AdoptionHSBC

Hello Everybody!

Today we went had to go to court! We started the day at Phyllis and Mark's flat where we waited for Zhenia to meet us and give us our instructions for our appearance in court before the judge. And, as we suspected, the children were on their way (we thought) in order to have lunch together before the first families scheduled time. One phone call led to another, because the girls were there, but Micah Artyom was NOT. He had called Linda earlier to see who was coming to get them, so we knew he had to be there somewhere! They called again to say that they were still waiting for him, so Linda called him back. Well...he was off the territory, so he was holding everyone up from leaving. They were about 25 minutes late, so we decided we should just order pizza to be delivered for them to eat when they got there. We decided that it looked like a great time to pray! And pray we did. Sometimes, I just can't open my mouth, and the praise is running out my eyes! There was a sweet spirit there as we had all joined hands, including Zhenia and Linda. We know that some of us have never been in a court room before and we're sure that the children are nervous, apprehensive...downright scared! They are getting ready to embark on an adventure they can't imagine...leaving everything they've ever known behind and going to a different culture, language, environment. And the things they've been told by adults in the camp...No wonder they're scared! Well, they finally arrive at the Kapps apartment and the pizza is still not there...OK...we're running out of time. Their pizza delivery does not come with the same guarantee as in America...if they take longer than they say, it's free!..Niet!! (NO!) Linda is downstairs waiting for them, and they finally get there. We have about 20 minutes to get everyone fed and out of there. The first place we have to go is back to the Notary Public where we've signed papers before. This is the Letter of Obligation saying that we will update the Embassy annually about the child's welfare and progress. No problem! That doesn't take long, but the kids go to the store nearby and get drinks again. Now to court. You know, it's not what we expected. Walk down a sidewalk, into a door halfway the length of the building and if we wait inside, we have what looks like old theatre chairs to sit on (some of the seats are broken) and it's rather warm. Since I have my hat, I fan myself, Barry and Phyllis. Or, we can wait outside, where there is a slight breeze and a concrete block wall to sit on under the trees....and it's still warm...well, hot! Susan and Bill with Elizabeth Tanya are first,then the Kapps with Anya and Tanya, then Barry and I with Micah Artyom. After we walk through a security frame, that beeps (but no one is checking anything, so we don't get it...what's the point?) we just turn left and go into a small room. We stand when the judge comes in, just like America, but the judge is not formal...no robes..just plaid shirt and light pants. They ask us to give our names, birthdates, address, tell what we do and how we met these children. They ask each person what they do, work or otherwise, and what is our request of the court. We are petitioning the court to allow us to adopt this child and make them part of our family. Then they ask the children their name, how they get along with these people and if they want to be adopted. Again they ask us what we are asking for and our answer is the same, to adopt this child and change their name to whatever has been chosen, ad make them part of our family. There are two jurors and a prosecutor, the attorney for the orphanage, and two other people beside us in the court room. After they are finished asking questions, the judge and jurors leave the room. A few minutes later they return and tell us that our request has been granted. We thank them all, shake hands and since we are last, everyone gets ready to leave. Thanks to God, Micah Artyom is now a Thomas!! Each of us had 40 minutes scheduled on the 'court docket', but we each only took about 20 minutes. Another blessing! Outside, we all take pictures, and when the judge comes down the sidewalk, he is perfectly willing to be included! We are all so relieved that this day is behind us! The children are so afraid of what lies ahead, and Linda, being an orphan graduate and having been to America, reassures them that going with us will be so good for them. Yes, they will have obstacles to overcome (language being the biggest), but they are all going to be loved and well taken care of by the families they are now a part of. She truly knows what she is talking about and they listen to her because of that. As the day goes on, they relax a little. We have to have them back at the camp at 8:00, so we ehave a few precious hours to spend with our children!

We had discussed going bowling, and the majority thought it was a good idea, so off we go to the Equator Mall. Inrestingly enough, they will not allow you to use your own socks...weird!, because they give you socks when you get your shoes...and throw them away when you're done! We had two lanes...kids on one and adults on the other. The other strange thing is that you pay for time, not rounds...the time was up in the 5th frame, so we left on our way to dinner. We decided to go to Kozachuk to eat (y'all pronouce that however you can). Since thre were so many of us, they took us to one of the private rooms in little 'cottages' they have separate from the main inside dining. They also have an outside dining area, under a canvas tent-like cover, but it's just too hot to sit out there. The menu does not have English on it, so Zhenia and Linda describe the items to us. If borscht is on the menu, I'm always getting some, and they do. Others ordered keilbasa with potato pancakes, roasted potatoes with mushrooms, dumplings with cabbage stuffing, and fruit pancakes. Now, keep in mind, their pancakes (neither kind) are like American pancakes! While we're waiting, they bring drinks and baskets of bread as well as bread boards with a little 'butter' dish...but it's NOT butter...it's sallow (PIG FAT) like the part between the skin and meat in bacon, mixed with garlic and herbs. It spreads just like butter, and is not too bad if you don't think about what it is...I'LL TRY ANYTHING ONCE!! Linda had ordered sallow in another form on the menu and I tried that one too...it really was just like what we think of as uncooked bacon! It's CURED after all. Don't y'all get sick now...just go 'iiickk',and move on! The kids were gettiing restless, so when they were done eating, they went to play outside on the grounds. Linda went with them and took some pictures. The restaurants never bring ALL the food at once heree, so by the time we all had been seerved, we were gong to be lat getting them back to the camp. Zhenia knew he could take care of it with the camp director, so he was not very worried. Theey were half hour late, but we were not in trouble. It would still be OK for us to come on Saturday to get them back.

Everybody in camp was going 'camping' for the day, so our childrn had to write a letter, asking permission to go with us. They each wanted to bring a friend, including Micah, otherwise he'd have been the only boy in the group. He had called Linda very early about that, but since she was leaving with Barry for Kiev, she had told him not today (we are only going to have one translator with us... two less adults). But, when we got there we decided that was not fair since the girls each had gotten permission for a friend, so he hurried to get Dima and write the prmission request. A few minutes later they came up the drive to the van and off we went for a picnic and swim in the river! Even the van driver had asked the night before if he could bring his daughter and Zhenia said OK. They did not have to be back until 7:00,, but after they had eaten everything and swam as much as they wanted, we got them to dry off and we picked everything up to take them back. A couple of them had gotten bored (their personality apparently) and were sitting in the van...as hot as it was! They wanted to get cleaned up anyway, before everyone else got back to the camp, so we loaded the van and left. We had sacks full of food to leave with them, since we'll be gone a few days and not see them. I'm certain it won't last that long, but they know we won't be available to bring more until Friday.

