Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Happily Home


Five days have passed since we have come home. Five days. It's very surreal. To think that less than a week ago, we were in Ukraine, half way around the planet. We have blissfully adapted quickly.

Vala met our entire family at the airport along with a few close friends. It is very, very hard to not invite everyone that you know and love to meet you there. Many have covered us with prayers and well wishes throughout our entire process and it is a moment we long to share with them all. But sadly, this would not have been the right time for Vala, or frankly for us either. By the time we touched down in Idaho we had been up for some 30 hours. Sleep was evasive to all of us on the flights. The little we nodded off could barely be constituted as "sleep" and I would more categorize it as "rest" or the all favorite "cat naps."

Since we had the technology to Skype from Ukraine, Vala had the opportunity to see and talk to each of her new siblings before meeting them for the first time at the airport. She even got to talk to the dogs. :o) This was a wonderful blessing as she recognized each of them immediately and knew them by name. We worked on this often, going through pictures that we brought and ones stored on the computer. And then when they spoke via Skype, it just brought it all together for her. There was no hesitation in any of our kids and Vala enjoyed hugs from all of them.

We were also greatly encouraged to have a close friend and her daughter Rita join us at the airport. Rita came from this very same orphanage within this past year and lives nearby. Both girls were overjoyed to see each other and speak Russian. How cool is that to be speaking loudly and excitedly about people standing around you and they don't even know what you're saying????

Vala told Rita (who's English is very good already) that she doesn't understand why we were standing around talking, which finally progressed out to the parking lot before we finally got in the car to head home. But Vala was all smiles. I don't think she's spent much time doing anything other.

We have had our moments. She was top dog at her orphanage and being told what to do by just one Mama is an adjustment. Life in an orphanage allows situations where if one Mama says "No" they could always go to another. It's difficult for some parents to keep track of being played on each other, let alone having 6-8 parents trying to keep track of 50 kids! They did a great job in our opinion, but there is no way to keep tabs on every child. I am so thankful Vala has been a good girl and trying hard, even when she doesn't like the answer.

Our daughters have been excitedly learning Russian words and phrases while we were in Ukraine. Vala was delighted they were trying to communicate immediately in the airport. Vala's roommate, Joanna, is quite the linguist - we had no idea! How come she didn't do that well in Spanish??? lol! The two have hit it off very well and understand each other almost as well as we do. Our other daughters and sons also speak in their language of love, laughter, hugs and kindness that stretches beyond the language barrier. Vala feels very comfortable with them all.

We broke several "no-no"s of adoption 101 this past week and so far have suffered no ill effects. Mind you, we watch Vala like a hawk to see if we are overdoing it, but she is adapting well to our family already. Thankfully we were able to translate while in Ukraine that our active family rarely sits at home playing video games and watching T.V. (we don't even own video games!) She was mentally prepared and even though she couldn't really grasp what our lifestyle is like, she was ready to follow along.

On Monday we popped into the school who has been preparing for her arrival for 10 months. They knew we would be adopting a girl that would be in Middle or High School and spoke Russian. We have a nice small community located outside the larger cities. This allows us to have a smaller feel school, but live next to the major amenities. The Principals were waiting for us and so were lots and lots of kids, excited to meet her. We kept it very short and Joanna was pulled out of class to take Vala for a quick tour around while the halls were empty.

After our school visit, Vala got to go to work with Papa. Before leaving to Ukraine we were setting up an office and display space for our business in a friend's furniture store. Vala had a wonderful view of our country as they headed to the city. We do not have the buildings packed upon each other, 14 story high rises and masses of people crowding the sidewalks and streets. It was a view she had never seen before. We have so much blue sky, such an unobstructed view of the heavens. Ah, we missed it so.

Every day since, Vala has joined her sisters eating lunch with the other High School students. These gatherings allow the "interest" to wear off a bit and for our daughters to introduce her to some potential friends. She will start school next Monday. We are fortunate to have some contacts in our community, including the staff, with knowledge of the Russian language. They are so excited to have her here.

So looking back, it is amazing, simply amazing to me that it has been such a short time since we've arrived. She has adapted to the time difference as well as we have - Slava Bog! She relaxes more and more when we meet friends at church or head to the school for another "event". She is fitting in very nicely with our family. We told her we love to joke and tease - she has picked up on this very quickly. She loves the dogs. The dogs love her. (I have to keep watch of her as she sees their pleading eyes and tries to slip them treats! Thank goodness she asks first or I'd have two very overweight dogs!)

So far, so good. When people comment how sweet she is and how wonderfully she if fitting into our family, I try hard not to let my eye wander far from the truth. She is doing great, but she is an infant. There are more "firsts" in the past five days than some people go through in a year! So far, we've not had much of a reason to say "No" to her - eventually that might create a head butting of wills. Also, sooner or later, there usually is a meltdown phase that no one can predict. We must be mindful of these to help Vala through the inevitable to come safely and successfully out the other side as she adjusts to her new life with a family in a new country.

Thank you for your prayers on our way home. Thank you for those who remember to keep us lifted up to the Lord during these first couple of weeks and months. She is adjusting well and has seem to accept the fact that she is now both Ukrainian and American. That she can gain one without loosing the other. Slava Bog. Praise God. It's a phrase I've heard from her mouth several times these past five days. It's a phrase we will continue to speak ourselves. Thank you Lord for all you have done. We lovingly follow You.

In His Name for His glory,
Jenn

Friday, December 4, 2009

On American Soil

We are so happy to announce we have safely made it to our beloved American soil! We are in Denver awaiting our final flight home. Yahoo!

Vala cleared through Immigration without a hitch. She is safely on American soil with all the necessary papers in tact. At this point, we are so glad to be here, we don't care if we had to drive home! (not that we will pass up our flight, mind you!)

Vala is a pretty strong girl who is ready to start living her new life. We will be attending our normal weekly functions, but leaving open the possiblity that she might need to stay home occasionally. We can't wait to see you all. I know I've said that over and over, but we feel it stronger today than ever!

Slava Bog! We are almost home!

Much love to you and your family!
Jenn, John & Vala Brown

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Didn't we just fall asleep?

I could promise you I just fell asleep an hour ago - literally. John and Vala were able to dose off and get almost 4 hours of sleep before our phone alarm so nicely woke us up. But me..... I was too excited, I couldn't go to sleep.

You know how it is when you are a kid and it's Christmas Eve? You know tomorrow holds a big day, full of fun, food and family. And we can't forget the presents! You can barely sleep the night before. By the time morning comes you are tired and worn out from your imagination thinking of all the possibilities the next day will hold.

Last night was like that for me. Knowing I will finally see you, dear family and friends, has left me sleepless, tired and worn out. But no worries! I'm not driving! I can sleep on the way home to you.

It is 2:00am now here. Vala is softly stirring, and objecting to the hour. :O) John just finished with a quick shower to freshen up for the many, many hours we will be traveling. My turn next. Praise God for instant hot water tanks! We are so glad some Ukrainians have found these wonderful little devises! Most Ukrainians do not have hot water in their buildings this early in the morning. We could have had cold showers this morning. Slava Bog for instant tanks this morning!

I Wish you a wonderful day, full of the possibilities it still holds.
See you soon.
Jenn, John and Vala Brown

We are coming home

We obtained Vala's Visa from the US Consulate!

Slava Bog! Praise God! This was the last item on the list!

Tomorrow morning (this evening for all of you), we will be boarding our plane in Kyiv, Ukraine and heading to Frankfurt, Germany. We have a 6 hour layover before proceeding on our next flight bringing us to American soil - Slava Bog! We land in Denver, Colorado around 3:50pm their time. We have a short 3 hour layover where we must do all of the registration with Immigration on Vala's behalf. At 7:00pm we board again to head to home.

It will be so good to be home and see all of you. We will be exhausted but so happy. Our experience in Ukraine was a wonderful one we will not forget, but, again, we are so happy to be home with our family and friends!

All our love to you!
John, Jenn & Valentina Brown

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

We made it!

Dear family and friends,

I can't even go into detail or begin to explain our day yesterday. Our very first stop was met with problems that set us back nearly 2 hours. We all had to keep focused and John and I kept our eyes on God as the One who could still make things happen that day.

God was faithful. We miraculously made it through everything and even managed to eat at 6:30pm last night before we caught our train to Kyiv! God is good!

We have made it through today - to the US Embassy, across town to the medical center, back to the US Embassy, back to the medical center. We are here in our new apartment, which is nice. Vala is snugged into the bed. John and I are getting ready to go to bed as well.

