Flying Home

I only have a few minutes, but we were able to get the girls' Visas this afternoon just in the nick of time, so I will be able to fly home tomorrow with them to Salt Lake. We almost didn't make it because the car delivering their new passports to Poltava broke down. They finally arrived in Poltava at 11:30 pm last night, so our friend Irena picked them up and faxed a copy to the American Embassy where we were waiting to get a copy to take to get their medical exams done. We needed the original passports to get the medical results and get back to the Embassy, so our friend Stas drove 90 m.p.h. from Poltava to Kiev. The Embassy closes at 4:00, and at 4:05, we got out of rush hour traffic and ran a few blocks for it. They let us in thankfully, and we were able to get them. I owe them one. One funny thing during the interview was when the interviewer said he was responsible for making sure the girls were going to a good home that would teach them values, so he had a very important question for me...Who do I support? The University of Utah or BYU? I answered Blue through and through, and he grinned and said I passed. (Sorry Jeff, Susie, and Rick!) My Lufthansa flight gets in from Chicago at 8:12 pm. It will be so great to bring our new daughters home. When I have access to an English computer again, I'll fill in a few more details and post the pictures I haven't been able to post yet. What a great experience. I cannot believe how lucky we are to have such amazing girls. They are so easy to love, and I look forward to the rest of our lives together.

Last Day in Poltava...maybe

We are hoping to get Ukrainian passports today, but we had some problems getting Svieta's Ukrainian social security number, so hopefully it will all come together quickly. If all goes well, we will travel from Poltava to Kiev this evening. I will be sad to leave. It's begun to feel like another home to me. Especially after I studied the map and walked all over, I finally know where I'm going! There is a certain sweetness to life here.

Zhenia's aunt Zoya did my friend Linda's hair today, and we both got manicures for a total of... Five bucks! I've never had one before but hey, for five bucks? Don't worry Loren, I won't make a weekly habit of it...notice I said weekly.

We met Zoya and her husband Pasha when we went back to say goodbye to Zhenia's family. I feel bad for Zhenia because her great uncle is opposed to the adoption and he has some old ideas from Soviet times about evil Americans. He glared at us when we got out of the van, then followed Zhenia into the courtyard where he told her she was going to be raped, we probably only wanted her for a kidney or something, or we would steal her blood. Then he said she was a bad person for wanting to go to America and cursed her. Then he left. She cried and said she wished she hadn't come. Luckily for her the others in the family that we had met before are very supportive, so that helped her heal. I did feel bad for her though because they had planned for everyone in their family to come see her off, and the only people besides her Babushkas Katia and Mosha, Uncle Roman, Aunt Natasha, and cousins Sergei and Katia who came were Pasha and Zoya. The others aren't sure they approve. Zoya was friendly from the first moment, but Pasha spent some time surveying us and listening to us, asking some pretty direct questions like, "Do you want to have a large family so you can convert them?" By the end of the evening however, he said that he felt we were sincere and that we really loved Zhenia. He also said that after all of the pain in her life, she finally got the winning lottery ticket by being chosen by us. I really love her family and consider them part of mine now as well.

Yesterday, we went back to their village to say goodbye to Linda's daughter Anya's grandfather. What a sweet man! He and his girlfriend Ria had a spread layed out of green borsht (amazing soup!), fried chicken, potatoes, salads, fresh vegetables from their garden, homemade pickles and pickled tomatoes, garlic bread... Here are my warnings to those still coming to Ukraine if you are invited to a family's home:

1. PACE YOURSELVES. I'm serious, everyone will be done way before they expect you to be done, and you will hurt their feelings if you don't keep eating. My advice is to eat very slowly, and load your plate a little at a time. Try to time your bites and your servings when you know they are watching, and the rest of the time, just hold the food on your fork, or you will feel like bursting.

2. When they fill your drink, it is a Ukrainian superstition to leave the glass on the table. If you lift it up, they say it means you are trying to hurry through your life = short life.

3. For the many toasts, never toast with an empty glass, it means bad luck.

4. They also believe if the last person you toast is male, it will bless you financially. Hmmmm.

Ria gets up at 5 am every morning and goes out to work in their field. Then she works at a brick factory from 9-6 moving 9 pound bricks from one conveyor belt to another with 1/2 hour off for lunch. Upon returning home, she works in the field again before doing the household stuff. I will not complain about how busy I am again! My whole outlook has changed from my experiences here. I hope I never go back to being the same person I was before. Wow.

Gratitude

We had some more nerve-wracking experiences with government officials this last week. Two officials were convinced I must have ulterior motives for adopting the girls because they can't figure out why someone would do this. Another official was very stern about not wanting to fulfill her step of the process (even though the court said we can proceed). When we first came to her office, she wouldn't even look me in the eye. She sent us back into the hallway where I prayed silently for about 15 minutes, and when we were invited back in, the atmosphere was completely different. She agreed to do her part and wished me good luck and that the girls would be obedient. I would rather not give the details about the situation on the website, but can email those of you still coming to the Poltava region after me when I have more time in Kiev next week. (That is assuming I'll have more time next week!)

All in all, I have a profound sense of gratitude to the Lord for changing hearts and melting walls. I have seen it time and time again here, and I know He is very aware of us and wants these girls to be in our family. Every time I come up against what seems to be an impossible situation, He finds a way to make it happen. I have felt peace during this process because I believe that if we felt inspired to bring these girls into our home, He will not let anything stand in our way. I would be very ungrateful if I didn't give Him my appreciation.

I have not had the chance to speak with Oksanna about sponsering her for college yet, but I hope to in the morning.

I compiled a list of things I've noticed here for those coming to prepare, and as a point of interest for anyone else:

1. Doors open the opposite direction. I haven't mastered this one yet after a month!
2. There are no seatbelts in any of the rear seats of vehicles.
3. Plan on purchasing a new blow dryer here instead of using your converter. It will work better, and your American one will most likely burn out anyway (mine did), so if you're going to be purchasing a new one anyway, they are cheaper here.
4. Americans have forgotten how to walk!
5. No matter how SLOWLY someone speaks in an unfamiliar language, it won't make the listener magically understand them. (This applies both directions!)
6. Learn to like dill. It's in everything. If you don't like it, learn to say you don't want it, and say it whether you think the dish will have it or not. It garnishes probably 95% of soups, salads, sandwiches, and some meats. Luckily I haven't seen it in yogurt.
7. Hope you like beets. Enough said.
8. Are some women genetically designed to wear high heels every day?
9. If you don't like a wire, pipe, or door for that matter on your wall, just paint or wallpaper over it. No one will notice...