Since I mentioned the van driver Sasha (the one who lost his roof last Sunday), let me tell you a neat story! God uses all kinds of things to prompt questions about why we're here! First, he was touched by our concern for him when his house was damaged by the storm. We asked for days after, how things were going with the repairs...once he was telling us that he didn't want to talk about it, because not only was his home damaged, someone had stolen his cell phone and the AC was broken! He didn't want to 'burden' us with his situation! We told him we were praying for him and his family. After the first day wee went to the river for the picnic, when we were on the way back after dropping the kids, he asked Bill why we care about these kids that nobody else wants! He had been watching us with much interest. Bill was able to share the reason behind it all and tell him about God's great love for us and how we are adopted too! We love them because God loved us first and loves them through us. He even tells us to take care of widows and orphans in His Word and we love Him enough to obey. Is God amazing or WHAT?! Who knows what seed has been planted in Sasha's heart?! We'll continue to pray for him too! (Because we know the expense he is facing with his home, we have called him for anything we need a big vehicle for!)

Zhenia has been working so hard for us getting everything lined up to make this process go as fast as possible. We are so thankful for that. We wish he could make teen days go by faster!

Since I was going to be all by myself last night, Susan and Bill invited me to stay with them last night. We were still trying to consolidate food that won't last while we are away, so I brought what I had and just spent the night. While I sit writing this Veronica gets a call from Phyllis saying that Tanya and a friend just showed up at her door this morning! They came to town to see if she would let her girls have a little money for while we are out of town. That settled, theya re on their way back to camp.

We are moving the other families stuff to my flat for the next four days, so they don't have to pay for days they're not using their flats. Mine is paid through the end of the month. We're getting ready to walk to Concord for breakfast and then I'll get a ride back to pack my stuff for Crimea. If I don't have internet access, it may be the end of the week before you hear from me again. Barry is flying home today, so please pray for his safe travel and re-adjustment to Central Daylight Time!! He is also beginning his last class in the MBA program this week, so that is almost done! YA-A-AY!!

I hope that all of you are enjoying the last days of summer with your kids (families)! Some of you have seen yours as little as I have seen mine! I have missed seeing all of you for the past four weeks! I really appreciate your prayers and anticipation of meeting Micah when we get home! I hope y'all have a great week!

Thankful for an AWESOME God,
Rebecca

Good morning everybody! ('Evening' there)

I hope all of you are doing well. I guess everybody is getting ready for school...registration, buying school supplies, school clothes, and figuring out how the routine is going to be different from last year! Some are still getting in that last minute vacation or getting geared up for Band Booster responsibilities! (I'm trying to think about how I can do that from here!)

We had the most amazing day yesterday (Wednesday)! I don't think any of you are posting this information anywhere else, but I had to be very careful with my FB status wording so as not to give away what we did yesterday. (So 'keep it under your hat' so to speak!) Since the problem last week that caused us to have to take the children back and leave them at camp, we have been told not to take them away from the camp territory. But...when we got there, they were waiting at the entrance for us! We wanted to be in a separate place, away from the influence of their 'friends' and not have to compete with that for their attention. Our driver, Sasha (the one who lost his roof Sunday), said he knew just where to go. So, we load all the children in the van and take off through the village and off the road down a narrow muddy track. At one point, we weren't sure we going to make it through a dip because of the weight of the van...we had to make three runs at it and finally got up the other side! Applause and YA-A-AY Sasha!! I think we need to have a car (van) wash now! We bumped along through the field and finally came upon a lovely spot...plenty of shade trees, the river and a sandy beach!! Way to go, Sasha! Alina (one of the teenage girls) knew about this place too...I wonder how!? We found a shady place to lay down the blankets we had brought with us and all the bags of picnic provisions. The kids are always thirsty (they don't realize that what they really need is WATER to drink), so we poured up some 7-Up and juice and handed out yogurt drinks. Happy kids... happy adults! We had a soccer ball with us and two frisbees, so the men started a volleyball game with those interested in the ball. A couple played with the frisbee for a while. The weeds are deep and it's eveident that this is a popular place with locals...lots of trash, burned out campfires...and broken glass (beer bottles)! So retrieving the frisbee is treacherous if you've kicked off your flip-flops! The river is a chartruese color, but it doesn't appear to be very deep...you can see the grasses and limbs in and under the water. There are other folks swimming in it upstream. So, OK, y'all can go swimming...but DON'T TELL!!! They ran for the sandy area, shedding clothes as they ran. They are so uninhibitied!! Micah and Sergey were down to their underwear, and one of the younger girls shed her skirt. The rest just ran in in their clothes. The three husbands went in with their cargo shorts and t-shirts. How heavy they are when they're wet! It's kind of funny, how Sasha just happened to have his swimsuit with him... We girls had not planned on getting wet, however, Susan and Phyllis ended up that way...I, fortunately, had a camera in my hands, so the kids didn't pull me in! And Susans' Tanya had one too, so she stayed dry for the most part. What a blast the kids had! When all is finalized, we can post some of those pictures...not before! We had our lunch, which was devoured by ravenous children...we adults missed the salami altogether...but bologna, bread, crackers and cheese satisfied hunger. And I think we drank everything available! Kids started playing games again with the ball and frisbee. A couple of them kept going to sit in the van, so when we missed Micah, I sent Barry to see where he was. Well, he was back in the water! It wasn't long until most of them were...again! Gonna be kind of hard to hide the fact that they were in the water when they come back to camp Well, we get them out of the river again, because it's time to pick up and head back. We don't want to be late, so there will be nothing to question. We say our good-byes just outside the entrance gate. Some of them say good-bye over and over, making the rounds for hugs...it's just so hard to send them back in there. We are so grateful for the time we had with them...and judging from their faces, they enjoyed it immensely. We are so tired as we head back to town,, and we don't think the children will have any trouble sleeping tonight.

We got back early enough, we decided that some refrigerators needed to be cleaned out and we could all meet at the Boycotts apartment for dinner. Just bring whatever you have that won't last until we get back from Crimea next week. We had omelettes and vareniki (dumplings with meat filling and potato filling) with my leftover spaghetti sauce. Altogether, not bad! The rest of the meat dumplings with the spaghetti sauce went in a Ziploc box for Vitalik...potato dumplings on top of that. When we handed him the box, he told Linda that 'he was not going to die from starvation' with us around! It was late when we got home and Barry was too tired to work on his homework for the day. Good thing there are 8 hours still available to work on it when he gets up in the morning,

