Still Waiting....

Well it's Friday and no court date today, so we figure it will be Tuesday or Wednesday. Meanwhile we have stayed very busy.


Wednesday was Odessa's City Day. The birthday of the city. Quite a celebration. They certainly know how to throw a party. We had hoped to meet up with Lyonya's and Pasha's class in the afternoon but due to communication problems that didn't work out. They said they had a good time with their teacher and classmates. We headed out to spend the afternoon with Andrei at #9.


Even Jenna the dog likes us now and greeted us as at the gate as we waited for someone to unlock it. Of course we do slip her treats each trip as a bribe! Andrei was extra clingy today...of course we never complain.


He also wanted to take a lot of photos of his classroom. Seems to be sinking in that he will be saying goodbye to his life here soon.

We made it back to the apartment by 6:30 because Jenya called asking if we would be available to spend the evening with Marianna and him. Couldn't pass that up! It is so much fun to have young adults take us on a tour of the city. You know you will see more of the realities of life here that we would never otherwise encounter. It's great. We are so thankful they don't mind haging out with us old people! We went out in the massive crowd of people in the center for the celebration. After a few hours, they were both tired and knew they needed to be at trade school at 7:30 am so we came back to our apartment for a quick supper. They are both so much fun and we have a good time trying to share our hearts with our limited Russian and their limited English. Thank the Lord for dictionaries!



Yesterday we had Lena, her mom and brother over for lunch before we headed to #4 to sit in on a staff meeting for the boy's class and visit with the children just a little. The kids had a concert to attend so we didn't get much time with them. We are just thankful that we have had the opportunity to see a little of their world before leaving. It can only help us in the transition awaiting at home, to know where they have come from.

Lena came back for a little while in the evening so we could pray with her again and pray for her mother. Please pray with us for her family as they are facing a financial crisis and her mother is scheduled for surgery for a growth on her leg in 2 weeks. They are asking for the Lord's healing touch.

Today we hope to spend the afternoon with Andrei. It takes two bus rides from here...maybe an hour total ride time. At least the fares are cheap, only about twenty-five cents.

People have been asking a lot of questions...We will try to answer some of them and include them as a post this weekend. Please continue to pray for favor with all officials and the judge. Also for safety, especially on the cab rides! They are always an experience. Thanks so much to you all. We could not be here without your prayers and support.

Love,
Carol and Steve

Every Day One Step Closer

Our facilitator/translator, Natalia, has been a very busy girl this past week. We are now waiting on our Court date. It will most likely be mid-week next week, but could be anytime after Friday. So we wait...and pray. Please pray for favor with the judge and for perfect timing. Natalia will travel home near Kiev tonight to visit with her husband for a few days and return in time for court.

We are heading to Odessa Executive Suites tonight to stay until it is time to return to Kiev with the children. There is also another family from SC arriving there this week. It will be fun to have someone from home to visit with.

Sunday we had a picnic with the children, some of their friends from Internot 4 and some of the women from the apartment where we are staying. It was the children's first day back at the Internot. They spent the weekend cleaning and preparing for FIRST BELL. The first day of school is a big event here in Ukraine.

Sunday was our wedding anniversary as well. We had a nice Greek Salad at the pizza place. No lettuce in it but their version of salad none the less. After we returned to the apartment the girls all came in with flowers and candy. It was a very nice evening.



Monday we had appointments most of the day to sign documents and receive final approvals from various officials. By days end, it was all finally accomplished! Thank the Lord! Natalia could forward documents to Kiev and pay court filing fees. One Step Closer.



During the morning we had to stop at #9 to pick up documents so we were able to spend about an hour with Andrei before we left for the next appointment.





It started to rain later in the day and the streets were a mess. It hasn't rained since we got here and everything was so dusty and dirty, then with the rain it was just muddy. The roads are paved and cobblestones so it's hard to explain why everything is so dusty, but you always have dirty, dusty feet and your khaki pants all have a ring around the hem.


For our evening meal, we all pooled our efforts and found the makings for a Mexican supper of burritos. Not quite as good as Monterrey's, but considering our location, outstanding! It was a nice evening of sharing how God orchestrated all the different puzzle pieces in our lives to bring such an eclectic group together.

Tuesday we hurried or as Steve says herded an apartment full of women and one man (Steve) thru the bathroom to arrive at school at 9am for First Bell. We stopped along the way to buy 6 bouquets of flowers. Two for each of the boy's teachers, two for Galia's teachers and 1 each for the secretary and director. It is customary for children to bring flowers on the first day of school but the orphans cannot buy the flowers. The contrast of all the flowers at the public school and so few at the orphanage is striking. Our kids were so happy that we brought flowers for them to give.

