The Day We'd Been Waiting For

It was all worth it.  To see Sasha SO happy today and so sure of what he wants for his future made all of the heartache of the past week, and maybe even the past year, worthwhile.  And I tell you, there's been heartache.  But now, this unbelievably smart, intuitive, observant, determined, charming, nurturing, brave young man will be a Powell soon.  How blessed we all are.

Curt, Victor and I left Kiev around 8:00 last night on the sleeper train.  I love the sleeper train.  I really do.  Yeah, the bathrooms are gnarly, but you get to make up your own little fort and be rocked (sometimes quite violently) to sleep.  We went first class this time, which was even cooler than usual.  Curt and I had a compartment to ourselves, the window shades were nicer, there was a working outlet, mirrors, and the tea was free.  Yippee!

When our joyride was over, we went into Donetsk to meet Vladimir for breakfast.  Vladimir is the director of the Amvrosiivka orphanage and a good friend of ours; he stayed at our house for five weeks this summer when we hosted Sasha.  Vladimir speaks about as much English as we speak Russian, but we have fun trying to communicate.  With Victor around to translate, we were able to have some more meaningful conversations today.

We all drove to Amvrosiivka together.  They've fixed the road!  Sort of, anyway.  Patched it.  It's still pretty scary at times but it's not as bad as it used to be.  I'd spent a lot of time on the train praying for specific things to go our way today; I hadn't even considered mentioning the road.  What a bonus!

We went into Amvrosiivka's version of the bleak communist era government building to meet with a few people.  We first chatted with the Chief of Juvenile Services.  She made what just might be the kindest gesture I've experienced here in Ukraine.  She knew we'd just traveled from Kiev.  Before getting too deep into discussion, she asked if we needed to use the bathroom.  If you've been through this adoption process before, you know how meaningful that is!  Bathrooms are hard to come by in those buildings, and many times it's just not appropriate to ask where they are.  When I told her Yes, thank you, this kind woman offered me a roll of toilet paper (!!!!) and a hand towel to dry my hands.  What a saint.

Our next meeting was with the mayor.  Yes, the mayor of Amvrosiivka.  It’s a small town, and he likes to personally interview all of the potential adoptive parents.  What an interesting concept!  I think I like it.  We got along well.

It was going to be awhile before our paperwork was ready to take to the orphanage so we checked into our hotel. *Nice* new hotel, in little ol’ Amvrosiivka.  Who woulda thought.  There’s even wifi, as you’ve probably figured out.  Hotel Druzhba.

After a few minutes’ rest, we went back out to the car, collected the correct official from the local gloomy government building, and finally headed to the orphanage.  I’d been texting Sasha this week to let him know our status, so he was expecting us today.  In fact, he was waiting for us by the doorway!  I wonder how long he’d been standing there.  J  He was dressed up in a sweater and nice jeans and a HUGE smile that rarely left his face. What a beautiful sight. I flashed back to my visits here with Sasha almost exactly a year ago and relished in how much he’s changed. What a difference hope and love can make.

All of the appropriate people gathered in Vladimir’s office to go through the protocol with Sasha: Do you know these people?  Do you want to be adopted by them and live in America?  Sasha did not hesitate with his answers: “Dah.”  “Dah.”  That meeting wrapped up quickly, then Curt and I had some time with just Sasha.  Victor came in and out to help translate and chat with Sasha a bit.  Sasha told us that he can understand everything we say, he just can’t respond in English yet.  It will happen quickly, no doubt.  He’s a SMART cookie.  I just kept hugging him and hugging him, and he kept smiling and smiling.

We’ll spend some more time with Sasha tomorrow, then Anya and Den (yay!) will pick us up and take us to Donetsk, where we have a few errands to run, including catching a plane back to the States.

Overall, I am feeling very much at peace right now.  Yes, this adoption process can be extremely stressful and Ukraine can be harsh.  But the payoff is huge.  We all know that there are challenges ahead; different challenges than we’re facing with Eli and Isaac, but we feel equipped to take them on. How could we not?   Look at what God has done so far with this journey!  It’s such an honor to play a part in this beautiful testimony of His power, mercy, and love.