Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Sergei At Camp








































































Who needs Disney World when you can go for an 18 mile cab ride through the Ukrainian countryside to get to camp? We had an interesting adventure with our cabdriver- knocked off a hubcap on a pothole, Dana and I were sure we had a flat tire, but we didn't and we made it to camp safe and sound. Cab fare- $8.00. Imagine that in the US! The camp is actually really nice- all the kids are in dorms, there is a full dining hall, and a schedule of activities. The camp also has kids from outside the orphanage attending.

We got to camp around 11:30 a.m. and hung out before lunch and were invited to have lunch which was very nice. Hot stew and hot tea on a 90 degree day, but we were happy to be included. The kids then had required down time from 1:00 p.m. -4:00 p.m. - we hung with Sergei and his four roommates and played quiet Uno, and learned to count in Russian, and just shot the breeze. We got shhhhhhh'd a few times from the counselors but they knew we were just having fun. We had a bag of candy from CVS and Sergei decided that HE would be the one to distribute it to the kids. Ok with us.

As you will see from the photos- the kids at camp have very little personality :-) including our new friend Kola who was wearing a babushka while playing the harmushka (mini-accordion).

We were checking on our court date today and our Interpol clearance has not come through yet. Our dossier was approved on May 26 and it can take up to 40 days to get the Interpol clearance to prove that we are not international criminals. So, we will not be in court on 7/01 and hopefully will make it for 7/05. Our facilitators here are working with contacts to hopefully make it all come together but please add a prayer for us also. After the first court date, there is a 10 day waiting period, and then about six days of paperwork to complete, so add about 16 to the court date and and that is when Dana and Sergei will get home. (Craig will head home on 7/08 unless the first court date hasn't happened yet:-( )

As you check the blog on our adventures overseas, we want to point out what is happening stateside as well. We've been able to Skype with Pat and Evan almost every day which has been great to keep a pulse as well as see the dogs on camera! Dana's sister Carla has been keeping an eye on Pat and Evan, our nephew Mac is now there for a couple days, and we are so blessed to have neighbors and friends having the kids over for dinner, getting them where they need to be, and overall adding a layer of reassurance that all in West Chester is ok. Craig was randomly emailing Greg Klimovitz, the youth minister of our church today, and Greg bounced back to say that he was taking Pat and Evan out to lunch. You can't imagine how good that feels to know that our family at home is well taken care of.


Please keep us in your prayers that the Interpol clearance comes through this week!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Great Day Hanging with the Kids











We are just in from dinner and not even sure where to begin. We had an awesome day today. We've gotten into a pretty good rhythm even in our short time here- our hotel is about a 5 minute walk to the orphanage, so we've been able to grab breakfast here with our new friends, the Trumps, who are adopting Tatiana, and then walk over to the orphanage, meet up with Sergei and Tatiana and spend the morning hanging out, playing Uno or bingo, tossing a ball around etc.

Yesterday was Dana's birthday and Sergei gave her a necklace with two hearts, Tatiana had made a necklace and earrings from a jewelry kit, Nastya (a girl we had not even met yet) had embroidered a picture, and Tatiana and Sergei had beaded a bracelet. Craig got a cake from a local market and we met after lunch for cake in the cafeteria with Larissa, Sergei's lead teacher whose birthday is 6/28. Larissa had a jewelry box as a gift for Dana...all really nice things that just warmed Dana's heart. We then went to a local lake with the kids at the orphanage and watched them just jump in, swim and have fun before they had dinner.

We had a great dinner out with the Trumps and Sergey, our guide, at Eden- except for the boom-boom-boom of the Euro techno music in the background.

Today- our signals got a little crossed with Sergei. We thought he was at the lake again and we walked over there, but he had gone to the nurse to get his cough/cold checked. However, at the lake, the younger kids were there (10-12 year olds) and we had fun with them. As our dear friend Becky Welsh says.."they are all so precious". We then connected with Sergei who continues to wear the same green bathing suit and played uno, got some ice cream from the local store, and got his passport photo taken via Sergey(our guide) since we cannot take him offsite ourselves. Then..we went upstairs to the floor where Sergey lives and the teachers who have had him and Tatiana in class for all these years (Sergey- 8 years, Tatiana- 4 years) had a send off party for them. Although there was not a whole lot of shared language, it was so clear how much they love these kids. We asked if Sergei was a good kid :-) and the teachers gave us two thumbs up. We showed them photos of Pat and Evan, the dogs, our house- and got questions about our house, how many rooms, etc. that one could expect when traveling in Ukraine. The kids all leave (including Sergei) for a summer camp about 18 miles away tomorrow, so some of the teachers likely won't see Sergei again before he leaves.

We then went outside and PLAYED AND PLAYED AND PLAYED - nerf football, soccer, frisbee, jacks, with any and all of the kids who wanted to play on this dusty, sandy, weedy field on the orphanage grounds that wouldn't get a second look back in the US. Sergei was a little bit like..."why are all of you kids hovering around MY parents?" but we all got into just having fun. There are so many good kids here that it is overwhelming to think how we can help them. We got a bagful of Cokes and Sprites from the local market after we were finished playing and you would have thought that we had given the kids gold. One little guy, Maksim, kept giving Dana sips of his Sprite on the ballfield. (Earlier in the day, the kids were given hard candy for a treat and you wouldn't believe how many of the kids gave US their candy since we were guests). We talked with the Trumps over dinner that we are going to be advocating and praying for these kids to be hosted by New Horizons over Christmas. There is a spot in someone's home and heart for these kids- we just need to find it.

