Leaving on a Jet Plane

Okay, I know, that was a really cliche title, but we are!  I can’t believe I am writing our last note before we leave for Ukraine. I feel like time is moving very quickly. We spent Saturday as a family enjoying our time together, running a few errands, eating lunch at our FAVORITE restaurant, and when I started writing this Dan and Tim were watching the Gators play football. (Wasn’t exactly the game they’d hoped for, but that’d be a totally different blog.)

We've received many questions lately about how this process works in Ukraine, so I thought I'd try to explain it.
     We leave Orlando Sunday afternoon and will land in Kiev Monday afternoon. (Please pray for safe, smooth flights and that our luggage arrives with us!) We'll be met at the airport by our translator. He will get us settled into our apartment and help us buy phone cards (we’ve borrowed a cell phone, but have to prepay for the service), groceries, etc. We have no official business on Tuesday, but he has promised to take good care of us and show us around Kiev. I’ve been spending some time with the Rosetta Stone Russian language software… I guess I will find out really quickly how well it worked. ;-)
     On Wednesday morning at 11:00AM, we have our appointment at the SDA (Ukraine's State Department of Adoptions… like a nationwide DCF). That’s 4AM EST for you early birds… if you happen to be awake, we covet your prayers. This is a VERY important meeting that can set the tone for the rest of the trip. We will meet with an official there who will show us files of children who match the recommendations in our home study. We are praying for one or two girls (if there are two they’d be sisters) ages 6-9… maybe a year or two older. We are asking the Lord to make it crystal clear to us which child(ren) we are to meet. We know God is completely in control of this entire process and we are trusting him to direct our every step. From the files we are shown, we request a referral to meet the child(ren).
     Depending on the timing of when our referral is issued, we will travel to the region where the girls' orphanage is located on either Thursday or Friday. (We have no idea where it will be… it could be 2 blocks away or it could be a 15 hour train ride.) Once in the region, we meet with the regional director, then the orphanage director, and then meet the child(ren). We will have up to 4-5 days to decide if they are the right fit for our family, but have been told most families know almost right away. (Our heart’s desire would be to receive the right referral the first time around. If it is not a good match for our family, we are allowed to request a second SDA appointment in Kiev, but that would add a week or two (or more) to our timetable.) We will be able to interact with the child and have a medical exam performed if we’d like. Once we decide to proceed with the adoption, our translator notifies the SDA and a court date is scheduled. At court, the judge will grant our petition to adopt and declare us to be the parents. However, following this verdict, there is a mandatory 10 day waiting period during which appeals can be made. Appeals are very rare, and we don't anticipate any problems, but we still have to wait... unless God has other plans.
     This is the point in the process when we think I (Kathi) would come home... maybe around 12/29. Ukraine celebrates Christmas on January 7th and no official business takes place from 12/31-1/10, so depending on how the 10 day wait falls on the calendar, Dan may stay to complete the process or come home with me and make a second trip. If he stays, he would likely be able to visit the orphanage for a few hours each day to play, bond and get to know the child(ren) better. However, because of the holidays, our ten days could easily become 15 or more. We’re trusting God that he will guide and direct us when it is time to make that decision, too.
     After the waiting period is over, we (I should probably say Dan and the translator at this point) go to the city where the child was born and get copies of the original birth certificate. These will be exchanged for new birth certificates that state the new names and list us as their parents. There are a few other documents we'll need to obtain, and then we will apply for the girls' Ukrainian passports. Once all the paperwork is in order, we get to pick up our children from the orphanage! We will have to provide full sets of clothing for them, since all the clothes (underwear and shoes included!) are the property of the orphanage. I expect there would be a little farewell party with the girls' classmates and caregivers, and then we'll leave the region to return to Kiev.
     In Kiev, each of the girl(s) will have a medical exam as required by the US Embassy for their visas. The next stop is the US Embassy for visas and immigration paperwork. Finally, once that is all set, everyone gets to come home. Timothy’s little sister(s) automatically become American citizens as soon as their plane lands on US soil!

So that's the super-simple (although still not very short) version of a very detailed and complex process… an adoption process that has been described to us by families who have been there as “walking on jello.” Please continue to pray that the Lord would have His hand on each and every step!

We expect to have internet access in Kiev and hope to have it in the region as well, but only God knows. We’ll do our best to keep you posted and love to get your encouraging messages.

