Thursday, March 31, 2011

Subway token: 25 cents.
Bus fare: 33 cents.
Hearing Igor say "I have good news." Priceless

"I have good news for you" is exactly what we heard Igor say today. We are still chuckling at the difference between his definition of 'good news' and our definition of 'good news". We are thankful for his wisdom and insight more each day. He has a gracious spirit and it's easy to tell the children respect him.

We were hoping to hear 'court date' instead of 'interview'. Here's the scoop: 2 districts represent Sasha's welfare in the adoption. One of the districts' juvenile officers has signed a document necessary to request a court date. The other district must sign as well and that juvenile officer is requesting an interview before signing. Our interview is scheduled for this coming Monday.

In response to our question wondering if this procedure is customary - Igor said he had never had a request like this before.

At any rate - there was an immediate answer to prayer this morning and we are thankful! Igor is hoping we can advance the process directly from the officer's desk (during the interview) rather than adding the few days needed to get through the SDA again to the court.

The Lord his God is with him and the shout of the King is among them. Numbers 23:21
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Time to catch up on photos:

Looking to the North from the apartment

Looking to the South from the aparment toward the 'Maidan Square'

The Maidan Square area of Kiev

More of Maidan Square - the dome is where the underground mall

is located and one of the many entrances to the subway.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Oh happy day...Ohhh happpy day-a-ay...when Jesus walked...ya, when He walk-a-alked. He took my cares away...I remember this song on the radio as a boy (givin' away my age). The Edwin Hawkins Singers. 

It felt like that kinda day today...PTL!

• It was truly Spring...mid-50s and sunny. 
• The adjustments we made for a smoother flow at home and the orphanage worked!
• Found a great buy* on a DVD  "Despicable Me" (not trying to rap here ;-)
• Enjoying simple pleasures at dinner with grilled tuna & cheese sandwiches, fresh broccoli, sliced/salted cucumbers and orange slices
• Thankful hearts for God's peace, grace, provision and protection. 
• Flowers, flowers and more flowers as vendors sell fresh and beautiful arrays at the subway (we bought a bouquet for the orphanage director, Tatiana...Big Smiles as Lucas handed them to her.)

At the orphanage:
Several of the younger children were home from school for some reason.  That's always good for Lucas because he and the children really enjoy each other's company. 

We spent the first hour in learning time with Sasha to help him learn English better.  It was a special time for Jeanne and Sasha.  After lunch, we tried to stay out most of the time because it was so warm. 

Before going out, the boys (Lucas, Sasha, Georigy and Andre) as well as myself had a little basketball clinic a la the Harlem Globe Trotters...spinning BBalls or soccer balls and rolling them from one hand to another via past our necks.  Then everything busted out into a wrestling match a la "cage style" wrestling as opposed to Big Ten wrestling...more WWF with tickling ( or "shickles" as pronounced in Ukranian...I heard a lot of..."no shickles"...I wonder why...hmm).  We had your usual "noogies", "pile drivers", "souffle's" , etc with only a couple bent fingers or stepped on toes.  It was all good 'n' fun.

Outside we alternated with Sasha bicycle riding or Lucas playing on playground stuff and then, all of us playing soccer.  Children started comin' home from school and some joined in.  We also had our afternoon tea.  This is a habit we'd like to incorporate at home.  It's great chill time and family time for about 20 minutes...good treats too.

Over 4 1/2 hours past by quickly and it was time to say goodbye 'til Zaftra (tomorrow). 

PRAYER REQUEST:  Please pray for us to get to the court date scheduled. Our return flight to MN is about a week away.  There is one specific document completed and literally sitting on a Government Official's desk waiting for their signature.  Without it, there will be no court date.  Thank you so much to all of you that pray for us.  We treasure your prayers and they are effective! Please feel free to send you requests to us - we are glad to add our faith. God Bless you all!

* The details of the DVD deal: $65 Grivnah ($8 USD) vs. the pre-sale email I received today from Best Buy for $19.95.  It's a "guy thing"  =D

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Today's Highlights:

Brothers in the making: modeling their brand new hats and posing their best 'mom' pose....

And then the pose of their choice.....



Other things we enjoyed today:

Family tea time (with lots of sugar for the newest tea drinker).

Learning time with Sasha as we all teach him English.

