Last Night in Gorlovka

I can hardly believe it is our last night in Gorlovka. Tomorrow our life will dramatically change from a family of four to a family of six! I can’t believe we get to take them out of their respective orphanages, FINALLY! It seems like a dream. Our day has been filled with a lot of special memories and special people here who have wished us well and supported us in many ways. I am not sure if we can ever thank them enough. I realize our experience may be somewhat different than most that may come or have already been here. God has surely blessed us and it has been quite humbling to say the least.

Our day started by getting ready for church, and of course, we were five minutes late again. We were both suffering from sinus stuff through the night so I felt like a truck hit me this morning….. Church was awesome. Kostya and his wife joined everyone too. After the service when we got to the prayer requests our names were listed on the bulletin. Everyone was so supportive and genuinely happy for us as we came to our last Sunday together. Kostya and Olga then took us back to the drug store for some antibiotics and meds just in case. Don’t want to get on the plane feeling this bad. Last night, whatever Anna bought sure did the trick around midnight. I drank it, waited a minute, and then thought, “I wonder if this stuff will help me sl……”. That is as much as I can remember.

This afternoon, our friend Vanya came to talk a bit before we went to a church dinner. He is one of the neatest kids I have ever had the pleasure to know. He is so pleasant and so full of humor with an old spirit. If you can imagine, a tall, lanky and funky dressed Jim Allen (family friend in Swansboro). He has as many jokes and stories to go one on one with Jim. Since we know Jim’s roots began in a remote part of this country – could it be possible that they are related???? His dream is to be a preacher and study in the states and then come back here. Before he left tonight, he said to both Jeff and me, “I don’t know if anyone from here has said this, but as a citizen of Ukraine, thank you for adopting those children”. It was very moving. To have met a youth with that level of maturity and knowledge about life in general is rare. Of course, in America, our kids do not realize what they have. It’s amazing.

So then, we went to our dinner. It was a literal feast. I mean, there was stuffed cabbage, salads, peerozhKEY (phonetic spelling, sorry for mutilating that Olga and Anna), sirnic, roasted chicken, beets with all kinds of crazy stuff mixed in that was awesome, and bleene (our favorite!). Then for dessert we had good old fashioned apple pie with ice cream, Chewy Charlies and lemon bars. All the Babooshkas were so happy to know that Jeff ate 9 peeroshKEY’s. They were equally amazed that I counted how many he ate. They are like a croissant with mashed potatoes inside or peas that are mashed up with garlic. It was sooooo good. I feel as full tonight as I did last Sunday night! Thank goodness we have not eaten like that very often! At least here most people walk where ever they go so they have a chance to burn off what they ate! It was really nice though. All the Babooshka’s said they would wait on the benches for us to return tomorrow afternoon before we get on the train. They are very anxious to see the kids so I pray that they will be able to meet them and get the chance to give them a hug and a kiss goodbye. We have a few pics of the night that Jeff will try to add tonight.

We are not sure how or when we can write again. Maybe on the train we hope. Keep us in your prayers for a safe train ride, car/taxi, and then three planes on Wednesday. We are a bit anxious about the next three days as I am sure you can imagine. The train station in Kiev will be one of the biggest journeys if we make it without a scratch! There are many stairs and huge crowds of people to lug our kids and bags through (so don’t forget to pray we have patience, too).

Our boys, we love you. We watched Napoleon Dynamite today just for you. We are still counting down the minutes until we can squeeze you tight and make up for all the time we have missed you! Please keep your chins up and your eyes focused until then!!

My dear Pam, it was so good to hear from you. I guess I knew from the moment I read your first post that Fred had passed on. We cannot say we know exactly how you all are feeling. But we have been there and know the depth and breadth of losing a Dad. Please tell Paul that Jeff is especially touched by all he is experiencing and is keeping him (as are all of us, and you, too) in our prayers. Aleeze! It was great to hear from you! Hope you are okay. Everyone else, thanks for truly keeping the “home fires” burning for us while we have been away. I cannot tell you how much more I will appreciate my own bed, my beloved pillow, yelling, screaming, dust, shoes, laundry,……. You get the picture I am sure. I love you all so dearly. Thank you from the bottom of my humbled heart!