport and sent Dennis off with us (and had to keep the other children from coming, too). We asked what words he uses. The caretaker indicated he uses a couple of words, “mama”, “paka” (good-bye) and “dai-dai-dai” (give me ) most of all. He repeats several other words. I handed him the half-cracker per usual, but this time he held it away from his mouth and readily took a finger to go for a walk. So we had a half-hour alone with Dennis first. No heavy breathing at all this time. The cracker was quickly forgotten and dropped on the ground. He sat on “Papa’s” lap first playing with the stacking rings, and then transferred to me when Papa’s legs went numb. He likes to hold everything at once – or would if he could. I was putting the larger rings on his feet – he would immediately push them off. He was pretty good at getting the rings and then the bear’s head on and off the post. He looked up for the bubbles, gave a half-smile, but the real joy seems to be when Nick enjoys them (loudly). Dennis has enjoyed the stacking cups, too, but we are gradually losing the toys – the base to the stacking rings and three of five cups. One of the parenting skills we need to work on is looking around at the end of play time to make sure we have picked up all of the toys and put them back in the backpack!

After a half-hour John went off to find Nick. He went off in one direction and shortly a group about Nick’s age came from the other way. I looked closely and sure enough, a dark-haired fellow in a honey bee cap was running ahead to me. What a happy look on his face, and an exuberant smile. Before long John came full circle back to us, and was greeted as warmly. He caught up to Nick’s group that had gone by (we had planted ourselves on a curb in the shade with Dennis) and offered his passport, but the caretaker waved him off. I guess they haven’t always required a passport for Nick. Perhaps they figure we always have to give one for Dennis, perhaps they trust us (at least a little). Nick pulled out the coloring book, but quickly exchanged it for the pad of blank paper. He sat on John’s lap and they drew pictures together with crayons. They also played with bubbles, looked at bugs and went off to try to find the base for the stacking rings (not successful, yet).

Dennis also played with crayons and paper – so we now have the first ‘Papa and Nick’ artwork, and the first ‘Mama and Dennis’ artwork. Dennis kept putting the green crayon in his mouth, so I offered him another half-cracker and put his bib on. He didn’t take long at all to finish this time. When we put the crayons away Dennis was happy with the stacking rings again – this time he put them on his feet. (But John and Nick were gone with the camera at the time.)

Sasha helped us ask Nick a few questions regarding favorite color, favorite toy, friends, what he had done in school. His favorite color is red. And he nodded “yes” to “Did you dance in school?”

A while later a woman passed on the other side of the property fence. She tried to say something to us. When we clearly didn’t understand, she paused to think, and then said quite clearly in English, “You and the children go over and sit on a bench, please.” We were so impressed; we readily packed up and complied. Nick found more ants there. He pulled a cup out of the pack and began to serve us pretend foods – scooping up dirt from various spots around the bench. We all enjoyed the game. Dennis was standing up trying to hold everything: the bag of cookies, the bag with the bottle of bubbles, the stacking rings, and a book.

Of course, noon came too quickly, and we had to take them back to their groups. John and Nick went ahead. On the way it was clear Nick did not want to go back. He tried to suggest they go other places. John thought he looked close to tears. He dutifully stopped at his locker and placed his hat inside and exchanged his outdoor shoes for indoor shoes.

Sasha and I went straight to Dennis’ room (near the director’s office). We have observed the caretakers allowing/encouraging the children Dennis’ age to go up the stairs by themselves, holding a low rail at just their level. Friday when I set him down half-way up he just froze, looking confused/distressed. Today: no problem! He went right up, although paused when the caretaker appeared at the top, just outside of his room. She encouraged him and he quickly finished. Muh-lah-DYEHTS! Good job! The caretaker asked that we bring some diapers for Dennis (and others?), Sasha asked what size, so she went back in to find out: 10 kg. Sasha also asked for me if he uses bottles any more. Oh no! He doesn’t even use sippy cups: a regular cup for him now. I expect we’ll still use the sippy cups we brought, at least for traveling, to minimize messes. 

Also at the top of the stairs, the waiting area for the director’s office, was the American couple Sasha had seen at the Inspector’s office: Bill and Sue from New Jersey with their interpreter. They had just arrived this morning and had a first meeting. They were back to ask the doctor more questions. They have also decided “to continue”, so we will likely be seeing them some more.

Tomorrow Sasha will go to the police department and begin to work on authentication of the boys’ residency. If the inspector finishes her documentation today, he will be able to send it back to Sasha in Kyiv by train in a sealed envelop. Pizza or something similar sounded good to us today, he indicated that the place he too us on Thursday was about the best in town, so we returned. In spite of the heat, shade and a good breeze made it comfortable to eat outdoors this time. (John: antipasta (sic) and American pizza; Sasha: pasta Bourgenais (?), Andre’: chicken breast on lettuce salad; me: Lasagna #4’ and we all shared a two baskets of flat bread. Poor Sasha can’t seem to get is beverages of choice (black tea or Sprite), but did seem to enjoy his two cups of Americano coffee. We had after-lunch cappuccinos for mid-day caffeine. Andre’ prefers juice.

Okay, time to shop for diapers. Andre’ took us back to the supermarket (third time here, now), we did some price comparisons and picked up a Megapack box of 129 #4 Pampers for Active Babies. We also picked up a couple of toys, and took advantage of the transportation to buy two 10-liter bottles of water.

We keep checking with Sasha the Russian words and phrases from the materials given us by the adoption agency and the Russian/Ukrainian CD/phrase book that John purchased before we left. Some are fine, some he chuckles or puzzles about.

Andre’ picked us up for the afternoon visit. We delivered the Pampers and the caretaker went in to get Denis dressed. John went off and found Nick. When Dennis was set down outside his room he got his upset look again. I think he would have gotten buy with the stacking cup I handed him, but we quickly pulled out a half-cookie at Sasha’s urging (he never actually ate it). Then it was off to find a place outside to play. Dennis had shoes this time, but otherwise it was still hat, shirt and underpants. We saw Bill and Sue outside the front door with a toddler. We were able to tell them there were many places to sit and play if they just walked around the buildings.

