Friday morning we got up early and watched the children at the orphanage put on a musical program for Saint Nicholas Day. We saw most of the younger children that we met during the cultural camp this past summer. They sang and danced and recited stories about this patron saint of children that we know as Santa Claus. It was a joyous morning and the children were all very excited. This is a day when people give gifts to children. The orphanage director, local officials, honored guests, and some parents were in attendance. We took lots of pictures and videos and we will share those when we return to the States.
After the program we stayed and spent some time with our little guy for a little while and gave him some gifts. We then got to take him out to a local café for some dessert. Unexpectedly, another young girl asked to come along; so our family, our adoption liaison, our child, along with a chaperone from the orphanage and also this other young girl went out after the presentation. It was a good time. At this lunch our little man was officially told for the first time that we are here to adopt him. He was very positive about that and seemed to understand that this is a process that will take some time. We are happy that he is so happy about this possibility. Too soon it was time to say goodbye and we went back to our apartment where we ended up having a quiet afternoon (some of us napped). We went out for Japanese food for dinner where we found the second place in town to have wifi. We will probably be eating a lot of Japanese food in the foreseeable future.
We are still waiting for any kind of positive feedback from local officials. No one seems to be receiving any positive news at this time. The courts in this region may now officially be closed for the rest of this month which affects all of the families here in various ways, although there is still a lot of work that can be done before it is time for court. We are now looking into other avenues to move this process along.
We are still trying to negotiate with the sister and various other third parties and we anxiously await the outcomes of these meetings. We finally discovered a single English channel on our 300 channel TV. Most of them are Italian. Figure that one out.
Saturday morning we had a relaxing morning, sleeping in late and our first homemade breakfast in our apartment since we got to Ukraine. While we waited to hear if we had permission to see our little man today we went to the market for the essentials. It was obvious that we are foreigners when comparing our full shopping cart to the nearly empty baskets that the locals had. We didn’t really know what we were buying, but we think we’ll be able to eat some of what we bought.
We tripped a breaker when we tried to use an American hairdryer. Note to families who will come in the future, do not bring American hairdryers- the voltage is too high.
We were able to go to the orphanage late in the afternoon, and discovered that we couldn’t take any of the children off grounds like we wanted because the director was not there to give us permission. We played in the children’s gymnasium and invited the other children that we met in the summer at the cultural camp. The four of them and the five of us played ball, hoola-hooped, ran their small obstacle course, and climbed the rope wall. It was a great hour and gave them some gifts and candy before we told them we would be back to see them again tomorrow. It was a really good time to connect with those children.
When we got back from the orphanage, we learned that there was a meeting with the sister and the adoption agency facilitators and, at the request of the sister; we will probably meet with her again to discuss some of our concerns. Obviously weekends are a little less exciting because business hours are unpredictable and even more this weekend because it’s a holiday, but we still find ways to keep busy.
Tonight, we find ourselves back at the Japanese restaurant so we can post this blog and check email. We don’t even know the name of this restaurant; we just know it by the logo and the wifi sticker on the door. The teriyaki chicken and grilled salmon are quite good though.
We took lots of pictures today and yesterday, but most are of the children at the orphanage so we can’t post them!
Worry and anxiety come easy here but we are focusing on faith to overcome our anxiety. We saw the sun for the first time in a week today and it was a little warmer and dry (prior to this it seemed every day was heavy fog, mist, rain or light snow).
Luke 12:22 can be summarized as DO NOT WORRY. That is our hope and our prayer.
After the program we stayed and spent some time with our little guy for a little while and gave him some gifts. We then got to take him out to a local café for some dessert. Unexpectedly, another young girl asked to come along; so our family, our adoption liaison, our child, along with a chaperone from the orphanage and also this other young girl went out after the presentation. It was a good time. At this lunch our little man was officially told for the first time that we are here to adopt him. He was very positive about that and seemed to understand that this is a process that will take some time. We are happy that he is so happy about this possibility. Too soon it was time to say goodbye and we went back to our apartment where we ended up having a quiet afternoon (some of us napped). We went out for Japanese food for dinner where we found the second place in town to have wifi. We will probably be eating a lot of Japanese food in the foreseeable future.
We are still waiting for any kind of positive feedback from local officials. No one seems to be receiving any positive news at this time. The courts in this region may now officially be closed for the rest of this month which affects all of the families here in various ways, although there is still a lot of work that can be done before it is time for court. We are now looking into other avenues to move this process along.
We are still trying to negotiate with the sister and various other third parties and we anxiously await the outcomes of these meetings. We finally discovered a single English channel on our 300 channel TV. Most of them are Italian. Figure that one out.
Saturday morning we had a relaxing morning, sleeping in late and our first homemade breakfast in our apartment since we got to Ukraine. While we waited to hear if we had permission to see our little man today we went to the market for the essentials. It was obvious that we are foreigners when comparing our full shopping cart to the nearly empty baskets that the locals had. We didn’t really know what we were buying, but we think we’ll be able to eat some of what we bought.
We tripped a breaker when we tried to use an American hairdryer. Note to families who will come in the future, do not bring American hairdryers- the voltage is too high.
We were able to go to the orphanage late in the afternoon, and discovered that we couldn’t take any of the children off grounds like we wanted because the director was not there to give us permission. We played in the children’s gymnasium and invited the other children that we met in the summer at the cultural camp. The four of them and the five of us played ball, hoola-hooped, ran their small obstacle course, and climbed the rope wall. It was a great hour and gave them some gifts and candy before we told them we would be back to see them again tomorrow. It was a really good time to connect with those children.
When we got back from the orphanage, we learned that there was a meeting with the sister and the adoption agency facilitators and, at the request of the sister; we will probably meet with her again to discuss some of our concerns. Obviously weekends are a little less exciting because business hours are unpredictable and even more this weekend because it’s a holiday, but we still find ways to keep busy.
Tonight, we find ourselves back at the Japanese restaurant so we can post this blog and check email. We don’t even know the name of this restaurant; we just know it by the logo and the wifi sticker on the door. The teriyaki chicken and grilled salmon are quite good though.
We took lots of pictures today and yesterday, but most are of the children at the orphanage so we can’t post them!
Worry and anxiety come easy here but we are focusing on faith to overcome our anxiety. We saw the sun for the first time in a week today and it was a little warmer and dry (prior to this it seemed every day was heavy fog, mist, rain or light snow).
Luke 12:22 can be summarized as DO NOT WORRY. That is our hope and our prayer.
This is the view from the front door of our apartment:
These are the cobblestone streets we drive on (slippery and bumpy- old looking)
This is our taxi- we have no idea why we haven't crashed about a thousand times- but we are all alive and well. It's a 12 seater mercedes benz with a cracked windshied and rope holding the back door closed. The driver is a sweet Ukrainian man.
Thank you for the update! We are praying hard for you guys. I spoke with Vicki this morning by phone. Praying for you all to stay healthy and strong! Our love to all! The Reinharts
ReplyDeletehuh
ReplyDeleteHi all,
ReplyDeleteCasey we really miss you! Hard to believe what you are going through. What an experience. Be strong. It is good you are all together. Merry Christmas.
Love Debbie
Thanks for keeping us updated. We missed you last night at GK, and you and your mission are on all of our hearts. We are in prayer.
ReplyDeleteD.