For First Bell everyone is dressed in their finest, songs are sung, speeches are made and the youngest/smallest girl rings the bell to start the school year. Galia rang the bell this year, but this year she had parents to watch her. It was great to be there for the kids and they were so happy. Our only problem was the battery on the camera went dead so we only have a few photos. So sorry!


We each had haircuts this week. Steve's flattop is not quite as flat as normal but it's pretty close. (See photo above) Pretty impressive cut for a young man that had never seen cut a flattop before or seen one for that matter! This particular young man is also an orphan that made it through the system. Natalia is so proud of him.



Tomorrow is again some big holiday. We will try to find out more and share soon. We will hopefully meet us with Lyonya's and Pasha's class at the center to celebrate then head out in the afternoon to see Andrei.

The Lord has been really encouraging us this week to just continue to trust him for the next step. To lay aside all that hinders and follow Him. Thanks so much for sharing our journey.

Spending Time Together

This week has been much of what we expected. Visits each day with the children and their friends. A few quick runs for chasing down documents and dinner with Jenya twice. Once at McDonalds and this evening Jenya came to the apartment. Tonight we had a Southern dinner of oven baked chicken, green beans with potatoes, Ms. Adelaide's macaroni and cheese pie and brownies with ice cream. He had never tasted green beans before, but then, we had never had McShrimps before either. Instead of Chicken Nuggets they have Shrimp Nuggets here.


For guessing on some of the ingredients...like which cheese might be most like cheddar...it all turned out OK. At least good enough Jenya ate seconds and took some home for later! Then again, my mama always said, "It doesn't have to be real good there just has to be plenty of it." We made a second macaroni for the kids to have tomorrow.

The older children all left Camp Victoria today and went back to Internot #4. School will start on Tuesday with First Bell. We hope to be there for the event that morning.

Monday morning at 10 am (our time) we have to meet with the regional director of #4 for a final interview to obtain her stamp of approval on our documents. Afterward, everything will be forwarded to Kiev central SDA office again for their final approval (that should take 5 business days) and we will have court as soon as possible after that. We are hoping and praying it will take place the second week of September. We will let you know as soon as we find out.

The children are all doing well and are all excited to be coming home with us. The older ones are opening up more and we've been enjoying our "picnics" this week. Andrei learned the word "obey" today. He also learned to ask for permission before he starts digging through our bags. It says something though that he feels more freedom to try to push the limits.

FINDING THE RIGHT WORDS
ANDREI'S BEST BUD

PLAYING GO FISH
LYONYA CARD HOUSE IS THE BIGGEST
All in all, it's been a good week. Carol had a 24-hour something on Wednesday but, after prayer and an all afternoon nap, was fine the next day. There are several changes going on as far as residents in the apartment where we are staying. Pray we move to the next location at the right time.

Steve goes tomorrow for a haircut...we will see if they can do flat tops here or if he ends up with a new look. Pictures tomorrow, unless it needs to grow out first!

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. (28 years) We considered going to Moscow for our 25th, so glad we waited to come to Odessa for such a time as this!

Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.

Blessings,

ANDREI'S DRAWING OF THE THREE OF US

Catching Up

It’s been a few days and there is a lot to catch up.
Friday the 21st we visited with Andrei in the morning at #9. All his little friends gathered around.

They wanted us to watch their soccer game, they wanted to play games with us, teach us new words, they wanted attention. The workers at this orphanage seem to really care for the children, but they are still are one of a group. They still have no parents to tuck them in or kiss a hurt. Several times we saw an older child comfort a smaller one.


One interesting thing in this country and particularly in the orphanages are the animals. Stray dogs and cats are everywhere. In the orphanages however the dogs are extremely protective of the children. You have to be very careful. If someone comes to visit, the dogs will not let them near the children unless the children intervene. We saw one man get nipped. Several of the dogs at #9 let us know that we were not welcome. Andrei and his friends jumped up and popped the dogs on the head and the dogs backed down. Eventually though when we pulled out snacks, the dogs befriended us!








Later in the day we spent time with Lyonya, Pasha and Galia. They wanted to show us where they swim in the Black Sea. It’s beautiful. It’s also frightening to think of all the children out there with little to no supervision. (Just a parent’s point of view.) I’m sure to them it’s just life, not even an adventure.



The one striking difference to us is the litter at the sea side. There are broken bottles everywhere around the sea. When someone finishes with a drink they just toss it in the water or on the shore. I guess the 1970’s litter campaign in the US changed our way of thinking more than we realized.

Saturday the 22nd we had to go downtown at noon to have documents notarized and prepared for filing. Being right in the middle of the day it messed up our visitation with the children. Monday would be the Ukrainian Independence Day though so we were happy to get something accomplished on Saturday. We decided to shop for groceries and return to the apartment for a quiet evening. We listened to our church’s sermon from the week before. It was so nice to hear Pastor Stephen’s familiar voice.

