February 27-March 3
The day of Viktor's arrival, Samantha, Tammy's niece, sweetly came by to help us straighten the house before we headed to the airport to wait for the flight from Cincinnati. We were so happy to see Viktor and Curtis coming down the escalator and ran to give them hugs. We took photos and introduced everyone to Viktor, even though we knew he probably couldn't remember names. After the airport greeting, everyone all went together to a steakhouse for dinner, where Dima, Sasha and Zhenya were coming from a soccer practice at the high school. Zhenya and Sasha were overjoyed to see Vitya. Zhenya gave him a big hug and shouted, Vitya!" Sasha kept hugging him saying, "Vitya! Vitya!!" After a nice dinner, we headed over to Ben and Jerry's ice cream store where Ginger's fiancé Eric met us. For those who don't know, this is something like Baskin Robbins and Viktor could hardly wait to get inside and choose his flavor. After this, we finally headed to our house for another little welcome party and cake and meeting Aunt Cyndy's family, Rebecca, Sarah, David, Chris and Ashley. Marmee and Papa had to give a call on the phone as Marmee has the shingles and has been very ill. Her voice brightened up when she talked to Viktor and told him she was so glad he was finally in Alabama. Viktor seemed very happy to meet everyone.
The next day after Viktor did a walk through of each room in our home as he stopped and examined all the paintings on the walls, saying things like "I like this perception, this depth." He even noticed small details such as silk flowers, and the plastic fruit on baskets in the kitchen. We've never had a young person be so observant of the things in our home in this way. The other kids didn't even glance at the pictures on the walls. We caught Zhenya examining a doorway spray that had silk flowers and fruit on it, but that was the only item of interest for him. Viktor stopped in front of a cabinet that holds Ginger's trophies, medals and other awards. Tammy said, "Ginger's" Viktor said, "ALL Ginger's?" Then she pointed out a few trophies that belonged to Brooke and Baylee, for dance and gymnastics, and then said, "All the rest are Ginger's." He stared at them for a few minutes and Tammy was wondering what was going through his mind. We know the Berdyansk sports teams had won trophies and first place awards. Yet, the boys have no personal trophies of their own like many American kids. She then took Viktor down the pathway outside to show him the lake. She said he smiled and looked around and then wanted to throw rocks in the water, so they did that for a few minutes. Then he looked around and waved his arms and said, "Mama, it's beautiful!"
After this, we had to do medicals for participation in sports, and getting one of Viktor's shots. We took him to an Italian restaurant near our home, one of our favorites with authentic Italian food, Cafe Tretuno. One reason we took him there was to show him a huge mural that our friend, Bruce, had painted on their dining room wall, a countryside scene of Italy. Being an artist, we knew he might appreciate seeing this. He did enjoy it and also really enjoyed his calzone. Later that night, we created something sort of Ukrainian, kielbasa and fried potatoes, at home, and then the boys had a soccer game. It just happened to be the first game they were approved to actually play. Up until then, they had just been practicing with the team. They were very excited Viktor was there to see them. It happened to be a cold day in Alabama, so we were wearing coats and sipping on hot chocolate as we cheered for the boys. Sasha was a star player, and Zhenya showed some good ability as well as being one of the fastest runners. After the game, we took Viktor shopping for some clothes and shoes. He gave all of his jeans away to his friends at the orphanage, only brought a couple of shirts and didn't even bring a belt with him! We had several things to buy. Fortunately, we had perfect timing and the store was having a huge clearance sale.
Then the next day, it was time to tour the school. Dima took him to lunch at Dairy Queen and then took him for his first Starbucks trip which he really enjoyed. Then it was time to register at the High School. We could tell he was a little nervous as we were walking in, but he was all smiles. The school asked a senior student from Russia to take us our tour, and Dima also helped translate because he was at this school for his 9th grade year. Sat. was spent fishing on our lake all day. Viktor enjoyed this so much we had to pull him away from it, because we had another welcome party to attend with the Thompsons and some other kids who had been adopted. We all met at Dairy Queen to have an ice cream cake for the boys that said "Welcome to America", and then everyone went ice skating. It was Viktor's first time to 
ice skate and he was determined to give it his best shot. Sun, the boys attended a church that has a Bible study for teenagers with a Russian translation, and after this, we attended our own church. Sun. afternoon was a soccer game and basketball in the park, fried chicken and biscuits for supper. We felt we had to introduce Viktor early on to some Southern food. :) Mon. was Viktor's first day of school and it went well. He came home with positive comments about the school and several Teachers, but was requesting however, to be placed in the 11th grade, instead of the 10th. The school chose the 10th for him to put him with his brothers, because they thought it would help him. But there is an 11th grade exchange student from Russia, (as well as a Russian 12th grader) who could help him, so we've put in the request to be moved. After supper, Dima took the boys to the Y to swim and play basketball.
In between all of this, Viktor is eating bananas like they are going out of style! Fortunately for us, they are the cheapest fruit in the market. While he's not a meat eater like his brothers, Viktor often visits the fruit basket on the kitchen table. He walks around with an apple, pear, plum, peach or banana in his hands all the time nibbling and munching. It's obvious he was a bit deprived of fruit at the orphanage. The other boys empty the fruit basket often, but Viktor seems to enjoy it even more than they do.
It has been a very full week so far. Things are going good and we're just all trying to get the routine and rules established. We're smiling, a little tired, but very, very thankful God has brought us all together.
February 23-February 26:
After waiting three weeks for Viktor to get his passport and police clearance and then book my flight, I was able to return to Kiev to complete his process. Misha brought Viktor to Kiev on the train early Sunday morning and they went to church with Yulia and then back to the Webber’s home while they waited on my flight to arrive. My flight arrived on schedule about 3:00pm Kiev time and I was able to easily get through the passport line and out to the city. I called Karen and they arrived after about five minutes. It was good to see Viktor, Misha and Karen. We walked to the van and headed to the apartment. After we got settled into the apartment, Karen left to go back to the Webber’s and Viktor, Misha and I went to get some pizza before Misha had to take the Metro to the train station. Viktor and I then went back to the apartment for some much needed rest.
Everything went well in Kiev with medicals and the Embassy. Around 2:30pm on Tuesday, we were able to obtain Viktor’s Visa! We then went back to the Emmanuel office and checked email and updated this blog.
January 30-February 2:We had one of the longest and most stressful days of our life on Wednesday, January 30. Misha and I spent all morning and early afternoon traveling to and waiting in Zaporozhe for the boy’s passports. When they finally were given to us, we had to rush to the bus station and travel to Tokmak. We thought that it would be impossible for us to get Zhenya’s remaining paperwork done and get to Melitopol before our train left the station. What we thought to be impossible was not impossible to God! Miraculously, we were able to make it to the station about ten minutes before the train arrived at the station. It was such a relief for all four of us to be able to board the train and find our cabin! We finally were 
able to breathe a sigh of relief as we waved goodbye to Don, Misha, Inna and Dima.
Everything went well in Kiev with medicals and the Embassy with the help of Valery and Karen. Around lunchtime on Friday, we were able to obtain the boys’ Visas! We went to bed early in preparation for our early morning flight. The taxi to the airport and the trip home went without a hitch. It was fun to see the boys on the plane and they seemed to enjoy the view from the plane and 
glancing out the windows from time to time. We had no problem with immigration in Cincinnati and were even blessed that we were able to get on an earlier flight than we expected. We knew the time change in flight might affect some of the people wanting to be at the airport to welcome the boys. Still, we were overjoyed to see the family members who were able to make it the Birmingham airport early Saturday evening.
Ginger, Dima, Ella, Brooke, Baylee, Sabrina, (a neighbor), and cousins Samantha and Rebecca were all waiting with big smiles as we descended the escalator at the airport. We were so happy to see their faces and get hugs from everyone. We did the introductions, took a few photos and were on our way. We went straight back to our house, since the kids had an ice cream cake that said, "Welcome to America" written on it waiting for the boys, and Marmee and Papa, (Grandparents) would be meeting us there, as well as more cousins, David, Sarah, Chris and his wife, Ashley, Aunt Cyndy, and Uncle Vic. We all had a wonderful time eating ice cream cake and sitting around the kitchen table together, playing pool, listening to Ginger and Rebecca play the guitar and sing, and taking photos with the boys. It was a great welcome and it was a relief to be home after a very long, eventful process and trip.
