ONE WEEK IN....

It’s been a whole week since we boarded the airplane in Atlanta for this great adventure.  It’s hard to believe it’s been a week.  It’s even harder to believe how many more weeks we have to go.  And in case you are wondering, we don’t know how many weeks we have to go.  Also, in case you are wondering, we are still cold.  The main thing is that we are with the kids now!!!  The reunion was precious.  Lots and lots of hugs and kisses and tears.  Nicholas kept saying “Thank you very much.”  They have not forgotten a word of their English.  We are such proud parentsJ  We get to visit with them two or three hours each day at the orphanage.  And today’s special treat was getting to have cake and coke together for Jarrod’s birthday.  We all sang Happy Birthday (yep, they knew the English words) and ate lots of sugar.  Also, our new friend, Jennifer, and her new daughter, Rita, joined us.  It was a party, for sure.  Jennifer has become such a sweet friend to us, as we are all in this journey together. 

Before we left Atlanta, we had read tons of adoption books.  I feel like I read every adoption blog out there.  We talked to all kinds of folks who have adopted, are in the process of adopting, and are thinking about adopting.  We felt loaded with information and understanding of the process and the journey.  Today, I realize just how little I knew.  Being here has changed everything.  When I read that the process is an emotional roller coaster, I had no idea.  When I read that anything can happen, I had no idea.  When I read that you have to take each day as it comes, I had no idea.  When I read about how tired and disoriented you are in-country, I had no idea.  A few days ago, when we got to the kids’ region and there was no suitable hotel room for us the first night, I just kept wishing there was some other way to get these children to our home.  I wished we could just “send for them” like we did with hosting.  Now, I am so grateful God didn’t allow such foolishness.  This process is necessary.  Like the pangs of childbirth.  It’s necessary because now I understand just a tiny little bit of what it is like to be in a strange land with only a handful of people who speak your language.  I am beginning to understand how unsettling it is to walk into a restaurant and feel like everyone is staring at you because you are different.  It’s frustrating at times to have to wait for a cab every time you want to eat or go to the grocery store or get a cup of coffee.  And it is downright surreal to be herded through the system at meetings and appointments and asked to sign things you can’t read and pay money to people you just met.  I miss my bed and Starbucks and my routine and buying stuff in American dollars instead of grivna.  There is so much thinking to do when you are in a foreign land with people you don’t know, going down streets you don’t know to eat something you may or may not recognize.  It makes me imagine what in the world it must be like for the kids.  We are asking them to come to a place they don’t know to live with people they don’t really know, to go to places that are so crowded with strange speaking people, to come to church, to sleep in a strange bed, to eat completely different food, and to behave in the midst of it all.  I’m beginning to understand.  And understanding is really, really important.  It’s important as we spend time with them each day while we are here.  And it will be ultra important when we get home.  Much is being asked of them.  And they are just children.  Orphaned children at that.  Perspective matters. 

This is Rod speaking now.  The above words were Lisa’s.  She is the sensitive one, recognizing feelings, emotions, perspectives.  I’m the logical one.  It’s my job to handle the rational items, to take care of the details, interface with the facilitator, get things done.  Isn’t it amazing how God puts 2 people together who complement each other so well?

This is my 4^th trip to Ukraine in the last 4 years.  On the previous trips, most of my time was spent in Kiev.  Kiev is a very modern, cosmopolitan city.  It is roughly the size of Atlanta and has similar traffic joys.  You can pretty much find anything you want in Kiev, including shopping (lots of malls), restaurants of all varieties, entertainment, museums, sightseeing, a ton of history (the city is over 1000 years old), parks and a wide main street with lots of window shopping.  We spent 3 days there with friends Oleg and Lena before heading to the city where the kids live. 

We are now in the town of Zholti Vodi (sometimes spelled Zhovti Vodi and literally translated “Yellow Waters.”)  ZV is an industrial town of about 50,000 people.  It is not the booming metropolis of Kiev.  I would call it a quiet town.  We are in a small hotel (possibly the only one in town) where the staff has been very efficient and helpful to us.  There are 3 main restaurants in town and a couple of bakeries.  We have tried 2 of the restaurants and will visit the 3^rd shortly.  I’m sure we will become very familiar with them by the end of our journey.  In case you are wondering, there are no Chick-fil-A’s or Starbucks.  Fortunately one is a pizza place.  It will see us often.

There is much English spoken in Kiev, very little in ZV.  In Kiev many restaurants have English menus.  Many of the signs and advertisements have English subtitles.  Not so in ZV.  The restaurant menus are only in Ukrainian and do not have pictures.  Ironically, at both ZV restaurants the overhead music is mostly American / English.  We rocked out to Beyonce, NSync and Dire Straits today while having pizza.  It is so surreal. 

Our hotel TV has many channels.  None are in English.  As I flip the channels, I recognize some American shows with Ukrainian voices dubbed in.  Today we saw the Ukrainian version of the show “The Biggest Loser.”  However, Jarrod and I are thankful for the internet and for Slingbox.  In case you are unfamiliar with Slingbox, it is a device that connects to your home TV controller / wi-fi router and allows you to watch your home channels over the internet.  The resolution is poor and the audio breaks up often but we are getting ESPN.  As we enter college football bowl season, it will be a lifesaver.

Later we will post more about the differences in culture, etc.  There are many hardships and much waiting.  Most days we will be able to see the kids for no more than 2 hours.  After that, there is little to do.  We miss our home, our own beds our cars, our church, the warmer climate of Kennesaw and our friends and family.  As Lisa mentioned, the momentary troubles are like the pangs of childbirth and when they are passed, we will have our children with us.  We are at such peace with this decision and the adventure that comes with it.  We know that God is faithful and we believe He has called us to this.  Therefore, we go, we sleep in strange beds, eat unfamiliar foods, walk in the cold, sit around and wait.  James 1:27 has become our mantra: 

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” 

Keep us in your prayers.  We appreciate it so much.

Ps.  A little known fact from Ukraine: 2% milk and buttermilk look the same in the package when you can’t read the label.  But, boy do you notice the difference in cereal.