Thursday morning was bright and clear...not as cool as the past few mornings. We have the fan in our room now though, so it's pretty comfortable. I finally got around to making the Ukrainian pancakes...not as thick as American pancakes nor as thin as crepes. Barry got the first two...they were too American! Since breakfast was late, we pretty much only have half a day to do stuff. We need to go to the electronics store by the Equator Mall, so off we go. I am looking for a memory card reader so I can do something with my pictures and Linda is in the market for a small, but not tiny, computer similar to the ones that Phyllis and I have. She is such a smart shopper. (We have a discount card for all the markets we go to because of her! She knows about them all!) After that, we went to the train station so Barry could check on the schedule for his trip back to Kiev on Saturday morning. Linda and I got our massage earlier today and Barry had a walk around. We rode over to the area where the other families live to walk around and window shop. (It's scary to go in, 'cause if you look intersted in something, the clerks come and start telling you things you don't have a clue about! I just look at them and say 'American', and they just shrug and leave.) Linda rode to the Metro with Phyllis and Mark, so Barry and I are on our own right now. It's not so bad if you can just point, pay and say 'spacibo' (thank you). We are on our way back just as Phyllis and Mark return, so Linda and Vitalik are waiting in the car in the shade of the linden trees. We stop at the market to see if we can find some fresh beef...Barry is in need of some Southern comfort food...meat and gravy! Amazingly enough, we find what we are looking for in the newest market (opened early last week) at the Kiev Mall. We set about finding everything else we need...rice, carrrots, onion, tomatoes, Cola Light (Diet Coca-Cola), MORE pomegranate juice, dessert, cheese and bread. Now, let's see how quickly I can get it cooked for everyone to eat around 7:30. They haven't been to our flat yet, so we have a few things to 'hide', like the rest of the laundry (YES, it's never-ending here too! Mainly because the washer is the size of a roaster...not even as deep as the length of my hand!) Susan brings more plates and silverware so we have enough and the rice is almost done. We have cheese, salami and crackers while we wait and get drinks for everybody. Served the beef and gravy over the rice with a coffee cup, and I think they enjoyed it...they came back for seconds! I had some to put up in the freezer, but it will be good for next week. Napoleons, eclairs with caramel filling and some wonderful little chocolate cones we found for dessert and we are done! Laughed 'til we cried at Phyllis and Linda's shenanigans! Then a couple YouTube videos topped it off. Our guests are walking home, so we'll see them in the morning,.

Zhenia called all three families while we were sitting in our living room! Are we ready for tomorrow? We haven't changed our minds, have we? (Are you kidding??) Have we seen or talked to our children? He has taken care of everything and we are good to go. (The Boycotts had an issue with the possibility of a sister and the city of their daughter's birth had to resolve the question for the SDA.) We will meet at the Kapps apartment in the morning at 11:00am to go over what to expect with Zhenia. He is so good at what he does! So, please pray for all of our appearances to go smoothly, no unforeseen problems, and all positive conclusions. We think we might go bowling as a celebration of court being finished and, barring any unexpected opposition, the children are ours. We are anxious for this part to be behind us...and then the ten-day waiting period.

The three families (or at least a representative from ours...me) have decided to travel to Crimea for 4 days after court. Barry and Linda will be back in Kiev...Barry flying home and Linda taking care of university registration and medial forms. We will take the train (sleeper car) on Sunday evening, spend Monday through Wednesday there and return on Thursday. Susan and Bill will be able to visit Vika (the other girl that Susan was first interested in adopting..her grandparents don't want her to go to America, and had sent her to Crimea to keep Susan from seeing her...things have changed since their visit last week.) while we are there...the main reason for going...other than the fact that it is supposed to be a lovely place on the Black Sea. (I think I'm right.) It should be fun and I am excited to see it as a bonus to this long process.

Again, thanks for your prayers...if you're reading this on your Thursday night, please remember us in the morning early...we'll be in court! Since this is too long already, I'll try to remember to tell you a story about our driver for the outing with the kids on Wednesday...how God is being made evident through our interactions with them. But for now, pa-cah (sort of like "See ya' later" in Ukrainian)

Aiming to give Him the glory,
Rebecca

Hi Everyone - just wanted to take a quick moment to give you an adoption update. We were supposed to find out the sex of the baby on Monday and our birthmom did go into her doctor for an ultrasound but apparently our sweet little baby is going to be very stubborn! Ha!! We still do not know the sex and right now we aren't sure that we will know before the baby is born - talk about a surprise!! We did however find out that our due date was moved up a week because our baby is so big and healthy. Right now the due date is set for November 8th so we are thinking that the C-Section will be scheduled sometime prior to that date. Byron and I are very thankful that the date has been moved up so hopefully we can avoid some of the Thanksgiving traveling crowds. Please keep both baby and birthmom in your prayers!
Brandy & Byron

Hello Everyone!

I just hate it when we lose access to the internet when I was half finished with this update! Of course, everything was lost...AGAIN! We had bad weather on Sunday and having servers knocked out was just one minor crisis.

The trip to Kharkiv was a LONG day...started out pretty good...nothing of real significance on the way there. Made it on time to meet the Green Valley Baptist group at the Hotel Kharkiv. An added treat was that in Lenin Square there was a sand castle competition and we ran to get some pictures of those in the 10 minutes we had while they finished loading their bus. Then we hurried back to our van and followed them to the New Hope Baptist Church for worship at noon. Linda's friend Sasha was still with us and she called another friend who lives in Kharkiv to come to church. I am glad they made it. The service was longer than we expected, but we had a dual purpose in going. It was good to see the Wofford family and other members of the team there. Our driver, (another) Sasha, got directions to meet Dennis who was leading us to the property purchased for camps and transition housing for orphan graduates. There is a lot of potential for the property, and we hope we can assist in some way to achieve their goals! I wonder how long it takes them to build houses here..there were some interesting tools/equipment being used inside the building. Our time at the site was cut short by a phone call telling the driver that storms in Poltava had ripped the roof off his house. He was anxious to get back and it would take another couple hours from where we were. We wanted to go to the market and go to the camp, but needed to release him to get to his family. On the way back to Poltava, we kept getting phone calls from the children too! One was sick at her stomach and wanted someone to help her feel better. Another one and a friend had left camp and were at their families flat waiting for them in Poltava...oh, no...it was going to be a while!! And they were not supposed to leave in the first place. Tanya (the sick one) and her friend, Alina, kept calling Susan. We told them we were going to try and get there...they called again and said 'don't come'...trees are falling and the weather is terrible!! When we got that news, we began trying to find out about the rest of 'our kids'. They are OK, but we are not going to make it out there...it's getting late...and we won't have a car big enough when Sasha goes to see about his home and family. Monday we will be going! At some point, Linda took her friend Sasha, to the bus station to see about him getting home to Kiev. She comes back without him and said she sent him. We didn't even get to say goodbye! We decide to get another car and go to the Equator mall to get food and drinks for them. Mark stays behind to find out about Anya and Ola, who had left the camp and come to town...they were not at the apartment. We rounded up enough snacks/chips, fruit, drinks/juice, salami, cheese and bread to satisfy them for a day or two. The driver brought Bill, Susan and Phyllis home then came back for us. Vitalik's car won't hold us all. When Mark was able to get in touch with Anya, they were on their way back to camp...we'd missed them, but will see them on Monday...with food!