The next day was Sunday, so after some much needed sleep, we all got up and went to church. This service was the boys' first time to ever attend church, so it was very special for us. They seemed to enjoy the music, but of course, we realized they couldn't understand the message. We were touched so many church members made a special effort to come up to the boys after the service and introduce themselves and welcome them. After church, we headed to Habaneros, a brightly decorated, festive Mexican restaurant in Hoover, to celebrate the boys' arrival. We had a very long table to seat our family of 10, plus some of Aunt Cyndy's 
family, 7 people, plus one of Dima's good friends from work. We all had a good time laughing and talking and watching the boys experience their first Mexican meal. They were happy enough, but didn't seem to care for the Spanish soup Dima ordered for them. They tried to be courteous and eat as much as they could. Dima loves it and asked them "En ravitza??" "Do you like it?" He wanted to say, "Why don't you like it?" because this is Dima's favorite soup and he was surprised that they didn't love it. It was their first experience with sliced avocado, so they weren't too sure about that bright, green stuff in their soup!
After lunch, the boys went with Dima and his friend to the park to play soccer. Then later that night, we were supposed to all go to Karen and Alan Thompson's (another adoptive family) house to watch the Super Bowl. However, Tammy fell asleep and we had to admit we were all pretty tired. Cousins, Rebecca, Sarah, and David came over and watched the Super Bowl, played pool, ping pong and ate pizza with Curtis and the kids, while Tammy still did not ever wake up from her sleep. As soon as the Super Bowl was over, Tammy woke up and asked if we were still going to the Thompsons. We all laughed and told her the game was over.
The next day, Dima went with us to take the boys to tour our local Y, and get their membership photo passes, and then we went for their sports Medicals. This took a long time because the doctor's office was full. The boys were scheduled to practice soccer, so after the doctor, Curtis and Dima had to rush with them to Hibbett’s Sporting Goods to get some soccer gear. It was nice for them to get to play soccer after not playing for months in Ukraine due to the cold weather. The next day we had appointment to register the boys at Pelham high school. They also took a tour of the school, met some other Russian speaking students, the Principal, two ESL teachers, and coaches. That night, Ginger and Samantha came by and along with Ella, and took the boys to our largest mall, The Galleria, to get some shirts and jeans. The boys were very anxious to start school, so we were glad that they were able to start the next day. We were surprised we didn't even have to wake them up that morning, and actually heard them stirring around and taking their showers by 5:30 am! They were excited to be going to an American school. They were ready and standing outside at the end of our driveway with Brooke and Ella, waiting for the bus by 6:40 am. The bus arrives @ 6:45 and within minutes; the four kids were on their way.
We've been in a routine since then of school, soccer practice, supper, and then either going to the park for soccer, or to the Y to play basketball, swim, get in the Jacuzzi, or visiting the fitness, work out stations. These boys are very ACTIVE and energetic. They aren't used to being still. Whew! We have to break way from them at times and let Dima take over, just to have some rest. They are in high gear all the time. It's good of course, because it challenges us to be more active, but other times, we're pooped.
We knew Curtis would have to return to Ukraine soon to get Viktor and he would be gone for about a week. So, we tried to get in some fun activities with the boys. We've had a couple of ice skating times, a trip to the Birmingham Zoo, playing games at the bowling alley, and driving up to the top of Bluff Park to see the view and eat hamburgers and hotdogs. We also got to meet some other kids who have been adopted from Ukraine at a birthday party for Alexa Thompson. Ella was actually the only one invited as it was a Girls only party, but the boys went with us to take Ella to Alexa's house and to meet the Thompson family. It was quite a sight watching the boys as pretty girls who spoke Russian kept arriving and getting out of their cars, one after the other. From the smiles on the boys' faces, we knew they must be thinking Birmingham was OK! :)
One very neat thing that happened while at the Thompson's was meeting Christina, a friend of both Vitya and Sasha's from Ukraine. Christina was adopted from Zaporozhe, the same region as Vitya and Sasha, and knew the boys from summer camp. She was so excited to see Sasha and we could tell he was equally happy and amazed to find her here in Birmingham. It was a nice surprise for both of them.
We have all enjoyed the first few weeks with the boys. It has been busy and eventful and everyone is trying to adjust. We're sure that after Viktor arrives, it will be even better to have everyone together.
January 29: I want to thank everyone for the many supportive, personal emails we've received since we traveled to Ukraine in December. I realize not everyone feels comfortable posting comments on this blog, for others to read. So, whether private or public, your encouragement is appreciated. The emails that have contained scripture are most appreciated and we've really taken those to heart. Trust us, we'll save each one and will put in a special place for these boys to someday read.We'll be able to pick up International passports in Zaporizhzhia, go back to Takmak for the military release, go to Molochansk to sign Zhenya's papers, and leave tomorrow for Kiev. Thank you to everyone for your prayers. We know you're all in your daily grind at home, and yet you've taken time to support us in our process. At this point, we're ready to go home. Our oldest daughter, Ginger, (almost 22, soon to be married) is about to jump out of her skin with excitement because she found her dream condo in downtown Bham, (a loft), just like she wanted. They accepted her offer today and we can't be there to celebrate with her. Our neice, Rebecca is a basketball superstar right now at her high school, written up in the home town paper. We hate we missed her big game. She was the leading player even after surgery to both ankles and a long rehab. We miss everyone and are looking forward to getting back home with these boys! ~We may not have a chance to post more before we get back home due to travel and tight schedules in Kiev.
January 27: I was feeling much better when we woke up about 8:00am on Sunday morning so we decided that we would go to church even though we weren’t sure how much we would be able to understand. Although our taxi was a little late, we were still able to get to the service before it started. We were able to meet Ernie, Don’s friend who heads up the ministry here in Berdyansk before praise and worship began. We were glad that they repeated some of the songs that we had sung in December so that we were able to partially join in singing “Esoos” and other familiar words as they appeared on the overhead projector. When it came time for the sermon, we were surprised to see Ernie get up and start talking in English. As it turned out, he was preaching and Sergey was interpreting so we were probably able to understand the message better than the rest of congregation. He spoke on John 6 and in general how we should daily try to be more like Jesus. He challenged everyone to read the whole book of John and write down every attribute that we could find of Jesus and then pick our top 5 to work on in our own lives. He also used several good illustrations to get his point across. When the sermon was over, we participated in the offering march where everyone takes their offering to the front of the church before having a time for testimonies. One older man went to the front of the church and spoke for a few minutes and then broke into singing several hymns as the congregation joined in. He had a beautiful tenor operatic voice and obviously loved God with all of his heart. Another very short little woman came to the front and shared a poem about God. When the service ended, this little woman came up to Tamara and gave her a beautiful handmade placemat out of a bag she was carrying. It touched our hearts that one so obviously poor in a monetary sense was so obedient to give what she had to strangers like us. We looked in the church bookstore before catching a taxi back to the hotel where we ate lunch and then went back to our room to rest since the boys had an activity that they wanted to participate in all day.
After about a two hour nap, I went to the store to get us some groceries and then got on the Internet to upload several days of blogs and check email. When I got back to the room, Ginger called and talked to us for quite a while about a condo that she is very interested in before we finally went back to bed for the night.
January 26: I slept until after 9:00am and only got up then because I knew that the hot water would be turned off at 10:00am and I better get my shower so that we could go and eat breakfast. After breakfast, we called Viktor to see what they were doing today. They told us that they wanted us to come and see them and play some ping pong and indoor football. We told them that we would be there in a few minutes and they seemed very happy. When we walked into the orphanage, Tamara decided to hide behind a wall in the hallway so they wouldn’t see her. She startled them as she jumped out when I walked them by where she was hiding. Sasha pulled out a yellow handmade bracelet for Tammy and tied it on her wrist. Viktor went to get the key to the ping pong room and we talked with Sasha. We enjoyed playing together for over an hour and then decided to go to the computer room. We checked our email and then showed them our blog and website. Viktor was very interested in this and to our surprise started reading what we had written out loud to Tamara. We didn’t realize he could read English so well. Sasha was interested for a few minutes but then decided that he wanted to play “Need for Speed” on another computer. He asked me to come over and watch him while Viktor continue to read different pages. Sasha kept asking me to try the game and I finally agreed (although I’m not very good). I played on one computer and he played on the on next to me. If I paused, he would smile at me and say, “Drive!” He seemed to enjoy that fact that we were playing together.