Witnessing the orphanage children welcome a newly admitted sibling group of 3.

Observing Vladik verbally protect Sasha from some bullies at the bus stop.

Talking together about our future as family.

Sasha trying to model Lucas calling "Ded, Ded!" instead of "Popi" (in reference to Dave).

Enjoying the nicer weather and spending time on the orphanage playground.

Even more brotherly bonding time.....



Monday, March 28, 2011

Sasha and Natasha model the school uniforms.

The orphanage had a such a different vibe today. Last week the children were out of school due to their Spring Break. Interesting to compare the Spring Break the way so many children know it to the one for kids in the orphanage. When school is in session these kids get to walk the 15 minutes to school, and after school maybe have an extracurricular activity like a sport or music before going back to the orphanage. But during Spring Break the fence of the property and the walls of the building are it. No MOA, no going to visit grandma, no Florida or even the public library.

Yes, pity can creep in sometimes........

Especially each day when it's the end of our visiting time and we gather our things getting ready to start the hour long trip back to the apartment. Two polar regions go into effect - Sasha begging, clinging "No, you stay, pleeeeease you stay" and Lucas begging, running away "Do we have to leave? Whyyyyyyy can't we stay?" Both boys are never ready for us to leave. That was the scene today when we suddenly had the chance to go shopping at the big market. When we are on the bus schedule the pressure for us to leave is low - we can ease into things gradually.

But when the driver says he is ready to take us to the market we have to get into action as fast as a Kievite heading to a fashion boot sale!

Going to the big market has come to mean many things. First and foremost: we get a driver that graciously and deftly doubles as a personal shopper. Being driven means that we can shop for groceries and sundries at will without having to limit our bag weight. Riding the bus then subway then walking means we consider the bag weight as we shop - not something we ever had to learn in our part of the U.S! 

Having a personal shopper means that when we stand in a store the size of Super-Target with no discernable signs or letters in sight we are lead to the cereal aisle in seconds. In addition, and even better, when we are unwittingly about to put an inferior brick of butter in our cart a wise hand motions 'no-no' and leads us to the blue ribbon winner. Or, when we forget to have the oranges weighed and tagged we are micraculously rescued from the produce police.

Needless to say the chance of going to the big market trumps just about everything. So today as the vehicle slowly backed down the driveway one child stood outside on the browned lawn and sadly waved us away the other sat moaning inside the car about the unfairness of it all.......we parents sat very still, silently, joyfully, grinning in anticipation.....

Sunday, March 27, 2011

When the plans and preparations were made to be out of the country for a month, one of the most underestimated areas was the need for communication from friends and family.  When the 'norms' and routines of regular life are set aside for the sake of life in the new place, being connected to the relationships you value the most keeps you healthy.

When, at the end of the day, the email is opened and a note from a family member or friend is there it's like opening the post office box and getting nice card. When someone takes a few minutes to write a line or two about what they did that day or how work is going or how they talked to so-and-so it's like getting a bouquet of flowers! But, alas, some days there are no flowers. Some days there are no cards.

Because the blog is a broadcast of sorts the response time is limited (even unnecessary). So, while not every email will get answered - the guarantee is that every one will get read. Every one will be shared. Every one will be treasured.

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A few have asked about remaining travel - the blog post for March 3rd remains in effect: Dave, Jeanne and Lucas will be back in the U.S. Saturday, April 9th. About 10 days later (the official waiting period after the court date) Jeanne will go back to Kiev to finish the paperwork with Ukraine and the U.S. State Department and then bring Sasha home - travel completed by the end of April.

We will update the blog if this changes. Hopefully this week we will find out the court date for the adoption.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Well, daylight saving time comes to Kiev at 3:00 AM Sunday (few hours 'til midnight). That means this is the 2nd hour of sleep we lose this year ;-D

Snowing again today...a little harder but nothing really stuck. It did brighten up the cloudy day and was fun to walk in on the way to the Metro (subway).  We have "the drill" from our apartment down well now.  I made a wrong turn yesterday, though, as we headed underground and followed the walkway that leads to the 3 story (underground) shopping mall - imagine Jeanne's delight and surprise.....

Suprisingly, to us, the subway was packed for a mid-morning on a Saturday.  So was the bus...we were pressed together like rush hour on Friday night. There are 100's of these buses carrying 1000's of passengers everyday. 

