Off to Kiev We Went

As promised, I'm back to fill you in on the last few days of our adventure in Ukraine. The true title of this post should be "Oh, Ye of Little Faith." But God continues to amaze us and grow our faith. He certainly did that throughout this entire year in pursuit of adopting Zhanna and Ella, but especially those last few days of our quest.

Last Thursday, June 18 (it seems SO much longer than that), we, and the girls got up early and packed all our bags. We were ready by 8:30. Tanya arrived and we stuffed our suitcases and our new children into her car and set off for one intensely long day. Our first stop was the office building at which the addendum to the court decree was being finalized and attached to the official, original decree. We needed that addendum in order to get the birth certificates. We arrived and walked into a hallway crowded with all different types of people. We were thinking, "Oh no. This will take forever. We are under such a time crunch if we want to take the train to Kiev tonight." However, Tanya went in to see the woman who was working on our documents. It had been prearranged that we would pick up the documents as early as possible. We had to leave the girls sitting on chairs in the hallway as Mark and I and Tanya went in to the woman's office. The process she had to go through to attach our documents was incredibly cumbersome and time consuming. In America we would simply use a large stapler. But in Ukraine they have women who actually sew the documents together using an awl to punch the holes and sew with white twine and a large needle. When the documents are sewn the woman had to type out a label on a small typewriter that certifies she is the one who sewed the documents. She signed that and glued it around the spine of the document where the stitches were. That process took about an hour. Whew!

After we had the document in hand, it was off to the town of Velikaya Novoselka to obtain the girls' new birth certificates. The trip marked the 5th time we had traveled that road. Even though it was a two hour trip and we felt pressure each time, we still enjoyed the view all along the journey. The fields looked much different than they had a month earlier. They are filled with corn and wheat and sunflowers and soybeans, all about halfway to their maturity. The sky was a bright blue with white, fluffy clouds. On each trip we saw different animals and flowers. We loved seeing a family of turkeys crossing the road, with a mama, a daddy and about 20 little ones. We also saw a man driving an old fashioned open wooden wagon with a large shaggy horse pulling it. Just down the road we saw a man and a woman who had driven an all terrain vehicle into a hilly field to milk the cows there. Truly entertaining! The first time we drove that road we had seen lilacs and irises. This last time we saw roses and daisies and poppies and daylilies. The color against the walls of the drab, old fashioned Ukrainian houses is startling. About halfway in the journey was a village with a monastary, and the golden domes of the church reflected the sun's rays brilliantly for miles. The journey itself was beautiful and pleasant.

But obtaining the birth certificates in the town itself was another matter. It took 4 hours. Luckily, we had packed food for the girls for lunch and for dinner that night, thinking we were going to take the train. Mark and I took turns staying with them outside as they ate, and then trying to think up games and activities to keep them occupied. The facility was old, run down, and soviet style. The bathroom was hideous, but we used it, nonetheless. It was 4:30 by the time Tanya exited the office. I was certain she would say, "Well, we won't have time to go to Donetsk today to get the passports. Since tomorrow is Friday you'll just have to come back with me to Mariupol and leave on Monday." That was my lack of faith. I doubted God's ability to see us through and provide for us. But He did, and in the amazing fashion that reminds us, without a doubt, that He is God! Tanya told us to hurry and get in the car. We were driving to Donetsk!

We learned that Tanya's husband, Valari, had taken the bus from Mariupol to Donetsk in order to purchase train tickets for us. What a gift and a blessing to save us time! We were praying that he could get 4 tickets in the same sleeping compartment on the train, but again, I was very doubtful. During the summertime the train tickets go quickly, and usually you must just take what you get. However, Valari called as we were driving to Donetsk and informed us that he indeed had been able to purchase all four tickets in the same compartment. Absurd! But so God! Praises be! My faith was expanded.

The final hurdle was obtaining the passports. Vanya had called ahead and made special arrangements for the woman who makes the passports to stay late in order to process them for us. We paid a special "fee" for that. However, in that instance, it was well worth the extra payment in order to get the passports generated quickly. They were done in 45 minutes! Again, praise be to God! We made it to the 8:00 pm train with Tanya and Valari's help, and our little family was on our way to Kiev! Finally! Thank you God! We had to say good-bye to Tanya and Valari, and that was sad. They have become good friends. We are so thankful for them. They've talked about coming to America next summer. We hope they will be able to come visit us then.