The lunch bell rang and the boys told us that they were going to eat. After only 10 minutes, they were back with a juice box and some candy for us. Viktor left and then came back to ask us if we could eat lunch with Galina in the kitchen. We agreed and they escorted us to a small dining room next to the kitchen. There was quite a spread including chicken soup, cabbage salad, fish, shepherd’s pie, bread, kielbasa, turkey, cheese, bread, poppy seed rolls with jam, and cookies. We enjoyed sitting and talking with Galina with the boys’ help. After we got back from eating lunch, Sasha played FIFA 2008 and I watched him play several games as Liverpool before it was time for them to play their indoor football game at 4:00pm. We watched and cheered for about 2 hours as they played a very fast paced game of 4 on 4 in the gymnasium. Both boys played very well and enjoyed having their parents affirm them even though the games were just for recreation. We were touched by the smiles on their faces when they heard us cheer for them when they made a good play. When the games were finished, we all went to get something to drink in the cafeteria and Viktor showed his paintings to Tamara. It was getting late, so Viktor asked if he could call a taxi for us. When this arrived, we all embraced as they escorted us to the back door of cafeteria so that we wouldn't have to walk all the way around the building in the cold. When we got back to our room I called Viktor to let him know that we were safe (since he had asked that I do so). We’re so impressed with the good manners these boys have, and they’re so considerate of us. I then tried to catch up on the blog for the last three days and Tamara went on to bed. It had been a very fun and happy day.
January 25: It was very hard for me to wake up the next morning because I had not been able to go to sleep as early as I had needed to the night before due to the kids calling and wanting to talk to us. I made my way to eat breakfast and then joined Misha in the taxi. We drove to the orphanage where we picked up Zhenya and gave Sasha his birth certificate and passport so that he could go and make a notarized copy of it while we were gone. Once again, our drive made very good time and we made it to the Tax Office by about 9:30am. There wasn’t a very long line so Misha was able to quickly speak to a lady about our situation. After showing her the Court Decree, passport and other documents that she needed, she quickly made the two corrections in the database. She was very apologetic and more that willing to promise that she would call the office in Zaporozhe and tell them that the changes had been made. She also gave Misha their phone number so that we could follow up with them. We then to the taxi to Molochansk and began looking for the doctor. When we couldn’t find her at first, the Director’s secretary arrived and was able to call someone to bring the form to the office. We compared the form to Viktor’s form and found that it looked the same. After saying goodbye to Zhenya, we headed back to Berdyansk.
On our way back, Sasha called to tell us that he had completed his mission and that he and Viktor would like for us to go with them to the bank when we got back to Berdyansk. Misha and I agreed to go even though we were both ready for a nap. When the bank reopened at 2:00pm, we all walked the several blocks to the bank where the boys had their accounts. Viktor had already withdrawn the rest of his money and had most of it changed into dollars but since Sasha was only 16, he needed me to sign with him to withdraw his money and close his account. The bank manager assisted us with the process and it only took about 20 minutes. I asked the boys if they wanted to get some lunch before they went back to the orphanage and they said that they did so we decided to eat at the Cossack Cafeteria. We all enjoyed our meals and talking with Misha’s help and the boys asked me to come and play ping pong with them for a while. We walked back to the hotel and I went to the room to check on Tamara. She wasn’t feeling well so she told me to just go and be with the boys for a while and she would rest. I was starting to feel like I was getting the same cold that Tamara had been struggling with for days but I wanted to have some fun with the boys (especially since Sasha had told me that he was going to beat me).
When I got to the orphanage, Sasha showed me a book of English phrases that he had bought and I explained several that he had questions about to both of the boys. Galina came down the hall toward us and said she wanted to show me some of the items that they had received from the shipment that we had sent. I asked Viktor to take pictures because I had not brought my camera with me. We took pictures of the soccer goal, pillows, blankets, and towels. She also told me that all the clothes had been distributed to the children. After this, it was time for the ping pong challenge. First, I played Viktor a few games which ended in a 2-2 tie while Sasha played against a friend of theirs (Andre). I thought that I was ready for Sasha but I guess I must be out of practice since he beat me three straight games with each one having a larger margin of victory. I congratulated him on beating me soundly and then quickly decided that we should play doubles the rest of the time with him as my partner. It was dark when I told them that I needed to go back to the hotel. Viktor called a taxi for me and they walked with me to leave when it arrived. When I got back to the room, Tamara and I talked and I rested for a while before we went downstairs for dinner. After dinner, I went to be and as soon as my head hit the pillow, I went to sleep.
Friday, January 25th, Middle of the night until around 4:00am.
Well, I’m finding myself back in the book of Psalms….104. It’s especially beautiful in the Old King James version and I happen to have a tiny one with me. It starts out with “Bless the Lord O my soul. O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment, who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters; who maketh the clouds his chariot; who walketh among the wings of the wind. Who maketh his angels spirits, his ministers a flaming fire; who laid the foundation of the earth, that it should not be removed forever. Thou coveredest it with the deep as a garment; the waters stood above the mountains……….”
I somehow feel I’m the only one awake in this dark, quiet, seaport city. As I look intently out the window in our little room, it’s just me and a soft, ivory moon staring back at each other. I feel as though I’m intruding on his privacy. I stretch and yawn as he hangs there, immobile, like a proud ruler of the midnight and dawn. I look out over the shadowy darkness of Berdyansk. I can’t believe I’m here for a third time, attempting to adopt three more older children. Berdyansk has been like a delivery room for me over the past 6 ½ years, as four of our children were born here in a village on the outskirts of town. Now, God has brought us back here, to this tiny piece of the world for three more. I gaze upward out over the bare trees and remember how I prayed and told the Lord I would go back to Berdyansk for the adoption only in warm weather. Being by the sea, Berdyansk can have icy winds that cut through you like a knife. In Alabama, we fry eggs on the sidewalk in hot, humid summers and sometimes wear no jackets at Christmas. I smile, very aware of the fact that He is God. He heard me, but he didn’t take into consideration my “condition”. It’s January and the glass on the window in front of me is icy. I can hear the wind outside. I could breathe hard and the windows would frost. I shiver as I realize that sometimes my prayers are cold and selfish.
I look out again into this lonely city called Berdyansk. I know the murky sea is just over and behind some buildings. Salty waves are tossing in the breeze, if at the moment there is not 4 feet of solid ice covering the top! Not far away are three boys peacefully sleeping in an orphanage where they first entered 9 years ago. That was the beginning of their struggle as “orphans” shortly after their young Mother died. Since that time, they have never seen anyone in their extended family again. I gaze upward, toward heaven, where I know she must be.
Just as in that timeless Psalm,…. the sky is like a charcoal curtain stretched out with stars like scattered specks of silver. I’m waiting here in the stillness of this morning at the verge of dawn, in more ways than one. I must admit, no matter how much we do, or how busy our day has been, I find myself anxiously waiting for that first ray of light to peek through over the distance. Right now, I’m listless as I stare out into the dark streets below. I read on and pause on a verse. “He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.” How often do I realize the moon was “appointed” by God to do a specific job for the whole universe? I highly take that ball of light for granted, I think. The town has a dimly lit glow, like soft candlelight. A passing car causes a flicker of light on the streets. I keep reading. “O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom, thou hast made them all; the earth is full of thy riches.” I think of God’s wisdom, not just as Creator, but as my Heavenly Father.
I know my prayers might not always line up with the will of God. I pray for something, and at times, God says ok, yes. Other times I pray and He says, that isn’t the plan. Still I look up at this round, huge lantern in the sky, called a moon, and I know it’s there because a wise, sovereign Creator hung it there long ago. I didn’t have anything to do with that. Compared to Him,…yes, I am very small. But I rejoice that I don’t have to worry about my own life! He made the moon and the stars and set the heavens with the span of His Hand. I’m in that very Hand that carved out the universe, and this minuscule corner of the world by the Azov Sea called Berdyansk. I glance back at the psalm. “So is this great and wide sea, wherein things are creeping innumerable and great beasts. There go the ships…..”
He is a Mighty, Awesome Creator, filled with love and wisdom and He made everything there is and he made my children. He created them with me in mind. He placed a love for them in my heart that I simply cannot comprehend. He brought me here for His own purposes. Despite all of this, I could walk away. The thought crossed our minds in a moment of uncertainty. I could say that I’ve had enough of the resistance and struggle. But I would miss the miracle of this moment and of this day and of His plan.
He made this Berdyansk morning just for me. I know it. He knew long ago when He formed me in my Mother’s womb; I would someday awaken in the early morning to peer out this window, and up into the dark sky wanting to question Him. But I don’t question Him. I choose to trust Him. I read on. “These wait all upon thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather; thou openest thy hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.”