The money handling for bus fare is amazing to watch. There's a big carpeted berm next to the driver that people throw their bus fare money on. When the buses get crowded people pass the money up and down an aisle of standing passengers. It's kind of like buying a bag of peanuts at a Twins game when you're seated dead center in a row.  It's quite an honor system.  Sometimes the driver has an assistant riding shotgun to help take money. Quite simple but it works. Also, young children, like Lucas are encouraged to sit on the berm to save space, I believe. 

Opening the gate to Orphanage's fenced in play ground, Lucas was greeted with hugs, by Jessie, our lovable dog friend.  When we got in the building we were suprised to see Igor there today.  He greeted us and explained the people in his office were his spouse and 2 sets of visiting friends.  He introduced us to his lovely wife Anna.  She had a great smile and warmly greeted us.  There was also a woman there considering the adoption of a child.

We found all the kids in the commons area...some watchin' the "new" TV, others playing checkers, some doing puzzles, playing games on handhelds and reading as well as plain socializing.  The other family was there too. We enjoy their company and recognize the bond that experiences like this brings.

Soon it was lunchtime.  Everyone (all children + both visiting families) got in 3 lines and were led in prayer by one of the workers. The children all "steepled" their hands and bowed there heads. It was very cool.

No goin' outside.  Sergei (driver and weekend caretaker) didn't want any children out in the snow...didn't want them sick I interpreted from our "charade-type" of exchange.  So we read, did puzzle books and played indoor soccer. The other dad and his son went to the local bike store to get equipment to repair two bicycles.  Sasha, sometimes the gymnast, walked around for awhile:

The oldest boy in the orphanage, Vladic, is a great kid, well-mannered, very bright.  He hung out with us in the afternoon doing sudoku or helping repair bikes while younger ones napped. I sure hope he and is sister Natasha and younger brother, Nicholai get adopted or at least hosted.  All 3 are wonderful kids.  The family that gets them will be blessed. Lucas has been begging to bring them with us...especially Vladic.

Tea time: Anna, a very sweet worker, made tea for us all with cookies and candies.  Shortly afterwards, we decided to call it a day. We went to the bus stop and Sergei let Sasha and Vladic escort - with Jessie of course.  The bus stops are a culture unto themselves.  Each one has kiosk-type tea/food vendors, markets, pop, beer and other goods.  The larger the bus stop the more vendors and kiosks. Some shots from the bus stop close to the orphanage:

At the apartment we made the last of the pasta and sauce we brought from the U.S. Later we made time for movie night by watching 'Marmaduke' on the laptop enjoying Popsecret microwaved hot and buttery!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Headed to the subway at 10 am today.  A bit snowy.  Grabbed a bus and we were at the orphanage in an hour.

Lucas was excited as usual...us too.  The vacation part is somewhat over...the newness, the novelty, Europe...in some ways we expected it and now we just want to "git 'r done."  However, we are enjoying the journey, trusting God and continually asking for His help, His favor and His protection over us as a family (4 of us) and the process.

At the orphanage we had fun playing games, soccer, visiting our dog friend- Jessie (we fed her bread from the kitchen...heh...heh).  Lucas actually saw her bury 2 pieces.  I think she has a number of stashes all over the play area. We also had tea with the other family and our respective Ukraine kids during nap/rest time. I think our Sasha and their child feel pretty special as they opt out of things like the 3 hour naptime. Right after naptime the 'new' TV arrived. Guess it's a 'guy' thing all over the world.....

We met with Igor the coordinator today. He is very caring as he watches over the process and we trust him.  He was helpful to give us a better context about our estimated times and dates from here on out. The ones we were given by our agency in MN were based on past experience with adoption in Ukraine. Of course past experience is usually a good indicator of future performance...... 

But, as he further explained, that experience was gained in a previous Ukraine President's administration. Igor and his team had well developed and trusting relationships. The levels of government got things done relatively effeciently from level to level, region to region. That's changed.

The new President and Administration (I believe it was last Spring) has all new people all the way down to local offices. His roots, from what I've read are in Russian communism, culture and ideology. There's a general lack of trust. There are many new people trying to do jobs that were done perfectly well by others. Time in signing basic things takes the maximum allowed. Little or no delegation is happening so the 'chiefs' are overloaded. For attorneys like Viktor there are twists and turns as the game is the same but some of the rules have changed along with the players.