We may have taken one of the group’s usual spots, or perhaps they all rotate and have more than enough play areas with a bench and shade. A butterfly took fancy to John, and kept landing on his shirt – the sleeve, the back and even his head a couple of time. Nick spotted him first and was fascinated – at least until it landed on him, then he was really scared (gave John a chance to cuddle, comfort and protect him). We had the crayons, bubbles, stacking rings, beanie babies out per usual. We had picked up new stacking blocks that fit inside each other over the lunch bread. Nick enjoyed putting the cow inside to hide and having John search for him with mooing noises. When John and Nick went off in search of the base for the stacking rings again (unsuccessful attempt this morning), Dennis played more with the toys, not being distracted so much by Nick. He likes to put various things inside each other, and of course push things off back of the bench to the ground! After J&N returned with the completed stacking ring set (hurray!) Nick started in on another round of pretend eating and drinking with us. Dennis also took the two remaining stacking cups and pretended to drink, also offering them to me to drink. Another hurray! He also put a crayon and the chestnut blossoms Nick had given him into his mouth. I told him repeatedly “nee KHO-chai” (don’t eat) and eventually got a look at the mischievous face he had turned away from me. Definitely making progress. When it was time to leave we were able, thanks to Sasha’s coaching, to tell Nick that “we must go to your group” in Russian. We also understood his reply: “patuum” (later), and had to tell him “nee patuum, seeCHESS”(not later, now). It seemed to help, that and stopping at Dennis’ room first and then letting him lead us both back to his group/room. Sigh . . . at least we don’t have to wait two days before returning this time.

Dinner tonight was chicken stir-fry – new for Sasha. We already had the chicken (which pretty much passed the “sniff” test), an onion, cauliflower, fresh mushroom and garlic on hand. We went to our nearby ice cream shop and bought red and yellow peppers, too. John added some Frontier basil leaves. The three of us had a nice dinner at home.

John called the builder responsible for re-roofing our house in Iowa. It has been a bit of a problem because rotten wood was found around the dormer windows and it was left partially unprotected during the rains since the job started. Poor Becky had a bat in the house and has been stuffing rags into holes in the kitchen through which she can see the sky. John was quite firm with the business owner and the foreman in charge of this project. He authorized the repair of the rotted areas, and work should resume tomorrow and be finished promptly.

Day of Rest (and waiting...)

Never did get to the laundry last night. John did find his way to the Metro stop we needed this morning (University Station) and timed it. Then we went in search of ice cream. It was 9 PM by then and dark. Sasha wished us success and advised “don’t speak too loudly in American”. We didn’t. We did find a shop very close to us we hadn’t tried before. The shops here, even the small ones, often have more than one section and each has an individual clerk and cash register. We looked around for a freezer chest, but finding none inquired of the woman in the larger section. She directed us by gesture (and words) to the other woman (Sveta). She had the popular counter, so we waited while she attended to several other customers. Then we asked her for ice cream. She understood our Russian version of the word, and proceeded to ask us which kind we preferred. We didn’t understand at all. She smiled and gestured for us to come behind the counter, and then into the hallway behind her area: the ice cream freezer. We chose three drumstick-type bars with chocolate ice cream and headed back to Sasha with great satisfaction.

This morning I was up at 7:00. I like some extra quiet time on Sunday mornings. Usually getting up at the last possible moment suits me, but not on Sundays. I read from my devotional book (For All the Saints”) which follows the liturgical church year. While we are here the seasons and books change. With the luggage restrictions, I chose to bring the next book. Even though it doesn’t begin until next week, after Pentecost, I just couldn’t wait any more. Perhaps it will be hard to keep up once the boys are in our care and being ahead now will help.

John was up 8 AM and cooked an omelet after his shower. We let Sasha know when we were leaving at 9 AM so he could lock the door behind us (still only one key).

We had a nice walk to the Metro station, confirmed on the map the train we wanted to take to meet Alec (to the Historical Museum stop), and hopped on. It was the next stop, so we were early. We found a good vantage point – top of a hill under a bill board and waited until the 9:45 rendezvous time. When John called Alec they were running late, so they gave us directions to the church in stages: first going to a music store within view; upon reaching that he told us to go around the corner and up to the third floor of the University of Arts building. The congregation met in a recital room which had two grand pianos up on the platform/stage and eighty cushioned chairs. At the door a man greeted us in Russian, then quickly switched to English and introduced himself as Igor. When we told them we were meeting Alec and Nadya, he said “I thought so”. He invited to go inside and said we would find other English-speaking people. Providentially a young couple who spoke English did sit down next to us and during the messages Sveta translated the main points and gave us the Bible references to follow along. We sang a number of songs throughout, including “The Old Rugged Cross”, “Beautiful Savior”, “Power in the Blood” and “Rock of Ages”. The only one we were fully able to participate in came at the end, really after the proper service: “Happy Birthday”, because we had learned it for Drucie’s birthday last year on the mission trip in Odessa!

We had a nice visit with Sveta and her husband immediately and later outside with Nadya. We also enjoyed speaking with nine-year-old Katya (only a month younger than our Katie) who learned her English while her family was in Pittsburgh – once for a year and again for half a year. She attended regular classes then and now practices her English with a woman from Texas. I was trying to tell her that sometimes people from Texas sound like they have an accent to those of us from the north, but she assured me, “No! She just speaks normal!” Katya’s English is very, very good. Her father also spoke with us. He is a computer programmer, so commonality with John had nothing to do with the English or Russian languages. 

Alec and Nadya were busy with friends who all wanted to catch up with them after their recent return from ten days in Siberia. The door to the hall was locked at noon, and shortly thereafter we moved downstairs and outside. We went to a Ukrainian cafeteria and this time we both tried the cold cucumber soup Sasha and Andre’ had yesterday. Equally tasty! We shared a vegetable salad, John had salmon, and I had beef with vegetables and cheese fried to the top. We both got a caffeine fix in cappuccinos. The guys went back to get desserts to share with us after the meal.