I just said goodbye to two people who were like parents to me. They both died at Christmas after long illnesses…I lost a baby 3 years ago just before Christmas. It seems Christmas and winter have been full of grief over the past few years. Yet, God has changed my mourning to laughter. I can’t tell you how often on this trip I have burst into laughter. I am almost embarrassed as it has happened even in serious situations. It’s like I’m overflowing with joy and it just spills out regardless of the situation. The psalm continues, “The glory of the Lord shall endure forever; the Lord shall rejoice in his works.” I look at Sasha’s smile and his eyes and I see the sunrise. I can’t help but smile. I can’t help but laugh. I look at Vitya’s face and remember how I wept for him and his situation. Now, we’re here and I can embrace him and hear his laughter. I don’t know where you can find joy like this anywhere in the world. Simply doing God’s will brings joy. The verses end with,“ I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. My meditation of him shall be sweet; I will be glad in the Lord.” Zhenya was torn away from his brothers when he was seven and still hurting over the loss of his Mother. Now, he stands before me with open arms, wanting a hug. When he sees us, a smile breaks out, although he is more shy and tries not to show his emotions. Coming here was definitely part of His plan.
In creation we observe there is a time and a season for everything. I’ve had a season of mourning. I’ve had my time to cry and I walked that path and endured it. And I’m finding myself at the threshold of another season….. and I am laughing. How often do we give up in a difficult season, when there is another season about to begin that will bring us great delight? So, I thank God for this Berdyansk morning, a new beginning, another season. I thank God for this change in my life, and for leading me here, despite the difficulties along the way.
Soon, the struggles will fade in our memory. I pray that when I look back on this time, I won’t even remember the cold outside or the icy, unkindness of some of the officials, or the problems we faced. I pray all that remains in my memory are moments like this one…this quiet morning with God, Sasha’s radiant smile, Vitya’s glowing eyes and laughter, Zhenya’s warm hug.
If even the moon was appointed by God to be steady and sure for centuries, then surely I can stand still for a little while and trust a Wise, Sovereign Creator. I too can be still and simply shine in the darkness. And maybe, someone looking out their window one restless morning will see my light…and choose to trust God even more. ~
January 24: Thursday was to be a very full and exhausting day for Misha and me. Our first mission was to meet Viktor and Ileana at the Passport Office to get then new stamps for both Viktor and Sasha’s passports. We all met at the office about 9:15am and after about of hour of visits to different officials by Ileana, she completed the task and handed the corrected passports over to us before she returned to the orphanage. While we were waiting for Ileana, Misha called the Tax Office in Takmak and the Director to find out what was wrong with Zhenya’s form. Nothing was found to be out of order since the number had not changed and his new name was on the form. The next task was to get everything pulled together to file for Viktor’s passport. We made copies of the corrected passport, my translate passport, and Viktor’s birth certificate before going to the notary to obtain a notarized copy of the birth certificate. We then had to search several stores for two folders for the documents before Victor and Misha went to the bank to pay the application fee. I went back to the notary to pick up the certificate but they told me that Viktor would need to come so I called Misha and told him to send Viktor to get it. We then met together once more at the Passport Office and took our documents in to office number 8 so the man accepting the application could verify that everything was in order. He said that everything looked good but that we would need to have Galina sign and put her stamp on three forms. He also told Viktor that he needed to shave and change into a different color shirt before they could make his picture and that he should come back at 4:00pm. We decided to ride the bus to the orphanage which was probably a mistake since it took longer that we expected and we were then delayed further as we met with Galina because she needed to vent about Valery leaving us before the process was finished. I tried to defend Valery but it was a lost cause. Finally, she signed and stamped the forms and we called our taxi driver that was going to take Misha and me to Zaporozhe. We first had to go back to the Passport Office to deliver the application package. Unfortunately the door was locked for their lunch hour so we stood there for a few minutes trying to decide what we should do. Miraculously, at that very moment the man that we need to see walked out of the door on his way to lunch so Misha asked him what we should do. He told us to have Viktor bring everything with him at 4:00pm and the he would also help Viktor write a letter requesting expediting his processing. He also told us that he had to go to Zaporozhe the next morning so he would hand carry the application and give it to the office there. We couldn’t believe how God had helped us finish Viktor’s process and giving us such great favor. It was already almost 2:00pm when Misha and me left the office and headed on our way to Zaporozhe while Viktor went to get something to eat and wait for his appointment.
Normally, I wouldn’t want to ride in a taxi going almost 120 km/hr on the road to Zaporozhe but because I could tell that the car handled well and the driver was very careful while passing, I was glad that we were making such good time. Incredibly, we were in the outskirts of the city in less than two hours and arrived at the passport office a little after 4:30pm and went in to talk to Alexander about the corrections to Sasha’s passport and Medical Form and about Zhenya’s Tax ID. We also told Alexander that about Sasha’s birth certificate being reissued. After a few minutes of looking at the computer and the documents, he told Misha that if we brought a notarized copy of Sasha’s birth certificate with us when we came to pick up the passports that he would be able to process his application and we should be able to get his passport next Tuesday. Unfortunately, he still had problems with Zhenya’s Tax ID. It turned out that although nothing printed on the form was incorrect, the person in Takmak had failed to change his birth date and delete the previous information in the Father’s name field. He also told us that he needed a Medical Form for Zhenya as well but that we could bring it when we picked up his passport. The bad news was that we would need to go to Takmak and get the database updated before Zhenya’s application could be submitted and that this would mean that his passport would be delayed until Thursday or Friday. I couldn’t believe what Misha translated to me when he told me this and immediately asked Misha to please go back to Alexander and ask if there was anything that could be done to get Zhenya’s application back in synch with Sasha’s. The only hope that he could give us was for us to get the database changed ASAP and then call him and the Tax Offices in Zaporozhe and Kiev to tell everyone that the corrections had been made and to ask them to please get Zhenya’s passport finished as early as possible.
Since it was already 5:30pm and we were leaving Zaporozhe in rush hour traffic, we knew that we would have to accomplish this task the next morning. We stopped to get some dinner since we had not eaten anything since 8:00am and then headed back to Berdyansk. I prayed in the back seat for God to please help us get Zhenya’s passport on the same day as Sasha’s (Tuesday would be best but Wednesday at the latest). This would give us a chance to get the medicals and US Embassy documents and Visas completed before the weekend. When we finally arrived back at the Berdyansk Hotel, we were exhausted but we agreed to meet at 8:15am the next morning to take Zhenya to the Takmak tax office and then to the Molochansk orphanage to get the Medical Report.
January 23: Don, Misha and Inna picked us up at 8:15am and we picked the boys up about 8:30am and we all squeezed out way into the van for the trip to Zaporozhe to conquer birth certificate stamps, passports, and police clearances. It was much warmer but we had to deal with some bad fog as we got closer to Zaporozhe. When we reached the edge of town, we chose to try a new road which caused us to get lost for about 45 minutes before finally locating the birth certificate office about 11:30am. Misha and I hurried to the bank next door to pay the fee (all major fees to government offices in Ukraine are paid to their bank accounts and not at the office itself in order to eliminate theft and corruption) before going into the office. I wondered why there were not any people waiting outside the office door and when we knocked and entered the door we found out that they were supposed to only be doing office work and not accept anything from the public on Wednesday. My heart sunk for a moment before Misha began telling one of the ladies about our situation. After a few minutes, they agreed to handle our stamps but that the certificates would not be ready until 3:00pm. We were so glad that they would do them at all that we agreed and then headed for the passport office.
Once we entered the passport office and found Alexander (the man that Valery had been working with), we took out the package of required papers for all three boys. He looked at Viktor’s papers first and unfortunately pronounced to us that he would not be able to process them (just as we had feared). He said Viktor would need to file his paperwork in Berdyansk as any other adult even though he had been adopted and that this process could take as much as one month. He next began processing Sasha and Zhenya’s paperwork and found something wrong with each. Sasha (and Viktor) would have to take their internal passports back to Berdyansk and get a different stamp put in them to show that they were still living in Berdyansk. Zhenya’s problem would require him to get a new tax id form in Takmak and return in to Zaporozhe. They went ahead and took the Sasha and Zhenya’s pictures to transmit to Kiev but would require us to fix these issues and also give them an updated medical report with their new names on it, before they could receive their passports. Before Misha and I went and stood in a long line to make the payment at the bank, Alexander had told us that his office could process the police clearance forms but when we returned, he changed his mind (probably because we had already caused him to work through his lunch hour) and we had to go to the normal office to do this.
It took us a few minutes to locate the building since we had not been there before but the one man and one woman that were in the office were very helpful and friendly, even though she had to redo all the boys’ forms by hand. The craziest thing that happened to us was when we went to the bank to pay the fee, it was broken up into what seemed like 25 pieces and we had to wait for a slow dot matrix printer to print out the forms which I had to sign. This took what seemed like and eternity since it was already time for us to be back at the birth certificate office. We finally finished and rushed in to hopefully just grab the certificates and then finally go eat. Instead, they told us that two of the three certificates had been rendered void by a notary writing on the back. They had reissued them completely and after a little scare when I couldn’t find a translated copy of my passport at first, I signed several books before we had to go back to the bank one last time to pay a very small fee for them making copies.