Why all this explanation on the Blog Dave?  You're "bringin' me down, Dave! First, we are not afraid. Better to be warned and praying in advance than not to be warned and not praying! Jeanne and I actually appreciated knowing from Igor the truth of how fluid the situation is and we can now pray specifically.  We do not serve a Lord who's arm is too short.  We serve a big God and we "can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us" (Philippians 4:13).

We ended the day walking from the orphanage to the market where we picked up fresh fruit and yet another cereal to try. Catching the bus we stood for 30 minutes getting to the subway. At the end of the subway we got off at the right station but took the wrong exit to the street level. We came out to pouring rain and 'surprise' another McDonald's (that's 2 in just a few blocks - have we said it already - they love McDonald's here!). Walking in the rain and feeling lost we considered a taxi but realized we don't know how to say our address audibly. Plan B - stop for dinner, dry off and regroup at the little cafe near the apartment - a cozy place with good food and great service. Now if we could just pronounce the name....

Thursday, March 24, 2011

We had a sunny start to this morning as we went with Viktor (our lawyer) to a Public Notary to sign and notarize more papers.  After that, the day became cloudier and colder. We did more mundane things since we couldn't go to the orphanage because of a government inspection.  Lucas did school, Jeanne caught up on her volunteer responsibilities and I did so with work. Lucas and I did go to the park on the way to the market.  Met a couple and their 3 year old son from London visiting their mum who works with the British Consulate.  More tomorrow.  Good night!

Wednesday, March 23. 2011

Today we took our signed SDA paper and Dossier to Juvenile Services with our lawyer Viktor to get a supervised visit to the orphanage.  The 9:00 AM appointment across town was in a small office shared by three social workers.  Lucas, Jeanne, Viktor and I literally scrunched in while we answered the Social Worker's questions through Viktor's interpretation (e.g., how we met Sasha, our work, our home, how we decided to adopt, etc.).  We answered the questions at face value but in the back of my mind I thought did I say something that's going to disqualify me from going to the orphanage...not that I would answer any differently.

At one point, there was a lot of exchange in Russian and it seemed a little contentious...or it was the Eastern European tone.  But...Glory to God...after a few minutes wait in the hallway, we were going to the orphanage with a Social Worker for our 1st visit.

She stayed with all us for 15 minutes, we left the office and never saw her again. Viktor said he was taking her back to her office to sign some more papers.  It was five days later than expected but now we are "free at last, free at last"  to see Sasha at the Orphanage anytime we want.  Thank you Jesus!

It was a major milestone and victory.  We had "the best day ever" as Lucas would say or sing the Sponge Bob Song.  We could  talk and play with Sasha and the other kids, wrestle, play soccer and hang out.

During lunch it was also great conversing with another family adopting a teen girl.  This is their second time in Kiev as they adopted from the same orphanage 3 years ago. I went with them to the nearby market to get a few lunch items and on the way back an older woman recognized him - she had been the boy's caretaker at the orphange when he was first admitted (age 4).  He is now 13 (adopted at age 10 and a great kid!). The caretaker's daughter spoke English and translated the spontaneous reunion.  The woman told how she had prayed for him to be in a good Christian Family way back then as she was teaching him. The family blessed her and thanked her for teaching him so well and praying. God confirmed to her today that her prayers were answered in a divine way.  PTL!

Back at the ranch, so to speak, the boys, myself and th eother father got into a good, fairly aggressive game of soccer.  Alot of fun, laughs and a work out.  Some of the kids including Lucas befriended a young German Shepard mix dog--Jessica.  Very sweetie dog and one of the many we see roaming the city and countryside...the communal pets.  All of us were outside on a very sunny, warm and beautiful day.

We also took the bus (sp? "menushka") back to the subway.  Another experience that went very well.  It's 2.50 Grivnah/person or about 33 cents.  The subway is 2 Grivnah each and Lucas is free. The cost and ease of public transportation is good once you understand where to go and get off.