Sunday the 23rd was a very busy day. We had 40 minute bus ride to #9 and a great visit with Andrei.Then a 40 minute bus ride back to the apartment by 1pm.

The older children had asked for specific food. Pasha wanted milk, Lyonya asked for juice, and Galia wanted meat. So we cooked a picnic to take back to them for the afternoon. We rode the bus back to the camp just in time to join them at the Black Sea for a swim. Their tutor, Anastasia, was there to visit also. She knows a little English so we had a nice time chatting. The older boys went for a swim while we visited with Galia and Igor at the shore.



Afterward we gave them each the chicken and potatoes we had brought along with juice, milk and Sprite. It is so amazing to watch as hungry children take the little they have and instead of hoarding it or devouring it they call to their friends and share. They want to make sure everyone has some.

We only stayed a few hours because we had a 40 minute bus ride back and then were to meet Jenya and his girlfriend Marianna. Our close friends in Columbia, Steven and Cameron, have been corresponding with Marianna and her brother Vladik for the last year. A few months passed before we realized that Marianna was dating Jenya, and that she is like a big sister to our four. How amazing is that!

We had about 30 minutes to freshen up grabbed a taxi and get downtown to meet Jenya and Marianna. It was an incredible evening with the two of them. Jenya was so happy for us to meet Marianna. She is such a special girl. She graduated from the orphanage last May and has just started to study to be a hair stylist. The two of them spent the evening showing us all the sights of Odessa we could see in 3 hours.

Marianna grabbed Carol by the hand and took off running through the city. Steve and Jenya just tried to keep up. In a society where all odds are against them, they are trying so hard to rise above their beginnings. It was so special that these two young people would give us their time. They are both so special and I know the Lord has an incredible plan for their lives. We have planned to meet several more times before we leave. Please pray for our time with them.







We finally made it home that night. Even had a call from our facilitator at 11pm as she was worried we might be lost. Nope, not yet. Our Ukrainian friends have taken real good care of us, and most importantly, God has gone before us each step of the way. It also helped that when we missed our bus stop that the driver had pity and turned around for us and took us back. (He got a good tip that night! :o)



Please continue to pray for our time here, and specifically for
1) A court date on the appointed day with a favorable judge,
2) Continued connections with locals and local missionaries for possible future projects, and
3) For finances to cover everything needed.

It is a beautiful country with lovely people, people who need Jesus and the hope only He can offer.

A FEW PHOTOS TO ENJOY

LYONYA AND PASHA AT THE "SWIMMING HOLE" THAT MAKES A MOTHER'S HEART STOP


GALIA BLOWING UP A BALLOON


ONE OF ANDREI'S FRIENDS CHRISTINA DOES NOT WANT TO LET GO



STEVE AND DENIS (ANDREI'S FRIEND)

STEVE AND CAROL WITH ROSCOE AND DENIS (ANDREI'S FRIENDS)

GALIA AT THE BLACK SEA


LYONYA AND PASHA SHIVERING AFTER A SWIM IN THE BLACK SEA


ANDREI ON OUR CELL PHONE TALKING WITH HIS BROTHERS AND SISTER
IT HAD BEEN MONTHS SINCE THEY HAD SPOKEN

Grandma

We packed a picnic lunch of cheese, bread and fruit and left for Internot 4 to meet the children and their Grandma. We were so thankful she wanted to meet with us. Honestly we didn't know what her response would be. She greeted us with hugs and kisses, thanking us for coming to get the children. Her main concerns were that we are healthy and love the Lord. I do not know what that means to her but she seems to have a faith of some substance. She did provide us some photos of the children's grandfather and mother. I am so thankful we have that for the children. She is a very gracious woman and we plan to get together more in the next few weeks.

We met Dr. Paul and his wife Tania also. They had arrived at the Internot to help prepare it for the new school year. They were doing wallpaper, painting and needed some electrical help. It didn't take long to get put to work. Here is a photo of Igor helping Steve. Some of you know I've been praying for Igor. Oh how I would like to bring this boy home too. He ages out of the system in January. Please pray for a miracle for him.

The children left to go back to Camp and we sent the picnic lunch with them. Dr. Paul had planned a birthday party for Lyonya at camp that afternoon and asked if we be there. We wouldn't miss it for the world. Lyonya had a nice party with friends, cake and candy. Galia took lots of photos. A few of the older boys try to be tough but they melt with the slightest kindness. By the end of the day they would hug us without reservation. How hard it must be to see others chosen while you wait. We were told one boy prays each night for a family or that if that is not God's will that God would have something better in store for him.

Unfortunately we didn't have time to make it to visit Andrei. That was our only regret. We found a ride back to the apartment and spent time with Lena's family. Her mother and brother are visiting this week.

More detail to come....