We are all weary. Vala is in tears at the past couple days and the realization that it is all very real. She also is understanding that it is hard to try and communicate without having an interpreter.

We are ready to come home. This is an unnatural way to be a family here under these settings and more difficult that I thought it would be. This week, although it has been short, has been very, very long for us. The challenges have been many. We are looking forward to coming home.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. Lord willing, we will be touching down in the U.S. on Friday night. We are so excited.

See you soon,
Jenn

Monday, November 30, 2009

Lasts

The last. The last Saturday rain storm. The last Sunday to worship with believers in Russian tongue. The last Monday with a going away party. The last night in the "white" apartment. We have lots of "lasts" that we are dealing with right now. As I start to write this blog, we are at the orphanage getting ready to have our last evening with the children and staff.


There is much excitement for everyone involved. Vala is dealing with a lot of different emotions. She was happy to see us and greeted both of us with great big hugs. But within a few minutes, she was sullen and sad. We understand this is all normal and expected. We comfort her with hugs, kisses, jabs in the side, laughing and trying to not get caught up in any one particular emotion.


We have purchased tangerines and apples for the party, and cake and soda pop by the liters. And of course, there is lots of candy. They love candy as all children do! But they have a great love for fruit as well! Another American couple that was here began teaching some of the children to juggle. I noticed several tangerines were unaccounted for - I know of their bruised demise.


Vala chose two gifts for her extra special "teachers" or "Mamas" at the orphanage - the traditional bouquet of flowers and bottles of champagne. The teachers were overwhelmed and brought to tears. Vala, stringently talking herself out of crying today, held fast, unwilling to give many hugs during times like those. She didn't even want to give her gifts to these special women - I think she knew she would break down and cry. They hugged and kissed her despite her resolve. These women truly love and adore Vala. They know her faults but they know the wonderful qualities she has. They are so happy for her, but America is a long way away.

We enjoyed a wonderful day with all the children. We know today includes "lasts" with them as well. There is one family in particular we are especially torn up about leaving. Then their is our little interpreter. We have become very close to him. Many of these children are bright, healthy, happy, well mannered, studious children. The boys are often boys, but they are no different than ours were at that age. They are not here because of one thing they have done. They are here because of what other people did not do or can't do. Our heart breaks for all of them.

Vala and I are slowly getting over our colds. John has remained healthy and we pray he continues this way. We ask for continued health, Lord, as we run through these last days.

Our plans are all before the Lord. We boast not once that we can do any of this without Him. When I say we will do this, or do that, please know we understand that all things are under His control but we will do everything humanly possible from our stand point.

Today ends the last 10 day waiting period. Tomorrow morning, Sergiy gets off the overnight train at 7am. He will be driven here where he will get the opportunity to freshen up before we start our most harried day of the week. We will grab a quick breakfast on our way to the court (there is a McDonald's here with a drive-thru - the first of it's kind - there are no "fast foods" in Ukraine other than bread and cheese purchased at an outside market). We plan on being at the court steps by 8:30am. From there we wait upon the courts to give us the court documents in their many successions (something like 16 copies). We will have to see a notary to request getting her birth certificate legally changed to Valentina Grace Brown and have us listed as the birth parents. From there, we go back to Donetsk to get her birth certificate changed, back to the orphanage for some more paperwork and pick up Vala. Then we will run, run, run the rest of the day until we make it on the train by 7pm that night. It will be interesting. We welcome every ounce of prayer that can be summoned on our behalf tomorrow. If we do not succeed, we will not make it on our Friday flight home - this we know for sure.

I planned on keeping this short - not because I do not have much to share, but because I have a busy day ahead and need to get to bed early. I didn't sleep well last night (man! my bed is going to feel so good! and my sheets are going to smell so nice!). Every extra bit of rest we can get will be important.

So until I can get on next (probably Wednesday night) - Dasvedanya!!
God bless you and yours!
We are almost home!
Jenn & John

Friday, November 27, 2009

Christmas songs

This morning we begin the conditioning of our bodies to wake up earlier to prepare for our early flight next week (5:35am!). This is not an easy task when you are sick. Willing your eyes to open when your nose is stuffed and your throat hurts because it's dry is so much more difficult when snuggled under a woolen blanket. ;o)

John got our little Netbook on-line and turned on our local town's radio station, KTSY Christian music station. It eats up the money we've put on the wireless internet card we bought, but it is so worth it to hear praise songs and encouraging music in ENGLISH. There is nothing, absolutely nothing like it here.

As I try again to open my eyes, to my amazement I hear Christmas music! I said, what are they doing? John said it's the day after Thanksgiving so they are beginning Christmas music.

This fact hit me square between the eyes. Do you know we have been here so long we have gone through 3 American holidays: Halloween (we have Autumn parties at church instead), Veterans Day that our soldier son participated in our local school's assembly honoring our veterans, and Thanksgiving. We will have blown through 3 of our children's birthdays before we get back. Now we are heading into the time to celebrating our Savior's birth......time is going by quickly.

John and I calculated it the other day - we will have been gone for 52 days when we finally get back. That's almost 1/6 of the year!

The day after we get back we will be having our first Christmas party. It seems almost surreel. When we left, the trees had leaves that were just beginning to change color, grass was green and still being cut sporadically. We occasionally left the house without a coat because it just wasn't cold enough to wear one.

Which of you plan on going shopping today for the bargins? I am not sorry to be missing this American tradition - large pushy crowds are not my idea of fun - but then look where I'm at? That's funny actually! Manners are not taught here as one Brit said on a T.V. show. Men will just as easily push you out of the way to beat you on the metro, take your place in line or drive right over you to keep their car moving. Perhaps I've been in training the past 7 weeks to do "Black Friday" shopping!! lol! Still, I don't think I could be inticed to go....but maybe for a good deal....

We pray whether you are snuggled up with your family today or blessed to have a job and are working instead, that you continue to be Thankful of every moment you receive with loved ones, good friends, co-workers who bring joy, good food, clean water, warm homes. I am thankful for you.

Wishing you a blessed day and praying as we start our Christmas season that you remember it wouldn't be Christmas without Christ!



Much love to you,

Jenn & John & Vala

P.S. This is a traditional way to show your love to someone in Ukraine - they autograph a metal lock, then hang it on a gate, fence, etc. We were at a metal sculture museum and they took our picture beside a piece of art commemorating the "love lock".

Thursday, November 26, 2009

I thank my God every time I remember you....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

We want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Although I realize most of you are still in bed, it is now 10:00am here and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell you all you are in our thoughts and prayers today.

I know some of you are enjoying the day with family. Some of you are wishing you could have gone home to see your family, but couldn't. I know some of you are going to enjoy the day with your family from church - what a wonderful blessing to be Brothers and Sisters in Him! And still some of you struggle with the loss of loved ones today - I am one of those. My dear Grandmother passed away yesterday morning with a long, hard battle with illnesses and age. She was dear to my heart and I have fond memories spent with her. I am thankful today she is no longer in pain. I am thankful today her body is at rest. I pray with all my heart she made things right with our Lord before her passing. It is hard to know a person's heart. I want to dance and praise God with her someday in heaven! I am thankful He wants the same thing.

Ukraine, of course, does not celebrate the American holiday Thanksgiving. In fact, I've quit trying to explain it to them because they can't even grasp the idea. Which is strange to me. They create holidays just because someone in another country saw a rock "crying" when someone prayed to it, and they believe it is a miracle, so this in turn becomes a holiday in a totally different country.....but they can't grasp the fact that we set aside a day to be thankful for all we have and give praise to the One who gave it to us. It's weird to me.

Irregardless, I am thankful. I am thankful for my husband John who came half way around the world with me to answer God's call to us. I am thankful he is the leader of our family, that he loves me and all our children and even those who are not. I am so very thankful he loves Jesus as much as I do and that I can call him one of my very best friends.

I am thankful for my children. I am blessed to have given them the opportunity to learn of Christ's love for them and that they have grasped it and taken hold of Him as their Savior. I am thankful I see growth in them and what kind, caring young adults they are becoming. True beauty is found inside and they have an abundance of it! I am thankful they were willing to suffer along with us and let us go to another country to bring someone else into our family. They are missionaries just the same as we are - answering to God's call as it pertains to their lives as well.

I am thankful for our Brothers and Sisters in Christ, both at our home church, Victory Christian Church, and others we know and love. They are our true family and we couldn't have made it this far without their love, support, encouragement and prayers. I am thankful for those who have stepped into our ministry positions and taken the responsibilities as their own. It will make our homecoming that much easier.