No orphanage Thursday because they have a government inspection.  We have to go to a Notary with our Lawyer in the morning to sign papers (not sure what about 'til tomorrow).  Back at the orphanage Friday!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

So now we know for sure - there is food poisoning in Kiev! Lucas got hit pretty hard over night and Jeanne and Dave had minor occurences. We have narrowed down the culprit to dry soup mixed with tap water.  It's been a funky day after a sleepless night.

We did manage to get ourselves together and go to the SDA to pick up our referral letter. That particular office does not open until 4:00 PM (or until tea time is over).

The cool thing is that the half-hour wait afforded us the time to meet and talk to other adoptive families from the States. (There were other families waiting but somehow we only talked to the English-speaking ones....). A couple from Louisville KY and a woman traveling with her young adult son from Salt Lake City, UT.

Tomorrow morning we will go with Viktor to the juvenile services office to present the letter from the SDA (referral letter) that gives us access to the orphanage to meet Sasha for a supervised visit.

On Friday we alluded to some topics to be covered in a future blog - here goes:

Official renaming of Oleksandr Koshevyy:
        Last Friday Igor pulled aside and told us that if we were going to give Sasha a new name it had to be done that day. The social worker was leaving town for 2 weeks and she needed to prepare the documents before she left. We had known since last summer that Sasha wanted to change his name to Jason but since we arrived last week he said no, he wanted to be called Justin now. With Igor transalating (and Tatiana and Natasha present as well) we presented Sasha with 4 options one of which he could choose: Oleksandr (Sasha), Paul, Joshua or Jason. Such a weighty time! He chose Jason. The official records will show his name to be: Jason Sasha Ritzman.

A high level family meeting entertaining 8 more adoptions.
           We were having dinner last week and the 3 of us were talking about how we could adopt all of the children. Each of us felt exactly the same - that we want to bring home and join to our family any or all of the children unspoken for. Together we remarked how amazing the children at Cradle of Children's Hope are. Even though the language difference is a barrier it's pretty easy to see their individual tempraments, gifts and abilities. These children get a lot of help and intervention. From group therapy sessions to classes taking place right in the orphanage there is an equipping of them that draws out their strengths.

The impact of new admissions.
         During our initial tour of the orphanage we were taken to 3-room area specifically for newly admitted children. Upon admission the children are quarantined and examined for things like illness, affliction, lice and behavior issues. After a period of time (or, we guess, when beds are available) they integrate and join the rest of the children. During our tour these children were sleeping (it was afternoon naptime) and then we saw them at the concert given last week. The children were brought into the performance room and sat in the chairs where we adults sat to watch their future friends perform the concert. These stunningly beautiful children are a sibling group with 1 girl (guessing she's 8) and 2 boys (maybe 5 & 6). They looked frail and withdrawn especially with their heads shaved.


We are hoping and praying the delay with the SDA does not push our court date past our scheduled flight time back to the states. We will ask Viktor tomorrow.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Hello, Lucas here today. My mom interviewed me during lunch and this is it (the SDA stuff is after my interview):

M: So, today for the blog I am going to interview you about your perspective of Ukraine.

L: Oh. What does that mean?

M: That I will ask you questions about Ukraine.

L: I don't like it.

M: Okay, well, let's start with the positive. I will ask you questions and you answer.

L: All right.

M: How did you like the Tram?

L: Rockin' good.

M: How about the Subway?

L: Awesome!!

M: Which one did you like better?

L: The Subway because it is so fast and so dark.

M: Hmm, I don't remember it being dark.

L: There were lights in the train but the tunnel was dark because it's underground.

M: How about the food. What do you like for food?

L: I like the cheese and the bread of course and the ice cream.

M: What restaurants did you like?

L: I like the pizza one the most. I liked the place we went to 2 times where I had the pancakes with meat inside. Can we go there for breakfast sometime? Remember they have Breakfast?

M: Okay, let's do that. Let's ask Dad.

M: How do you like the apartment?

L: I like it. I like my bed. I like that the apartment is so small. I love the security thing. There is a key to our apartment and I like the security phone. I like that our kitchen is so small and that our bathroom is small too.

M: How do you like the orphanage?

L: I LOVE the orphanage! The kids are so nice there. They are nice to me and they kept saying thank you when they got their presents yesterday. And I kept saying your welcome.

M: Would you like to live there?

L: Yes.