One week to go

By this time next Sunday Dan and I will be waiting to board the second of three airplanes that will take us to Kiev, Ukraine. Wow! There are so many things spinning through my mind right now...

Please keep us ALL in your prayers this week as we prepare and for the journey that is ahead.

• For Dan and I... we especially covet your prayers not only for safe, smooth travel, but also for wisdom and discernment when we have our appointment at the State Department of Adoptions in Ukraine. God has guided us throughout this process and our trust is completely in Him... He knows the best choices for our family.


• For Timothy and the support team that will be caring for him (and Carey) while we are gone.


• For the child(ren) we have not even met... that God would prepare their heart(s) and keep them safe.

It's a date!

We received news today from our translator that our SDA appointment has been set for Wednesday, December 9th. We haven’t ironed out all the details yet, but will probably leave on December 6 or 7. We don’t know exactly how long we will be in Ukraine, but we do know the timing is all in God’s hands.

Okay, this part is for all my blog friends who have "been there, done that." If you have any advice to share, now is your chance! We're listening...

Submitted! And a lesson in waiting...

Our paperwork was officially submitted to Ukraine's State Department of Adoptions last week on 10/27. They told our translator our letter of invitation should be available to be picked up between November 6 and 10. This week, however, Ukraine's Prime Minister issued a 3 week quarantine because of the swine flu epidemic in western Ukraine. There's to be no school nor any public meetings. We are being told that this also means no appointments for potential adoptive families during this time and no one can leave the orphanages. We are not sure if the quarantine will affect our letter or the timing of our visit. (It is definitely affecting the families who are there now!) For now, we just wait. Please pray for the hands that process our paperwork and for the timing of our invitation as well as the families who are already in Ukraine or preparing to travel. We truly believe God is in control of this entire process and its timing.

I heard an interesting teaching recently on waiting. (I do LOVE Beth Moore.) It was regarding Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength..." Have you ever felt renewed by waiting?? As someone who has done a lot of sitting, waiting, and watching my dad rest in the hospital lately, I have to agree with Beth that waiting is exhausting! She went on to point out that the verse does not promise a renewal of strength just by waiting, we must be waiting on the LORD! Ah yes, that makes a difference. I'm off to wait upon the LORD, do my Bible study homework, and get a flu shot. ;-) Hope you have a wonderful day... and leave a comment for us. I love getting your feedback and knowing who stopped by to visit the blog.

The dossier has landed

What else is there to say? :-) I just got a note from our translator... he has all our paperwork and is working on the final preparations to submit it to the SDA next Tuesday.

The final form... I think

Today’s adoption news is BIG news. Dan received an email this morning that our immigration paperwork had been approved and he was allowed to pick up the official form from the USCIS office this afternoon. That’s the FINAL U.S. approval we’ve been waiting for. What happens next? On Friday he will take our documents to Tallahassee to be apostilled and then ship them to Ukraine. That should allow our translator plenty of time to translate the documents and submit them to Ukraine’s State Department of Adoptions (SDA) on our submission date of October 27th. At that time they will review our file and hopefully issue an invitation to come to Ukraine… or tell us something needs to be corrected, updated, etc. Please keep all of us in your prayers as we wait on God’s timing and direction.

A note to other families in this process... I read on someone else's blog how after all their waiting the actual I-171H form was not what they expected. She was so right! For all its importance and the process required, it deserves some sort of special paper... or at least a very official signature. :)

Fingerprints

We found out yesterday that the money order we sent to USCIS (Immigration) had cleared and our file had been forwarded to their adoption officer for review. PTL! This morning, Dan received an email asking if we could be fingerprinted tomorrow. His immediate response? "Absolutely!" Actually, if we could go to the office before 3:00, they'd do it today. God's timing is always amazing. Tim is normally in school until 3:00, but today he had a 1:00 appointment with his neurologist. (BTW, keep him in your prayers in that area. He's participating in a drug study for a new anti-seizure drug and we'd REALLY like to see it start working.) We were finished at the doctor's office by 2:00 and made it to the fingerprint office with plenty of time to spare. Tim, incidentally, thought the process was hilarious. Every time they put his fingers on the scanner he laughed... he says his fingers are ticklish. :) So... Dan, Timothy and I have all been fingerprinted and Dale will go first thing tomorrow morning. As you may recall from the last post, we need to have our approval form in Ukraine before October 27th, so this is great progress. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers - we truly appreciate it.