I am thankful to those in our community who are preparing to welcome Vala with arms open wide. I am thankful they are looking after the special needs she will have as she learns English and meshes into an American lifestyle. I am so very thankful we live in a conservative, respectful community where children matter and adults are respected. Thank you.

I am thankful for our customers and fellow contractors. Thank you for being patient while we have been away. Thank you for working so nicely with our "fill ins" and being willing to communicate via e-mail which takes more time than usual, considering the time difference. We appreciate the great working relationships we have and are excited to get home and back to work again serving you.

Finally, I am thankful for this country, Ukraine. They are a prideful bunch. They have been through some tremendous atrocities in the past but continue to prevail. They want to do good and try to continue to keep their eyes forward and to the future. This is a long, hard road for them. The Soviet era was very, very hard on them. Standing back and looking from my perspective it was much harder than they imagine. They need our prayers and encouragement any way we can offer it. They are generally good, loving people who care. I am thankful there are people here like Jay Don and Mary Lee Rogers bringing the Good News to the Ukrainian people, who in turn can tell their people. The best missionaries of the Good News is the native people themselves. Mostly these people lack hope. I am so very thankful there are those here willing to stretch themselves to give it - and I'm not talking just about in faith but in doing good as well just because it's the right thing to do.

As I get ready to head out for the day before we see Vala tonight, I am full of sniffles and sneezes. Yes, the autumn flu/cold season is here and we are not immune to it, just like everyone else. Vala is sick, I am sick, Sergiy is sick, our driver is sick. But we are still getting along just fine and expect to be okay by the time next week arrives. Thank you for continuing to pray for our health.

We love you very much. We are excited to see you all face to face someday soon.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Jenn

1 Thess 5:16-18
Phil 1:3

Monday, November 23, 2009

Church opportunities and more

Good morning to all our friends and family!

It is Monday morning for us and the sun is shining brightly! It is just gorgeous outside! We have come to Ukraine at the wrong time of the year to see it in it's beauty (lots of fog, rain, general cloudiness and then there's the pollution -yuk!), but today shows us how beautiful this country is! The grass is still green and some of trees are hanging onto their leaves. The sky is a rare jeweled blue and there is not a cloud in the sky!

I won't talk long as I selfishly want to get out and walk in this beautiful day the Lord has given us! But I did want to take a few moments and keep you up-to-date with what is happening here. It's been a couple of days since I last posted.

As you have seen, we had our Court Appointment on Thursday, and after 3 hours, the judge, jurors, prosecutor and everyone else involved said we could adopt Vala! Wonderful! Vala didn't eat a lot over our little celebratory lunch with Sergiy and our driver, but she did try. Strangely, eating seems to be an issue for her. Either she's unaccustomed to people buying food for her, or she finds it strange to eat in front of us, or....? Who knows? But she hasn't eaten much the few times we've had her out.

Vala ordered food similar to her new Papa and found it much too much for her little body to eat. We had one rare moment of funniness from her when she asked Sergiy what a word was in English. He responded "help". She looked at John, shoving her plate towards him, and cutely said, "Papa help!" It was adorable! She was asking him to help finish up her plate! Who knew they did such a thing here in Ukraine too? John and her have had moments of goofiness and it's wonderful to see. She has never had a father.

In court it was revealed she has been in the orphanage since she was 5 years old and before that, a homeless shelter of sorts. We have no idea how long before that. They had a hard time tracking down her mother to try and either take custody again or to sever parental rights. We are seeing this as an issue here. A child will remain in the orphan system, but has real living legal parents or guardians and so the child remains unadoptable.

For five more years, they could not find Vala's mother. Finally when she was found, they brought her to the orphanage, but she refused to see Vala. Vala wrote a note to her mother, begging her to see her. Still she refused. The courts made a case up and eventually (3 years later) her parental rights were severed.

By the time Vala was now adoptable no Ukrainian families would want her - she was now 12-13 years old. As I've said, Ukrainians do not adopt older children. Through no fault of her own, Vala, like so many other children, are sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in an orphanage, waiting to be kicked out at 16 years old. They have no support system here and the children are not taught what to do once they leave. It is horribly upsettling for us. We just can't imagine not telling our children how to handle money, where to find housing, help them figure out what their next step in life is! Just send them out with the clothes on their backs. I can't barely stand it. No, I can't understand it at all.

But, Slava Bog (Praise God) this is not the fate for Vala. And this is not the fate for several other children here. There are caring Americans who are coming over, paying the price and giving these children a hope and a future. Thank you to all of you and the others from Italy, Spain, and Canada who are reaching out and snatching up some of these children as well!


Here is a pic of Vala, John and our young interpreter. Vala and Papa were working on learning words in English when they were distracted with this ever energetic young man! He loves to wrestle around and playing "thumb war." This is one of his and John's favorite games. Here he was trying to gain some leverage against John, but with little success! lol! He is a sweet kid who is stuck in the system just like many others. If we could pack him up and bring him home we would! Fortunately for him, he has a family he's met in an outreach program to the States and they are trying very hard to get his circumstances changed so he can be adopted. Please join us in praying for this bright young man and the family that desperately wants him as they battle to get him freed up for adoption. I know they will appreciate it greatly!

With the quarantine lifted the children are looking forward to returning to school today. They have been off for 5 weeks and were bored to death. Vala will attend school today and Friday, but we will spend the other days with her seeing some sights of her home country before we take her from it. She so very rarely gets to leave the orphanage that she doesn't know her country very well. Please join us in praying nothing hinders us taking her out.

We were able to bring Vala to church with us yesterday with an escort from the orphanage. It was a wonderful gift to be able to take her to a Ukrainian Christian church service held in her own tongue! This gave her a glimpse into what church will be like in the States when we get there. She sat very quietly (except for the usual kid huffing and puffing). When we left the church building though, she was all smiles, skipping and holding John's hand. Every experience we take her to, is a new one for her. It's amazing how much we have exposed our children to at home and have to remember that at 15 years old, Vala has had almost none of these. Baby steps. We must take baby steps.

Since we got out of service earlier than we thought, we walked to McDonalds for some ice cream sundaes. Vala still did not eat all of hers but happily chatted on and on, goofing around and was the most happy and relaxed we had seen her. It made our hearts just sing to see and hear her.

When we got back to the orphanage, we visited for a bit with another couple from America that was there. They are one week ahead of us. Tomorrow they receive their court documents, then will begin their "running around with their head cut off" phase. They will prayerfully be leaving on an overnight train tomorrow night to Kiev. They are on an even tighter time restraint as the US Embassy is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the week. Our prayers go out to them. We have enjoyed their friendship while here and will remain in contact once we all get back to the States.

When it was time for us to leave, I held up seven fingers and said to Vala, "In 7 days Vala will..." I was going to say be in the same spot as her friend, getting ready to leave the orphanage. BUT Vala happily cut into my sentence and said "Vala will say, 'bye-bye (orphanage)! Dasvedanya!" She waved enthusiastically with a HUGE smile on her face. She then skipped to the door to help escort us out. She is ready to come home.

Thank you again (do you get tired of hearing me say this?) for all your prayers and e-mails. Even though we can not respond to everyones, we do get them and they are such an encouragement to us. The prayer list is the same this week, with the added request for time semi-alone with Vala to work on our communication skills. We are trying to establish words that she knows to communicate the basic things necessary to everyday life. It will all become very real to her once she steps off the plane and no one immediately around her speaks her language. We want her to be able to communicate and not feel shut in.

Until next time - we love you all. We miss you! We are excited about this next week and the one coming after. Soon we will be home. Ah! We can not wait to sleep in our own beds again!

Dasvedanya!
Jenn

Thursday, November 19, 2009

A moment of your time, please......

We would like to proudly introduce.....




Valentina
Grace
Brown


Our family's newest member!!!




We successfully made it through the 3 hours of court. Many questions were asked and although it wasn't the most pleasant of all experiences we are so very thankful it went as well as it did.

S.H. -we got the very same jurors! can you believe it????

We celebrated at a local restaurant with our interpreter and driver. Then sadly, he had to return her to the orphanage while we wait our next 10 day waiting period. But even that couldn't dampen any of our smiles, giggles and just the sheer joy God has given us. We heard more 'Slava Bog's today than the whole trip combined! Every official, representative, orphanage worker and child is so happy for Vala and us. It is a glorious day that we have long waited for! Slava Bog! (Praise God!) for His mercy, His kindness, His love and provision!

John and I have not had much sleep in the past two nights, in fact he's already fallen asleep while I'm typing this! We are going to hit the bed early and get a good, restful night's sleep.

Until next time......




