The day of “yes”…

We pulled into Zaporiziyah this morning at about 7:00. It was great! I love the train so much. There is nothing better than watching the countryside go by and feel that nostalgic click-clack of the rails and the jostling of the car.

We followed the plan almost to the letter, with changes as were needed today. We went to the apartment, unloaded, showered, shaved, etc such to look and smell like we had not ridden a train all night. We then had a chance to rest while Victor raced around town as is typical. He had many papers to gather and to schedule meetings. He truly is a very good man who works very hard for us. While he did this, we honored him by getting some additional rest. Are we respectful or what!

I will cover the day as best I can, but missing something is very easy!

We drove to the inspector’s office where she was waiting and prepared for our case. I wish we had known what to expect, but it played out well any way. She spoke with Victor reviewed our stack’o stuff, and then asked us how we met the child, why a Ukraine child, and what was the last day we seen each other. I fumbled at the end… “uh… 1st of Sept, end of August”, which was okay. I then remembered it was their first day of school! “Victor, it was their first day of school”, he verified it again with me and then told her it was “the day of knowledge”… we celebrated together that morning before our group left. I think this pleased her that we were there together.

Shack hands, talk talk talk… and with inspector in hand, we were WISKED AWAY to the orphanage. As we approached, I could feel the essence of last year. I could feel the children we met with and enjoyed… this was where we spent so many glorious hours together. We got out of the cab and I felt like I was home (yes, this is sappy--- I mean Terry writing today) when I heard “Terry!” and Coasta came over and hugged me. We we’re led in the back way because school is out, so only the back door is open now.

We went to Ekaterina’s office and waited for a family to finish business and leave. Then we got to go in. Ekatarina will always be special in my heart and mind. She cares for these children and loves them all. While trying to spread and show love on an individual basis to as many children as she has is impossible, she was excited and eager to discuss Alina with us. We all took our seats and the doctor and Alina were summoned to the office. The doctor entered, and behind her, an Alina that was 9 months older and still just as special as the day I left. My heart was torn when Ekatarina told her to get out because it was not time for her to be in the room yet. Alina made a “WAAAA!” kind of protest and left the room.

The inspector spoke and put the issue before us all: Ekatarina, Victor, Jennifer, the school doctor, and myself. Once done, Ekatarina asked for a medical report. The doctor had an analysis of her past year to include all of her visits to other doctors during the past flu season… she has a minor curve in her spine, but no other issues. The for the psychology report: She has issues from being in the institution, but noting great. Ekatarina took the controls personally and told Jennifer and I that Alina has behavior issues and she stutters when under pressure. But, if she has a home with a mother and a father where she is loved and they care about her, she should be fine because what she needs most is to be cared for individually.

They all discussed a few issues, topics, and points of order in Russian and asked if we had anything that we wanted to ask before she was let in the room so she would not hear. We said “no, nothing” with confidence as to say “no, she is our daughter without respect of the issues”. She nodded and buzzed for Alina to come back in. We waited and waited… it seems that these are the times that some people need to use the restroom because of the tension. Alina was one of them.

Finally she came back in the room… I worked over to great her with a hug, and then let her go to her seat directly across from me. I knew what was on the way, so I held on and watched. The inspector and director explained that we were there to petition for her adoption… “do you want to go with them, live in their home, and be their daughter?” “Da.” (what a lovely sound)… “You will leave and never come home… you will not see your friends here anymore…”, etc in scolding tones. It’s hard, but I wanted it to be so it was a clear choice. “Da...” with a pause as if to say “didn’t you hear me”. Then the BIG KNIFE came out, the one that could go deep into all our hearts came out. “Alina! You have a grandmother that you know, still see, and will leave behind. Does your grandmother know that you want to leave!” (this has been the issue that made her waffle so badly) “Da”, “do you still want to go with these people and not return...?” It was now like watching a movie that your heart is being torn by. I watched her eyes moving back and forth and her head turning as she looked at those speaking to her. She looked at the inspector and said “DA!”, then to Ekatarina and said (in Russian) “I know this, I want to go with Terry and Jennifer, (da)yes, I want to go!”

The interrogation ended. The inspector and the director shifted gears to go over the records to ensure that there are no issues to stop her from going with us. They found some issues that need followed up on and started to debate with Victor how to handle it. They busted out the code of Ukraine at the table and started looking for ensuring the adoption can go through the court system without failure or delay. I will not go into details, but I feel God is at our back like the winds on a tail sail ship. Victor is making contacts with lawyer to help and the inspector has taken a special interest in ensuring it moves through. We could not ask for more than this for support. It was great, some of the things they discussed were details and they would ask Alina questions and she was helping them figure out the solutions. One time she started reading the code of Ukraine so she could understand what they were talking about.

Finally, we were told to just go play… visit the market, etc while they all worked together. So, we went across the street to the market (not the one we went to on the missions trip) and walked the isles looking for things to buy. Alina didn’t ask for anything. She kept picking out stuff and asking if we wanted it. We settled on a several things, some just to make her happy and let her know we seen her looking out for us. We went into another store and bought some nail polish things, flip flops, Then back to the orphanage.

Victor came out a few moments later and let us know that we needed to go to the notary, so we flew across town. He and the notary created the documents he needed for the inspector, to petition the court, and to petition for our second child. It felt like an eternity, but we had the three documents and 1 copy of each notarized and back to the orphanage. We spent only a few minutes there and talked to some children, then off to the inspector’s office again. She reviewed the documents and did a bunch of signing and sealing with 2 other ladies, and then we went down to the chief of Zaporizyahs office and waited for an audience. Victor and the inspector found some details that need fixing, but nothing to stop us. And eventually we were asked into the chief’s office where a deputy chief was there to speak with us. She asked us very specific questions about where and when we met her, why does Jennifer want to adopt a child she just met, etc. I explained the mission trip and the love of a father I had for her and how I could not let her graduate without a family, etc. She talked for a while after we could tell she had made her decision and thanked us for opening our home and loving these children. I said that I thank God that he lets us, Jennifer stated her agreement in her own words, and she was very happy.

So now BACK! To the orphanage. We spent more time there and seen several more children. There are not many there today because many are visiting family and just staying in their rooms. I got to get some good hugs, squeezes, and thumb wars in and we were told that there would be no room on the bus tomorrow for us to go to the water park. The wind was taken out of my sails… I thought quickly that there must be a reason; it is not of God to take something away less there be a reason (Katina! Stop yelling Amen! All the time) Then we were told that the director and her child will follow the bus in a taxi and we were welcome to join her and split the fare (okay, we’ll pay the entire fare) and we said certainly.

We wrapped it up, hugs all around, climbed into our cab and went to Pow-Wow… I cannot believe it’s that place where we always ate pizza on the mission trip! Victor! He said, come inside, we’ll have some pizza…. I said no pizza please something unique to Ukraine and he did. It was great. Then we came back here where Jen and I slept for about 2-1/2 hours. I woke up, caught up on my email and facebook, now this blog. Jen just woke up, so I think I’ll snooze a bit until the morning.

So, tomorrow morning: It’s up at 0630 to go to a water park 90 minutes away in Berdansk (spelling) with Ekaterina and her son all the way there and back. We will enjoy Alina and look for a boy to bring home. Almost forgot, during the meeting, the director offered a girl for us instead of a boy. Alina said “Nyet, no Duiski! Malchik” Meaning no girls, a boy… she’s now helping us to find her new brother… isn’t that just sweet!