Monday morning gets here and we are ready to see the children who will soon be OURS...the van gets here around 9:15am. Susan, Bill, Phyllis and Mark are waiting on the corner for us. Susan gets a call from her Tanya and she needs one more thing from the store...so we stop at a market on the way. Linda has gotten me a discount card, so we all use it to get a FEW more things for the children. Back at the van, we have samples of cookies they were handing out in store...mmmmm! Sasha is taking us to the camp, so we ask how things are at his home...the roof is completely gone, but everything will be alright. He will take us by there when we're on the way back from camp. Some of the kids are walking up to greet us...Linda goes to ask one of the teachers if we can take the children away for about an hour or so, so that we can spend time with JUST them. Is that selfish? Probably so! But the influence of the other kids has such a negative effect sometimes...and that is sad too! Some of the others are just jealous, and need attention too. (Then, the teachers also give them a hard time...tell them they're traitors if they leave with Americans.) But, Linda is successful, and we load up the kids and adults and drive out to a sunflower field that is just beautiful...Susan left her camera at home, Phyllis thinks her battery is dead and I have mine. Linda takes it and lures the children like a pied piper out into the field where she gets them to pose for pictures! We LOVE it. Group shots and we need to get out of that garden...it's getting fairly beat up! The kids have black feet! Photo evidence to prove it...back to camp...by way of the village store. Even though we brought food for all of them, they have stashed it and are now thirsty and would like a snack. After all, it is almost 1:00pm. Today none of us have a water bottle among us! Drinks and ice cream sounds better anyway! Love the store...this woman has an abacus too! AND a calculator!! Mercy, these ice cream sandwiches are delicious! Once we get finished with them all, back in the van we go. The kids all want to know when we'll be back...zaftra? postli zaftra? We decide on Wednesday...that splits the week up pretty good and the third time we see them will be for our court appearances on Friday! YA-A-AY!

As promised, Sasha takes us by his house on the way back to Poltava...what a mess! Absolutely no roof and no sign of it anywhere around! Couldn't have been very well secured to begin with...where are the rafters? He told us that it will take 2-3 days to finish, (but more rain is coming), and LOTS of money! We need to get back to town. When we left Sasha on Sunday, we all said we'd pray and hoped that everything was alright. He told us how much he appreciated our concern for him, and he was in good spirits.

Tuesday was a quiet day and we gave Linda a little down time. We and the Boycotts decided to take an adventure with NO interpreter this morning! We were to meet at the Concord mall market cafe for breakfast. Vitalik came for us and we were there right at 10am when they opened. But, minutes passed and no Susan and Bill. Hmmmm...we knew they were walking, but it shouldn't have taken that long. We had called at 9:30 to see if they wanted a car. So, we called to check on them...oops, they had taken a left instead of a right out their gate...walked past where we live and were at the wrong mall. So, we called Linda to call Vitalik and go get them...He got a kick out of them needing rescue! Surprisingly, we did OK...of course the waitress and chef there are used to us and we're communicating pretty well now! The fact that they have English on their menu is a BIG plus! Got finished with breakfast at noon and called for Vitalik...he's so accommodating!! Almost always available and if not, makes arrangements for our transport! He and Linda are like GOLD! (And they make a pretty good team..)

Barry and I have an appointment this afternoon to take care of some paperwork in order for him to leave a couple days after court. It involves the passport application and something else. Irene is supposed to pick us up between 12:30 and 1:00. When 1:00 gets here and she is not, Linda called to check on her...she just pulled into the driveway. We get to the building where the office is and go with her inside. I think we caught the clerk at lunch...eating apricots at a desk with another young lady. She goes and unlocks her office door and asks Irene a couple questions, and lays three blank pieces of paper in front of Barry with little marks where he should sign his name. It will be amazing to see how they print whatever those are for around where his signature is. I'll get to go back and sign those same papers later, but we both had to be there together today. The other signatures were required on the actual passport application, which Irene had. That was it! Back to the apartment where Linda was busy cleaning. We shake the rugs out the window on the sunroom, sweep and vacuum, then mop. Like I said...she's a treasure! We are trying to get psyched up for the visit with Granny this evening...she's been calling all day! She wants us to meet her BOYFRIEND!!! Now we know what she was doing for the last three days...just kidding! We guess she was getting up courage to tell us about him. And Linda just gets so worn out with her non-stop talking, questions, and general carrying-on about the same things we've already talked about...twice! Anyway, we have watched the video we had copied to DVD about Micah Artyom's baptism and his first birthday. It was a glimpse into his family life...looks like they spent a good bit of time with drinking and smoking. No wonder generation after generation practices the same habits! His father played the guitar and sang, so we won't give up on musical interest just yet! Well, off to the pizza place to meet Granny and friend...invited Vitalik to eat with us...I don't think he takes the time often enough. We learned about some more of the family...the great aunt that wants to meet me, and Granny's nieces and nephews who are wondering about the family that is adopting their young relative. And when Linda had enough, she texted Vitalik to come get Granny and Nickolai...'Come now!' She has handled most of the conversation, because we have talked enough about everything, she knows the answers to the questions. It's such a nice evening as we walk back to the flat. Linda has earned her pay today!!

Linda took us to the Metro between our appointment and meeting Granny. It was like Ukraine's version of Sam's or Costco. Andrey has gotten (borrowed) cards for us to use to get in. One purchase was a fan for our bedroom. When Barry opened the box, there were two in there...what a surprise! And for what amounted to about $23 US dollars! When we leave, Linda gets one and Granny gets one! We also made purchases for the trip to camp...juice is cheaper by the bundle!!

We are getting more excited as the days go by...COURT is FRIDAY...just two more days!! When we see the kids today, we will find out what they want to wear for their appearance and get them washed and ready. (They do their own washing, by hand, and lay clothes all around on equipment in the play yard to dry. Imagine how clean they are...hanging to dry in a dusty play yard? Just as clean as the kids are! And they are so used to it.) We hope they are as ready as we are for this to be finalized. It's pretty obvious that a couple of them are...they take a lot of verbal abuse because of their association with us and pending adoptions! Please lift them up as often as possible. It comes from other children as well as the teachers! They are told that we want them for their organs or that we sacrifice them...unbelievable things!!

Thanks for your continued prayer on our behalf...some of you are probably praying that I'd make this shorter!! I'm sure y'all don't all have time to read this until you get home from work and such. Mabe it's as much for my benefit as it is to inform ya'll of what it's been like...this journey/adventure! And I guess that I have not been sharing the emotions as much as just events that spark them. I'll let you use your imagination and put yourself in our shoes for a few minutes each day. When I get pictures loaded (hopefully this evening), you can get a better idea. In case you need a reminder...even as bad as things are looking in the U.S....we are SO blessed and even spoiled in comparison to lots of other countries.

I love you all...and miss my home and friends...but I'm thankful that God is always with me (and you) no matter where we are! His promises are true and we are grateful. He is sovereign and that's all that matters.

Keeping my eyes on HIM and not the circumstances,
Rebecca

Hi Friends!!

I'm VERY upset...the update that I spent hours on night before last apparently went out as just the line I used as my reminder of where I left off and to keep the address list! So, now that it's been two more days, I'll probably leave out something. This is my way of keeping up with all of our activities and events as well, so I was not happy when Barry asked me if I sent out a one line update? Sorry to keep y'all in suspense for two days!! So begins the attempt at RE-creating that information...