Vala and I wish you a good night!
Singing praises to the One with all my heart! Jenn


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

A day at the Monastery

Good Wednesday to you!


Today we were invited with another American couple to share a drive out to a famous monastery about 2 1/2 hours away. This monastery was carved out of a caulk mountain with caves and tunnels leading all through it. It was a neat experience and a nice break from the city.





This is a picture from the top of the mountain, looking back down into the valley. You can see the river and the bridge that crosses it in the lower left side of the photo. At the foot of the bridge is where this monastery begins.


From there, you must walk through the grounds and buildings to enter the secret tunnels. These caulk tunnels and caves were dug out of the mountain and have existed for hundreds of years.

It is believed that this monastery was started by monks in 700 a.d. Whether the tunnels have been around since then, I'm not sure. But we had a wonderful tour through them where we eventually popped out of the mountaint in this top "church" where the picture was taken. We know enough caulk has been hauled out of this mountain to keep school teachers happy for centuries! It was quite a sight! The small beeswax candles we used for lighting illuminated the white caulk walls brightly enough to see well, even in the heart of the mountainside.



Interestingly enough, all the monks we saw were busy standing around, while normal, every day people were working on the grounds and the construction/reconstruction that was evident everywhere. I must have had a misperception that monks spent their time in solitude, working the grounds and doing chores. One man who was working on some of the masonry we stopped to ask directions to the tunnel. He said he wasn't quite sure, he's a practicing buddhist and had never been in them - how interesting........



Tomorrow marks a big day for John, Vala and myself. Tomorrow is finally our much awaited Court Appointment. We have sent a couple of good days with Vala and we are all sure this is what we want. We are so thankful God has given us this beautiful young lady to be our daughter and add her forever to our family. We can't believe tomorrow is almost here! It seems like forever ago from when we first started down this journey.

Thank you again and again and again to all of you who are praying for us and Vala! It has not been the easiest time for the three of us, but God's will prevails if we are just willing to follow Him. We are excited beyond words for our future together. Kids, we'll be home soon. We miss you and love you so much. We are proud of you beyond words! To our friends, we can't wait to see you and rejoice with you as well!

We'll update you tomorrow. Many blessings to you all.
Jenn

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Unrest in Ukraine

To some, yesterday could be looked upon as a disaster, but we instead choose to look at it as a victory. A victory for God. A victory for one little girl who desperately needs a Mama and Papa, whether she knows it or not.

I won't go into too much detail. The past week has been getting increasingly difficult. Each day has been a little more of a struggle than the day before. We do not have a translator with us, except one brave young man who understands English fairly well. He is asked by Vala to come down and help translate each day. Still communication has grown more and more difficult with each passing day. Vala is regressing.

We can not judge her fairly based upon our American thoughts and experiences. She comes from a culture that is not our own, in an orphanage with experiences we will never be able to comprehend. Because of this, John and I have continued to be open and continue to reach out to Vala.

Yesterday was a breaking point for us both. We received a joyous break in the weather and got out to walk for several hours. We used the time to discuss what was really at the heart of our unrest with Vala. What seems to be the problem(s)? Could we figure out why Vala has pulled away from us, verbally & emotionally? She ignores our requests and tells us No. We had gotten to the point, with Court looming just 3 more days away, that things were not getting better, but worse with each passing day. We needed to have a meeting and perhaps call the adoption off until things could be reconciled.

We are fortunate Sergiy has such a keen ear and his experience give him a perspective not like ours. He was able to fill us in on the culture and a "Mama" at the orphanage expressed Vala's personality to help explain some of the complications. These were not new to me - I had seen these character traits the first week I met her.

She is strong-willed, a leader, determined and a perfectionist. These were creating the language barrier that was causing so much tension. If she couldn't speak perfect English, she wouldn't speak it at all. I myself who likes things done right and can fully sympathize with her. (all right, those of you out there laughing! PJ!! be quiet!) But this and other things have created such a chasm between us and leaves us wondering if she has changed her mind and has no one to tell. She quit trying and has pulled herself away.

Sergiy has the ear to the "Mama" who has an enormous heart for the children. Between her and Sergiy, Vala has an understanding for the future. This American Mama spent hours crying yesterday. When Vala heard her Mama was crying, that made Vala cry. She is very much a sweet loving girl and is crushed that my feelings have been hurt and that frustration has been caused between us.

Yesterday was a very hard day for all of us. Many tissues were used, but hearts had been melted down and softened again. We are thankful to God for the transformation in just one day. We will go visit again and pray again for more improvement and bonding to begin again.

Thank you for your prayers my friends. Thank you for caring about all of us on this journey. We are so grateful to all who are helping in our absence - we wouldn't be here without your generous time and emotional support.

Please keep Vala in your thoughts and prayers. Keep John and I as well as we trek down this unknown path that is unique to this time and place. We know we will not have another like it.

Sincerely in His arms today,
Jenn

Sunday, November 15, 2009

On the waiting track

It is amazing how time seems to slowly trickle by here. In reality, we look back and do see how quickly time has passed and the many opportunities we have enjoyed.

We left our home 33 days ago. We have had the opportunity to spend many more hours on airplane and train travel than ever (maybe not such a good thing, but interesting nonetheless). We have met a culture we have only read about in books and seen depicted in movies. We have come to a better understanding of their governmental system and the problems they still face. We have had the opportunity to meet other Christians here, both servants from America and Ukrainians who have given their life to Christ. We had the opportunity to attend a college class at UBI for a week (but we chickened out and didn't take the test). We have spent many, many hours at the orphanage getting to know Vala, our daughter, as well as many other orphans that come to hang out with us. We are encouraged with their attitudes and smiles despite their living conditions, school life, etc. and the fate that awaits them should they not be adopted. It has been a trip worth far more to us than getting away to some exotic paradise in luxury. We have been blessed and our eyes are open more now than ever for the plight of the fatherless. They need our help. They need our love.

John and I have been enjoying reading Francine Rivers' "Mark of the Lion" series in our down times in our small one room apartment. She is an excellent writer and encouraging beyond description. We highly recommend them. Our current dilemma is trying not to read too quickly that we will be finished before it is time to leave. What a problem to have! lol! ;o)

Today is our oldest son's birthday - he turned 20 years old. As I've mentioned, I love to tell my kids 'Happy Birthday' as many times as possible on their special day to express how very important they are to me. I will miss this one for the first time in many years. Happy Birthday son! We love you and are so proud of the man you are becoming. May God bless you and keep you close to Him your whole life. Continue to keep your eyes focused on the One worth living - He will never let you down. Happy Birthday.

John and I are on our countdown to court. Vala had various emotions running through her the past few days. We are praying it is not a rebellious heart we are seeing, but only a young woman dealing with all the gamut of emotions that must be plaguing her during these last days. She has been in this orphanage, the only family she knows, since she was five. She has seen 'sisters,' 'brothers,' and 'Mamas' come and go and yet she remained. God held her for us and this moment of time. We are so thankful to soon be called her parents.

We have court in just 4 more days. We are anxious. Our interpreter has been out of town for the past week and will be coming back soon so we can all prepare. We have yet to hear of a court appointment that went smoothly and easily. It almost appears your weaknesses are foreknown and you are tested and tried during the entire process. We ask for your prayers. We have God's peace with us - we know without a doubt that He sent us here to do this for Vala and rely on His strength and great purpose. Still, we are in a land that is not our own. There will be surprises we can not expect, nor will we probably understand. We thank God for Sergiy who is a trustworthy man. We will continue to rely on him heavily for the next couple weeks until we are out of the country with our new daughter.

So until we have more to share, we are continuing on this 'waiting' schedule we are on. I mentioned I would like to share our findings, history and pictures of the Ukrainian Orthodox churches. We continue to struggle with internet and so I have not posted them, but plan to soon. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty of these old historic buildings, but we will try to convey them anyway.

Thank you for praying.
Thank you all for your e-mails and comments.
We love you all and will see you soon.
Jenn & John

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Finishing school

Good Thursday to you all!

Today John and I finished up our class and said fairwell to our Greek speaker we had this week. He is a wonderful man who loves the Lord and loves teaching others about Him. We were blessed and came out of his class with a much better understanding of the Ukrainian Orthodox faith (since Vala has been raised this way). Without it, simple things like food might be an issue when we all start living together - before the language and communication is easier. I had no idea they held such Jewish-type traditions of obstaining to different foods at different times of the year, partial fasting, etc. The knowledge will help when the English is lacking! :o)

We were also blessed to have spent the past four days with some wonderful young and older people at the Institute. One woman, a grandmother of three, travels by one train and two buses each morning (4 hours total) to come to UBI! That means she spends 8 HOURS A DAY travelling on old Soviet modes of transportation just to learn more about Jesus Christ! And this is her 5th year! She knows she will take longer than the other students because she can not take a full load, but she is determined to learn as much as she can to spead the Good News to others. We admire her and the others who are suffering through the hardships to complete their studies. We have found out there are 3 orphans who are at the Institute. We are so excited for them and that they will know and be able to share with others that they have a family other than a natural born one. Slava Bog! (Praise God!)