M: What don't you like about Ukraine?

L: Not really anything.

M: Oh, I thought you said there were things you didn't like.

L: That people don't know our language. I don't like the paperwork takes so long. I don't like phone calls from Igor and Viktor and the meetings. I do like Igor and Viktor I just don't like the phone calls. Also, I am scared about seeing the judge.

M: What scares you about seeing the judge?

L: I hope he understands English in case he asks me questions. I hope he's not mean. I hope he doesn't ask me any questions.

M: I think Viktor will translate for you if the judge does ask questions.

L: Can I watch Marvel now?

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SDA Mission mostly accomplished!

We went with Viktor, our attorney, to the SDA office (adoption center). Last week this same meeting started (usually lasts about 10 minutes) and then stopped because we did not possess a certain document from the Ukraine welfare office. Last Thursday the document was signed by the Welfare office. 

The purpose of our meeting today was to present the now signed welfare document to the SDA, affirm that Sasha is the child we want to adopt and receive a signed “letter of referral”. Today we accomplished the first 2 of the 3 objectives – in 10 minutes. The third objective – receive the letter of referral - did not happen due to the absence of the manager.  That means that we will be going back to the SDA office tomorrow at the precise time such documents are allowed to be obtained: 4 PM. Thankfully we can walk to the SDA office from our apartment in just 15 minutes.

Then what? We will go to the juvenile welfare office and present our letter of referral (with Viktor) on Wednesday morning, hopefully. The purpose of that meeting is to get permission to visit the orphanage under juvenile welfare supervision. We hope to have the first supervised visit at the orphanage on Wednesday as well.

In the meantime we: just keep praying, just keep praying, just keep praying….

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Our first Sunday in Kyiv.  Cloudy and colder today (30's).  Igor called and sounded really sick.  Said he wouldn't be goin' to orphanage which meant, we didn't have a ride.  So, I thought let's have a family adventure.  We'll take the Metro (subway) & menuschcas (Sp?...little yellow buses). to get to the orphanage. I asked Igor for instruction.  He wanted to show us the first time but I was determined to go today. He gave me instructions. At the end of our call, he said he'd get Sergei to pick us up at the Metro stop near the orphanage.  That works! 

With limited Russian & a couple kind souls we were headed in the right direction and counted the # of stops (everything is in Cyrillic spelling...not pheonetic like Google translator...go figure  =)'  30 minutes/7 stops later on a "screammin'" (fast & loud) train, wella...we're there! It was great to see Sasha.  It'd been 2 days.  Kids we're havin' a special tutor time while we as family (4 of us) went downstairs.  There was knitting, Didj and sports...yes, I'm still working on my knitting.  The boys wanted to wrestle...but not on a wood floor so we played futbol...boys against Poppi. 

We met a delightful woman Anna. She was a cook and housekeeper.  Full of life and laughter.  She really enjoyed our company as we did hers.  We were given tea and we gave her (American) cookies, snacks.  Lucas was really excited to be at the orphanage and especially wanted to give out the large suitcase of gifts  and candy ( as recommended we bring by our agency)to the children. Jeanne said it best that this was the best time to do it with just us and the children on a quiet Sunday (vs. a work day w/ all staff nearby).  When the tutor time was over, the children came downstairs...Lucas opened the suitcase and WOW! was the first expression we heard with big smiles and wide-open eyes. Lucas is so generous. Jeanne and I mainly assisted while he handed out gifts making sure everyone got the right kinds and amounts.  Glow sticks, bubbles, silly bands, barrets, jump ropes, coloring books, hot wheels, cool stickers and candy.  The candy was devoured and it was fascinating to watch the trading and negotiating.  One younger boy ended up with about a 20 glow sticks around his wrists and forearms after trading cars and silly bands.

The children all played with their toys and some sat very close to us pointing to words in a coloring book, or to colors of their toys or counting of them always in English...a way they wanted to further bond with us as well as show how well they're learning.  It touched our hearts. 

