Nikolaev Ukraine Day Four

Mary is back as the author today.

A relative that previously gave up custody of the children to the state, which made them orphans, has now come forward against our adopting K and B. This relative has no legal rights to the children and has left the children in the orphanage for 5 years. This relative is creating a difficult situation for K and B, but as long as K and B continue to agree to the adoption it will go forward.

We knew the relative was going to visit the kids sometime today so we showed up early to make sure we were able to see the kids today too. We visited K and B this morning for a couple of hours, James and B played football (soccer), and K and I made more jewelry with beads (I got a new necklace from K!) before the relative arrived. It was really hard to watch K and B leave with this relative knowing that the relative didn't want us to adopt K and B. We found out that they were only going to be gone a couple of hours so we decided to stay in the area so we could continue our visit afterwards. Let's just say it was a tense couple of hours.

When K and B returned, the relative suggested that we all go down to the Black Sea and swim. James and I (and the facilitator, Natasha) did not bring our suits, but we decided to go anyways. It was a very strange experience hanging out all together (especially for me because, as I've mentioned many times, I do not speak Russian!) Every time they spoke I wondered what they were saying. Thankfully James filled me in later. Even though we were in an awkward position we tried to make the best of it. James, being the awesome guy he is, emptied his pockets and swam in his clothes. I decided to go wading because I was in a dress. Our facilitator even went swimming in her clothes too!

The Black Sea!

 

 

B holding a crab he caught in the water.

 

 



"I love K and B!"

 

 

Both K and B are really good swimmers! B especially loves the water. James spent a lot of time under water with B standing on his shoulders and doing back flips off of them when James stood up. James and B also caught a lot of sea creatures and collected them in a plastic bottle full of sea water before releasing them when it was time to go. B loves the camera and made sure I filmed him doing cool tricks in the water. He would make sure I got it with a thumbs up. The relative spent a lot of time walking the beach with K so we didn't get as much time with her as we would have liked.

 

After a couple of hours in the sun, we headed back to the camp. The relative left and we were able to have a little bit of time with the kids before we had to go to. The kids still agree to the adoption, but it is a tense situation for them. Thoughts and prayers from friends and family are always appreciated.

Nikolaev Ukraine Day Three

This evening Mary is finishing up a drawing of K and B so James is writing the post again so that the picture is ready for tomorrow.

Today we had another great visit with K and B. We arrived a little earlier this morning because we did not have any meetings. That gave us more time with K and B! As we were walking up to the building where the children are staying, B ran up to Mary and gave her a big hug but looked very sad. K was not around so we started to get worried. After we got B to calm down a little, he told us that some of the older boys at the camp had taken the soccer ball that we gave him yesterday. At about that time, K came out of their building and also gave us a big hug so our brief fears were calmed. So, now I had an opportunity to be a Dad for B. Mary and I got K and B settled down with some drawing pads, pencils, and markers that we had brought and then I went to get the ball. Enlisting the help of an instructor from K and B's boarding school/orphanage, we tracked down the soccer ball and got it back to B. So, hopefully, that scores a point for Dad.

The rest of the morning and into the afternoon. We drew pictures, did some crafts with beads, and played Uno. We also let B play Angry Birds for thirty minutes on the tablet. B also got his hands on the camera and took a few pictures.

 

B made Mary a bracelet and wanted a picture of it on her wrist.

 

B wanted a picture of us together with Mary sporting the necklace that B made for her.

 

This is B taking my picture.

 

All too soon, our time with them came to an end. We said goodbye until tomorrow and gave big hugs and Mary got kisses. I guess I'm still a little too tall. Maybe a few more lost soccer balls will get me there.

 

After returning to Nikolaev, we had a wonderful dinner at the "Pirog" restaurant. The food here has been great! It was also a nice chance to sit back after a very hot day out at the camp. It has been very warm and humid the last couple of days so it felt good to enjoy some cold water and good food.

 

When we got back to the hotel we found that Mary's suitcase had been opened and someone went through all of her clothing. Nothing was taken, thankfully. We expected that something like this would happen sometime during our journey but it still was a little surprising that it actually happened.

 

So, we spent the afternoon doing laundry in the tub. I enjoyed a few seconds of nostalgia from my missionary experience in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia before the it got old again. However, Mary got to experience a little of what laundry was like for me for two years.

 

 

We finished up the laundry together and then called our sons back at home. We miss them terribly and will be glad when we can bring everyone together.  We are going to try and go to the camp earlier tomorrow so we did a little shopping this evening to get ready. Looking forward to more time with K and B!