There was nothing else that we could accomplish due to the time of day so we decided to go to McDonalds before heading back to Berdyansk. The boys all ordered Big Mac combos and then had hot fudge sundaes for desert and we all enjoyed fellowshipping in an environment that almost made you feel like you were back in America (until you tried to order off the menu). The trip home was very nice. We looked at photos of the kids and family trips on my laptop while Misha translated. Tammy told a long description about each of our children and their activities and personalities. We both answered any questions that the boys wanted to ask us about what life would be like in Alabama and the Swan family. We dropped the boys off at the orphanage and they hugged us goodbye. Don drove us to the hotel and I typed all of this blog while Tammy went to bed for some well deserved rest.
I went to the passport office at 8:00am only to find out that it didn’t open until 9:00am. After coming back to the hotel for a few minutes, I returned about 9:00 and they finally opened the doors at about 9:10am. A few minutes later Ileana and the boys arrived. Unfortunately, we couldn’t begin the process of getting their corrected passports until the Director of the passport office arrived about an hour later. The boys had to have their pictures retaken and we had to pay the fee again even though it was their fault the original passports had been done incorrectly. About 10:30, Ileana came over to me after talking to the Director and told me that we would have to pick up the new passports on Thursday! This would not work at all for our process schedule so we called Valery on his cell phone and Ileana carried the phone into the office for him to speak to the Directory. When she came back out, the news was a little better; we could pick them up after 3:00pm.
In order to not waste the whole day and at least accomplish something that we needed to do, we decided to go to Molochansk and pick up Zhenya so that he could be with us for at least the next couple of days. Don was going to take us but realized that he wouldn’t have enough time so we called one of our taxi drivers, Sasha to take us. We also took Misha (a college student who had helped Don teach Viktor and Sasha English) along with us to serve as our translator. After stopping in Takmak to buy a couple of torts and some drinks to share with some of Zhenya’s friends, we finally bounced our way to the Molochansk orphanage. We went into the Director’s office and the lawyer, Olga, also joined us. They told us that we would need to follow a more strict set of steps before signing the paper that officially released Zhenya into our care. The most disturbing point was that they insisted that Valery would have to be present in order to “put his mark” on the document since he was the facilitator/licensed translator that had been involved with our process up to this point. They also told us which days certain offices were closed that had to be part of this process and we attempted to determine which day we could complete all the required steps. We also told the Director that we would like to make a donation to the orphanage and for him to be thinking of the greatest needs that they had. He also had Zhenya’s transcript ready and gave it to us. Meanwhile, back in Berdyansk, Viktor and Sasha picked up their new passports and took copies of them to the tax office and obtained their new tax id forms.
When we asked what we should do about a small party with the torts and drinks, we were told to let Zhenya take them to the dorm and just share with his friends. We asked how we could find Zhenya which ended up not to be very difficult since he was waiting outside the office door when we opened it. After giving him hugs and showing him the food, he took off for the dorm. We followed him there after a little delay talking to one of his caregivers who wanted to check us out to make sure that we would love him as much as she did. When we got to Zhenya’s floor, he informed us that they had all just eaten and he would rather we all just go ahead and leave for Berdyansk and let his friends have a party without him later. We thought this was a little strange but were able to get him to pose for some pictures with his friends before heading out. We had planned to take the boys to see National Treasure, Book of Secrets when we got back to Berdyansk and ate some supper but when we found our that it didn’t start until 9:30pm, we decided to just eat and then go to the orphanage for a while to spend some time with all three boys together.
When we arrived, we found the Viktor and Sasha in the cafeteria. Sveta, the Assistant Director was also there and offered us some tea. While we were drinking our tea, Tamara complimented Sveta on her beautiful hair clip. Much to our surprise, she grabbed it from her hair and forced Tamara to take it from her even though we both pleaded for her to keep it. She is such a kind and sweet person and she cares about the children very much. Since the ping pong room had been locked, we decided to go upstairs to the room where we had the party and talk for a while with Misha’s help. We explained as much as possible to the boys about the remaining steps that were left before we could go home to Alabama and answered any questions that they had. After Don arrived to pick us up, Tamara and I decided to go with him, Inna, and Misha to Don’s apartment to see what it and the other apartment looked like. We ended up staying and talking about potential new ministry opportunities to adoptive families and mission groups until about 10:00pm before they took us back to the hotel.
From Tammy: It’s January 22, very early in the morning. Right now, I have a very bad cold and am achy and congested. I’m constantly sneezing. Curtis has been so sweet to have room service bring several meals and hot tea for me. I agree with him that for only a dollar extra, this is a great help. I’m finally on an antibiotic, so I hope I’ll feel better soon. I’ve been going to sleep at night around 11:00 pm and then waking up at 2:30 or 3:00 am every morning and haven’t been able to go back to sleep. So, I’ve been using the time to read my Bible and devotions. I also spend a good bit of time walking around the room with my hands lifted praying and interceding for our process and our children/family back home. I’m praying that our needs will be met and that God will remove obstacles. I have to constantly keep the lines of communication open between me and God. I can’t do this without Him, because there are too many unknowns. I have to totally rely on Him and ask for His help. I’m sensing His presence with us and take note of little blessings along the way. He is a God of details and cares about us every step of the way, like in the cafe when Curtis was trying to order our food a few days ago. We’re usually the only ones around who can speak English. Total there are only 8 Americans in Berdyansk. Hearing someone speak English is rare here. He didn’t know how to say chicken or ham sandwiches and was struggling, and this woman we’ve never seen before just walked up who could speak English/Russian and helped him order his food. He came back to the room with exactly what I wanted, a chicken sandwich. I said, “How did you get this? And he told me the story of the woman appearing at just the right moment. God cares about times like that when we really do need his help, like when we’re facing these officials who present great obstacles in our adoption process, or when we’re just trying to order a sandwich. He is a God of love and compassion. His Word is so true that He will never leave or forsake us. He is a wonderful God.
January 20-21: Neither one of us were able to sleep well on Saturday night. It was almost dawn when we finally went into a deep sleep and I was the first to wake up at almost 11:00am. Obviously church was out of the picture so we decided to just make our Sunday a day of rest. The one exception was that I decided to wash some clothes in our bathroom sink. I hope you get a laugh out of what happened to my looooooong johns. We did venture out for a late lunch and enjoyed walking in the snow. After we got back to the room, Valery told me that he needed to talk to me. He had just found out that he would need to travel back to Kiev on Monday night to meet another couple at the airport. I was a little shocked to hear this but felt that everything would be well on its way to being finished by the time he left and that we could handle the rest by talking to him on the phone when necessary.
Monday, January 21 was supposed to have been the busiest day of our process. We needed to go to the tax office and get Viktor and Sasha’s new forms to take with us to Zaporozhe and then hit the road to Molochansk to pick up Zhenya before going to Zaporozhe to get stamps for their birth certificates and apply for their passports. Tamara and I got up early after another almost sleepless night and were ready to eat breakfast as soon as the cafe opened while Valery went to the tax office. When Valery returned for the office, we could tell by his expression that he didn’t have good news. The first thing that he said to us in his heavy Russian accent was “Let us go sit down, we need to talk”. It turned out that the Berdyansk passport office had made an error on both Viktor and Sasha’s passports that would cause them to have to be reissued before we could get their tax ID and be able to go to Zaporozhe. Even worse news was delivered when Valery reminded us that the passport office was closed on Monday. I couldn’t believe this was happening to us, just because they had put the boys’ new middle names on the line reserved for the derivative of the father’s name (like Dimitryvich) would normally go. Even after we both went back to plead our case and Galina (the orphanage director) called on our behalf, the tax office and the Zaporozhe passport office would not agree to let this go. I was severely crushed at first, mostly due to my knowledge that this meant that we would lose a whole day and then have to try to get new passports and then do everything on Tuesday that we should have done on Monday without Valery.