We will find out on Wednesday when our first court date is. There is a 50-50 chance it will be on 7/01 (Sergei's birthday) which is about a week ahead of schedule. If not, it will likely be on 7/05 which is still ahead of where we thought we would be.

Tomorrow will be a little different- we'll get a taxi out to the camp and spend just part of the day out there until we get the lay of land. Craig is teaching an online class for Drexel while we are here so it will give him some time to grade papers. Sergei will be in the camp until he departs, although there will be some back and forth for court dates, etc. The orphanage itself essentially closes down to allow for vacation time for teachers and staff.

More later---keep us and these great kids in your prayers.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Reconnecting with Sergei







Using the internet has made this trip so easy; we've been able to talk to Pat and Evan every day via Skype and send some reminders, etc. via email, as well as update this blog. Far away, but not so far away at all.


We are in Severodonetsk- staying in a very nice hotel that is about a five minute walk from the orphange- $45 per night includes breakfast. This area looks much different than Kiev- pretty depressed economically, no outdoor cafes or landscaping, etc. We were met at the Donetsk airport on Friday morning by Sergey (same name, different person) who will be our guide/facilitator while we are here. He is great and got us to the hotel in about two hours. We went to go see Sergei at the orphanage (our Sergei) and he was out swimming at the lake, so we get some notarization done and then headed back to the orphanage.

Sergei arrived in his bathing suit---he knew we were coming but still couldn't believe we were here, and we had to get down to business by the close of the work day---what name did he want? Some kids change to a more Americanized name when they are adopted, but to us Sergei is Sergei and he agreed. We talked about middle names---mentioned Ronaldinho as possiblility (his favorite soccer player) and chose John. That is Craig's middle name and was Craig's dad's middle name as well. Good to get that done and we then had to run and get a request for a new passport completed with SERGEI JOHN LOUNDAS on it.

We can't be alone with Sergei until the final court date is completed, but we wanted to have dinner out so we arranged for the orphanage's attorney to join us and another family, the Trumps's from Atlanta, along with their new daughter and Sergey, our facilitator.
On Saturday morning, we went over to the orphanage with a couple nerf footballs and some jacks and played all morning with a bunch of kids. As happy as we are to reunite with Sergei, each child you'll see in these photos needs a home. They were thrilled to have a few hours of undivided adult attention. We will hope and pray that each one finds a home.



Tuesday, June 22, 2010

We are here


Well the first challenge was to sign into the Blog in Russian. We are safe and sound in Kiev- arrived on Monday about 2:00 p.m.-all easy flights, no delays, and great service on Lufthansa on the long flight to Frankfort. We are staying in a small studio apt. that is really nice and convenient to the center of the city. We've met two other families- the Dunmires (Pittsburgh) and the Lawlors (Atlanta) who are also adopting through the same program and we've been able to trade some stories and hints we've picked up. We have our first appointment this morning at 9:00 a.m. at the equivalent of the National Adoption Center - the Lawlors went yesterday and said it was a breeze. They'll review Sergei's file with us, confirm that it is he who we want to adopt, review some basics of his history and health with us, and then we return tomorrow afternoon for our official referral. We then fly at 6:45 a.m. on Friday to Severodonetsk and we should see Sergei sometime that day. Sergei will then confirm to an inspector that he does indeed want to be adopted and we can then begin filing all the official stuff back to Kiev. The paperwork goes back and forth on a train to Kiev, so there is some waiting for sign-offs, etc. but the timing should put us at our first court date no later than July 8.

There is another family from Atlanta that is about a week ahead of us in the process at the same orphanage where Sergei is- they are adopting his good friend which will be neat to have them both new to the US at the same time. They called us last night (we have a Ukraine cell phone for our time here) and told us that Sergei was drilling them on if they knew us, if we were here yet, etc...he is ready!

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Off We Go


We are in the PHL airport waiting to depart. We had a great sendoff breakfast with Pat and Evan who were our chauffeurs to the airport. With our two backpacks full of stuff, we look like we are contestants in the Amazing Race. We arrive in Kiev at 1:15 p.m. on Monday- which will be 6:15 a.m. our time. We have the rest of Monday and Tuesday to adjust and then our first appt. on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. - if all goes smoothly, we are off to Severodonetsk on Friday morning on a 2 hour flight and will Sergei before the close of the day. Aunt Carla and a great network of friends and neighbors are keeping watch over home base...thanks!


Here's a photo of Sergei when we took him back to JFK in January.

Friday, June 4, 2010

We have a date-

Tonya, our adoption coordinator stateside, confirmed that we are meeting with the SDA (State Adoption Agency) in Kiev on June 23 at 10:00 a.m. From there, we'll be issued an approval to adopt packet and then head out to meet up with Sergei in the Lugansk region of Ukraine. We are hoping to catch a flight from Kiev close to there and then have a 2 hour cab ride, instead of the 20 hour ovenight train.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

What You Don't Know Won't Hurt You

Under the category of "what you don't know won't hurt you", there was a vote today in the Ukrainian Parliament to place a moratorium on international adoption. This is likely in reaction to the boy who was adopted in the US and then sent back to Russia earlier this spring. We had no clue this was going on. Luckily and thank God, the bill DID NOT pass, so we are fine. However, this action caused a slight delay in processsing, but we expect to hear about our first appointment date in Kyiv tomorrow.