Alec and Nadya run a business delivering flower and candy bouquets. They have several sites, some they run, and some others buy from them. They had to make one delivery today. They took us to a market to find an umbrella stroller. This place was like a “Babys R Us” market: six stalls filled just with strollers, and more obviously-pregnant woman than we have seen in all of our trips collectively. We were looking for a light-weight umbrella stroller, since the two we purchased back home simply did not fit into the luggage. The first two stalls tried to sell us larger, fancier ones than we needed at three times the price of the ones I found at Target. Then we saw one standing alone next to a stall – it was for sale, only $10, used. That suited us since we only needed it to get home. It needed some cleaning up, but we have more time than anything else today.

Next we went to the part of the market where Alec and Nadya purchase the flowers. They put the bouquet of roses in the trunk and off we went to find the lucky lady to receive them for her birthday. It turns out they had left their map at home, so the one Andre’ gave us as a gift our first day in Kharkov (at the pizza celebration lunch) came in handy. Then they dropped us off near the apartment, off to watch Shrek 3 with friends (in Russian, of course). We plan to get together with them again before we leave. They would very much like to meet the children, but that will have to wait until the eleventh day after the court day when the children will be in our custody. (The court date hasn’t been set yet, by the way.)

John immediately disassembled the stroller for cleaning purposes. He washed the cloth parts by hand. I did two loads of laundry. Wasn’t exactly sure where to put the detergent (we brought half a bottle of ALL Small & Mighty) in a front-loading washer, but the clothes seem to be clean, so I guess it’s okay. I strung up the clothesline we brought above the bathtub using screws and hooks that appear to be there for that purpose. Just need to get up and move them before Sasha wants to shower at 7 AM tomorrow. He wants to get to the Inspector’s office early to be the first to submit papers in the morning.

John worked on editing our Russian phrase recording. I worked out the design details on the sweaters – Nick’s will have an airplane, Dennis’ (yes, we have decided on two ‘n’s) will have a train. His caretaker told us at the very first meeting that Dennis likes cars and trains. We still hope to find one or the other for him to play with during our visits.

Around 6 PM we went off to find food. We haven’t been all that hungry, but that doesn’t mean Sasha should starve. At a nearby Ukrainian cafeteria John had his second bowl of cucumber soup for the day. I went for the Ukrainian borsht this time. I had chunks of meet and a vegetable salad (cucumbers, tomatoes and black olives), John had chicken Kiev and kartoshka (potatoes), we shared a chocolate and nut mousse dessert.

Sasha prefers his chocolate straight, so when the shop where we bought ice cream last night failed to have a suitable selection we headed off to the larger supermarket where Andre’ had taken us for staples the first night. We took the wrong street the first time. When it dead-ended, it gave us opportunity for more exercise to work off the chocolate we had eaten and Sasha was yet to have. I instructed Sasha to pick up foods he wanted to have in the apartment, although he first demurred – not wanting to be demanding – the cart was relatively full and he and John each carried a heavy grocery bag home (they only allowed me to carry a box of cereal and the corn chips).

So we are back “home”: time to blog; clean the wheels on the stroller; get ready for tomorrow - when we get to see the boys again!!!!!

Shopping!

No plans until 11:00 when we expected Andre’ to come with the “extension couch”. I was up at 8:00, rested and eager for some quiet time to knit and read from one of the many medical journals I brought along. Sasha rose around 9:00, John shortly thereafter. While waiting for the couch and our ride to the open air market to shop for the children, John and I went out seeking pastries. It took a couple of tries, being rather late in the day for breakfast (and possibly because it is Saturday), but we succeeded, and bought some desserts for the next few days, too.

Andre’ arrived, along with the apartment manager. Bringing the couch into the apartment proved much easier said than done. There is an inner and outer door separated by about 8 inches. Each door has a 12-inch extension that can be opened for moving larger objects in and out. This was such an occasion, but the last time not so recently. The lever that moves to open the outer door was a large bolt, and hadn’t been moved in a long time. But with a closed-end wrench around it, it was able to be moved. The bottom was missing such a lever, and the top bolt would not work in the bottom as they discovered after removing the top bolt while standing on a chair.

The inside door has the same kind locking mechanism, but not as strong, which holds the door in place. The top one on that door works as designed. The bottom lever doesn’t, it seemed to be broken. Removing the mechanism while the door is close doesn’t work, they discovered. There is a screw on the bottom of the door which needs to be removed. Removing the door from its hinges requires removing the top molding. (It seems to be screwed in for easy removal.) The inside door is now fully open, but the outside door still a problem. A little cooking oil didn’t help the problem. A bent screwdriver or two later, it was decided to try moving the couch with the outside door only open 5/6 of the way. The four-piece sectional barely fit. Now Sasha will have a bed that is long enough for him. He is a fairly tall Ukrainian.

We still don’t have a second key for the apartment. That hasn’t been a problem since Sasha has been with us almost constantly, but tomorrow we will go to church with our friends Alec and Nadya (friends/interpreters from mission trips who live here in Kharkov) and Sasha has declined our invitation to join us. The Protestant services are not to his taste, being of the Orthodox tradition. The key may be delivered later today. Or may not!

That all gave me plenty of time to review the clothing the grandmothers had sent along. Based on the measurements we took yesterday, we should be able to use most of the boys’ clothing except half of the 12-month sizes. The sandals will just fit Denis, the little socks Denis and the larger ones Nick. Most of the clothes are for warmer weather, though.