Today we went out to the orphanage to see if we could visit Vala. She was happy to see us, hugging and greeting both of us with smiles. A younger girl is getting adopted as well and she and her new family went to court today. We were there when she returned after court, she was all smiles, teeth showing. While playing a game we watched her face go through a gamut of emotions; happy, sad, overwhelmed, anxiety, you name it we saw it.

It was interesting to see how emotions played through Vala as well. When it was time for us to leave, Vala came over to me and hugged me and didn't want to let go. When I looked her in the eyes, she would smile, then tuck her head back down on my shoulder and continued to hold on. She held my hand walking all the way to the door. John and I both received numerous hugs before we left. I kissed her and told her I loved her. She smiled and held on even tighter. I don't know all that is going through her mind as language is still a big barrier, but I do know she is ready to go to court herself.

Just as the Bride and Groom eagerly await their wedding day, so we all await our day in court to make this union legal as well. I think of Christ who also eagerly awaits for us, to come to Him. Is this a bit of the excitement He feels, waiting for us?

Much love to you all,
Jenn

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Hooray for the Court Date!

We finally have a court date!! Yeah!
Thursday, November 19th


After all the waiting (but could have been longer, mind you) we finally have a date to tether the future to! We are all so happy. If the date would have been very far out (over 10 days), we were intending on flying home then return the day before court. But as God planned it, our court appointment is exactly 10 days, so we will stay. We miss our family dearly, but it will be so sweet to see them again soon enough.


Our court appointment will be over in one day. A decision is decided that day and so it won't string things along (in almost all cases). The day following the decision, we begin our next 10 day waiting period to allow anyone to object the adoption before it becomes final. (to me this is a "duh!" but it's their way.....) Then the day after that we begin to run around with our heads cut off! This should be around Dec. 1st.


Sergiy will begin translations of all the court documents including a copy into English. We will obtain the Visa and change the birth certificate all here locally. Then we will head back to the capitol Kiev (or Kyiv as they spell it) to have medical testing done, register at the Ukrainian Embassy and complete the stuff at the US Embassy. THEN we get to head home! During this time we will all be trying our hardest to get as much done as possible in as short of time. Even still, it's hard to say when all that can get done and we get home. So much of depends on human factor. It could take 2 days or it could take 12 - it just depends.


Vala appears to be pretty relaxed about the whole thing. She is determined to go with us "no matter what" as she put it. John and I are studying about the Ukrainian Orthodox Church so we will better understand the religion she celebrates. John and I have been fortunate to be taking a class in the mornings this week and have learned so much.


Vala has gotten to the opportunity to see and talk to her new siblings a couple of times thanks to the free internet program Skype. They were all happy to see her and she, them. It's pretty cool - how many adoptive children to get do that before they go home??? Even though she doesn't say much, she understands even more. We are sure she will do just fine with the transition once she reaches America. It will be a struggle at first, but she is one tough gal.


There are many children here at the orphanage that we have come in contact with during our time here. They are precious, funny, normal kids that are winning places in our hearts very quickly. I often wonder if we can squeeze more into our house! What do you think honey? -convert the music room in to more bedrooms??? ;o)


I would encourage you, if God has spoken to your heart about taking in a child to love and care for, to please do. Feel free to contact us about anything and bombard us with questions if you wish. I'm not saying we have all the answers, but I can match you up with someone who might. The SDA is very helpful and longing to find homes for these children. They care about these children very much. So if your heart's aching, jump in and do it! God will bless you in more ways than you can imagine!


Now for daily stuff......the weather here is overcast like on so many days. The pollution is high and often smog hangs in the air all the time. It feels gray constantly - hmm, can one "feel" a color? I wish we had the opportunity to see their cities during the spring and summer when the sun had a chance to shine and flowers were in full bloom!


The Ukrainian people love flowers! They sell cut flowers in lots and lots of places, including Babushka's right on the street corner or in one of the many stairwells leading under the roads for crossing. They have roses and bulbed plants in flowerbeds that they attend to like expectant Mama's.


The trees still had their leaves on when we arrived. We have been able to watch them change color for the autumn and fall off with the rain and snow we've had. Now it is colder, but not much more than would be at home. I expect we'll see some more snow before we leave. We're praying the jackets we brought will keep us warm until we leave! ;o)


Today after our morning class, we went to Cherry Pizza for lunch and came home to rest. We're using today as a "down time" since we didn't sleep well last night - we are very protective of our health. We have been doing really pretty well for weeks now and last night came as a surprise. Perhaps it's just apart of getting old and having the enjoyment of sleeping on Ukrainian beds! lol!


I'm going to go brew up a cup of tea while John sleeps.
Much love to you all! God bless,
Jenn

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Sunday connections with school tomorrow

Good Sunday to you! I realize you are only part way through your Sunday, but here we are just finishing up a jam packed weekend! It's been wonderful with new experiences and I just had to share.

Through our good friends, we received the tip that there is a church that meets here in Donetsk that is similar to ours (although no one can replace you guys!). We spent a week hunting through the internet searching for the Director of the Ukrainian Bible Institute (UBI) to see about attending church services that meet there. Last week we got a hold of them and attended church services with them. The Texan born Director, Jay, was speaking that day so we were able to hear most of the services in English. The singing was all Russian so we couldn't join in unless it was a song we knew, but it was still wonderful to be in a room with other people who loved Jesus like we do!

We heard they were going to have a man from Greece come and speak this week. He will be teaching a one week course at UBI and they asked him to take a little bit and speak at the church as well. They meet later in the afternoon on Sundays.

Because of the quarantine, this church congregation is not able to meet in the building they usually do, but will this time be meeting at UBI in one of the classrooms. We are not living very far from there so we decided to head down on foot yesterday to make sure we knew where it was. We were in high hopes that we might be able to pick up Vala and bring her to church with us and wanted especially to be familiar with where we were going before bringing her.

It was a nice, warmer day (didn't need gloves or the extra overcoat) when John and I headed out. We knew right where the street was, finding the place of entering the building would be another story. Most of the buildings are around 60 years old and decaying. We understood this building to be only 3 stories high and there would be a pathway between two buildings. At the back we would see the lower part of the building painted green to help identify it. We also found there was a small cross on a sign on the side of the building.

Not sure which entrance it was, we entered through an open door to a small stairway heading up. At the foot of the stairs was a door, but a woman had just come through and locked it up. We guessed this was not the UBI. We entered up the first couple steps to another door, crossed our fingers and prayed we wouldn't be entering someone's private residence. The door opened under John's grasp to reveal a brightly lit hallway with many doors in either direction spurring off the main hall. We knew there was a good chance this was it! Ukrainians don't use this many light bulbs and it was freshly painted, clean and very inviting. - I felt the touch of Jay's southern bell wife immediately!

John said Hello to a gentleman in the hallway who only spoke Russian. From one of the rooms, a thickly accented man said, "Come in here, sit and talk with me". We were just moments away from meeting Victor, UBI's Evangelism teacher. A boxer by trade, he was in out of the cold to warm up a bit before heading out again.

Victor graciously spent over an hour talking with us, answering lots of questions and sending out many of his own. He encouraged us to attend his church services that meet there just two hours before the other one was going to. We explained our hopes of picking up Vala and that we would be traveling to the orphanage during that time.

When we left there on Saturday we were so encouraged with our conversation with Victor. Victor is a Ukrainian who speaks English and knows his people well. We wondered if we could fit in church services with him next week, if we were still here.

So this morning we received the phone call that it will be impossible to take Vala to church with us during the quarantine. We were not surprised, but still saddened. Then the thought occurred to us that we could attend Victor's services and the ones with the Greek speaker as well now that we didn't need to travel. Both would be at the UBI, one after the other. He put our coats on and hurried on our way, thankful it was all down hill.

A woman heard us speaking quietly to ourselves (and we stick out like sore thumbs here as Americans no matter what we do). She came over and asked if we would like her to translate for us. I thanked her profusely for this kind gift she gave us! What a sweet, beautiful, gentle spoken woman. I believe someone said she translates professionally, but that day she was off duty and her willingness to translate for us was pure kindness. We had a wonderful time and Victor was very happy that we were there.