Anna then called the children into the kitchen for their afternoon snack...wonderful bread and jelly with chai.  We all sat at the 2 tables together family style.  The children kept giving us a piece of their candy or more bread or chai. Afterwards, two of the smallest girls and one boy refused to let us carry our backpacks and suitcase upstairs...they did.  Another way of saying "thank you." We are humbled and give all glory to the Lord.
It was time to go. Fours hours had past with more than half of them spent as a family. It was a great Sunday and we thank the Lord for ordering our steps in such a wonderful way.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

We acted like true city-dwellers today. With a small washing machine, no clothes dryer and white clothes having turned gray and black drying whereever there's room. It was a lazy morning of reading, knitting, more laundry and X-men videos...you can guess who did what...that's right, I, Dave was...knitting!  ;-D

Then, lunch and all of us to the park cross the street. Lucas had more than a little energy to burn and did a great job of it at the park.  He "skiied" down the slick, metal slide attached to the cement sculpted castle...ran a few laps from the iron and bronzed lion...around the castle and then to the end of the small park and back again...Bravo, Lucas!

We left the park and cut through the grounds of St. Michael's Cathederal.  There were a lot of military personnel there.  There must have been an event. We also saw a beautiful bride and her groom out front getting pictures taken.  From there we headed to the tram ride down to the Dnipro River.

For Lucas, the tram was like an amusement park ride. We were packed in with others and it was a steep hill to the bottom.

Getting out we discovered we were on a main shopping and cafe type of street.  Jeanne was giving me the "I'm-cold-can-we-find-a-cafe-for-tea" look.  Actually a great idea.

  

After the cafe, we walked along when suddenly it began to snow.  Jeanne had mentioned this at breakfast along with a high for the day of 44.  However, everything FEELS 10 degrees colder.  When snow started really comin'down...made us kinda homesick ;-D...and then, trammed back up the hill.  Amazing how snow can make the city that much more beautiful.

On the tram back, we met a mother and her 8 year old son-Dima.  Both could speak English fairly well so Lucas and Dima played a little in the park.  I was proud of him b/c he'd been reluctant 'til then to play with any children at the playground...I think he's embarassed of the language difference. They teeter-tottered, climbed and even, shared his handheld game on a nearby bench.

We headed back to the ranch to warm up and decide on dinner...pasta at the Ritzmans.  We turned on the gas to the stove w/o being blow'd up.  Jeanne got the water goin' and I headed to the market to get a few items including a great bottle of Merlot for only 27 Grivna  (that's Kyiv version of Trader Joe's 3 buck chuck but better quality).

So now uncorking the bottle for a glass, Lucas is tucked in bed.

We want you to know your prayers are so important and paying off...keep praying.  We have an appointment at 4 PM on Monday with the SDA (again)...the key document is signed and SDA decides if we are permitted (by them to pursue adoption in their country)...I take nothing for granted...I pray and we are glad you do too.  God Bless!

Friday, March 18, 2011

We started the day with this frame of mind: Psalm 100:4 Enter into His gates with Thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. We recounted the many things we are thankful for today:

A great team of people working for orphaned children in Ukraine.
That Lucas gets to be part of this expeditition.
Internet access for both laptops (finally) and the ability to continue personal and business communication.
Smooth transition for all of us with little or no jet-lag.
Quick settling into lodging and life in a foreign country.
Finding a new routine that encompasses our daily disciplines.
Those that came last year and the insight they shared.
Grace for the challenges of international adoption.
Faith.
The voices in prayer adding their petitions daily.
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That's how the day began and the rest of the day was even more amazing:

• A concert at the orphanage.
• Official re-naming of Oleksandr Koshevyy.
• A high level family meeting entertaining 8 more adoptions.
• The impact of new admissions - a sibling group of 3.

If we don't get to all of the these tonight we will in the next few days. The clock striketh midnight and at least one of us needs our beauty sleep.......

Today we were invited to the orphanage for a special production of we-don't-know-what-because-we-don't-understand-Russian. All 25 of the children performed with the help of a teacher and a director - complete with costumes, singing, dancing and narrative.

The purpose of the event was to prepare a fundraising video by the owners of Moscow company. Those 2 plus a management team of 10 came to visit the orphanage, film the video and bless the children with toys and a computer.

The staff of the orphanage were on their top game. The Moscow company owners brought their best contributions. The children were completely themselves - displaying their gifts to act, dance, narrate, support. They were unified in one other goal - to help and encourage each other.

Stay tuned. We have precious video footage and will try to send tomorrow - uploading on this network is taking too long for tonight.......