Shortly after noon we were able to begin the shopping venture. Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine, with 1.5 million people. Andre’ and Sasha were taking us to the open air market – the largest in Europe. It took 20-30 minutes to drive there, then another 15 to find a parking spot. Andre’ led us to the “best” part of the market, meaning it was indoors, so cooler, and not so crowded. It was like a mega-mall with many corridors all on one level. At three different shops we picked up several t-shirts for Nick, two for Denis, shorts for both and a pair of shoes each. (Tracing their feet had been tricky because they both proved to be ticklish.) Each shop gave us a small discount when asked (we were told bartering is expected). John also found a t-shirt for himself, more casual and comfortable than any he had packed.

We left the market then and went to a department store for non-clothing items: a dish towel, a hand towel for the bathroom, a sauté pan (with glass lid), a cheese grater (anticipating lots of spaghetti while here), and a large ceramic mug so Sasha can enjoy a proper cup of tea!

At 2:00 we went to a “traditional” Ukrainian restaurant for a late lunch. We were the only customers for most of the meal. They promised that our food would be very fresh, the green borscht John and I ordered was made for us, not already standing ready. Meals in restaurants, Sasha and Andre’ explained, are not just about eating, but about “resting” and enjoying the time. We did wonder if “only the freshest” meant they were out plucking the chicken, harvesting the wheat for the bread and pasta, picking and preserving the cherries and currants for the various dishes we ordered! Andre’ and Sasha had a cold soup with meat, cucumbers and dill as the predominant flavors. We were allowed to sample it and it was quite refreshing as well as tasty. I also had a “Cossack Salad” with tomatoes and warm chicken. John ordered a dish with chicken and mushrooms in soy sauce. We two shared an order of black currant vereniki – I was glad I didn’t need to eat it alone since I was quite sated by then.

Then back to the apartment. John took a nap. Sasha went for a walk, I proofread the journal so far. Then John reached Alec to confirm time and location for tomorrow, working out the Metro stops with the street map from Andre’ and the Kharkov Metro map we copied onto the computer while in Kyiv. We will attempt to them at 9:45 tomorrow morning. John went out to time the walk to the Metro stop he/we plans to take a 15-20 minute walk. Alec and his wife may have other plans for the afternoon, but will get together again before we leave.

It’s almost 7:30 now – perhaps I’ll try a load of laundry.

Day 2 with the Boys

We got up around 8:30 after a very restful night of sleep. John boiled eggs, sliced bread, cheese and sausage, made coffee. We each showered – it was wonderful, especially with the water hot from the heater in the bathroom, and after having to do without yesterday!

Andre’ ran a bit late due to a traffic jam, so we didn’t arrive at the baby house until 10:30. We will be allowed to see the boys twice daily Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to noon, and 4:30 – 6:30 PM. We had to check in the doctor again. We had to surrender our passports, one in each child’s room, but were allowed to take them outside unescorted. A cracker forestalled Denis’ cry. We found a bench in the shade. John and Nick played with the ball, the coloring book and crayons, but it was the bubbles and Nick’s enthusiasm again that aroused Denis and brought out his bright smile. It took him an hour to maul the cracker again. He eventually played with the stacking cups and stacking rings. On the way back in John and Nick were ahead. Nick was trying very hard to tell John something, but he just couldn’t understand. Each time John told him in Russian: “I don’t understand”, Nick would repeat, enunciating more carefully. John felt so bad, and frustrated. On the way back to the room they got lost, and from the woman who escorted them back he gathered from her conversation with Nick that Nick was probably telling him he wanted to sit down and play some more.

After the visit Andre’ took us to an Internet café that happens to be on the back side of the same building as our apartment. In fact, if we could climb out the window of our bedroom, it would be right next door! John got on-line to post an update; unfortunately his first, longer attempt disappeared into cyberspace before he could save it. He wrote a briefer outline, just so y’all would have some idea what was up, and we read the messages that had come in. Thanks everyone – even if we don’t have time to reply each time!

Andre’ and Sasha had been off trying to get some documents copied and notarized, but didn’t have much luck. And as Sasha said tonight: “No seal, no deal”. They gave us a call to find out if we were done at the café, then picked us up to go back to the apartment. That’s when we found out how close it was. While they went off to work on the documents some more, we went exploring down to and on Lenin Prospect (Street). John was able to purchase more minutes for the cell phone and an Internet card to use in the apartment over the telephone land line. We meandered through that mall, especially the children’s clothing store, but knew we needed to wait – at least until we have measurements. We found a business supply shop and purchased blank paper for Nick to draw on and some graph paper for me to try to design patterns to knit into the sweaters for the boys. We passed the pizza place where we ate lunch yesterday. We also found a bread shop, and drawn in by the aroma purchased a wiener baked in a light, flaky pastry and two sweet pastries filled with cherries, all for less than $1 US. Then we went back to the apartment to be ready for the return of Andre and Sasha.

For the afternoon visit, Denis was “on the pot”, so John went off to find Nick. When they came back, Nick came running down the hall and gave “Mama” a big hug. It needs to be understood, however, that every adult woman is “Mama” and every adult man is “Papa” to all of the children. We tried to entertain Nick with the newly acquired pad of paper and the tape measure (we hope to do some clothes and shoe shopping tomorrow). When Denis came out, he again looked anxious and began to cry, but also again the cracker (just half this time) did the trick, and we were on our way outdoors. Denis made it through the half-cracker a bit more quickly, and we let them share a banana. Nick was really wound up this time, tending to rambunctious disobedience, and managed to take another tumble, this time resulting in a face plant with a mouth full of dirt and cuts on upper and lower lips. We cleaned him up as best we could with the hand wipes, then went off to find Sasha and take him back to his group so they could check him over. No one was in his room, however, so we went off to play again, more quietly this time. Denis warmed up more quickly, making more eye contact and finally smiling, faintly, with out the aid of Nick. He took a walk with John, holding his finger. Nick showed just a little jealousy for John’s attention being directed more to Denis, but just made sure he had mine fully. Denis proves to be a good cuddler with both of us. It was harder for us this time to say “Paka” (good-bye) because we won’t see them again until Monday.