The next services started just long enough after that we had the opportunity to stand up and stretch our backs. Several of the members recognized us from the week before and remembered we were adopting. They kindly asked how the adoption was going in their best broken English. Those who can't speak just smiled warmly with a sparkle of recognition in their eyes.

When Dino got up to speak the fun began. He is a man full of passion with a thick accent. He spoke in English (the common language for everyone to translate) with a translator to recite everything back in Russian for the congregation. We would get the punch lines of the joke (said in English) before everyone else who had to wait for translation. It was funny and I had to make sure and hold my laughter as it seemed out of place when I laughed before everyone else! :o)

The Director, Jay, and his wife was once again in attendance and showed us around the school when the services were done. We were able to meet several of the teachers who where there. Many of them speak broken English so we were able to converse. Jay and his wife invited us to dinner with Dino and we accepted.

We walked up to a restaurant that had an English menu and joined them there. We all shared for hours and because of Dino's extensive background in Greek and Early Church History we were able to start communication about Ukrainian Orthodox church to better understand how Vala is being raised. She holds her religion very dear to her. Finally, since we were all getting tired, Dino just suggested John and I come to his classes each day this week as he will be teaching this very subject! Jay gave his approval. So tomorrow morning, John and I will be starting classes at UBI being taught by an Athens born Greek himself! We are excited!

We are hoping to know more about a court date tomorrow or shortly after that. We'll let you know when we know something. For now, we are so blessed to be using our time learning as much about this culture and the people as we can before we head home with our new daughter. Don't expect we'll be speaking Greek though!

Until tomorrow.....
Jenn

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Vala's birthday continued

John and I were so glad we were able to spend some time seeing how they celebrate Vala's birthday in the orphanage! What a hoot! The "teachers" are very creative in how they come up with games for the kids to play for the celebration!

When we arrived, they had moved all the furniture to create a horseshoe-type formation and put a large arm chair at the opening of the shoe. This was Vala’s seat of honor. The first game entailed two teams - guys against girls - of 3 each. This was the “Compliment Contest”. The object was to think of a proper compliment to tell Vala, pass it on to all your teammates, the last person told would rush down to Vala and pay her the compliment. If the compliment was accepted (she will say Spasiba –thank you) then they rush back and think of another one. The team with the most accepted compliments wins. The boys one this game! Looks like Ukrainians prepare their boys well for charming the women, I guess! ;o)

The second game was “Peel the Potato”. Vala was pitted against her friend of equal age in seeing who could expertly peel a potato the fastest. They were given large, awkward knives, a bowl for the peelings that they held on their lap. Yeah, Vala won! And guess what was for supper that night??? Yep, potatoes!

The third game involved guessing how many small candies were in a dish. They included Papa (John) in this one – he guessed 62. After everyone had a turn guessing, they proceeded to count each one, one by one. They thought this was just as much fun as guessing! When a child knew their number had passed up, they cried out in anguish. Since I don’t know Russian, I have no idea how many there were. It was so much fun watching and listening to them. Eventually the winner was revealed, a young boy about 8 years old - the candy was his prize.

Two other games involved a ping pong ball. Chosen children had to race one at a time down to Vala with a ping pong ball balanced on a spoon. The following game was right after and picked up where the other left off… The children had to get on their hands while the next in line carried their feet in a wheelbarrow type hold. They had to wheelbarrow up to Vala, pick up one of the ping pong balls from the dish, put it in their mouth and go back. Usually if the person carrying the feet were big enough, they just drug them backwards as fast as they could. It was funny when one of the little kids was next in line to carry the feet! This happened with one teenaged gal and a young boy John has fallen in love with. He’s got to be around 7 or 8 years old. Because I was filming the whole thing I didn’t get to see everything, but John said he was just a riot and reminded him so much of our son Ryan at that age! The way he was carefully balancing the spoon and ping pong, holding his mouth open, smiling wide and keeping an eye out on his other opponent! And they way he tried to expertly pick up the bigger gal and wheelbarrel her up to Vala. John laughed and laughed as it brought back fond memories of when our children were younger.

They played another game of Vala against another gal, about 11 years old. They had a shallow bowl full of flour and some hidden dark purple grapes. Each gal had to sit in a chair, with their hands behind their backs, and fish out the grapes and eat them! It was quite fun! Vala won this one again. I got this one on video along with others. I was most impressed with how many grapes she can hold in her mouth without eating them! She's a true competitor at heart! We'll have to keep an eye on this cutie ;o)

We found in an indoor vendor's collection a copy of Disney's "Bolt" movie. We purchased it and brought it with us for all the kids to see. Since it is dubbed (very well I might add) in Russian, we are very happy to have found it and plan on leaving it there for the kids to wear out. They loved the movie and laughed and laughed. Most had never seen it before and all the ages were engrossed in the movie.

The story is about a young teenage girl and her superhero dog Bolt. Along the way they meet a hamster who thinks Bolt is the most awesome dog out there (he and his girl owner are movie stars, it's just the dog doesn't know it). The kids especially loved teasing teasing Vala during the movie. They all know she loves dogs - she's brought home many strays and sometimes the orphanage keeps them. She also has a pet hamster someone gifted to her. The kids would point at the movie and laughingly call out her hamster's name.

Vala would like to bring the hamster home with us - we're not sure how that would work or if it would survive. Would it be considered importing food??!!?? ;o)

Tomorrow we are excited to once again attend a local worship service. We will be so excited to someday take Vala with us too.

Thank you for all who ask about our Court Appointment - I know you all care very much for us and it means so much knowing we are not forgotten! We are still in a hold pattern and hope to know something more on Monday. If court is scheduled a long way off, we might be forced to head home and come back again. I am hoping this won't happen. The sooner we get our Court proceedures completed, the sooner we get the 10 day waiting period done after that. From there we will have to head back up to Kiev and complete things at the Embassies that will take an addional 2 days or so before we fly home. We are close to running into the holidays and that gives us some concern. Here, Embassies usually celebrate the holidays in their home country and Ukraine's holidays too. This will shut them down for Thanksgiving, then again in December through the middle to January. (Ukraine celebrates Christmas on Jan. 7th). We are praying it gets done and the 10 day waiting period is completed before then. If not, the adoption will scraggle into the new year.

John and I are taking every moment we have to make a difference here. God put us here and we fully intend on using, not wasting our time. We've had several opportunities to talk to others about our faith in Jesus. We also adore the time we spend with the kids at the orphanage. They are great kids and I'd love to see them all get homes. They are so well mannered and just funny, everyday kids. I wonder how many I can fit in my house.......

Well, until next time, thank you for spending some of your time with us.
Give your children a hug and tell those you love how much they mean to you!
Make sure and take time to make a difference in someone's life that's hurting, lonely or needy. We've all been there at one time or another.
Much love to you all, Jenn

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Snow showers and birthday celebrations!

This week has flown by and my attempts to stay up-to-date have failed miserably! I am constantly taking you back and forth with me in time. I try to keep you updated yet fill you in on past things I've not blogged about. I seem to have more words than I have time. ;o)


The great news is John and I are healthy, as well as everyone at the orphanage and those we deal with here. Thanks to all of those who are praying for our safety and health! Below is a view from our apartment window this week.



We came home on Monday night in the beginnings of snow flurries. Our driver was concerned as he was driving on bald tires, in desperate need of replacement. He slowed some, but it's amazing how fast these Ukrainians drive even in the snow. Again, so glad I am a passenger.....

It continued to lightly dust through the night and snowed with more earnestness on Tuesday. We had brand new tires and headed off to our various appointments. That day (Tues) we were in high hopes of getting a court date set. But the day ended with more questions than answers - that has been the prevailing tone for the week.

The courts have 10 days from our submission to give us a court appointment for the adoption trial. We are still well within our 10 days, so we again wait. Remember, I said "waiting" was as much a part of adoption as the child is! Next week we will try again. When we have a court date, we will have a closer idea of when we will be home, but nothing set in stone.

We've recently celebrated Vala's birthday. It was great to be apart of it and see how they celebrate in the orphanage. Vala has never had a party like we do at home. Sergiy says she probably has never had a cake or presents. She has never had candles, but knew what to do when John and I lit them on her Napoleon birthday cake. Napoleon is her favorite but we had a hard time getting her to eat a piece. She wanted to make sure all the other kids had had some first - what a sweet loving kid! We just love her to death!