Tuesday was the day we went out to the camp to visit the rest of the children we know from the Poltava orphanage and get Anya and Tanya back for Phyllis. Micah wanted to visit his friends and we had things to take from other American families for the children they hope to adopt. Susan also had a bag full of little trinkets (like those cord 'slide' bracelets, bubble gum, little parachute men, and hair barrettes) for as far as they would last...first come, first served basis. It's kind of hard though to keep up with how many some of them get and stash in their pockets!..or how many pieces of gum they can get in their mouths! Obviously, there are not enough to go around to EVERY child, but all of them can get a hug and a smile. The attention is what they need the most! Some of them just hang on to you and others just stand back and look at you with begging eyes...waiting for arms outstretched, they fall into them. Talk about tearing at your heart...I pray that God's love has been shown to these children through us. Even though we have not come AS a Christian group, we are, and they have been visited by many church groups before. Some of them have crosses in their pockets as reminders and pictures and bookmarks that indicate they've been told about Jesus! We spent a couple hours there and came back to the city to have lunch at 2:30pm. We were all pretty hungry, especially the kids, so we went to Burger Club, where we had burgers, pizza, fruit salad and rolled up, stuffed, fried pancakes(imagine that). Then we all walked back to where two of the families live...we got a ride with Vitalik back to our flat for a little rest and dinner.

Susan's husband, Bill, had gotten a bad cold and was not feeling very well. They didn't have any medicines with them that would help, but I had brought some Dayquil/Nyquil gel capsules that I carry everywhere, just in case. Since we were planning to go out the The White Bench monument after dark, I told her we'd bring thm by. Bill was EXCITED...something he knew would work was available! We had spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner...not too bad for having no Italian seasoning to put in. We left after 9:00 for our excursion. Linda wanted us to see this particular place at night because they have lights that change colors while classical music plays every 15 minutes. Apparently, it's a romantic spot, lots of couples sitting around, and they sometimes have weddings there (or wedding photos taken). It was lovely, and we had the added benefit of a full moon! The Orthodox church nearby was lit as well and there are other monuments, such as the bowl of dumplings (looks like marshmallows to me!) and a spoon. Haven't got the story about that one yet, but must have something to do with a traditional food. Micah sat in the spoon and we climbed in the edge of the bowl. We'll go back in daylight for better pictures. Not quite enough light... We got back to the flat pretty late (since we hadn't left until after 9pm) and Barry, who had taken a Benadryl for some unexplained congestion, was ready to fall in bed.

Wednesday morning, I was awake at 6:30 (working on the upeate!) while everyone else slept in. Barry sleeping off the Benadryl and Linda and Micah,m just because they were up TOO late watching videos. After breakfast of French Toast (that's what we call it...they call it something else...'cause theirs was salted, not sweet), we went to Kiev mall to see what was there. They have large tables for checkers and chess and Linda was teaching Barry how to play. Micah and I walked to the next floor (he gets bored easily with just sitting around) and found a fitness store. Oops...there were roller blades! Micah AND Linda now each own a pair. We also got the knee and elbow pads and hand guards. We'll get a helmet when we get home and can use it for bicycle too. They put them on as soon as we got back to the flat and the living room became a roller rink! On these laminate floors, I hope the landlord doesn't find out! At around 6:15 Linda left with Vitalik to go get Granny. (She had called at 8:30AM and we had to wake Linda up to talk to her. She wanted to come visit and bring dinner! Well...OK!) When they got here, Granny untied the bag to reveal four enamel boxes each full of a different kind of vareniki (roll that 'r'). One was filled with potato, one with cabbage, one with meat and the last, dessert...blueberries! Can we say YUMMY!!! We were all so full we couldn't breathe and she was putting more on our plates! After dinner, we got out the maps (a U.S. and a Hoover map) she'd asked for that I had marked with our house(s), church, schools and places we've been (to indicate where some of the photos in the book had been taken). She's never been far from Poltava and is interested in how far from home we travel. She had tons of questions and poor Linda was worn out when she got back from taking Granny home. We understand that she wants to know everything she can about where her grandson is going to be and what his new life will be like. We are glad that she is interested, and happy about the adoption. She also was asking about the difference in the Orthodox church and Christian church. I was happy to hear Linda explaining to her about how we worship and pray to God from our heart. Granny is genuinely interested...pray that she will one day come to salvation.

We had some pretty nasty weather today too...apparently some straight line winds or a tornado (bet they don't call them that here). On the way to the flat from Concord, ther wer trees down (one on a house) in the road and some very large limbs. We had to drive around LOTS of debris and make a slight detour to get back. No damage to building right around our flat, but limbs everywhere! Near the clotheslines and playground, an apricot tree was broken to bits! Apricots everywhere...what a shame to lose them all...they're so sweet!

Thursday morning we planned to go to Concord, have breakfast, a movie and be back in time to leisurely get ready for our appointment with the assistant to the Chief Inspector at 3:00pm. Well, you know about the 'best laid plans'...Micah and Linda slept later than we thought, even though the phone rang at 7:30! Micah's Granny called, had to wake Linda to talk to her...she has soup ready, can we send the car for her? Can we call you in about an hour? I wonder what time Granny got up and started that soup? Linda went back to sleep for a bit...Micah didn't move. Around 9:00, Barry and I were trying to make a little noise to wake them :-) so, we got a later start than we should have. The cafe at the market in Concord Mall opens at 10:00 for breakfast, but we didn't get there until a bit after 10:30. When we were done, it was almost noon and the 1 1/2 hour long movie didn't start until 12:30, so we decided that wouldn't work. Plan B was that Linda and I go for our FREE (37 minutes) daily massage (at this store in the mall) and Barry was going to take Micah to roller blade a while. We thought we all had enough time for that...well, no! At 1:50, Barry calls and says that Zhenia is at our apartment waiting to pick us up!! He asked Barry what was our flat number, and Barry said it didn't matter, 'cause none of us were there!! Linda and I are almost finished, so when we are, we run to catch any cab that might be available to bring us back. Barry and Micah are on their way; Linda and I get the the flat and can't get in...only one set of keys and we don't have them..2:05 Barry runs up the stairs and opens the door. We THROW off our casual clothes and get in our 'dressy' clothes and take off about 7 minutes later! We still have to get the other two families! We get to the government building with just a couple minutes to spare...WHEW!! Zhenia separates us from the children for a few minutes and coaches us about what's going to happen upstairs. Sounds simple enough...smile and be ourselves, answer questions and he will translate. We go upstairs and wait in the hallway where we've been before (for the first Inspectors interview). One family at a time goes down the hall and enters the office of the assistant Chief Inspector. Introductions and greetings, tell them about what we do (where Barry works and his job, what I do), about our other child (out come the pictures!), about where we live and the schools we plan for Micah to attend, and church activities, and how we met Micah. Then he asks Micah questions about meeting us, being adopted and any relatives opinions. All done, we say goodbye and breathe a sigh of relief...another meeting successfully completed! We have a document to sign at the Inspectors office and we all gather up and get in the van. All went well for all three families...even the one with the sister who won't say 'yes'...she said she "supported her sister" (with a big smile on her face), and Phyllis was satisfied! THANK YOU, LORD! Also, Zhenia has arranged for our court date to be next Friday, 17 July, beginning at 1:30pm. Barry and my appearance is scheduled for 2:50pm. I'll remind you next week about that as it draws closer to that time. He is very happy that he has been able to get it all scheduled for ONE day, with ONE judge, for all three families! And we are all satisfied with that arrangement too. Zhenia is amazing!

