Today our translator finished up the last of the documents that have to be sent via overnight train to Kyiv. She ran around most of the day between the internet cafe to type things up, inspectors office and the orphanage and even on to court to submit it to the judge but he had left 30 min. earlier as they closed down early for the day. However, it was very good that she at least completed all the documents with the many signatures required. Now, N. will pick up the documents in Kyiv and submit them to the SDA on Monday and hopefully we can request court date for next Friday. The SDA has up to 5 days to complete their paperwork that has to be done before court which might mean that we can't set the date until the following Monday, but I am optomistic that we will get Friday. Please pray with us for this. O. has been running to get everything done as quickly as possible and today at lunch she was just getting her food when they called that the inspectors boss had come in and was signing the last document so she took off without eating, leaving us there to eat while she picked it up and took it to court. We have been very pleased at how hard she is working to get this done.
Today we talked to Lena about the name she would like to have. Here, her name is spelled Olena, but she chose to change it to Lena to seem a little more Americanized, but still be somewhat the same. That was good w/us b/c it is what we are used to calling her. She also chose Nicole for her middle name. We gave her the ideas of Ruth, b/c her story has similarities to Ruth from the Bible, and Nicole b/c her father's name was Nicolae and in this culture they use the father's name in their name. Trent got to tell O. and Lena about the story of Ruth. However, Ruth seemed too different to her and the "th" is hard for them to pronounce, but when we mentioned Nicole she said she had been dreaming of that name. So it is being submitted as Lena Nicole Christianson for her new birthcertificate.
She was happy about her name but quiet several times today. It is alot to think about and there are big changes coming up for her. She was also concerned that she might not get to talk to her sister(24) anymore. We assured her that we would let her call from time to time. Her sister is coming to see her tomorrow all day and we are planning on trying to be there to meet her and take some pictures. She told O. today on the phone that she was willing to sign her consent.
Please pray that the meeting will go well and that her sister will feel comfortable with us.
A couple of funny stories:
Our apartment here doesn't have as many nice things such as dishcloths, extra blankets, or a drying rack. However, one blog I read suggested bringing a bungee to hang clothes and it has worked very well. We have missed the extra blanket though. Night before last Trent was having a hard time sleeping and our bed is very hard, there is no top sheet and the comforter is hardly big enough to pull across the 2 of us. So he got out of bed and came to the couch which pulls out to make it the same size as a double bed, but is equally as hard. Trent only had the throw which was laid over the couch. After lying down, he pulled the throw over himself and thought "I am sleeping under a rug!" It seems after examining it, especially the underside, that it is a throw run that they probably put on the couch after sweeping. Oh well, last night I slept on the couch and used it over an extra sheet I found and it wasn't too bad, at least it was heavy!
We have learned more Russian words and even how to read a few of them. Trent thinks it is funny that when we order water and want just regular bottled water you say, "vada biz gaza" which means "water without gas" in other words not carbonated.
Krystina and Lena shared a neat story with us about how they met. They have known each other for 4 years and so they are like family. They met in a shelter which is where the children go until all paperwork is done and the govt. decides which orphanage they will go to. One day Lena got her "porridge" but refused to eat it b/c it was so aweful. Krystina saw her and said, "hey, girl are you going to eat that?". Lena said no and allowed her to have it. Krystina had been there longer and was hungry even though it was so awful. They told us sometimes there were even flies in their borsche (it is like stew). Krystina was in the shelter 6 months and Lena was there a year, but at least her sister visited her and brought her some different food while she was there. Krystina is one of the most polite and friendly people we have met. She, unlike nearly everyone else we have met, makes good eye contact and smiles at us alot. I hope we get to see her again.
Today we talked to Lena about the name she would like to have. Here, her name is spelled Olena, but she chose to change it to Lena to seem a little more Americanized, but still be somewhat the same. That was good w/us b/c it is what we are used to calling her. She also chose Nicole for her middle name. We gave her the ideas of Ruth, b/c her story has similarities to Ruth from the Bible, and Nicole b/c her father's name was Nicolae and in this culture they use the father's name in their name. Trent got to tell O. and Lena about the story of Ruth. However, Ruth seemed too different to her and the "th" is hard for them to pronounce, but when we mentioned Nicole she said she had been dreaming of that name. So it is being submitted as Lena Nicole Christianson for her new birthcertificate.
She was happy about her name but quiet several times today. It is alot to think about and there are big changes coming up for her. She was also concerned that she might not get to talk to her sister(24) anymore. We assured her that we would let her call from time to time. Her sister is coming to see her tomorrow all day and we are planning on trying to be there to meet her and take some pictures. She told O. today on the phone that she was willing to sign her consent.
Please pray that the meeting will go well and that her sister will feel comfortable with us.
A couple of funny stories:
Our apartment here doesn't have as many nice things such as dishcloths, extra blankets, or a drying rack. However, one blog I read suggested bringing a bungee to hang clothes and it has worked very well. We have missed the extra blanket though. Night before last Trent was having a hard time sleeping and our bed is very hard, there is no top sheet and the comforter is hardly big enough to pull across the 2 of us. So he got out of bed and came to the couch which pulls out to make it the same size as a double bed, but is equally as hard. Trent only had the throw which was laid over the couch. After lying down, he pulled the throw over himself and thought "I am sleeping under a rug!" It seems after examining it, especially the underside, that it is a throw run that they probably put on the couch after sweeping. Oh well, last night I slept on the couch and used it over an extra sheet I found and it wasn't too bad, at least it was heavy!
We have learned more Russian words and even how to read a few of them. Trent thinks it is funny that when we order water and want just regular bottled water you say, "vada biz gaza" which means "water without gas" in other words not carbonated.
Krystina and Lena shared a neat story with us about how they met. They have known each other for 4 years and so they are like family. They met in a shelter which is where the children go until all paperwork is done and the govt. decides which orphanage they will go to. One day Lena got her "porridge" but refused to eat it b/c it was so aweful. Krystina saw her and said, "hey, girl are you going to eat that?". Lena said no and allowed her to have it. Krystina had been there longer and was hungry even though it was so awful. They told us sometimes there were even flies in their borsche (it is like stew). Krystina was in the shelter 6 months and Lena was there a year, but at least her sister visited her and brought her some different food while she was there. Krystina is one of the most polite and friendly people we have met. She, unlike nearly everyone else we have met, makes good eye contact and smiles at us alot. I hope we get to see her again.
Love hearing from you. I love the name Lena Nicole Christianson. It sounds like things are moving along at a good pace. Praying that your court date will be Friday. So anxious for you to be home and to have Lena with you.
ReplyDeleteContinued blessings and lots of prayers and love for you all.
Sandie