I had Sergiy interpret the day before Vala's birthday that I always tell my family and loved ones "Happy Birthday" as many times as possible - I wanted to warn her as my other children are well versed in this tradition. ;o) The look on her face told me she thought I might be making fun of her, she has never had that much attention paid to her before and she didn't know what to think of what was being told to her now.


Anguish overcame me. I wanted to cry at the emotion I read on her face and the confusion in her eyes. I told Sergiy he must further interpret for me - she needed to understand.

I looked straight in her brown pleading eyes and told her the story of my birthday celebrations: I did not have a loving childhood. I do not remember my own birthday being celebrated, in fact I understood I was despised. Life is short and as an adult, it has become so important to me to tell those I love and hold dear in my life that they are special to me. I am so grateful for them. Their birthdays are a day I can celebrate with them - thankful that God had chosen this day for them to come into the world and eventually into my life. Their birthday is a day to be celebrated for no other day in the year was just for them! Vala, when I say Happy Birthday and hug you and smile at you I am really saying, "I love you!" "You are so important to me!" "I am so glad God put you in my life!" "I wouldn't change knowing you for anything in the world!"


She smiled up at me......she understood. The next morning at 8:00am I call her and wish her Happy Birthday. She is all giggles and says in rare English - Thank you. What else is there to say?


God bless you and yours,
Jenn

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Bringing up to date

Dear Family and Friends,

Sergiy's grandmother-in-law passed away Friday night. The plans we had with Sergiy on Saturday had to be altered as they had the funeral right away. We were moving from a temporary apartment we moved into the first night, back to the "white" apartment. Poor Sergiy had to schedule it all while balancing the family's funeral services. We all knew we had to move and felt bad he had to do this. It all turned out okay in the end.

I believe I have brought you fairly well up-to-date at this point. We are back down near the orphanage in the "white" apartment that is clean and safe. They put a pretty pink duvet cover and sheets on the bed this time. It makes the apartment feel happy and it feels a bit like spring. Since it's a small studio apartment, this is the main furniture in the room and it helps cheer the place up. John bought me some flowers from a woman on the street (there are many women who do this) and they look cheery sitting on the counter as well.

Sergiy arranged for a taxi driver named Sasha to pick us up. We've used Sasha before. Sasha picked up our luggage we had stored here last week. He brought it to us, then took us to the orphanage to see Vala. This will be the first time we go without Sergiy. It was the one time we've needed him.

When we arrived at the orphanage, the doors were locked and a sign was posted on the door. We can't read the language, so we knew this was odd, but couldn't tell what we were to do. Eventually a woman let us in, we think she helps in the kitchen. We've only vaguely seen her before and she was telling us something in earnest that we couldn't understand.

We tried our best to tell her we were there to see Vala, hoping she would recognize the name. She was not going to let us past the narrow front hallway. She finally went to the director's office for backup. The director wasn't there but more kitchen help came out and were trying to tell us the same thing. I finally started asking for "Junior" and saying "translate".

Someone went to get Vala, who was happy to see us, but was being held at arm's length by the women. Vala burst through their roadblock when they weren't looking, coming straight to my arms for a hug. Then she went straight to John for a hug from him. The woman was beside herself! Finally, Junior showed up and was able to translate a bit of what was said.

We were ushered to a special visiting room with just John, Vala, Junior and myself. Evidentially the country is in a quarantine state. There have been many people who have died recently from the flu (if I understand correctly) and some high up person shut down all the schools, institutions, meetings, etc. - any place were people congregate - due to the deaths and sicknesses. They have shut and locked down the orphanages too.

We've seen people walking around in masks, but didn't know what to think of it. It's a big disadvantage to not being able to speak the language. There could be a serious outbreak and we'd never know! We don't know what the news is saying!

But God is protecting us, even here. No one at the orphanage is sick, praise God. They forced the kids to take a 3 hour nap, I think as a precaution to keep them healthy. The children are not allowed outside. It was only because of our ignorance to the language that we were let in. It kind of felt like a Hollywood story line with a secret plot to enter the orphanage..... we're so tricky! but we didn't even know what we were doing! lol

We were able to play a game of Kimble that we bought in Kiev. They have very few games here. We left our deck of cards with them too. We bought dominoes as well and plan on taking that to them later this week. Junior won our Kimble game. Kimble is just like "Trouble" with a dice in a plastic globe in the middle. You move your pieces around the track and try to get them safely in the "home" place before anyone lands on you and gets you sent back. It's a fun game that we can play with out needing to speak the same language. We were so thankful to have found it. There are very few games and toys here in Ukraine and at the orphanage. We are blessed in America more than we know.

Sergiy will pick us up tomorrow and we will again take care of some business and go out to visit Vala and the other children for a bit. As long as they are healthy, we will go. The quarantine is set for no less than 3 weeks. No school for them during that entire time - how boring!

I have some great pictures of St. Andrew's Church in Kiev that I want to share with you in the next blog. It's a beautiful building that I just can't capture in photos or words. But I'll try.

Much love to you all!
For His glory only,
Jenn

Saturday, October 31, 2009

One More Post

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE!!!!

You are a great friend and I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes!! Thank you so much for giving up your time with your family on your birthday (and every other day we're gone to Ukraine) to watch our daughters!!! You are truly a gem to us!

Thank you just isn't enough!

We love you!

2nd child

Hello to you all,


We are often having difficulties finding reliable internet and the last two days have not been any different. We are glad to be back on-line to talk with you all again.


So I left off discussing our torn dilemma on whether to just continue with Vala's adoption or to see if there was another child God intended on us bringing home. This is a continuing of those thoughts.....


The day after we met Vala, we were once again running around with Sergiy, getting documents completed for submission. Just about as many documents are needed here in Ukraine as John and I had to prepare just to come over. And with Ukraine, there needs to be many, many approval stamps and signatures on each page. They are quite a sight when they are done! How can they read them anyway??? They look very "official".


When we are not needed by Sergiy, we spend the days at the orphanage where we can get to know Vala and the other children, but still be close by for when Sergiy needs us. We've been having a great time!


You all know how much we love kids. It doesn't matter that we don't speak the language, we're finding ways to communicate and have fun anyway. We've played many games of Uno and even Twister (once, yes, even us old folks played!)


There is one young man, aged 14, who speaks very good English. We use him as our interpreter (and so does everyone else when Sergiy is not around). We'll call him "Junior" since he's our other interpreter and we shouldn't use his real name. He is funny and quite a card player! He's unadoptable at this time or else Jenn would be getting our 2nd child changed to a boy! I've thought of sticking him in my suitcase and bringing him home. He's a riot and a sweet kid. He needs a Dad. Him and John already have a special handshake.


Several of these older children, like Junior, I recognize from Mark & Sally's photos and the stories their adopted daughters have told about their friends. As they walk around, I lean over to John and say, "Hey! There's so-and-so! She....." It's really neat, but also sad many of them are still here. There are a couple of girls who might fit our criteria, but we just don't know.


It took about a week to get Vala's paperwork done. Then we headed back up to Kiev to submit it to get the final Adoption Agreement. In short, this says all interested parties agree we should and could adopt Vala. Our next step will be getting a court appointment.


We were hopeful our submission for a second Invitation and Referral will allow us to have an appointment within the same time frame of Vala's paperwork. Since the SDA knew we were eventually coming back up for the 2nd Invitation, things went much faster. Their newest law says we can only do a second adoption, at the same time like we were, if it was from the same orphanage. We found out, unfortunately, none of the children were adoptable by us at this time. Either there was complications with the child's paperwork, they had a sibling, etc. We could only bring one more child home. (John and I were hoping to bend the rule and bring home about 5 or 6 more!) It was a depressing day.


The next day we were expecting to get the Adoption Agreement for Vala, but in light of not being able to help another child, it was hard to be really happy. There was one girl we have spent much time with and we were all hoping it would work out. Now, we head back down to the orphanage and will have to face this young lady with sad news. This last Thursday we were again on the overnight train, sweating to death. The next morning we hit the ground running again as we are push, push, pushing to get done as soon as we can.


I have a headache the day we arrive and feel nauseous all day. It's a common thing for John and I. We are having a hard time adjusting to the food, the polluted air, inadequate sleep, etc. We miss home, our beds, food and clean air. What a blessed life we live!


Although I can only be vague in many aspects of our travels and experiences, I will be on again tomorrow to bring you finally up to date with our adoption journey.