Back at the apartment we heard that Sasha’s extension couch would not be delivered until Saturday, and I guess only then because Andre’ will pick it up and deliver it in his van. John cooked up a tasty dish of spaghetti, tomato sauce and chicken. I introduced Sasha to red tea (really a tisane). We had a very pleasant dinner. Then Sasha helped John set up the Internet connection with the new card while I cleaned up. We persuaded Sasha to move the television from our room to his, since we wouldn’t be all that interested even if it was in English. Now, at 9:40 PM John is asleep next to me and I will have to wake him to get this posted, but I know he won’t mind, because we both realize some of you might be eager for more details.

Good night!

This Certainly was Thurs’ Day!

Not a great night’s sleep. We seemed to alternate in wakefulness, however. Sometime in the dark I turned over and “tunked” my forehead on the table between the beds (I slept with my feet at the compartment door end). It hit pretty hard. When I reached up to see if I might be bleeding I felt a pretty good goose egg, but no broken skin. I sure was hoping I wouldn’t have a huge bruise going into our interview with the orphanage director!

Our train was due into Kharkov at 6:20. Shortly after 5:00 I got up so I would be able to use the toilet before reaching the city (when they lock it) and to avoid a line. It worked well. We were to go directly from the train station to a McDonald’s next door to wait until the driver came at 8:30. The Inspector’s office where we were to begin was not open until 9:00, so no point in having him come earlier. After struggling through the train station with our baggage (the four large plus three small), John asked about storage for the luggage, and Sasha found the place where we could store it for the day. No arrangements would be made for our housing until we decided (after meeting the children) if we wished “to continue”.

Breakfast at McDonalds: coffee and muffins for us, coffee and a burger for Sasha. The driver, at the end of the day we learned his name was Andre’, picked us up in a taxi van and off we went. At the inspector’s office Sasha went inside with our dossier for quite a while as we waited in seats in the hallway. Eventually we were invited in. A very pleasant woman welcomed us. She asked a few basic questions, like “What is your philosophy on parenting?”  and “If you have other children will you want to return the adopted ones?” Conyeshnya nyet! Certainly not! We showed her the official photo album we had been instructed to assemble. She seemed satisfied and told us she hoped we would “set a good connection (with the children) quickly. She even made the sign of the cross over us for blessing!

Then it was off to the baby house! It took a while to assemble the necessary personnel (even though the inspector had called in advance), and of course it wasn’t a convenient time for the children, but we were able to wait patiently in spite of our eagerness, having had much experience on all of the mission trips! We were rewarded by seeing Denis come up the steps with his caretaker on the way back to his room from his lunch. We heard her say his name, she confirmed he was the one, and gave a “thumb’s up”, telling Sasha he was perfect! We could also see down the hall when Nick was brought in, recognizing him from the photograph in the file in Kyiv.

At last we were invited in. The director, her deputy, the pediatrician medical director were all introduced. The director said she would read the legal papers to us first (which she did in great detail and some length), then the doctor would give us the medical information about their conditions. In summary, the parental rights had been terminated by the courts due to neglect. They also gave many more details, the mother’s name, birth year, medical condition (Tetralogy of Fallot), etc.

The agenda was then changed, so that we could meet the children and “try to make a connection” before Nick went to lunch and Denis went down for his nap. Finally the first true meeting!!! Surprisingly, three-year-old Nick went right to John. They said he was tired of all the women around! He was bright, cheerful and playful, willing to interact right away. Denis was considerably more subdued, but then he had just had lunch, was due for a nap and would understandably be overwhelmed by all of the strangers in the close quarters. It was the response I would expect from a typical toddler. He had been more cheerful and lively coming upstairs with the caretaker earlier. He did sit on my lap and accepted the cookie I offered (Sasha had suggested we bring them along), but was quietly breathing heavily with his head down the entire short visit. Nick was taken to lunch, Denis to his nap.

The pediatrician also shared many details from their medical files, including the various blood and specialist evaluations that had been done. Both have tested negative for HIV and hepatitis (more than once). One is mildly anemic, they both have some protein in their urine, and Nick has an “extra cord” in his heart (couldn’t get the English equivalent diagnosis), but no special treatment is required for any of the above, except that they recommend adoptive parents limit the amount of animal protein they consume.

John and I quietly agreed that we did indeed desire “to continue”, and all seemed pleased when we announced our decision. They also mentioned a third child from this mother, an infant three months old now also with the state, and that perhaps someday we would be back for him.

Off to a notary for some official documents to be made. We had lunch at Bella Pizza while we waited. Individual pizza’s all around: small for John (“Mafia”) and me (“Bomb”), large for Sasha (also “Bomb”) and Andre’ (“Hawaii”). Back at the notary’s office it was a longer wait. After a couple got up from a couch we saw a grey cat had been stretched out behind them. He lazily got into a comfortable curled up position and went back to sleep. Although they had magazines and a television, I got too tired to decode the unfamiliar words quickly. I will keep my knitting with me from now on!

Once the drafts of the documents were completed Sasha proofread them and they had to be made into the official documents. Then we were ushered into a large and well-cooled office of the notary-advocate (a paralegal) where we each (all three) signed the two documents including our printed names, and had to sign in two official registry books, too.

We had to go back to drop the documents off with the inspector. John went up with Sasha, for something to do. I had my knitting in the van, so I did that. They had to wait while the inspector was with a person from the office at the orphanage. Then the inspector was preparing documents to take back to the orphanage and asked John some more questions, since he was there: regarding my future work plans and technical details about the passports.