My first (and as usual, selfish) reaction to this situation was for Tamara and I complete everything that would require both of us in Berdyansk and Molochansk and then go to the US Embassy in Kiev on Wednesday for Tamara to sign papers. This would allow us to make our flights back and for me to come back in a few weeks when all the dust settled on our messed up process and take all the boys home. After praying and talking with both Tamara and Karen Springs (with Project Emmanuel in Kiev), I realized however that I was just angry and not trusting that God was big enough to help us navigate through this bureaucratic maze (even without Valery’s physical presence). Karen promised to help me by contacting the airlines for me about out potential changes. I was convicted that Jesus didn’t choose the easy way out; He walked the hardest road that anyone ever could to pay for our sins on the cross. We can go home on our scheduled flight Thurs. or we can stay in Ukraine a few more days and face the unknown obstacles. We can walk through this and just try to get the boys home with us as soon as we can. It is going to require much more faith to stay with this being our second trip, on our 9th day and having already been away from home 13 days in Dec. for the first trip. We had to miss Christmas Day with our kids and family. Yesterday was Ella’s birthday and we’ll have to celebrate when we return home. We’ve had to juggle things around and accept things being different from the way we had planned. God’s will isn’t always convenient. We decided to go forward and let God “make our paths straight” and take it one day at a time to see what He reveals to us. I realize that we can’t see the future but He already knows what is going to happen.
We decided to arrange with Galina for us to come sign the papers that allow us to take the boys from the orphanage when we leave in order to get that part of the process out of the way before Valery left. We picked up the Inspector and drove to the orphanage. When we entered Galina’s office, she greeted us and presented us with a stack of the boys’ pictures and diplomas. She then brought in the only two girls that were still left at the orphanage from the 2B class with Kristina Spangler. Galina wanted us to take a picture of the girls to send to Kristina. The girls told us that they also remembered our daughter Brooke (a.k.a. Yulia). We could hear Valery and Olga (the school lawyer) discussing the passport situation as they prepared the papers for us to sign. After we finished signing the forms, Viktor and Sasha came in and we to the library to talk and look at the suitcase that we purchased for Sasha while Valery went back to town for a few last minute errands. We enjoyed talking with the boys and were disappointed when we saw Valery enter the room because we knew we would have to return to the hotel. I knew that he needed to give me all the documents that we would need to complete our process and time was running short for him to make it to Melitopol in time to catch the 7:00pm train to Kiev. Viktor walked us to the taxi and hugged us goodbye, while Sasha took his new suitcase back to his room.
When we got back to the hotel, Valery carefully explained what we would need to do and how he had organized the documents for each office in folders for me. Finally, I felt comfortable that with the help of God, the boys and Misha, a college student friend of our Missionary friend Don Norton (who volunteered to drive us to Zaporozhe) we could make it. Valery reluctantly left our room and headed off to Melitopol. Hopefully, the next time we see each other is when Tamara, Viktor, Zhenya, Sasha and I arrive in Kiev to finish the process at the US Embassy. That is what I am asking God to do for us!
After all the stress of the day, lack of sleep, and Tamara fighting a bad head cold, we had the cafe bring dinner to our room and went to bed early. We thought for only a dollar extra, we would take advantage of this service, especially since it was rainy and cold outside. Lord, please bless us tomorrow with all the answers to prayers that we need. Amen.
January 19: I woke up about 9:00am and got ready to go to the passport office and meet Valery and the boys. Since Tamara told me that she had not been able to sleep from 2:00 -7:00 am, I quietly left the room so that she could rest. The boys and the orphanage lawyer arrived a few minutes after I did and then Valery got there about ten minutes later. The passports were ready as promised but it took about two hours for the boys to complete some other forms that were required. Finally, everything was finished and Valery, the boys and I went to a shop to get some copies made of the new passports and our passports before the boys went back to the orphanage and we returned to the hotel.Tamara was still resting so I went downstairs to eat breakfast/lunch and to bring something back to the room. After staying in the room for a couple of hours, Valery called and told me that Galina would be leaving in about thirty minutes and that I needed to come and talk with her about several things. I left immediately and spent some time discussing the status of Dima, Ella, Brooke, and Baylee’s little brother, Sasha and their birth-mom. We then talked about the boys’ money and their wishes to give a donation for repairs to the orphanage. We were very touched by the generosity and 
unselfishness of Vitya and Sasha. Due to the death of their Mother when they were younger, they have always received a small check from the Government. They have somehow managed to save several thousand dollars each. Today, they went to the bank and withdrew $2,000 each and presented $4,000 to Galina to use for Orphanage repairs and replacements. We were pretty blown away that they did this! We told them we had just sent a huge shipment for Berdyansk and we knew of many groups who were blessing and helping the school. Nothing could sway them from the burden they had and they were determined to give the donation. They said they knew of some specific needs the orphanage has, such as windows that needs replacing, and they wanted to provide the funds for this. We have to praise GOD for these boys and for their hearts to care for those children who being left behind. Thank you, God, for their unselfish hearts which is a huge blessing for us!
After this we went on a tour for me to take pictures of improvements that had recently been made using gifts from American sponsors (including the water purification system that our small group at church had sent). By the time we finished the photo tour, it was time for the boys’ party. Valery and I stayed for the first part of the party which began with toasts made with peach soda and Pepsi. I took pictures of their friends and teachers enjoying the cakes and tangerines. Viktor and Sasha made a goody bag for their Mom that included cake, candy and tangerines before we left for the hotel. After writing this blog, we went down to eat supper and then checked email and uploaded blogs.
Jan. 18: (By Tammy) We met Valery at the Notary’s office and had to have the boys’ Passport applications notarized. After this, we went to some indoor shops across the street, (a mini mall) and found some rolling suitcases for Zhenya and Sasha suitable enough to be considered carry on size. We then made our way back to the hotel. Valery was off again to the bank for some business and to exchange some money for us. The school will be giving Viktor and Sasha a party/dance in their honor tonight, so we’ll also provide some fruit and tortes (cakes) for this event. Curtis braved the outdoor market to purchase some very large boxes of tangerines. The children rarely have fresh fruit to eat in the orphanages and usually are not given any citrus fruit in the winter. So, we thought it would be nice to bless them at the party with some fresh fruit.
We’re a little concerned that because of all the paperwork having to be done in Berdyansk and Zaporozhe that we haven’t even seen Zhenya yet. We’ll see him tomorrow when we have to go back to Zaporozhe for the Foreign Passport photos and then back to Takmak, because all three boys have to be present for this. We’ll also be spending time with him in Kiev before we leave. We hope this will be ok for him and we won’t feel like total strangers when we leave for the U.S. We have to admit we’re disappointed about Viktor not being able to go with us and know he is too. We’re trying to have good attitudes and trust God there is a reason he has to be delayed. We know we’ll all be together in Alabama soon.
As I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night for several hours, I’ve been turning to God’s Word to calm my heart and strengthen my trust in Him. Psalm 146 was especially encouraging to me last night, that He cares for the cause of the orphan and obviously cares for those involved in pleading their case. A portion of it reads, “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God: who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in it, who knows truth forever: who executes judgment for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets free the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind, the Lord raises them that are bowed down, and the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord preserves the strangers; He relieves the fatherless and the widow; but the way of the wicked he turns upside down. The Lord shall reign forever, even your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord.” So, I know that God is actively involved in the process of caring for orphans and He surely sees our situation right now.
(By Curtis) Tamara wasn’t feeling well so only Valery and I went to the orphanage about 4:00pm to take the cakes and tangerines and to talk with Galina about a few things. When we arrived, we could tell that there was something was very wrong by the sound of Galina’s voice on the phone. One of her assistants sent for the boys and the three of us went out in the hall to talk while Galina finished her conversation. Much to our surprise, Viktor told us that the party would not be held tonight because all of the children had to attend a performance by the small children in downtown Berdyansk and they would have to leave at 5:00pm. They were very happy about the cakes and tangerines and also told us that the party would now be on Saturday night. We asked permission to store the cakes and tangerines in the cafeteria refrigerator and I walked there with the boys. The cafeteria at the orphanage is spacious and very clean and has artwork hanging on the walls of the dining area. Sasha pointed out a beautiful painting of a flower arrangement that Viktor had done. We went back to Galina’s office and she told us that she was upset because a father had taken his son and daughter for a couple of days to visit and had not returned them when he promised. The police had checked his home and no one was there so Galina was worried about where they were (fortunately we found out the next day that the children had been returned and were unharmed). Because of this situation, we told Galina that we would wait until Saturday to talk with her and we returned to the hotel while Viktor and Sasha went to the concert.When I got back to the room, Tamara was feeling better so we decided to go downstairs and get something to eat. There had been a birthday party for a little girl and we were the only guests being served beside what remained of the adults from the party. After we ordered the special for the night, chicken steak and mashed potatoes, we were surprised to find out that the people from the party sent over another dish for us to try. It was like a pastry with ground beef inside and it tasted delicious. I guess they thought that these two Americans would never order this dish on their own. I smiled at them and gave them the “thumbs up” sign to thank them for their kindness. After dinner, there were no free computers to check email so we just went back upstairs and watched and American movie on TV so we could follow what was happening enough to understand the plot. After talking to Baylee for a few minutes, we went to sleep.