Until then, many blessings to you and your family.
We will pray for good health for you, please remember us in your prayers as well.
Much love to you all. We miss you and your friendship.
Jenn

P.S. Here is a picture of a high point, overlooking just a part of the city of Kiev. It has somewhere around 5-7 million people in it. We know we will not get the chance to see it all. It is an amazing old city with very tall buildings. Not what we're used to back home, that's for sure!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Update on adoption

During these last 6 months, that I have enjoyed sharing on the blog about what we are seeing, tasting and overall experiencing while we wait. I am having fun telling you all about it and appreciate you hanging in there with us.


All adoptions are wrought with periods of waiting. They wait for us to get our paperwork done and submitted. We wait for them to process our information so they can give us an appointment date. They wait for us to get here to Ukraine. We show up to the appointment, they make us wait in the lobby (in Ukraine, lobbies are usually a stairwell, no seating provided!). We make decisions at the appointment, they make us wait to get the paperwork......and on, and on, and on it goes. Waiting is as much a vital part of adoptions as the child is!


You have hung in there and waited with us. We thank you. We thank you for your words of encouragement and support - it helps us through our many "waiting" periods in this process.


Some of the waiting for us is coming to a close. Some of the unknowns are finally becoming clear and we are able to share what we've had to keep quiet until things were settled. I am glad to finally get you up to date.


When we arrived at our Invitational appointment, they told us that we would have to choose which girl we wanted to get acquainted with first - Ola (15 yrs old) or Vala (14 years old). We were not going to get permission to see both at the same time, like we hoped.


The interviewers decided to call the orphanage to get more information about both girls so we could better make our choice. The information at SDA was limited to factuals like medical, when the files were submitted, age, DOB, etc. If they had asked us right then, we would have chosen the oldest first (Ola) since she is under a deadline of time.


When our interviewer was on the phone, many emotions went across Sergiy's face. He was hearing one side of a conversation and it seems to alarm him. We patiently waited for the conversation that occurred after the phone was hung up. Sergiy then translated for us and we were finally filled in.


Sergiy said Ola is being adopted by someone else. Actually she will be living with the family under a "Guardian" program. All of us were very surprised. Sergiy was speechless and wondered out loud in English, why he had not been told. Then he recalled that Ukrainian adoptions are private, International ones are not. In essence, they had been told about us and our intent to adopt, but we could not be told about them until that very minute.


We wondered if the information was correct? But even John and I could tell the interviewer said the Director's name and was talking to her in person. But could it really be true? After all this time, will Ola possibly not come home with us? We were dumbfounded, speechless and the wind had been let out of our sails. It took out the joy of getting the Referral to see Vala. It felt like we had just lost a child. We were all hopeful that when we got to the orphanage that things might be different - that there might have been a misunderstanding.


We traveled on the overnight train to the orphanage. By the time we arrived, John and I were anxious and excited about meeting Vala for the first time. Ola and the situation that surrounded her had now been pushed to the back of our minds, but we still wondered if we would see her.


I have told you all about Vala's meeting with us. It was truly wonderful. We were able to spend around 6 hours that day at the orphanage with Vala. By the time we left, Vala was snuggling close to me on the couch while we looked at photos we had brought. She brought out the orphanage photos that had pictures of her and her friends there. She is a cuddly sweet thing! Every moment we spent together, the more relaxed and comfortable we became. John and I couldn't be happier.


But back to Ola.... we were able to see her and even speak to her. There was a "movie" of sorts taken of the orphanage about a year ago. They interviewed the children in hopes to stir up attention for the plight of the orphan in Ukraine. This has paid off for Ola. The family she now calls Momma and Papa are in the legal professions and do very well. Ola now has two older sisters, one we met our first day there. The mother and sister had come to pick up Ola for the school holiday (2 weeks off). They were very kind and the affection they felt for her already was evident.


John and I had come to a new position regarding Ola. We praised God that He had done this for Ola. To be taken in at such a late age could only be from Him. Ukrainians do not adopt older children - it is against their culture. There are some who are trying to combat this perception (like doing the "movie" of the orphanage), but they are getting very little success. Ukrainians fight very hard to eek out a living. There is a definite division between the rich and the rest of Ukraine. Orphans are considered the lowest class in this society.


Ola will be raised in the only gated community outside of Kiev, the capitol. They will make sure she gets all entitlements the government allows orphans. She will be well cared for and loved. They said they wanted to send her to law school, as they had been, but she only wants to cut hair. They said they'd buy her a shop and she could cut hair instead. For an orphan, she couldn't have asked for a better life.


So where does this leave John and I? We have approval to bring two girls between the ages of 9-16 years old home with us as our daughters. We happily have chosen one girl, and she chooses us too. We have one spot open. What do we do? What would God have us do? Did He open our hearts to take two daughters in, just to bring only one home with us? Does He have another here that He really intends instead? On day one at the orphanage, we just do not have any answers to these questions that are ping-ponging through our heads. We go to bed that night, thankful for Vala and wondering about another.

Ukrainain Bronco

Hi Guys! I know how much you like my 1992 Ford Bronco........

Well. There are very few 4 x 4's here in Ukraine. They have a token Hummer here and there, but most cars are very small to a standard sized car.


Some are 4 x 4's but most are not. The average 4 x 4 would be similar to a Subaru Outback..... until we came along this beauty parked right out front our apartment complex! It's got a cargo rack for storing your spare tire and high lift jack, just in case you get stuck. And it was in nice shape. I've not seen another like it.


Thought you'd enjoy seeing it!
I made John stand in the photo so you could compare it's awesome size!
Lots of laughter, Jenn











Ukrainian History & dinner

Dear friends and family,

Today John and I wait for an expected appointment we will have this afternoon sometime. We have enjoyed receiving encouraging e-mails from some of you and certainly felt the power of your prayers extended our way over the last 24 hours. Yesterday was a very difficult day for both of us. Several times we had breakdowns, not exactly of despair, but of exhaustion and frustration. There is much we are dealing with that we can not disclose in this format right now. Soon we will have conclusions to questions and decisions and will be able to share more with you. Please know that when we asked that you join us in prayer, we know and see God's answers all around us. His will has been made evident and we are so thankful for His presence and guidance.

To pass some time, I have gone back to the blog I have attached to ours - "Step of Faith: Ukraine Adoption." This is some very good reading and we have enjoyed sharing this trip with them. The husband is a Pastor and the wife is a Teacher. She spent some of their "down time" writing about Ukraine's history and I highly recommend you reading it. Her two blog entries can be found in June called 1) Ukrainian History and 2) More Ukrainian History. She is very thorough and does such a good job, I wouldn't think of trying to put it any differently. It is some very insightful reading into understanding our new daughters and their history. It is important to understand their background and the kind of people they were made of. Thanks so much Dawn for sharing with us!

Last night we had dinner with Sergiy. It gave us a chance to sit down and discuss our options, the game plan before and after today's meeting, and above all, we splurged by eating American hamburgers! Yum! In the capitol of Kiev there is an American TGIFridays. It is just like the ones back in the States (including the high prices). John and I were longing for a juicy hamburger and fries. We eat at McDonanlds from time to time, but it's just not the same. Sergiy's wife and children were left back in Donetsk with his in-laws, so he welcomed the opportunity to share a meal with someone.

As we went to order, we found out Sergiy had never had an American style hamburger. He is willing to try new things, but had not ventured farther than the "chicken fingers" he had eaten once before. We ordered a big juicy bacon cheeseburger for each of us, along with a sample appetizer tray to share. We washed it down with Cokes, no ice (still made from the local water supply). It wasn't quite the same without the ice, but still so refreshing. Ukrainians drink juice or carbonated water (called water with gas) instead of sodas.

Sergiy tried all the items on the sampler, we explained each one. Potato skins, mozzarella sticks, wings and celery. He had never had any of them. It was very funny to watch him bite into the celery stalk and see how he was unsure how to bite the "strings" of celery politely off. He smiled and said he thinks he likes the mozzarella sticks instead. :o)

The burgers were huge with lettuce (something they rarely eat here), tomato and onion slices, pickles and of course the big juicy hamburger, bacon (slightly undercooked, yuk!) and processed cheese. We told him when they are this big (the buns here are larger and puffed up), it's best to cut it in half, smoosh it down and just take a bite. He loved it! He was so full by the end of the meal, but wanted so much to finish his entire burger and fries. I'm sure he must have had a bellyache before he got home! It was an expensive treat, but such a nice break from Ukrainian food.

I should be getting ready for our meeting. We have no idea what time it will be, but we could be called any time to walk down to the SDA offices. Thank you again for all who have been in contact. Jeremy W. - it was fun to talk to you. Thanks for downloading Skype. It's a very easy way for us to "talk".

Until next time, be encouraged, He is in control.
Jenn