Sasha had advised us that it would be better to work on the paperwork process and potentially miss an afternoon visit with the boys. We had regretfully agreed, as it was near the end of the week, and each step takes several days as it is. Happily, we did have time to go back, and on time at 4:30! We obtained permission from the medical director to spend time with the children, Sasha had to turn over his passport, and then we were all led to a quiet alcove with a couch, a rug and plants at the top of a stairway where we spent the next two hours. As we left Denis’ group room, he looked alarmed and began to cry, but at Sasha’s quick urgings, we gave him another cookie, and he was quiet. In fact, he was very quiet for most of the visit, slowly dissolving the cookie held tightly to his face. I wiped up his shirt once he finally finished, but I’d better bring bibs for future visits – they won’t have enough clothes for us to keeping coming! He sat still, quietly hyperventilating until the bubbles came out and Nick started laughing. At last a happy, relaxed little boy, at least for short intervals. Nick, on the other had, was having the time of his life! Playing ball – kicking, throwing and catching, taking pictures with the camera, and coloring pictures in the coloring book: the freedom was almost too much. He got a bit wild and defiant, insisting on holding the soap bottle himself, running down the hall, etc. Sasha returned and called him to order, and we began to rein him in more tightly. We’ll learn to set appropriate boundaries quickly, I think. Too soon it was 6:30 and we had to take them back to their rooms.




We were exhausted by then. As Sasha said “It has been a long week today”. And we weren’t finished. Andre’ had been looking into apartments for us all day – one on a sixth floor with an elevator, one on a fifth floor without an elevator and finally one on a first floor that was in the process of being cleaned. We went to the train station to retrieve our luggage. With Andre’ also helping us it was no problem at all. Then he drove us to the first-floor apartment. The cleaning was being completed as we looked at it. It has a large living room with closets that can be closed off, a bedroom with closets and shelves, kitchen which is (somewhat) furnished, bathroom (of course) and even a washing machine – all for $60/night and it will house all three of us. It was nicely clean, had high ceilings and was generally pleasant. We said “yes” and moved in.

Then Andre’ took us to a large supermarket where he has a discount card to pick up staples. He was helpful all around: choosing low fat milk (0.5%), choosing crackers suitable for children, choosing sausage (not sure what his criteria was for that), clean brown eggs versus filthy white ones, etc. Tried to get Sasha’s input, too, since this will also be his food, but the most he did was find a box of Earl Gray tea. He is very agreeable. John and I pretty much crashed right away – forget supper! Sasha was up a bit later – ate, read, whatever. The living room was supposed to have an “extension couch”. That isn’t the case, so he pushed the couch, loveseat and chair together for a makeshift bed for tonight, the other is to be delivered tomorrow, along with a second key to the apartment.

Oh, no wireless Internet in this neighborhood

We Meet the Boys

I just lost what I typed do a browser error.

So here is an outline

-Train to Kiev (with new Sasha who work for other Sasha)
-Wait at McDonalds
-Meet Local Inspector for Local Referal to Ophanage
-Go to Orphanges. Hear Legal, and Medical History (both healthy, normal socially (a bit delayed but expect for an orphanage system)
-Meet Nick (39 months ) and Denis (18 months) is room with Director, Pedatrician, present (Denis as redish blone hair)
-Decide to procede.
-Start Documents visit Notary Advocate. Someone who draw up documents, and verifies signature of people who sign them
-Back to Local Inspector with New Documents. Who is starting the parent part of the final document, We take request for documents from her back to orphanage.

-We meet boys again, this time alone, at the top of stairs with a couch. Nick active 3 year old. We play with ball, coloring books, bubble. Denis is shy. Likes when Nick gets excited about the bubbles.
-Find Aparment, Go Grocery Shopping,
-Finally to sleep. 9:30



Up at 8:30 to meet boys at 10. Drive calls traffic jam. We arrive at ophange at 10:30. Meet boys. Denis sky. Cookie helps. Walk outside in yard. Play with ball, bubbles. Nick. Stacking toys, and puzzle ball. Boys back to room.

Here we are at a internet cafe. Will get to see the boys again at 4:30. Next time will be Monday.

If the inspector finishes the report, Monday or Tuesday, then Sasha goes back to Kiev for more reports. When he get back we go to Court. Possible next week. Then 10 days. The back to Kiev with the boys.

Happy to be spending time getting to know Nick and Denis.

Good News

Pierre, Julie and Jennifer are on their way home, visa in hand. Hurray!

Thanks for all of the prayers on their behalf.

Rest and Travel Day

Neither of us slept well last night. Excitement may have been part of it, but more likely too much celebratory espresso too late in the day. Fortunately nothing was on our agenda prior to the train trip tonight, so we rose late and moved slowly. Sasha found out for us yesterday that we have a free wireless Internet connection in our apartment, and he gave us the pass code. John was able to do some work. I was able to catch up on e-mail.

I packed, organizing some more, and cleaned up the apartment a bit. We finished up the bananas, cheese, red bell pepper and tomato, and had a large slice of bread. We also had coffee. We brought Frontier (Green Mountain) coffee and an insulated coffee mug with a built-in French press. The flat has one of those nifty super-quick water-heating pots, so we have enjoyed coffee right in our rooms.

In the afternoon we went out for a bit of shopping. We found some blue yarn to knit sweaters for two little boys. I think the clerk is rather intuitive, since she used no English and virtually all of our Russian deserted us. It was clear she understood, however, that I intend to make sweaters for two small children. She probably can guess boys from the color selection.

We also purchased some Roobios tea (red African herbal tisane), but were unable to get the clerk at the tea desk understand “chamomile”. They didn’t have any at the tea shop we visited with Oksana, either, but when we stopped for more water (and chocolateJ) at the little shop in the same building as our apartment we found a box of chamomile tea in bags.

We went to TGIF across the street at for supper, having enjoying a number of Ukrainian meals and not sure what to expect in Kharkov. We decided to eat early, at 4:00 PM, so missing crowds. John had Cajun Chicken Alf redo, I went for the Swiss (mushroom) burger.

Our referral was to be picked up from the Adoption Department between 5 and 6 PM today, and now at 5:30 we just received word from Sasha that he has our referral and train tickets and will pick us up at 8:00 PM along with the other Sasha, who will accompany us to and assist us in Kharkov.

Closer and closer . . .

We have not yet heard if our Canadian friends obtained Jennifer’s visa. We are also not sure where John and Ann will travel to meet 7 y/o Svetlana.

Hope to report more tomorrow!