January 17: We woke up in the middle of the night thinking that it was really 5:30 am when it was 2:30 am instead and when we finally went back to sleep, we didn’t wake up until 9:00 am. After talking to Valery about today’s schedule, I got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. Since Tamara was still resting, I had them bring her breakfast to the room. We then wrote some blogs and emails on my laptop before getting ready to go eat lunch with Valery. After lunch, we bought a few snacks and went back to the hotel. At 3:00 we walked to the passport office with Valery where we met Viktor, Sasha and the school lawyer. It only took about 15 minutes for the final paperwork to be submitted. We were told that they would be ready at 10:00 am on Saturday morning. Valery left for Takmak to do the same process for Zhenya (hopefully his passport will be ready on Saturday morning as well). We walked to the corner with the boys and after Viktor told his Momma that she needed to go buy a warm coat, they went to catch a bus and we returned to the hotel.After a nap, we went down to eat dinner and spent quite a while at the internet cafe updating blogs. Valery called us to tell us that everything went well in Takmak and that Zhenya’s passport would also be ready on Saturday morning so that all three boys could go to Zaporozhe to apply for their new international passports and get police clearances. Karen Springs also called us from Kiev and we updated her on the latest news about our progress.
January 16: Valery was at the court as soon as they opened to get the corrections made to the Decree. I decided to call Lillia at the US Embassy in Kiev to ask for her help concerning Viktor’s passport process. We met Valery in the cafe for breakfast and then rode with him to get the new copies from the court. Afterwards, the taxi dropped us off at the orphanage to visit with Galina and the boys while Valery returned to Zaporozhe. Galina was very glad to see us and greeted Tamara with an embrace. We had been given a package by another American adoptive family, The Spanglers, to give to Galina so we presented it to her. She was overjoyed to see the letters and pictures. Since Valery wasn’t with us, we were all happy to see Viktor and Sasha enter the office because this meant that we would have some help communicating with each other. Sasha and Tamara roughly translated the Spangler’s letter for Galina before we went with the boys to the library to spend some time with them.
We had a good time talking with each other and were amazed at how well they understood us. Viktor had obviously learned a new phrase since we had been gone because he told us “one moment” when he wanted us to wait for him. We were impressed. Sasha was still ahead of him in speaking and understanding but Viktor had obviously progressed a lot over the past couple of weeks. Tamara decided to teach the boys something crucial to survival in the Deep South. She explained to them about the definition of “ya’ll” and how to pronounce it. This can be confusing to people who have never heard it, and in Alabama it’s a word that is sprinkled into every day conversation liberally, but you won’t find it on Rosetta Stone. Tamara also felt that we needed to explain the details of the long trip home and tell them how many planes they would be taking. She wanted to prepare them for travel on an airplane, and we gave some descriptions of what that is like. When we adopted Brooke, she threw up on every plane, so we felt a little preparation wouldn’t hurt. We also discussed the possibility of Viktor’s delay. Viktor was disappointed to learn that he would probably have to wait a few more weeks but he agreed that it would be best for his brothers to go on before him and get started in school. After over three hours of visiting with each other, it was time for us to take a taxi back to the hotel and then to Takmak to meet Valery and obtain the new birth certificates.
Lillia called me back with what initially seemed like good news about Viktor but after she talked with Valery, we learned that the delay is caused because he is registered with the military and needs to be taken off the draft list since he will be immigrating to America. We continued to pray that God would make this process as short as possible. After about 1 ½ hours, we arrived in Takmak and began searching for the birth certificate office. Finally, we were able to meet Valery’s taxi and he joined us. He told us that we had an hour before the certificates would be ready so we decided to get something to eat. After eating a delicious and overdue meal, we drove through a maze of small roads on a hospital complex to the office. The two ladies were very cordial to us even though they both had to work overtime to complete the certificates. Valery had told them about these three boys giving us a total of seven children adopted from Ukraine so they told us that we should have some kind of monument erected in our honor. We told them that God had blessed us by what he had led us to do and they wished us His continued blessings. This was the only point so far that gave Tamara tears in her eyes, when they handed us the boys’ birth certificates. After driving back to Berdyansk, I checked email and updated our expenses on my laptop before going to bed.
January 15: After Valery went to the court to get copies of the Court Decree, he and I met for breakfast and then headed for Zaporozhe while Tamara rested. It is a long, somewhat boring 2 ½ hour drive from Berdyansk to Zaporozhe (the city which wins the prize for the most correct ways to spell it and still be correct, I have chosen to use the shortest version). The most exciting thing to do along the way is count the number of chickens, geese, and turkeys that you see. On certain stretches, you can also gaze in wonder at how thousands of plastic bags had been strewn along the side of the road and across the beautiful fields (it looked like an entire garbage truck filled with plastic bags exploded and the wind spread them for about a mile in each direction). The main check points on the drive are reaching Takmak which is about the halfway point and then reaching the intersection of the road to Melitopol which means you are only about 50 km away.
After searching for the street and then the address for about 20 minutes, we finally located the birth certificate office. Since we were late, the woman helping us asked us to go on to the passport office and she would prepare the paperwork that we needed. After asking for directions about five times, we finally found the familiar street and building where we had been on both of our other two adoptions (it was interesting that I seemed to know my way around Zaporozhe better than Valery and our driver, but, after all, I had been there several times before). I sat in the taxi as Valery went in to check on the boys’ passport process. After about 30 minutes, Valery returned with some news that I didn’t really want to hear. The man in charge of reissuing the passports had told him that Viktor’s process could take up to 30 DAYS! This was due to the fact that he was already 18 and considered to be an adult (even though he is just a kid and has been living in an orphanage for the past 9 yrs.) so he would have to abide by the normal process that any adult that is immigrating to a foreign country has to follow.
I was still recovering from this news as we drove back to pick up the birth certificate paperwork. When Valery came out of the office, I could tell that something else was wrong because he had a downcast look on his face. When I asked if he had gotten what we needed, he reluctantly told me that the woman had found a couple of errors in the Court Decree document and that we would have to get them corrected and then bring it back to her the next day. This was the second blow in the gut in less than 30 minutes but I had to catch myself and focus on trusting that God knew all about this before we did and that He was able to take care of these obstacles. It was dark as we left Zaporozhe on the way back to Berdyansk and we were hungry and tired so we made one stop at the roadside market to get a few snacks at one of the kiosks. After we got back to the hotel, Tamara and I went down to the cafe and had dinner while I told her about everything that had happened. I was tired so I went to bed and Tamara wrote the blog about our time at home between trips and our return journey.
December 30-January 14:
Tammy: We woke up feeling very weary from the journey. Somehow, Curtis managed to go to church with all the kids. I wondered at the time where he got the strength. I decided that I better stay home and try to recover before we had to go and greet family and friends at the funeral home for the visitation at 5:00 pm. I received a call from our longtime friend, Beverly Fuqua. She was calling to tell us that she had prepared lunch for our family and she and Jack would be delivering it in a couple of hours. It was a welcome call. She said in her sweet, southern voice, “I started to send flowers and I felt God speaking to me to make lunch for ya’ll instead.” God was speaking indeed. Beverly listened. The kids had managed to consume all the groceries while we were gone and hadn’t had a chance to restock. They all took turns staying at the hospital with Mimi, along with some of Mimi’s friends, and some family, Aunt Cyndy, (Tammy’s sister) Marmee, (Tammy’s Mother) and Eric, (Ginger’s fiancé). Ginger and Dima had both continued to work through all of it. We told them we wanted them to go on with Christmas while we were gone and also open presents on Christmas morning. The Sunday before Christmas, the Hornsby family had their party at Uncle Brad’s, (Tammy’s brother’s house) and then our kids, plus Eric, ate Dinner on Christmas day at Aunt Cyndy’s. Aunt Cyndy had a houseful. We felt it was good for the kids to get to be with some of the family in our absence. We’re so thankful for our family and friends for their support during the past few months.
