Ismail

We've been here in Izmail, a town south of Odessa right on the Romanian border, for three days or so. Following a successful appointment (which went longer than intended due to some things that needed to be figured out) and choosing our child, we were quickly packed and on the road. It's been so busy that we don't really know how long its actually been. 

Thankfully birthdays can at least help us keep track of what day it is. Happy Birthday to Mom Courtney and sister Kristie! Sorry we can't be there to celebrate you, but I'm sure you understand:) There is a present on the way!

We know that many of you have been waiting to hear an update, and we are very excited to announce that we have been visiting a 12 year old boy. We know that he is a bit older than many expected, but after falling in love with his picture and his story, and then ultimately now with the person, we feel extremely blessed to find ourselves here in this young boys life. It is interesting that as we went through the files, his picture was the first one that we picked up, and Dave ended up holding his picture on his lap the entire time. In the end what we thought would be the most difficult choice to make was perhaps the easiest. There have been more than a few people along the way that have remarked on how much this boy looks like Dave :)

A quick snapshot of our first three days. We travelled to Izmail overnight, went straight to the orphanage in the morning to meet our boy, left the following day back to Kiev for his  immigration medical, and returned to Izmail all within 30 plus hours (22 of which we were driving). We are still recovering! We are pleased to say that everything has been going very well so far. 

Here are our next steps:

1. Court hearing on September 23, 2014

2. mandatory 10 day waiting period for family to contest the adoption

3. Processing of birth certificate, visa and passport'

4. Flights home

If we can be honest, as we have been thrown into a world of unknowns, and as we attempt to now settle in to a bit of a "quieter" routine, its safe to say that it has taken a toll on us. Today we felt slightly homesick. We miss our pups dearly. Some difficult distractions at home have been making it difficult to fully immerse ourselves in the "here and now" of building a relationship with our child. Continued prayer for strength and patience would be greatly appreciated. 

A part of the challenge of Ismail is that everyone speaks Russian (good thing we took all of those Ukrainian classes :)). Thankfully we met the owner of the apartment today where we are staying, and he speaks english!! He took us out for a "good" cup of coffee. And it surprising how comforting it was to simply find a good cup of coffee (so far our experience with the coffee has been mediocre at best, even trending here in Izmail towards the "nes cafe" brand).

One of our daily routines has been (and is going to be) walking down the main street to the "Rynok" (huge outdoor market). It is a lot of fun. The lifestyle here is different. People go the market once a day or every two days to buy all of their food fresh, and then they come home and cook it all up. We purchased some fresh vegetables and fruit, and even some homemade yogurt that was to die for:). We are looking forward to buying the fresh cheese which is all made on the spot. 

This afternoon we took a challenge and rode the Izmail public transit (small compact busses) to the orphanage (to save money on the cab). That was interesting. On the way back it was a disco bus as the driver had some pretty groovy tunes blaring and some fun and flashy things hanging on the dash.

It has also been a fun experience getting to know the orphanage  The teachers and director there really love the children and are very protective of them. Although it is like a group home, to these kids it is home. Whenever a child receives something like a bracelet or candy it is shared with everyone. There was a 3L pop being passed around to several kids. We met several other children during our visits and have had a blast playing soccer (sorry... football) and "Go-Fish" with them. One girl in particular came and sat beside Jen, and we had so much fun. When we went back today, she made sure to wave and say hi before having to go elsewhere. We were taught a couple of card tricks by two boys today, and tried to learn a little Russian while also teaching a little English. All in all, it was not a bad day at all.

When it was time to say goodbye, we learned a couple new handshakes from three different boys and got some tight squeezes as we boarded the bus. It was tough to say goodbye today. But alas, tomorrow is another day, and we know there are many more ahead of us. So here is to another trip to the market, some more fresh meals, and another blessed visit at the orphanage:)

Dave and Jen