Appointment Day

Up at 8:00 AM, a little hard to get to sleep last night, but then slept very well.

We had breakfast with Pierre, Julie and Jennifer. The embassy did not receive Jennifer’s medical clearance, so they will have to wait at least one more day. It is possible that if it comes in tomorrow morning, they may be able to expedite the visa and still catch their plane in the afternoon. keep praying, please.


Oksana was kind enough to take us out to the Botanical Gardens to keep us pleasantly distracted this morning. The lilacs, tulips and peonies are in bloom and the extensive grounds are just beautiful (and aromatic).


Sasha picked us up at 2:00 as planned. We had time for a cup of coffee near the state department office before our appointment. Then right at 3:00 Tetiana called us in for our appointment. She was our translator. We were taken to an office where we met the psychologist who would help us find suitable children. She asked to see our passports – John had them at the ready.



She asked us a few questions about what we were looking for. We recited the “one or two children, up to the age of three years, girls or boys, but keeping siblings together would be a good thing”. They asked if we would be willing to open up the age margin. John told them “not much”. Then she sat at her desk with a very large binder and started paging through. First she said they had two brothers, 11 and 5 years old. We said no. Then she asked if we were approved for only two children (yes), because she had a sibling group of three children. She looked through her binder some more, then said she would go to see if another psychologist had other files. She wasn’t gone too long and came back with papers for two children. They had just received these referrals today.

Nick is 3 years old, his brother Denis is 18 months. Their mother relinquished parental rights and they have been at the orphanage since January 2006. The courts recommended them for adoption. They are “healthy”, just delayed because the mother didn’t do much with them.

Tomorrow we take an overnight train to Kharkov to meet them on Thursday!!!!

We were out of there in thirty minutes, and on our way back to the hotel Sasha was making plans for our travel to and stay in Kharkov. Another man named Sasha will be accompanying and translating for us to/in Kharkov.

God is so very good! We are waaaaayyyy excited!

Another Beautiful Day

We were both up at 4:00 AM again, I (Jean) couldn't get back to sleep until 6:00 AM.

We had breakfast in the hotel again with Pierre, Julie and Jennifer, joined today also by Ann and John from Michigan. Ann and John are also working with America World Adoption Association and have their appointment tomorrow morning. Pierre and Julie hoped to get Jennifer's visa today, then rebook their flights home for tomorrow.

We did a bit of exploring again - this time in the Mandarin Plaza across the street - a high-end, multi-level indoor mall, with a grocery store in the basement. We found a couple of book stores, too, and a less-expensive place to buy water if we end up staying here longer.
We called our friend Oksana, full-time worker with GAiNUSA/Ukraine for Christ who arranges all of our mission trips. She was able to join us at 1:00 for lunch at a Ukrainian cafeteria. Then we went for a walking tour of some beautiful parks, the Friendship Arch and visited the (outside of the) Puppet Theater - a brand new and fun structure with a lovely, peaceful fountain display and clock towers with music every fifteen minutes. She took us to her office so we can see where she works. They have more people working there than we expected, and met Brian Birdsong (again). Oksana loaned us a map and we found our way back alone, stopping for some ice cream coffee on the way. We also bought a serrated knife that will be better for cuttng the bread we bought Saturday.

After a rest we came back to the Internet cafe. We met Julie and Pierre, who told us they were unable to get Jennifer's visa because the state department has not yet received the medical report back from Vienna yet. It was only supposed to take five days. Tomorrow is day twelve . . . They sure could use everyone's prayers, especially since their flight back is booked for Wednesday, and they don't want to delay any further.

Tomorrow Oksana will take us to the Botanical Gardens after breakfast. The many, many varieties of lilacs are in bloom, and it will be a good way to keep from getting too anxious about our appointment in the afternoon.

