There is no other word than amazing to describe Sergey below. When you want to get the job done, he is the one to call. He worked hard in a system that is broken or doesn't make sense. We could all learn a lesson on dedication from him.
It's hard to imagine that you can form a bond with people you've only spent a few hours with but that is just what happens when you enter this process with other adopting families. Bridgette and Kyle Lawlor (below) are from Atlanta. We began our journey in Kyiv with them as they were preparing to depart to adopt their new son Roman.
We spent many many days and MEALS with the Trumps, also from the Atlanta region. We were so fortunate to overlap with another family in Severodonetsk.
Above is our first day in Kyiv with the Lawlors and the Dunmires from Pittsburgh. They adopted Andre from the same orphanage as Roman. They spent many days together visiting the orphanage and the camp in their region. The Dunmires also traveled with their son Dustin.
I will cherish this picture above for a very long time. Sergei considers this the best picture of his two moms. Larisa has been his teacher since his first day in the orphanage. Without a doubt, she and her family have a special bond with him. Larisa and I had lots of time together. It is a total blast when you can communicate some serious stuff without knowing each other's language. We will continue to skype with her and hope that she visits the East Coast on a hosting trip with New Horizons or possibly a vacation. It is very difficult to get a visa to leave Ukraine.
Above is our first day in Kyiv with the Lawlors and the Dunmires from Pittsburgh. They adopted Andre from the same orphanage as Roman. They spent many days together visiting the orphanage and the camp in their region. The Dunmires also traveled with their son Dustin.
I will cherish this picture above for a very long time. Sergei considers this the best picture of his two moms. Larisa has been his teacher since his first day in the orphanage. Without a doubt, she and her family have a special bond with him. Larisa and I had lots of time together. It is a total blast when you can communicate some serious stuff without knowing each other's language. We will continue to skype with her and hope that she visits the East Coast on a hosting trip with New Horizons or possibly a vacation. It is very difficult to get a visa to leave Ukraine.
Below is one of the camp directors with two of our buddies. We saw him on our daily visits. He was a key playing in helping me throw an ice cream party for all of the kids. The big director and the medical director said no at first, it was too hot for ice cream. I couldn't believe it. I kept pushing and pushing and he helped to get a thumbs up.
The teachers of the Internot love these kids. They are supportive of adoption but defnitely feel their own loss. Many of them work long days and spend time away from their own families, especially if they are on camp duty. I did learn that their salaries about about $250 a month.
Hard to believe that I would call the hotel Mup (Mir) home, but it was my home for almost five weeks. The staff was wonderful and of course we had our favorites. Above is Margherita at the front desk. She helped me translate letters from kids (Rusian to English) and email them to several American families. She would also help me to print out letters from parents and deliver them to kids. Just imagine their delight to receive mail at camp. I remember the days of sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for a time to skype with Sergei. I was thrilled to be able to keep communication open for these families. Below is Tonya, my favorite waitress in the restuarant. Breakfast was included in the room rate so I saw her just about every morning.
Constantine and Gena were our dedicated drivers to and from camp. Yana,below,is the young lady we are trying to fix up Sasha, Larisa's son. Gena was so happy to learn a the new word match maker.
I didn't get her name above but we saw her EVERYDAY in the convenience store where we bought bottled water and yogurt for lunch. She was always happy to greet us. Below is my favorite cookie vendor who new me by name "Dah-na" like so people at home call me. 
I loved going to the market daily because I got such a kick out of seeing my vendor friends. The lady above worked at the cross stich and needle point booth. I stopped there many times. The picture below is the fruit lady. One day she asked me to see our picutre. The following day, I delivered a black and white print out in a plastic protector and she was thrilled. In fact, she was so thrilled that she gave me a lemon. I am not sure what the significance of the lemon is but I game it to Margherita at the front desk and she was happy to receive it.
And finally the meat vendor...I actually didn't meet her but when I was with Sergey the translator, we asked permission to take her picture. Not only did she agree, but she brought out her BEST cow's head just for that purpose. Talk about being proud of your wares!! 
So, today is my last day in Ukraine. It is time to wake up Sergei and do a little shopping. I didn't want to leave without an appropriate recognition of the amazing people I have encountered on this journey. Ukrainians are beautiful and kind people. They have opened their hearts and their world to us and we are so very thankful.
The teachers of the Internot love these kids. They are supportive of adoption but defnitely feel their own loss. Many of them work long days and spend time away from their own families, especially if they are on camp duty. I did learn that their salaries about about $250 a month.
Hard to believe that I would call the hotel Mup (Mir) home, but it was my home for almost five weeks. The staff was wonderful and of course we had our favorites. Above is Margherita at the front desk. She helped me translate letters from kids (Rusian to English) and email them to several American families. She would also help me to print out letters from parents and deliver them to kids. Just imagine their delight to receive mail at camp. I remember the days of sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for a time to skype with Sergei. I was thrilled to be able to keep communication open for these families. Below is Tonya, my favorite waitress in the restuarant. Breakfast was included in the room rate so I saw her just about every morning.
Constantine and Gena were our dedicated drivers to and from camp. Yana,below,is the young lady we are trying to fix up Sasha, Larisa's son. Gena was so happy to learn a the new word match maker.
I didn't get her name above but we saw her EVERYDAY in the convenience store where we bought bottled water and yogurt for lunch. She was always happy to greet us. Below is my favorite cookie vendor who new me by name "Dah-na" like so people at home call me. 
I loved going to the market daily because I got such a kick out of seeing my vendor friends. The lady above worked at the cross stich and needle point booth. I stopped there many times. The picture below is the fruit lady. One day she asked me to see our picutre. The following day, I delivered a black and white print out in a plastic protector and she was thrilled. In fact, she was so thrilled that she gave me a lemon. I am not sure what the significance of the lemon is but I game it to Margherita at the front desk and she was happy to receive it.
And finally the meat vendor...I actually didn't meet her but when I was with Sergey the translator, we asked permission to take her picture. Not only did she agree, but she brought out her BEST cow's head just for that purpose. Talk about being proud of your wares!! 
So, today is my last day in Ukraine. It is time to wake up Sergei and do a little shopping. I didn't want to leave without an appropriate recognition of the amazing people I have encountered on this journey. Ukrainians are beautiful and kind people. They have opened their hearts and their world to us and we are so very thankful.
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