We managed to get through the visitation later that afternoon and the tearful, but encouraging service the next day. Pastor Ron Higey, Mimi’s Pastor at Vestavia Alliance, officiated and offered words of comfort from the Bible and shared of the hope that we have in Heaven. Rev. Ivan Lay, a retired Missionary from Indonesia and a friend of our family, also read scripture and prayed from his heart. Sharon Roberts, a friend for many years from Westside Alliance, sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness". We were so thankful to Sharon for her willingness to sing in spite of some serious physical difficulties. Sharon was always Mimi’s favorite. Another blessing was Judy Gaskin, an active Missionary in Indonesia, in the states on a speaking tour, was able to attend both days. Judy gave a testimony during the service of Mimi’s friendship and support to her as a Missionary for many years. Pastor Blake Lindsey and his family, the campus Pastor at the Riverchase service where we attend, along with Pastor Layne Schranz, came to offer their support. I wondered before the service, because it was New Year’s Eve and so many people were still out of town and traveling home from Christmas, if many people would be able to attend. We were amazed that 150 friends and family made a special effort to attend the visitation and funeral service. We can’t say enough to thank everyone for the acts of kindness, the food, cards, emails from around the world, phone calls, flowers, and donations given to the Great Commission Fund in Mimi’s honor. She requested this in lieu of flowers because the ministry of Missions was always so important to her. We’re thankful for the families who helped us by having our kids over to spend the night or the day, so we could take care of many overwhelming details. The support of others has carried us through a very sad and difficult time.
The saddest part to me was driving back to the grave site later, to check on the gravestone. It had been accidentally bumped at some point and slightly damaged. All the people were now gone. The flowers were piled in a heap on Mimi’s grave. It was done. It was over. It seemed so final. She was in heaven now with her Sweetheart, Grandaddy. As I’m recalling this, I’m reminded this is an adoption journal, as we’re recording our account of something very happy and exciting in our lives. Only God knows why He would weave into this bright, joyful experience some dark threads of grief and sorrow. We can’t see the tapestry He is making. The only perspective of the tapestry we can see is a mess. He sees the perfect, beautiful picture He is creating. Someday we’ll know why He does what He does, in the timing that He does it. For now, we must simply trust Him. He is a Great, Awesome, Mighty, Loving God. And Mimi is with Him, enjoying His presence and the presence of Angels. She couldn’t even walk before she died. Now she is strong and well again. And I think, just like a friend, Mike Hanscom wrote in an email, that she is dancing with her Frank on streets of gold right now. That’s our comfort. That’s our peace. We’ll see her again. Pastor Layne told Curtis that after he left the funeral, he had to go to the hospital to visit a couple who had just had a baby. So, he was honoring one life on earth that just ended, and one life that was just beginning, meeting her parents and new family. As Curtis shared this with me, I was actually reminded that Mimi’s life is also just beginning, but in a new place, in heaven. So, in many ways she is like that newborn baby, starting all over and being re united with her parents and other family after so many years of separation.
The days that followed were filled with visits to lawyers, banks, back again to the funeral home several times, and other post funeral business. We also were frantically trying to get our flights back to Ukraine and weren’t being given much hope for all five us getting a return flight together.
Finally, Curtis was able to arrange our flights there and back. We packed and prepared our home to leave once again. The kids were not excited to say goodbye to us again. They knew it would be about ten days. We weren’t exactly looking forward to being away from them again or enduring the long, tiring flight. Still we had to press on and finish the course set before us. God called us to a task of going back for these boys, and that was the only joyful part in this scenario. We were excited at the thought of bringing them home.
Curtis woke up on Friday, January 11th very excited because he knew the time was drawing near. Our adrenaline began to flow and we managed to get all the last minute details in order. There is always so much to do, from finishing up bills, getting the kids’ school issues taken care of, restocking groceries, packing, arranging transportation to dental appointments while we’re gone, the list goes on. I think if we were still there, we would still be getting ready. J
Jan. 12th, was the day we chose to celebrate my birthday. Curtis made a reservation at Macaroni Grill at the Summit. He made it early for 5:30 pm so we could come home and finish packing. It was just our family of seven and Eric joined us. I enjoyed the food and the opera singer’s version of the birthday song in Italian. The waitress brought me a dark chocolate birthday cake with a candle. It looked scrumptious. It had dark chocolate sauce drizzled on top with dollops of whipped cream all around the plate. I had been fasting dessert and bread and was going to allow myself this one treat. I couldn’t wait to try it. We passed it around the table and I served myself a piece. I took one bite. Hhmmm. It tasted different from what I was expecting. I took another bite. I wondered why it tasted so odd. The waitress returned a few minutes later smiling, and asked me if I liked the cake. I honestly admitted, “Well, it’s not great.” She looked surprised at my honesty. “Really?” she asked. “What is it about it that you don’t like?” I told her it was the cake, not the chocolate drizzled or the whipped cream. She said, “Well, the reason I’m asking, is I don’t like it either. It has mayonnaise in it.” We all responded with, “Mayonnaise!!?” I had heard of putting mayonnaise in cake and biscuits, but I sure wasn’t expecting it to be in this yummy looking cake. This sparked a little memory from our first adoption trip to Berdyansk and I had a flash back as the waitress was still talking. We went to what was supposed to be an authentic Italian Restaurant in Berdyansk that served pizza. Curtis and Ginger and I were so happy to be getting pizza after weeks of eating Ukrainian food. However, one bite into the pizza told me someone had their facts wrong. We were very surprised to find there must have been a whole jar of mayonnaise hidden on top of the pizza under a smooth layer of cheese. Curtis hates mayonnaise and I can’t say I like it on pizza. Mayonnaise to Curtis is like a disease. He immediately pushed his chocolate cake away. I flashed back to the look on Curtis’ face when I told him the pizza had mayonnaise on it. Then I flashed back to Macaroni Grill and the waitress was still going on about how she doesn’t like the cake, “but hey, it’s free.” she said. It’s the day before we leave again for an adoption trip to Berdyansk and we’re in a truly authentic Italian restaurant. However, just like the Italian restaurant in Berdyansk and the pizza, we have a surprise with our cake… mayonnaise. God has a sense of humor for sure. Maybe, it’s a good sign.
Curtis woke up on Sun. Jan. 13th like a kid on Christmas morning. He was so energized he decided to drive Ginger to work at her downtown office at 7:00 am, and then go by Mimi’s house to get her mail. The purpose for this was so we could then meet Ginger back at her office later and she could drive us to the airport. He woke me up bouncing and happy. I was a little irritated by his energy so early in the morning, but was also excited.
We took the kids to attend the early service at the Riverchase campus, at Curtis’ prompting. Then, we drove to Ginger’s office and she took us the rest of the way to the airport. Baylee had spent the night at the Garrett’s the night before, Ella decided to stay home. Dima was meeting his Teacher, Jim Barnes for lunch after church. Only Brooke went along for the ride. As we hugged them both good bye at the airport, I couldn’t help but wonder how our story would turn out in the days that followed. I tossled Ginger’s reddish, blonde curls, and smoothed Brooke’s straight dark hair. Would we arrive back at that same location with three new brothers for them? I gave them one more tight hug, a kiss on the cheek and we were on our way. First flew to Cincinnati, then Frankfurt, and then Kiev. (You can tell Tammy is writing this, because she completely skipped over the flight details.) Valery greeted us in Kiev with a smile. It was good to see him and we chatted excitedly as we immediately made our way to the parking lot and taxi to drive to the Kiev airport. We asked about Yulia, and knew Karen would be arriving back in Kiev on the 16th, so we were just missing her. We had a smooth flight to Mariupol. We cautiously stepped off the plane into gentle gusts of icy wind. I had to be careful, because I had slipped on an icy patch in Frankfurt. Our driver, Sasha was waiting for us to take us to Berdyansk, back to our nice, warm rooms at the Hotel Berdyansk. We had only slept a few minutes here and there over the past 24 hours. Still, we made it.
Now….part 2 of our adoption journey begins.
February 27-March 3
Then the next day, it was time to tour the school. Dima took him to lunch at Dairy Queen and then took him for his first Starbucks trip which he really enjoyed. Then it was time to register at the High School. We could tell he was a little nervous as we were walking in, but he was all smiles. The school asked a senior student from Russia to take us our tour, and Dima also helped translate because he was at this school for his 9th grade year. Sat. was spent fishing on our lake all day. Viktor enjoyed this so much we had to pull him away from it, because we had another welcome party to attend with the Thompsons and some other kids who had been adopted. We all met at Dairy Queen to have an ice cream cake for the boys that said "Welcome to America", and then everyone went ice skating. It was Viktor's first time to 
ice skate and he was determined to give it his best shot. Sun, the boys attended a church that has a Bible study for teenagers with a Russian translation, and after this, we attended our own church. Sun. afternoon was a soccer game and basketball in the park, fried chicken and biscuits for supper. We felt we had to introduce Viktor early on to some Southern food. :) Mon. was Viktor's first day of school and it went well. He came home with positive comments about the school and several Teachers, but was requesting however, to be placed in the 11th grade, instead of the 10th. The school chose the 10th for him to put him with his brothers, because they thought it would help him. But there is an 11th grade exchange student from Russia, (as well as a Russian 12th grader) who could help him, so we've put in the request to be moved. After supper, Dima took the boys to the Y to swim and play basketball.