Adoption Journal Days 1-3

Saturday, May 11, 2007 On Our Way
Preparations for the trip lasted most of the night. We stopped at 4:00 AM with the intention of sleeping until 8:00 AM, but by 6:45 we were both up and at it again. Both sets of (grand)parents arrived on time, and we left only ten minutes later than our 10:15 target.
Green Bay is fifty miles north of Oshkosh, straight up Highway 41. However, when we reached Appleton, the traffic slowed to a halt. We took an exit, following a trucker that likely knew where he was going. Then we “winged” it on back roads. Being in the new van, we hadn’t stocked it with any maps yet. Mom Gogolin did have one of the Green Bay area, and we arrived at the airport in good time. Check-in was smooth. By shifting three pounds from one bag to another we even avoided the over-weight charge we expected. Then it was photographs, a prayer and hugs good-bye – to last more than a month.
Our flight out of Green Bay was scheduled for 12:40 PM. After delays we left at 1:20 PM, plenty of time to catch the 5:40 flight out of Chicago. We even had our picture taken by and with Mark at the British Airlines gate, catching our huge plane (a double-decker 747-400) in the background. A nice plane! Each seat had an individual video screen. The headphones were complimentary, ands we had our choice not only of a variety of audio stations, but also 18 video stations – quite a variety of movies shown in two rounds. I watched Seraphim Falls. John watched something else. Dinner included a choice of stew or chicken and rice: both tasty. The head rests had cushions that rotated down along each side of the head, and with the pillow offered very decent support for sleeping. We both slept a bit, not as much as hoped.
Sunday, May 12, 2007 Arrival in Kyiv
We arrived at Heathrow Airport, London on time at 7:06 AM. It took a while to get to Terminal 1 because of the long line waiting to catch the shuttle buses. Once again, in plenty of time for the flight, though. Just as in Chicago, we had a slight delay while they located and removed the luggage of one or two passengers who were not on the plane as expected.
It was two hours and forty minutes to Kyiv. This time we slept so well we never heard the attendants go through with breakfast. We woke up when they served beverages, and they were gracious enough to warm up two more trays for us.
We were the next to go through Passport Control at the Borispol Airport when John heard someone call his name. The man saying it was moving quickly away from us, so we found him on the other side, in the baggage claim area. He helped us load up our baggage onto a cart, called Alexander (Sasha), our facilitator, and moved us quickly through customs. Sasha then loaded us into his car and drove us (quickly!) to the apartment he had arranged for us downtown, just off Krashadik, only twenty meters from a TGIF restaurant. (We have eaten there on previous trips.) It is in a building with a banner that reads “Private Hotel”. We were a bit surprised at the price, $100 per night, but this was already negotiated down from $140/night. It is a very nice, very clean two-room plus sparkling bathroom apartment, and couldn’t be more convenient to a variety of shopping, restaurants and only a ten minute walk to a Metro (subway) stop. We likely won’t be here more than a few nights, and if we don’t leave Kyiv because our children are located in a nearby orphanage, Sasha will find another, less expensive place. Nothing else is available right now.
After a shower and reorganization of our luggage (all items had been evenly distributed between the four in case one or more pieces didn’t arrive), we headed out to do some shopping. On the first round we purchased a dial-up Internet card in underground shops, and sent off a brief e-mail message at an Internet café (2 grv for fifteen minutes). We also located and indoor produce market that would be just like an outdoor farmers’ market at home, with a variety of vendors all trying to attract our business. We purchased tomatoes, bananas, oranges, red bell peppers and a six-pack of large water bottles. We dropped them off and headed out again. This time we located the Krashadik Metro station next to the McDonald’s, purchased tokens and figured out where the Neevki stop on the Red Line was on the posted map. We had arranged to meet our friend Vitaly there at 11:15 the next morning. On the way home, we found a shop to purchase Ukrainian dark bread and cheese from a helpful, patient clerk. What a great sense of accomplishment to walk the streets of a foreign country, locate and purchase necessities and do reconnaissance for the next day!!!
We tried a bit of bread and cheese while we flipped through the television stations (we saw CNN and BBC in English), then at last at 8:50 PM we crawled in bed. We got up only briefly to use the bathroom and drink some water, arising without the alarm clock (because I messed up) twelve marvelous hours later!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
John had arranged for us to have breakfast at 9:30 in the hotel, along with Pierre and Julie, a Canadian couple, and their newly adopted Ukrainian daughter Jennifer. Jennifer is about twelve years old and acted as our interpreter with the hotel person. The meal was served at the only table, and was cooked and served by the same woman who will clean our rooms as needed. The couple is from Hamilton, outside of Toronto. Julie is a clinical educator at McMillan hospital where she was previously an NICU transport nurse. Pierre was a bank officer, and will begin a new job as a CEO at one of their client businesses when they return (this week). They came to know Jennifer after Julie’s sister adopted a child five years ago. It turns out she is from Dniperpetrovsk, the city where we worked with Pastor Roland Syens and Alpha and Omega Student Center with Operation Carelift in 2004. Furthermore, it was through Dima (of Save Orphan Souls) with whom we also worked that they learned of Jennifer specifically when he stayed with Julie’s sister in Hamilton for a month three years ago. In fact, it turns out Jennifer attends(attended) Alpha and Omega, and knew Pastor Roland and Anita, who now live only and hour away from Hamilton in Kitchener. Such a small world!!!
After arranging to have breakfast together again tomorrow we headed off to the Metro station. We met Vitaly as planned and he led us to his church. It is a small university church with very warm and welcoming people. Vitaly translated for us (and for George, whose Russian is also not very good). The message was based on the passage in the Gospel of John where a woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus. Vitaly spoke before the communion (his good friend Vanya translated then). While Vitaly worked with a student after the service we were invited (by gestures) to partake of the tea and sweets. We also had a lengthy visit with Grady, formerly of Texas. He is married to Liina, and they have four boys: seven-year old twins, one nearly five and the other an infant.
Liira, Vitaly’s wife has been ill and is still recovering from a respiratory infection. This is common for her, having grown up in a city with three chemical factories. We picked up some produce on our way to their apartment and had a short visit with both of them before heading back for a four o’clock appointment to meet Tanya and her mother Svetlana from L’viv at the Globus downtown.
It was difficult to find each other – and would have been almost impossible without cell phones. With them was Anya, a friend of theirs also from L’viv who works at the seminary in Kyiv where Tanya will be taking some classes. She was very helpful with communications, having very good command of the English, Ukrainian and Russian languages. We ate at a cafeteria with Ukrainian food that we have visited on previous trips. They presented us with a beautiful picture Svetlana had cross-stitched. It took her three months to complete it. Then we caught the Metro (back to the Neevki stop) and a Mashutka (mini-bus) to visit the seminary. Anya and Tanya guided us on a tour, then served tea in Anya’s room. There we continued our lovely visit and were able to give Tanya the support money we had promised. Tanya agreed to return the “Happy Birthday” banner I had accidentally taken from New Life church back in February while on the mission trip. Finally it was time to head back. Tanya and Svetlana had left L’viv on a train at 6:00 AM, and needed to catch the return train at 10:00 PM so they could attend classes and return to work, respectively, in the morning. We all expressed our gratefulness to God for his work in our lives, for allowing us to meet at their home while in L’viv, and then further allowing this opportunity for connection. Anya took us to the Metro stop and we said good-bye to her, promising to send e-mail pictures to Tanya that she will forward. She also gave us her cell phone number in case we should need anything here. We got off the Metro station near the train station to say good-bye to Tanya and Svetlana. We got back on the next car to our stop. On the walk home we called John’s Mom for Mother’s Day and then tried mine. We’ll give it another try, but then it is time for bed!
God is good – all the time. All the time: God is good!

Safe in Kyiv

We had a great flight on British Airways. We arrived safe and on time in Kyiv. Sasha our facilator met us at the airport and took us to an apartment.

It is very nice, close to downtown and the metro.

Tommorrow we plan to go to church with Vitaly and his wife, and meet with Tanya from Lviv.

Need to find some water other food staples and get some sleep.

Our appointment is a 3 PM on Tuesday.