 

 

Nikolaev Ukraine Day Two: Agreement for Adoption

Our adoption journey continues with James writing today's post.

This morning Mary and I sat down for a long talk after a great deal of discussion with our sons back home and thinking through this adoption. After a lot of prayer, we decided to go forward with trying to adopt the children that we met yesterday. A great feeling of peace has accompanied us ever since this decision and throughout the day.

After breakfast, we visited the regional child services office to learn more about the background of the children. They provided the best answers that they could with the information that they have available. The children have a rather sad story as most orphans do. It is not my place to share that story here but it was nice to learn more about their background. As we left the meeting, we told our facilitator Natasha that we would like to adopt these children. She advised that it may take a few days before an appropriate time arrived to ask the children to give their consent.

After the meeting, we stopped by the store to pick up some gifts and fruit for the children and their friends before driving out to the summer camp near the Black Sea to visit the children again. For now, we will refer to the children as K, a beautiful twelve-year old girl, and B, an eleven-year old boy that loves soccer (and plays rather well). They were waiting for us at the gate to the camp when we arrived and immediately gave us big hugs. That pretty much melts your heart. As we walked to the yard where we could have our visit, K asked Natasha when she and B could sign the agreement for adoption. That took us by surprise but, obviously, in a good way. Natasha got us settled with the kids and then left to get the District Inspector to sign the documents. We had brought a soccer ball with us and had a great time playing in the yard. After about 45 minutes, I was sweating like a pig in the heat. Thankfully there was some shade nearby and we enjoyed looking at more photos and getting to know each other better. K and B also started calling us Papa and Mama all of a sudden. Another moment that melts your heart. Before we knew it, it was time for their lunch which also means the end of our time to visit with them.

Before leaving on this trip, Mary had prepared some books on Shutterfly. Each page in the book is dedicated to a different part of our family and shows who we are. We brought two books and gave them to K and B today at the end of our visit. They were so excited as they ran off to lunch and we saw them showing all of their friends as they walked to the cafeteria.

Just after K and B left for lunch, Natasha returned with the District Inspector. As soon as the children finished lunch, they sat down with the inspector and wrote their agreement to be adopted. As you can imagine, Mary and I were thrilled! We still have a long road ahead with paperwork and legal documents but we are very excited that K and B want to be part of our family. After signing the papers, they gave us one last big hug before they had to go. Mary even got kisses from K and B. Maybe I'm just a little too tall...

After our visit, we got started on the paperwork right away. Natasha was on the phone during the entire drive back and got things going. We signed our legal agreements stating that we want to adopt K and B and got them notarized. So, the process is underway. For the next few weeks, we will continue to visit K and B and work to complete the legal process. There are still obstacles ahead but we know that with the Lord's guidance and blessing, we will arrive at where we need to be.

This evening we told our sons the news during our daily call and they are very excited also. We are looking forward to the time when we can get all the children connected to start getting to know each other. More exciting days ahead!

Nikolaev Ukraine Day One: Met Awesome Kids!

Mary is writing our post today. I just want to give a shout out to my sister, Kate! Happy Birthday! Last night we boarded a train from Kiev to Nikolaev with Natasha, the facilitator that will help us in Nikolaev. Natasha usually works adoptions with Italian couples, and so she speaks little English. She is great with Russian though! James has had the opportunity to practice his translation skills. The three of us had a compartment to ourselves, but between hot weather, frequent train stops, and air conditioning that didn't work consistently no one received a good night's sleep, but it was a fun adventure none the less.

 

Train to Nikolaev

 

 

Mary and Natasha right before the train arrived in Nikolaev (looking oh, so alert!)

We arrived in Nikolaev around 5AM. We were met by our new driver, Victor, at the train station and he drove us to our hotel. We tried to sleep for about and hour and then cleaned up a bit and ate breakfast in the hotel lobby, crepes! Can you tell I love the food here? My idea that I would be on a "Ukraine Diet" has totally back fired, the food is awesome! We then went to the see the Regional Social Worker to show her our Referral and then we were on our way to see the kids. It was an interesting hour and a half ride south of the city, ending near the Black Sea to a summer camp the kids were staying at, rather than the orphanage, until school starts. We finally got to see some of the famous pot holes and roaming dogs that we had heard about from other blogs. I had to shut my eyes a few times while our driver passed cars at what seemed to me high speeds on a two lane highway, but road conditions made it seem faster than what he was actually driving. He was a great driver and got us there and back safely. Before we got to the summer camp we had to stop at a District Administration Building to pick up an official representative to monitor our visit with the children. With five of us in a small hatch back, it was a fun ride! I held on to James while sitting in the middle in the back so I didn't fall into the representative while going around turns and avoiding pot holes. We arrived at the summer camp and we had an amazing opportunity to meet with two awesome kids! We talked with them for two and a half hours, before we were told it was time for them to go to lunch. It was a really nice visit! We returned back to our hotel and talked with our kiddos back home on Sykpe. James and I have a lot to think, discuss and pray about.