Back at the flat, we are waiting for the landlord to send someone with fresh sheets and towels, Vitalik has been sent with Micah to get Granny, and Barry and Linda walk to the market for a couple things for our soup supper that's on it's way. I am at the flat alone, getting things organized to have dinner. The bell rings (well, it chirps like a bird!), and at the door are Granny, AND two ladies with linens...Not one of them speaking any ENGLISH! I tried to call Linda from our phone only to hear it ringing in the kitchen...great! We played charades for a while and she understood that we need one more set of towels (four people in the flat), and she 'tells' me that they need to come back to change sheets on the bed. Granny is rambling about in the kitchen and the two ladies leave. I'm pouring soup from the jar into the pot (that just seconds ago was the bowl for the leftover meat sauce), when Barry and Linda get back...yaaay! Now we can communicate! Granny also has a pan full of 'pancakes', a bag of fresh dried mint (for tea), and home remedies for me to have for Micah...interesting stuff! The table is ready, but we have a little chaos about the charge for the linens and the phone disturbs dinner (issue of fairness...but we are Americans...whole other story!). Anyway, the soup is wonderful and the 'pancakes' are interesting, but it's all good and we enjoy the meal. Because we have prayed at each of our meals with Granny (and Linda translated), she wants to write down a prayer to ask blessing for her meals at home. God at work? Linda translates for her to write and she is happy...it's a place to begin! I wonder if she is reading the Bible we gave her. We talk some more (wearing Linda out again), have tea and some dried fruit we had (Granny is diabetic), along with other sweets for dessert. I had Linda tell her that we didn't need anymore food for the next three days with all the leftovers we have in the fridge...she said that's OK, because she is busy for the next three days, don't call her...LOL!! We clean up and send Granny off with Vitalik...it's been a good evening! We all get ready for rest and thankfully, Micah agrees not to turn on the television. He and Linda listen to music for a short time and all is quiet earlier than it has been to this point.

If you haven't fallen asleep reading this yet, I'll give you the opportunity to do that now! We've been having some issues with connecting to our server at times, and I don't want to lose this information again...so, yesterday and today will have to wait. I think by reading, you can tell what the prayer requests might be, so I will let God guide you on that one. We appreciate our family and friends so much!

God bless you all,
Rebecca

What can I say?...every day starts in a hurry around here! I was up early again this morning, but had one cup of coffee and laid back down for about an hour, then got up and off to a running start. Since I had no time for writing yesterday, I have to back up and remember all we did Monday...here goes!

We had planned to go to the history museum, and had a little drive to get there. Linda had made arrangements with Vitalik (NOW I know the correct way to spell his name :) and we were to leave around 11:00am. He was trying to find out about a celebration that was going on near Poltava, so we didn't get away right on time. That was OK, we had time for a good hearty breakfast of toasted breads (dark and white), sausages, scrambled eggs with fresh mushrooms, tomatoes and fresh raspberries we bought at the outdoor market! Oh, we had kumquats too! Micah was funny when he tried those for the first time! Did not like that. He followed that nasty taste with a hefty spoonful of Nutella on bread. Nothing like a little chocolate to get your morning started right, huh? We had our usual variety of juices...they are so incredibly tasty. We drink juice all day long when we are in the apartment long enough to get a glass!

Once Vitalik heard from his friend who was getting the details of the festival, we got on the road to the museum. It was a nice drive, a beautiful sunny day, even if it was a bit on the cool side. When we arrived, it was a beautiful white building with bright blue trim work on decorative brick work. There was a monument outside to one of the wars in 1864, I believe, and there was a garland around the retainer wall with banners for Ukraine and Russia alternately. The grass on this knoll was the brightest green and laying in waves on the slope. There was a window of sorts that we didn't quite understand, so Micah slid down to look inside...it was a tomb with several buried soldiers. We went inside the building, a church, we guessed, and it was so intricately painted and beautiful from the baseboards to the domed ceiling! I can't even begin to tell who they all were, but of course Christ was included! There were people there lighting some of the skinniest candles I've ever seen and saying prayers. There was a little booth inside where they can purchase the candles. When we left there, we walked across the street to a monument that was open with three columns that met at the top in an arch. There were three flags represented in beautiful mosiac tiles for Ukraine, Russia and Switzerland. One of the columns had words that Linda interpreted as "Time heals wounds". There were large wreaths placed at two of the columns in remembrance of the lost soldiers. Then we walked from there to the museum...closed...every Monday for cleaning. That figures and explains why there were not more cars in the parking area...duh! That's OK, we had a good time, got some good pictures, and decided to come back another day...we have a few!

Vitalik drove us into a village where we went into a restaurant and had a very good Ukrainian lunch. I had a piece of salmon that was baked on top of a slice of the same kind of squash that Granny had fried, with vegetables (potatoes, squash, carrots, and maybe tomato since the liquid was a bit red) and cucumber tomato salad. Barry had a fried piece of meat with potatoes and we shared dessert. Linda had two pieces of fried fish...very tasty and mild with a dessert cake. Micah had a meatball with spaghetti, but no trace of a sauce, and tomato cucumber salad. Whoever didn't eat all of theirs, somebody did. Much too good to leave behind! Since Vitalik had a bad stomach, we took him some yogurt. We came back to town and took Micah to the park near the orphanage to ride bumper cars and they (Micah, Linda and Barry) had a blast...twice! They have a booth (sort of) with pellet guns and targets that Micah wanted to go to. He, Vitalik and Liinda had a good time knocking over everything they could...a few misses, but for the most part, all pretty good shots! The second round, Micah and Linda had a competition...what FUN! Then we came back to the flat for a little rest before the festival celebration. It was also a holiday for all government offices...just a Monday holiday for no specific or apparent reason.

After a little rest and a snack or two, we got ready to go to the lake for the Ivana Kupala celebration. Don't ask me what it is exactly, but very traditional and entertaining! Phyllis, Mark and Dara met us along the road because they wanted to go also and we had to have two cars. The cars are for the most part, really small here. If you want for that five people in one, you get a van or a bus! There were inflatables for the kids, a horse (not attached to his cart), booths for food and possibly a restaurant. There was a HUGE pile of logs (really about twenty feet tall) that would be a bonfire later, standing up like a teepee on one side of the road. There were boat rides on the lake...row boats! They didn't let you go by yourself, so, Micah, Linda, Dara, Phyllis and I got in the the man who was going to row for us. Phyllis has a history of accidents and water, so we weren't really sure we'd get to stay dry the entire time, but we let her get in anyway! Almost had the first accident...tipped the boat!!

