An Entire Trip to Ukraine in One Post

WHAT A WHIRLWIND.  Curt and I are in a hotel room in snowy Donetsk right now.  We are flying to Munich tonight, and on to Tulsa tomorrow.  I'll try to catch you up on everything that's happened since we left Tulsa a few days ago.

First, here's what Donetsk looked like last evening.  It was supposed to snow all night; I haven't looked outside yet this morning but I'm confident...well, hopeful... that the roads will be passable and the airport is functioning.

Okay, where to start.  How about in Tulsa.  Our first flight, Tulsa to Dulles, was delayed.  By 2.5 hours.  That was BAD NEWS as we had no margin.  We spoke at length with a United gate agent, a United rep on the phone, and searched online for other options, and after a couple of hours the best we could come up with was arriving in Donetsk 24 hours late, too late for our court appointment.  We would have to beg the judge to squeeze us in the next day.  When we came to this decision and approached a different gate agent about the appropriate changes to our itinerary, this guardian angel of ours offered another suggestion: flying Turkish Air through Istanbul.  We'd arrive in Donetsk only five hours later than originally scheduled.  Why didn't this option come up earlier?  Probably because the only two seats left were in business class, which this angel kindly booked us on.

The ten hour flight to Istanbul was not nearly long enough.  They stuffed us full of wonderful food and let us peacefully sleep on flat beds.  The Istanbul airport was beautiful, too.  Turkey has always been on my travel radar but now it's moved up to the top of my wish list.  Someday, but not likely as a family of seven.

We arrived in Donetsk somewhat rested and ready for the harrowing drive to Amvrosivka.  Thankfully Den was driving and the roads were clear. We got to our hotel around 11:00pm, about eight hours before we needed to be up and ready for court.  Hey, we made it.

Back in the land of no-food-options, we choked down a barely edible breakfast and headed to the courthouse, where we met Sasha.  My sweet boy was happy to see us, and of course I didn't want to let go of him.  Our judge brought us into his office for the court hearing.  Along with Curt, me, Sasha, and Victor, there were also a couple of jurors/witnesses, a court recorder, a rep from the orphanage, and the woman from juvenile services.  This hearing was much different from our hearing in Enakievo a year ago.  This was the first adoption case for this judge, and he didn't miss a step.  He spent several minutes going over all of our rights and responsibilities.  He read our petition out loud.  The whole thing.  He reviewed much of our dossier.  He then discussed Sasha's painful history at length.  All of this of course was read in Russian, which Victor translated for us.  We were at it for at least an hour, crammed into this small, stuffy room.  The judge confirmed with us that all of the information was correct, asked Sasha if this was what he wanted (Dah, dah, dah), and then we adjourned.  He did not waive the ten day waiting period, as you can probably guess, since I'm flying back home today.  We are disappointed, but we can understand why a Ukrainian judge would not want to do anything out of the ordinary given the current political climate.  No reason to draw attention to yourself.

Speaking of the current political climate, things are pretty quiet here in the east.  We saw a handful of protesters braving the snow in the main square in Donetsk last night.  It looks like the tension keeps revving higher and higher in Kiev.  Victor assures us that when Sasha and I go through Kiev later this month we will be able to steer clear of the action.

As a snowstorm was pending, Curt, Victor and I decided to bail early on Amvrosivka and get to Donetsk.  No need to repeat the horror Kayla and I went through last year, driving that insanely dangerous road in the snow, racing the clock.  We said goodbye to Sasha yet again and thanked God for the safe passage Den provided us to Donetsk yet again.  This routine is wearing me down.  This should be the last goodbye to Sasha, though.  The last time I have to leave him in uncertain hands.  What a relief it will be in a few weeks when we board that plane out of Kiev, knowing Sasha never has to return.  He may want to go back to visit someday, but it will be HIS decision.

So, that brings Curt and me to Donetsk.  Anya and Den took us to a fun restaurant last night called Pig.  Or, the Russian word for Pig, whatever it is.  Lots of photos of pigs on the walls and pork products on the menu.  "There's a pig in the bathroom," Den told us after we ordered.  "He's sleeping right now."  How cute, I thought.  A photo?  A painting?  A sculpture?  A stuffed pig?  I'd find out at some point.  After Curt made a visit to the bathroom, he came back to the table, grabbed my hand, and took me there.  This is what I saw:

IT WAS A PIG!

The pig came out later to entertain us:

What a fun evening.  You can't do this in America.

So what's next?  Curt and I should get home Wednesday night.  I will try to book a flight back to Donetsk Dec 21, so that I can be ready to start the post-waiting-period race Monday the 23rd: get new birth certificate, social security number, domestic passport, international passport, and officially check Sasha out of the orphanage.  Then we'll train to Kiev for our medical and embassy appointments.  Our tentative date to fly home is Jan 4.  As you've figured out, this means I'll spend Christmas and New Year's in Ukraine.  Yeah, bummer.  But, I'll spend Christmas and New Year's with Sasha, who will officially be a Powell by then; the best Christmas gift I could ask for.

Oh, I have some special photos to share:

Presenting Alexander Curtis Powell!  Sasha is a common nickname for Oleksandr.  We'll try Alex for awhile and see if it sticks.

And here's a happy Mom, before the court hearing.

I know that a lot of you are praying for us.  We appreciate it more than you can imagine and can see the fruit in the unexpected doors that keep opening and the supernatural strength that fills us.  As we start yet another phase of this journey, we have some specific prayer requests:

That Curt and I can get home in a safe and timely manner.  Weather on both continents is an issue.

To protect Sasha's heart after being left again.  Life here is so hard for him, especially now that he's in limbo.  I pray constantly that God continues to grant him peace, wisdom, strength, and perspective.  It amazes me what this child can endure.

That my other four children will have peace about Mom being gone for Christmas.  Not just gone, but in an unstable country.

Strength for me as I prepare my family in the US for Christmas and their trip to New Mexico.  Strength for me as I concurrently prepare myself for Christmas with Sasha and my trip to Ukraine.

Love to you all.  I'll try to post from Munich.