“You had me at Zdrastvyutsya”

Remember Jerry McGuire? “You had me at hello?” That’s how clear it was for Dan when the little girl, we’ll call her V for now, entered the room. I know that’s what you’ve really been waiting to hear, now I’ll fill you in from where we left off yesterday. (Wow, was it really just yesterday? It seems like about 3 days from where I sit.)

Thursday afternoon: We set out on foot with our translator from Music Mission Kiev (where the widows prayed for us) and walked about 20-25 minutes to the SDA. I have to say that as soon as we stepped out the front door of the building it just struck me as an amazingly beautiful day. It was not as bitter cold as it had been in the morning, snow flurries were just starting to fall and even though the sky was not clear, it seemed… bright.

Dusk comes very early in Kiev and as the lights came on all around the city squares and gold topped cathedrals the view was striking. The SDA was scheduled to open at 4:00, but it was about 4:20 when they unlocked the gate. We were first in line and went right in to see the official and received our paperwork uneventfully. Next our walking tour took us to a copy center, dinner at a “home cooking” buffet, and back to MMK to pick up our laundry and a taxi. The taxi ride to the train station MORE than rivaled any we have ever taken in Boston or NYC. The overnight train was exactly that. We boarded around 6:45 PM, left the station at 7:23 (the only thing in Ukraine that is ALWAYS on time is the trains), and got to Donetsk at 7:30AM. Each cabin on the train has four bunks. Our translator advised us to buy all 4, even though there were only 3 of us, for security. It turned out to be a great decision because our luggage would not have fit in the designated space, so we used the spare bunk for storage. Each passenger receives a sealed plastic bag with sheets and a pillow case to make up their bed and the conductor even serves tea/coffee (for a small fee, of course) before bed and just before arriving at the station in the morning. We did get some sleep, but are very much looking forward to a real, stationary bed tonight. A driver met us at the train station (with a Mercedes mini-van… Dan says don’t let the brand fool you. It could have easily been a 1990 VW van) and drove us just over an hour to the little town where we are now. (This drive made the New England back roads near my MA family seem smooooooth.) We stopped at a supermarket that was more like a mini-Walmart to pick up some candies and a doll for V and continued to the inspector’s office. (She is like a DCF social worker.) Our translator had phoned ahead and she was expecting us and was very cordial. After about 15 minutes we, including the inspector, got back in the van and arrived at the orphanage around 9:30. Once there, we first met with the inspector we’d picked up and the director of the orphanage. They asked questions about our family and why we wanted to adopt, then brought in V with her teacher. She has blonde hair a bit lighter than Dan’s and blue eyes. In her navy and white school uniform, she looked just like a little doll and is tiny for her age. She told us, through our translator, that she likes to write, draw and play with toys and dolls, although she no dolls of her own. (That was our cue to give her the Barbie type doll we had just purchased.) We looked through the picture book of our family and home together and told her about ourselves, Timothy and Carey. When asked if she had any questions for us, she asked if we had libraries where we live. (In case you are wondering, yes, I was on board by this point.) Her teacher said she studies hard and is friendly with all the girls in her class. Which, incidentally, brings us to a VERY big prayer request. Another girl in her class is also available for adoption and the officials said even though they are not sisters, we could adopt both on this trip. “O” has my hair and Dan’s eyes and just turned eleven on the 1st of December. We spent a bit of time with her, but are not quite sure how to proceed. She is a very sweet, beautiful girl, but we only want to proceed if we are certain it is God’s best for her and our family. The officials asked her if she’d like being V’s sister, and she said yes, so we really feel we need to make a decision soon so as not to lead her on if we do not proceed. After that the girls went back to class and we talked with the adults a bit more about their history.

Next was lunch. Dan and I, known to many as the pickiest eaters on the planet, accepted a very generous offer to eat lunch in the cafeteria. We had the same meal the children would be served later: borscht (a type of soup), cabbage with sour cream, something that resembled shepherd’s pie with just meat and potatoes, bread and pineapple juice. We didn’t clean our plates, but our moms would have been proud. After lunch we were taken to the play room with V, O, and the other 3 girls in their groupa. It was a good sized room between the girls’ and boys’ bedrooms with a few tables, a sofa, TV and a few toys. We gave the girls the candies to share, but V was much more interested in my Russian phrasebook and looking at all the words in both languages. The girls quickly led us to their adjacent bedroom to show us their Disney princess poster. V’s favorite is Snow White and O prefers Ariel. We spent a few hours with the girls. Some of the time was just with V because we are definitely moving forward with her adoption, some was with the 5 girls and some with the 5 boys from the opposite room as well. They were entranced by “Papa’s” ipod and our digital camera. O quickly took control of the camera and, with no direction or instruction, became proficient at looking at all the photos stored in it. The boys were most impressed by a photo of Timothy and me with Lightning McQueen at WDW. We enjoyed the time with them and they were all eager to learn from a “My First Words” English book with us, but it was very overwhelming. They all want so much to have a mama and papa of their own. What do you tell a little child who looks up at you with huge eyes and asks about that? We finally left when the children were all called to go to lunch at 2:00. (Don’t worry, it’s not as late as it sounds, our translator said they have 2 breakfasts.) V had just finished writing out her official request to have us be her parents. If we decide to go forward with O, we will have to go back to Kiev next week for another SDA appointment and get official permission to build a relationship with her before she could do the same. As the children lined up to go to lunch, O dutifully went and got in the line. V did the same, but not before giving each of us a huge hug. All the children wished us farewell and we told them we’d see them tomorrow.

Please continue to pray for us. We will be developing our relationship with V and need to decide about O. Because of the way we were introduced, she is rightfully confused about whether we are there to see her or just V.

The round up of the day was checking in to our hotel, being pleasantly surprised by its quality, enjoying long overdue showers, and then going to the notary to begin paperwork and to dinner at Pizza Celentano. There is no such thing as wi-fi in this tiny town so we are using a USB modem and it is at best edge network speed and only works with Dan's computer. (You can comment on this blog and I see it online before it is published. If you want to send me an email, please comment and tell me it is a private note in your message. I'll be sure not to publish it.)

We are truly thankful for God's guidance throughout this process. We appreciate your concern and prayers and will try to log-in periodically.
Frozen hugs to all! It is much colder here.
Kathi and Dan