Good morning, Friends!!

It's about 6:35am Monday morning in Poltava...I've been up since 5am...didn't want to miss much of another morning! It's quite cool and sunny. With open windows, I can smell someone else's cooking! I'm sitting on the little sunporch (where the clothes dryer rack is) and drinking coffee, listening to WDJC streaming live and enjoying the sky!

Not sure where I left off in the previous message, but we've had a good weekend here in Poltava. Saturday we had breakfast at Concord mall market cafe again...this time I had Pancakes with cherries. They are more like crepes and there were three of them..YUMMY!! While we were waiting for our order to be prepared, Linda, Micah Artyom and I went to see what the other fiour levels of the mall had to offer. I found a store that had hats...you can imagine that I HAD to play for a minute or two. Micah thinks that I am crazy!..and that's OK!! I had fun, and will probably bring one of them home as my 'souvenier' and y'all might see it at church some Sunday..who knows!? We also found some new tennis shoes for him. He does not have the ones we bought at Christmas any longer. No telling what happened to them. Barry called to let us know that our breakfast was ready, so the sales girl held them for us until we went back. They Boycott family arrived for breakfast at Concord as well, and we visited with them for a bit, then left them to finish their breakfast and headed to the outdoor market...have mercy! Booths and booths of anything you could possibly be looking for!! Micah found a soccer uniform that he wanted, Ukraine team colors (yellow and blue...the colors of Ukraine flag), so we got the entire thing from gloves, shin guards, wrist bands, shorts, shirt, shoes and ball. He also found a couple t-shirts and shorts he liked, since he had nothing even to sleep in. He has grown about 4 inches since we saw him, and he showed us the pajama pants we had given him..Hahaha..looked like capris!!! Anyway, asnSOON as we walked in the door of the flat, we got out of his clothes and put on the complete soccer uniform and, of course, I took pictures. Maybe I'll get them loaded on here soon...sorry.

We also found a soup pot for the kitchen here at the flat. The utensils are severely limited...well, let's be honest...there are NONE! We had a set of dishes (plates, bowls and cups w/saucers), a set of silverware (four forks, spoons, knives, and table spoons) and glasses. There is one skillet, one smallish pot, and an even smaller pot with a spout (not sure what they use it for), an electric kettle (used to boil water for instant coffee or tea) and one large knife (not very sharp) and a cork screw! There is no oven, no toaster, no microwave. Loving the gas cooktop though and making toast in the skillet! It makes you think of a progression for a meal...toast first, then sausage, then eggs...gradually making a slightly bigger mess with each menu item without altering (too much) the finished product. You noticed that no other bowls or platters were mentioned? That's because there are none of those either! I am so thankful to Hollie for the wise words...pack some of your things in Ziploc boxes and bags! How handy they are! I also brought two sharp knives and my Pampered Chef can opener...although I have not had any cans to open yet. I made some spaghetti sauce last night for today. Still didn't think of everything I needed to do that...like seasoning..but Linda and Barry both taste-tested and said it was good anyway! Yippee...I'm happy! So I moved it from the soup pot to the smallish pot to store in the refrigerator..'cause I'll need the soup pot to cook the spaghetti in! It will make for an interesting time of meal planning, but what's a little challenge? It's kind of like camping out, or tailgating...you can't take the whole kitchen with you!

Sunday we all slept later than expected...of course, most of the time we don't even know what time it IS. It was OK, because everyone was tired and we must have needed the sleep and REST. When we got up, I made that toast, sausage and eggs mentioned earlier. Linda sliced one of the tomatoes. We had honey and/or Nutella on toast and a variety of juices to drink. OH, the juice they have in boxes here...MMM!! Micah Artyom and I apparently like the same one the best...tropical mix with pineapple, mango, orange, banana and something else...anyway, we can't seem to keep that one around. We have to buy another box EVERY time we go to the market...which is every day! We also have the most delicious orange juice, apple juice that tastes like you just bit into the apple, and Barry's favorite, Pomegranate! I think there'll be some in the suitcase he brings home with him... Anyway, not long after we finished eating and cleaning up, and everyone started getting showers, Micah called his Granny. She didn't answer the first call, so he tried again a few minutes later. She told him she was sitting outside at the street WAITING FOR US!! Ok, get a move on and let's get out of here! When we arrived, she greeted us with hugs and tears and a bouquet of roses...seven beautiful fresh dark red, velvety roses! She just about crushed them hugging me, and she was so nervous. She took us upstairs to her apartment and had lunch (buffet!!) all laid out for us! Tomato cucumber salad, fried squash (sort of like BIG zucchini), sliced sausage, bread, potatoes and borscht! She had a bottle of champagne, too, and a bottle of carbonated apple/lemon juice on the table. She asked if we didn't like champagne we could have vodka instead!! We opened the champagne!..and toasted several times during the meal. It was all SO DELICIOUS..and when we got ready to leave later, she sent the remainder of the borscht home with us in a large jar! Mmmmm! We spent the rest of the afternoon talking and learning more about Micah's family and history. She gave us a VHS tape of his family from the time he was 7 months old! It's a treasure to her and we are going to find a place where we can get DVD copies made. How wonderful that he will have this later in his life...so many of his friends have NOTHING from their past...except bad memories. We shared the book of photos we had made for her and she wrote captions for the pictures so she can remember who everyone is. She is also happy to know about the schools he will attend and I have maps of Hoover and the U.S. to give her marked with all of the places we told her about. We will be spending more time with her as she comes with us on our outings around Poltava. (She is a retired cook!) We gave her the gifts we had brought for her and the Bible in Ukrainian that K.C. ordered at the Hunter Street bookstore. She appreciated all of it so much. I hope that she will spend time reading God's Word to find the truth in it and come to know Him. Linda and I spent some time finding and marking verses that can lead her to Him.

Back at the flat, we just hung out and tried to load a couple of games that we bought for Micah on Barry's computer...it didn't work for some reason, so he just watched his comedy DVD some more and played with a '15' puzzle I brought. Linda downloaded Skype on this netbook, so now we can 'SEE' some friends that aren't where we are!! We just have to keep the time difference in mind!

Well, it'a about 8:00AM now and Barry is up and moving...can't say the same for Micah and Linda, but they are the ones that were up LATE with the TV. She told Vitaly (the taxi driver friend) that we'd go to the museum around 11am I think, so they can have a little while longer. Barry and I are geting hungry though...cooking will surely wake them up! Again, I apologize for the length of these messages, but what else have I to do while they sleep? Yes, I have spent time with our gracious, loving, awesome God out on this little porch!!!SWEET!