We had a pleasant night on the train, eating our snacks, playing and singing with the girls, and sleeping in the rocking train compartment through the night. But we were so glad to be on our way and together as a family. The next morning, Vanya met us on the train when it arrived in Kiev at 10:00. He had arranged for a taxi and we were quickly on our way to the American Embassy to begin the process of obtaining the visas. After that initial visit to fill out paperwork we had to rush to the hospital to have the girls' medical checkups. They both had to have vaccinations as well. Poor babies! They were tired and hungry and then to have to get a shot! After the medical stuff we had to return to the embassy to try to get the visas that day. However, by that time, it was almost 3:00 and they said they would not have time. We would have to return on Monday. That was truly okay by us. We all needed to rest a little before flying home, and Mark and I wanted to do a little sightseeing and shopping.

So, Vanya had the taxi driver take us to the apartment he had rented for us. Quite comfortable and nice. He had to stay with us a few nights, so he and Mark had beds on the couch and the floor in the living room, and the girls and I slept on the bed in the bedroom. It was all quite cozy and "do-able." The one drawback was the heat, so we had to have the windows open, which brought in mosquitos. The apartment was located on a terribly busy street close to the center of Kiev - Independence Square. The street was used as a speedway at night. There was lots of engine revving and screeching tires throughout the night. We also heard lots of loud talking and laughing until about 2:00 every morning. One night Zhanna woke up next to me, after some particularly startling and loud crashing noises. She turned over and said to me, "Crazy night!" That it was!

But in spite of that, we still had fun! We were able to get out and walk to St. Sophia's cathedral and St. Michael's cathedral and St. Andrew's cathedral - all beautiful, golden-domed, and soaring with incredible architecture and art, inside and out. We went shopping at the stalls all along the cobbled streets in the part of town most frequented by tourists. We saw all kinds of Ukrainian things for sale - traditional clothing, Matriuska dolls, Pysenky eggs, wooden bowls and spoons painted beautifully with flowers and strawberries. We wanted to buy Zhanna and Ella each some Ukrainian clothing, but they would have nothing to do with it. They didn't want "Ukrainian" anything. They wanted American! We did buy a beautiful embroidered blouse for Annie, and they were pleased to help pick that out. We also went out to eat a lot. The girls ate like teenage boys! They were so hungry! I think they finally had the freedom to eat as much as they wanted and whatever they wanted. It surprised us how much they ate.

On Sunday morning we decided it would be more beneficial to us and the girls if we simply stayed in the apartment and had our own church service. Vanya chose to stay with us and it was great to have him translate for the girls. We sang songs together from the Russian/ English songbook, and then Mark shared the story of the lost sheep and told the girls that was the way we felt about them - we would do anything to bring them home with us! He also shared that Jesus felt that way about all of us, too. We shared information about Jesus and what He means to us. We also took communion together with good Ukrainian grape juice and broken crackers. We explained that we remember Jesus' body and blood and that He did what He did for us because He loves us. We told the girls that we love Jesus and we hope they will come to know Him more and more and love Him, too. The girls seemed to respond well and enjoy it.

In the afternoon, Vanya agreed to guide us to the botanical gardens in Kiev, via the subway or "Metro." The subway in Kiev is the deepest in the world. It was a long escalator ride down, and the underground stations are quite nice with chandeliers and tile mosaics done in somewhat of an Art Deco style because they were probably built during the 1920's. We enjoyed the botanical gardens very much. We probably only saw a fraction of them - all different habitats, including forest and woodland. They had a large greenhouse that included a room of cactus. It made us feel at home! Our stay in Kiev with the girls was very nice. We all had fun and spent time bonding and working through some more relationship issues. God provided everything at just the right time!

On Monday we went back to the embassy to get the visas. When we had those in our hands we were elated. That represented the last step preventing us from going home. To hold the passports and visas in our hands represented the freedom to fly!! We next headed to the Delta office to see if we could change our tickets and buy tickets for the girls. Vanya had checked at the airport two days earlier and was told there were no seats available flying out of Kiev to America for the rest of the week. However, God once again answered our prayers and provided in the most wonderful way. At the Delta office the woman at the desk did some checking and told us we could all fly to Moscow the next morning at 8:00 am, and then from there on to Atlanta, and then on to Albuquerque. Not only that, she could get us seats together on all flights. How amazing is that? So, on Tuesday morning in Kiev we woke early to begin a 24 hour journey halfway around the world to get home. It is always hard to travel that long and that far, but the girls did amazingly well.

I've already shared about our homecoming and how special that was. We are so happy to be home! I want to share more about the girls' adjustment soon, and how we see them blossoming day by day. People have told us the girls are blessed to have us, but we are blessed to have the girls. Already, they are completely and wonderfully our children. I love watching them when they don't know I'm watching them. They are beautiful and special. They are like little flowers that had been wilting somewhat in the soil they were in, but when given the water and sunlight of love they are blooming. We praise God so much! God is good and He provides. We are so thankful for all His provision and we are thankful to be home.

Love,
Dawn and Mark,
parents of four children