Successful Day...

Successful Day…

 

Yesterday we got up and left the house to join the rest of the rat race in Kiev. We had to be on the platform at Minska at 9:30 to make our appointment at 10am with the City Vital Statistics Office. You have to get permission from them to visit the "local" vital records offices for each of the children you adopt.  Our two Kiev boys are not from the same local office area, they are from two totally different parts of town. The local offices are where you get the new birth certificates… For those coming behind or who are interested since this was new to me let me run you the steps so you get the full picture:

 

SDA Appointment

Visit Local CPS and get permission to go to Orphanage.

Visit Director

Visit Kids

Accept or Decline the children you meet.

If you accept you move to the next step:

Visits, and wait for your court date.

Court date

10 day wait.

 

* DURRING THIS TIME I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GET SMALL PICTURES MADE OF YOUR KIDS.  ALSO GET A STATEMENT FROM THE ORPHANAGE THAT YOU ARE GETTING THEM FROM THAT SAYS THEY ARE STUDENTS THERE. GET IT STAMPED FROM THAT ORPHANAGE. YOU WILL NEED THIS IN KIEV IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ABLE TO APPLY FOR A STUDENT ID THAT CAN HELP YOU QUALIFY FOR A BETTER PLANE TICKET. IF YOU ARE ADOPTING FROM KIEV, GET THIS DONE ASAP… FOR MORE INFO EMAIL ME AND I CAN TELL YOU WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO GET IT DONE. IT IS NOT HARD. IT IS NOT EXPENSIVE AND IT IS A WORTH WHILE INVESTMENT.

 

* ALSO… BEFORE YOUR SPOUSE LEAVES THE COUNTRY THERE ARE PAPERS AT THE EMBASSY THAT MUST BE SIGNED. THEY CAN BE SIGNED ANYTIME AS LONG AS IT IS BEFORE THEY GO… IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM THEY CAN SIGN THEM IN FRONT OF A NOTARY IN THE STATES AND THEN GET THEM SEALED AND BRING THEM… THIS IS A DRAG (TRUST US) SO GET IT DONE WHILEL YOU ARE HERE.

 

Post the 10 day wait you go to

City level Vial Stats office and get permission to go to local level office.

Local Office – get new Birth Certificates

Then you get new ID numbers. (kind of like SS #'s only not J )

Then you register those new numbers in a national system.

Once they are in (takes about 3 days) you can apply for Passports.

Once you have passports (that can take a while or not… up to offices and your willingness to get them sooner or later) you go to the medical office and get the kids checked and cleared for travel.

Once you get your medical records you can go to the US Embassy and file your papers for their Visas. It takes Twenty Four hours to run their Visas and the girl said something interesting about the check is good for two days.

 

Depending on the state of affairs as once you get the final court decree after the 10 day wait you can expect an easy close to two more weeks in UA. That is unless your facilitator is hyper wired and those folks are out there, and you can also expect to pay quite nicely for their assistance.

Game over… get out of Dodge…

 

So now that you know the steps that will shorten my explanation of yesterday's hoop jumping which aforementioned stared at 9:30 and ended around 4:30.

 

The good news is, with all the jazz that was accomplished yesterday I have been invited to come and get our boys at 2pm today.

 

We were going to do dinner out tonight but some friends can't come so we will wait till another time. We will all be home tonight, and Lori will join us too.

 

I am so thankful for this day you can't know. Which brings me to my next point… you are all amazing. Your calls, your emails, your love has been so felt here… This experience has taught me so much. I have questioned EVERYTHING while I have been here. I have wondered about my personal callings. I have thought I must be an idiot. I have experienced being blind, and deaf and basically mute… (my kids would argue those points as I seem to see, hear and speak to them at JUST the right time)… My calling to minister over seas has been challenged. NEVER would I have for a second EVER thought that would happen. I love living outside the states. I love being a part of new cultures. I love learning new language and about life in other places. But this has been different. Over coffee and tears and laughter Lori and I talked about how this experience was different. My purpose has not been relationship building with "most" nationals. It has been just with my kids and a few others. That conflict of interest in my heart and brain was an unexpected thing. This has made things really challenging at times. I want to appreciate the culture, and some of it I do. Some of it after being here a while I don't and do not think I will ever. We (Lori, Mark and I) have decided that I am normal still… whatever "normal" really is… If I were experiencing the stress of culture, period, and not of working to form a family with 4 really awesome but super different and hyper sensitive personalities it would not be "as hard" as it has been. Mixing the two has made for some really wild times. While I assure you I will unpack my suitcase in a matter of moments when I get home, unpacking my time here will take months to process.  Please keep praying for us.

 

Thank you to my friends who have said that they are praying for the salvation of our kids. I have wanted the heart of God for others. I have never experienced anything like this before. These four people need Christ, and my want for them to know Him ~ the John 17 "know" of Him that my world revolves around is what I desire. I can tell you from being around them that they are each special. They are each dynamic in their own rights. They have the potential to reach people with their personalities… what they say and do is up to them. How they choose to live their lives is up to them. We will have a short time with them before they will be considered "adults." In that time I pray that they will see, hear and know Christ. I pray they will really choose Him. The party here is almost over, but the one at home is just starting… You are all invited to stay as long as you like… and as you do, please keep praying. I believe many lives depend on it… These kids are a part of His glory unto themselves, please continue to take part in what He is doing.

 

The Wife of one Awesome Man… and Mom of (at least – for now) Four Amazing Kids…