Kiev Ukraine Day Four

Today we had the morning free while we waited for our Referral (the document that gives us permission to visit the children in Nikolaev). So, Mary and I decided to take a walk through downtown Kiev. We walked along Shevchenko Boulevard and through Shevchenko Park. Taras Shevchenko is a famous author, artist, and poet from Ukrainian history that is highly revered. To my mind he appears to be for Ukrainians what Pushkin is for Russians. The walk was very pleasant and we were able to see several monuments and an Orthodox church.

 

James standing in front of the St. Volodymyr Orthodox Church. We went inside and enjoyed the beautiful interior of this centuries-old building.

 

 Mary in front of an entrance to the underground passages that are spread throughout downtown Kiev. These passages make crossing the street much safer and many of them have shops in them. Some of the them even have extensive malls. In the background you can see one of the monument statues that are placed along the Boulevard. The name "Shors" was written on this one.

 

 

We stopped to eat some Shaurma for lunch. Yummy!

 

 

A few days back, we walked through an area where they are repairing the sidewalk. When I stepped on the edge of the sidewalk that was still intact, I accidentally broke off this brick. It has been like this for three days so I figured I would record my clumsiness for posterity. The offending foot is also captured in the photo. If only I had some mortar and bricklayer skills...

 

 

After our morning about the city, we enjoyed talking with our family over Skype before leaving to pick up the Referral. Everything went smoothly with the paperwork and we now have the Referral in hand. We returned home to pack and prepare for the next leg of our adventure. Our train leaves in just over an hour and a half for an overnight trip to Nikolaev. We plan to post from there next if we can get an internet connection. Thanks to everyone sending prayers and thoughts our way. We feel truly blessed!

Kiev Ukraine Day Three: First SDA Appointment

James is continuing to take up the virtual pen for our blog updates.

This morning, after a great deal of anticipation, we had our first appointment with the SDA to review the files of children available for adoption. The appointment did not turn out as we had anticipated and went by rather quickly. Our facilitator helped in a review of many different files but none of them matched the age range that we were looking for. Unfortunately, I did not keep good track of the time and before we knew it, an hour had passed and the SDA social worker informed us that our time was up. We needed to make an immediate decision about visiting any of the children in the files that had been reviewed so far. That caught us a little of guard but our facilitator helped us to gain some extra time to make a decision. After some careful thought we decided to visit some children in Nikolaev. It is a sibling group that includes a girl, age twelve, and a boy, age eleven. We realize that these children are very close in age to two of our sons but feel at peace with our decision to visit them. We leave tomorrow on the train to go to Nikolaev and visit with these children in person. We pray that the Lord will continue to guide our footsteps and help us to know if these are the children for our family.

Kiev Ukraine Day Two

Today was another good day to experience Kiev. We took things slow this morning since church services did not start until 11 AM. We received directions from a helpful Temple worker yesterday to the building where church services are held. Turns out, it was only a short walk from our apartment. This apartment has simply been fantastic in Kiev!

Church services were in both Ukrainian and Russian. It was interesting to experience different languages throughout different parts of the service. The changes back and forth between Ukrainian and Russian did not seem to phase anyone present, especially Mary who says that she did not notice a difference at all:)! Regardless, the Spirit was the same and it felt like home to be at church here in Kiev. During Relief Society, they sang "Families Can Be Together Forever" in Russian. With all of our emotions and feelings during this time, it is understandable that Mary cried despite the language barrier.

Following church, we enjoyed a dinner of Pelmeni and decided to take a walk through downtown Kiev. It turns out that our apartment is also very close to Independence Square. Western media refers to Independence Square as Maidan (the Ukrainian word for "square"). It is the place where the protests happened earlier this year. It was a sobering experience to walk through a location of recent history where such great emotion and feeling found a form of expression.

 

The garden clock at Independence Square.

 

Maidan

 

Standing in front of the Independence Column.

 

A sign near Independence Square that translates "Pray for Ukraine."

This is a very interesting time for Ukraine and it was fascinating to see and feel a small part of the history of this nation. We are very grateful for the opportunity to be here and are excited for our appointment tomorrow!