Day 39 - "Farewell Vovchkiv"

Hello to all of our friends, family and others who continue to follow our adoption blog.  We thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement.  You all lift us up when we are down, give us advice to strengthen us, and tarry with us as we wait for the necessary paperwork that will allow us to come home.  We thank God for you all!

Today was set to be a big day in the realm of adoptions.  Today was the last day that our children would see the orphanage that they have called home for so long.  Anna (14) lived there for seven years and Charlie (10) lived there for four.   I can't imagine what it's like to leave everything and everyone you have known for so long to move to another country and culture with virtual strangers.  I am proud of both my children for their bravery and I thank God for the spirit of hope that lives within each of them. 

We left the apartment at 11:30 a.m. today for our last round-trip to the village where the orphanage is located.  The weather was beautiful and it was a nice drive.  The yellow and orange leaves on the small trees beside the road here announce that fall is nearly upon this land; which is swiftly followed by what is usually a very harsh winter compared to where we live in America.  The fruit trees that were covered with plums and apples when we arrived have since delivered their bounty to the people who toiled in the spring.  People have changed the short sleeves for longer sleeved choices and some people are already donning full out winter weather clothing.  Fall has always been my favorite season because you can see God's preparation all around us for the cold and dreary winter  that is coming.  Animals are storing food and preparing their burrows.  Leaves change the forest into a kaliedescope of color giving us one last beautiful masterpiece to behold before the cold of winter comes.  God has blessed me and my family greatly this year and I am thankful that He has allowed me to experience Fall in Ukraine and in just a short time, Fall in my hometown.

The village where my children have lived for so long is a very humble and simple place for it's three hundred inhabitants.  There is no fast pace to life there; no swarm of technological advancements to absorb personal time.  I would imagine that most people there live on less than $100 per month.  They grow gardens, tend to livestock, prune fruit trees, reap and sow, reap and sow.  They are honorable, hard working people who are trapped in poverty.  In the midst of such hardship lies the orphange where our children have lived.  It is a small orphange that currenlty has only fifteen children.  They have no ability to fix meals here so all the children walk in a single-file line twice a day to the school to eat their meals.  The orphange itself is a two-story brick building that was built many years ago.  Its floors have been painted many times.  The walls are layered in wallpaper.  All the sleeping rooms have the same, single bunk beds arranged to maximize space.  The building is clean but not modern.  So many improvements have occurred here since we first visited in February of 2009 and I am thankful that God has arranged people to come and help these children and workers. The orphange has been open for eleven years and only four children have been adopted from here with Angelia and I being the first international adoptive family. 

Bedroom in the orphanage where our children have lived for most of their lives.

We spent about two final hours at the orphanage.  The beds where Anna and Charlie slept have already been rearranged and new sleeping assingments given out.  Anna spent time with her friend Nela and they both walked to the school so that Anna could say goodbye to other friends.  Charlie managed to shake a couple of hands and barely hug one or two of the the other boys of his age; after all, guys say goodbye differently than do girls.  We made it a point to just let our children have their time to say goodbye in their own ways.  I could see in the faces of some of the other children that they, too, long for a family to take them away from there.  At the same time, I didn't sense from our children any regret or change of heart about the decision they made a long time ago.  Before leaving, we managed to get the entire crew together for one last group photo with our children present.  The orphanage director gave me the biggest hug I think I have every gotten and she began to get a little choked up about the whole affair.  We made our way to the car to leave.  As we closed the doors and pulled away, this chapter of our childrens lives came to an end.

Our son Charlie (on the right) with his friend Sergey



Pictured from Left: Nela (Orphanage Director), Nela (Anna's friend), Anna Taylor (my daughter) and one of the orphange workers.

Our son Charlie Taylor (center) with his friends Alosha (left) and Sergey (right)

Our daughter Anna (center) with her friends Katya (left) and Marina (right)



Our daughter Anna (on the right) with her friend Nela

 

Vovchkiv, Ukraine Orphanage, September 23, 2010 (not all children present)



We drove home back through the same countryside that we have traversed so many times in the past weeks.  Angelia and I long for home as do our children.  They now pose a question to us on a regular basis ... "America?". 

Our adoption process is far from being over but we are very close.  The following items represent what is left for us to do (to occur as shown):

• Complete medical exams required for a U.S. visa.  We are going to try and get these on Friday.
• Ukrainian passports - we hope to get these Friday afternoon but if not, by Monday afternoon for sure.  Passports and medical screening are the last papers we need from Ukraine.

• U.S. Embassy / Visa - we have to attend two appointments to get a visas for the children.  They will become U.S. Citizens the moment they clear customs on U.S. soil (PRAISE THE LORD!).  We submit an application on one day, and in most cases, receive the visa the day thereafter.  Once we get these visas, we can book the first available flight to America (which we will do).

Please continue to help us by praying for a quick transition for the remaining tasks that are necessary to complete this process.  We love and miss you all and hope to see you very, very soon.. Anna and Charlie in tow!  :-)