Thankful and excited!
Rebecca

Well, those of you who were wondering where we were...wonder no more! Sorry I haven't been able to finish this and get it send\t...not enough time to write! We finally made it to Poltava Wednesday evening late. Getting to Kiev was an exercise in patience! After we sat at Memphis while they replaced the computer for the right engine as they kept telling us that we MIGHT have to get another flight, they finally said we were getting ready to depart...3 1/2 hours late. We knew there was no way we'd make the connection in Amsterdam, but after L-O-N-G walks from one gate to transfer kiosks and to the next gate and BACK, we got on the flight at 6:15pm for Kiev. We called our facilitator who was at the airport trying to find us to let him know we'd be there at 10PM instead! It was unbelievable how FAST we got through there. He had an airport employee with a sign with our name on it standing at the door when we walked through. He took us with a trolley straight to baggage claim and waited until we determined that our luggage was NOT there (he kept speaking to the people offloading baggage out the conveyer opening!). Then without a word took us to a desk to file a claim. When we were done there, he took us through the customs desk 'for Crew/Staff only' and down a corridor. When he opened the door, there stood Zhenia...waiting for us!

The two days in Kiev, we did not have internet access, but we walked everywhere we could get to. Woke up too early the first morning...the sun was up and bright, but it was only 4:30am (our first mistake was thinking it was 5:30...miscalculated the time)!! We thought McDonald's (one building over from our flat) would be open soon for coffee, but OH, NO!! They didn't open until 8:00! We went in search of someplace that WAS open, but found nothing. The cafe at the street level of our apartment building did serve us, even though I don't really think he was ready to. Had breakfast with Boycotts and Kapps after they finally opened...we were standing there waiting for them to unlock the doors! Egg McMuffins don't have Canadian bacon on them here, but you can get sausage Egg McMuffin. The pancakes are different also. The other families had their appointments on Tuesday morning...ours was Wednesday. Just spent time exploring...trying to find a place we'd shopped when we were here five years ago. We had a good lunch and waited to hear from Zhenia concerning our luggage. He let us know that it would be at the airport after 5:00pm...we assumed on the next flight that came from Amsterdam at the same time as the one we SHOULD have been on the day before. Then he let us know that it was there and would be delivered by airport staff that evening...had no idea it would be as late as 10:35pm when it got there!...but it finally did, and we tried to get some sleep...thankful that now we would have other clothes to wear and dress better for our appointment! The appointment was nothing to stress over...Zhenia is in control of everything! We just tell her how we came to meet Artem and if we know about his family and physical health. Whatever else was discussed, we have no clue! But Zhenia and the lady were laughing and smiling...that's enough for me! We all got our recommendations at 5pm on Wednesday...individual appearances again with same lady...God had paved the way for all of us! There were families from other countries there waiting for their recommendations also...some from Italy. As soon as we got them, we were ready to leave for Poltava...a 5 hour drive from Kiev in a 17 seat van. Of course, the luggage we all have takes up the four seats across the back of the van! We have six pieces just for me and Barry...not full of clothes...gifts for the orphanage and the people who will be helping with this process...the Inspector, Director, attorney, our facilitator, and probably our interpreter. I have also brought gifts for Artem's Granny, because we will be staying with her for some period of time before we come home. Fortunately there will be empty suitcases and we can nest them again on the way back...and we can buy some clothes for Artem before we leave as well. He only has the little case we gave him to return after Christmas and none of the clothes...he had outgrown them all!! He has grown about 4" since January...all his pants were too short! I hope that what I have in the closet at home will fit! He's tall, but thin...I think we can fix that too!!

Since we had been trying for two days in Kiev to get internet service to work, we were up until after midnight once we got to Poltava trying again with the help of the landlord's representative. We eventually got Barry's to work, but mine (the one I'll have when he leaves after court) still would not respond to wireless box sitting on the back of the sofa! So we made arrangements for him to come back Thursday afternoon when we were done with meetings. He called while we were trying to buy groceries, so we purchased what we had and hurried back. YAY!! As you can now see, it is working! We were getting frustrated because we couldn't even get in touch with Jourdan (who was still in Europe and even in the same time zone we are!) nor could she get in touch with us...she had no way to know that Barry's phone did not work. And because she didn't recognize the number we were calling from, she was afraid to answer the phone!! Uuggghh! Anyway, I finally left a voicemail with a friend!

Now it is Saturday morning...We have spent the best part of Thursday with meetings and paperwork. We went to the Inspectors office first, each family had a meeting with her. Then to the orphanage to meet Irene, the attorney. When we were getting ready to leave the Director arrived, so we greeted her...even though we think she might have been a little surprised at this many of us being here all at once. But we are all here at the same time, because she is trying to get away for a few days of vacation. She has signed her new contract, but they are still giving her a hard time about so many international adoptions from her orphanage and her job may still be in jeopardy if the contract is not ratified by the local parliament. Please pray for that situation...she has such a genuinely good heart for the children. She also was an orphan and grew up in the orphanage she directs! She only wants the best for the children and understands that what we have to offer them is good and right. The children were at the medical clinic doing blood work that is required for medical exams. They arrived and we greeted each of them...lots of hugs and smiles! We played frisbee in the little courtyard while we waited...Zhenia was inside with Director. We all went to Notary office to sign more papers. Then back to the orphanage where we all had another meeting with Inspector, attorney and Director together. They talked with each child this time to get their own acceptance of adoption proceeding. They have to hear directly from the child that they want to be adopted. Then they all have to write a letter saying that they want us to adopt them. What a long day for the children...and for us. We are tired! We take the children back to the camp...about 45 minutes from town and say goodnight. (That is when Zhenia started working on us having them with us instead of making trips back and forth to the camp.) Friday morning they were brought back to us and will stay for the next two weeks...YAY!!! We hung around the apartment for a while then went to the Equator mall for ice skating, the arcade and an attempt at shopping. I did buy a few more groceries (if you can call Ukrainian chocolate bars "groceries"..haha!) and a comforter for Linda to sleep under. It's like Ukrainian version of Wal-Mart...everything from lawn furniture to dried fish!

If you've managed to get this far, I hope I have not bored you to death! I had to catch up though! We've been busy, as you can probably tell. Had a phone call from Jourdan while we were at the mall, and was happy to hear her voice! I'm really needing a Jourdan hug and not soon gonna get one! Saw a couple cute things in the stores that may end up in one of those empty suitcases for her...don't tell! Well...my stomach is growling and Barry has finished his homework for today and is now taking a nap. Artem and Linda are still asleep on the sofa in the living room...it's a long sectional and that was their choice of where to sleep. Don't know if I mentioned...Linda is also an orphan graduate! Learning more about her as we have time to talk. I want to spoil her a little, if she will let me, while she is with us. She won't ask for anything for herself when we shop even for food.

Thanks for your continued prayers for us all...we know how important it is to the entire process! God has been so good! Oh!! I think someone else is finally awake!! I'm so hungry...my stomach is growling again...see ya'll later!

Blessings galore,
Rebecca and Barry