Let's start at the orphanage. We went to visit our boys with a list of important things to discuss with them. We started by telling them (with Victor's help) that we came here specifically to adopt them. We want them to be our sons, nothing is going to change our minds, and we will always be their Mamma and Papa. I noticed a visible change in them after we said that. They seemed to relax and talk more freely. Their personalities, especially Illya's, really came to life. We also had to discuss matters regarding their biological family, as several family members are still around and have visited them recently. We wanted to be sure that they understood what was really going to happen and that they would probably never have contact again with any of their biological family. Their response was stunning. There is NO questioning how they feel about this. It was so sad to see a child, any child, want so much distance from their family. The good side to this is that there doesn't seem to be any guilt or hesitation; they are both wholly ready for their new lives, and DO NOT want to look back. Illya spoke with such determination. He is a brave young man who has experienced too much life at age 12.
Curt and I feel absolutely blessed that God is directing US to give these boys a real chance at life. It will be so much fun to be with them as they discover the world. Illya says they have ridden in a car one time. Their diets are extremely limited--you KNOW I will have fun helping them discover new and different foods. They seem absolutely giddy when we talk about things and experiences back at home. Victor tells us "I cannot express how absolutely excited and committed they are." Of course they don't really know what lies ahead--to them it's like a fantasy world--but we will do everything we can to guide them through it, always keeping eyes and ears open to what God wants for these amazing young men.
As many internationally adopted children change their names when they come to America, we provided them with that option. Nothing is official yet, but they like the adaptations we suggested. So, may we prematurely present:
Elijah Ryan Powell
and
Isaac Curtis Powell
Elijah is the English version of Illya. There is no English version of Svyatoslav, but Isaac sounds a lot like Svyatik. In Ukrainian culture, the middle name is an adaptation of the father's name, so we gave each boy one of Curt's names. The new names will take all of us some getting used to, but in the long run I think it will be a good thing, especially since they are so eager to distance themselves from this world.
Curt is flying out of Donetsk tomorrow afternoon, and Victor is on the train to Kiev. (More on our current situation later.) Victor returns Tuesday morning, so he'll pick me up and take me to the orphanage to bring the boys to Donetsk to stay with me. Victor will be here in the apartment with us during the week, and go home to Kiev on the weekends. Curt will come back for a two week stint in November that should cover our court date. We're gunning for Nov 15 or 22, which means I should fly home with the boys by mid December. That's later than we'd hoped for, but remember, I'm having a blast. :)
Back to our day...
After our time at Uglegorsk, we checked out of our Enakievo hotel and drove to Donetsk. Donetsk was the industrial capital of the Soviet Union. It's all about coal and steel. From what I understand, years ago when they built the city, aesthetics and pollution control were low on the priority list. Now that all of the money from the industry is not being funneled directly to the government and some is staying here in Donetsk, a big effort is being made to clean up the city. I tell you, downtown Donetsk is *beautiful.* And right across the street from our current apartment, the Donetsk City shopping center is one of the largest collections of swanky, upscale shops and restaurants I've ever seen, complete with, for lack of a better term, an amusement park for kids. I am flabbergasted. Donetsk was one of the cities hosting the Euro 2012 soccer tournament this summer, and I understand that was a major catalyst in upgrading parts of the city. It will be interesting to follow Donetsk's progress. From what I have seen so far, Donetsk and the surrounding area has lots of extreme poverty, lots of extreme wealth, but very little in between. I know there is still a LOT of corruption (that may be the year's biggest understatement), but all of those well-dressed young people at the mall can't be politician's kids. I have hope that there are some things going right in Ukraine. Of course, I'm going to be staying here in Donetsk for several weeks so I may have a completely different viewpoint by the end of my stay.
If you've been to Ukraine, you know that planning ahead is just not done. We showed up in town hoping to find a suitable apartment. The ONE that Victor found wouldn't be available until 8pm, we were told when we arrived at noon. Ugh. Victor had his train to catch in the afternoon. What to do? Ohhhh Saaaaashaaaaa..... Sasha was our driver for the day, so he took care of us. I sure wish he spoke English. We really like him. He babysat our luggage in his car while we killed time at the MegaMall.
Have I said this already? I am SO glad that Curt and I have had the opportunities to travel that we've had. Ukraine is so utterly foreign, I'm sure I would be completely overwhelmed otherwise. Truth be told, this is fun. It's also Week 1 of probably 7-8 weeks. Check back with me later.
I'm sure there's a lot more I could add but it's time to sleep. There is no washing machine at this apartment (which is otherwise very nice) so tomorrow we will try to find another one, with Victor's help via phone. We are ON OUR OWN with no translator. Tomorrow I will be ON MY OWN with no translator. There does seem to be a lot of English spoken here in central Donetsk so I'm sure I'll be fine. I don't plan to wander far. Catching up on sleep is number one priority this weekend.
Jocelyn
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