Thursday, November 22, 2007 (Thanksgiving Day)

It seemed like I had just drifted off for a nap when I heard our alarm go off at 4:15 a.m. The first words I spoke – still half asleep – were “Cheryl, let’s get up and go to America”. I was still tired, like the feeling you have after being up all night ‘doing Christmas’, and your kids come in and wake you up at dark o-clock to open presents. Like Christmas morning, I was excited – with that happy feeling you get when you see your kids reaction to what Santa had left the night before. We were going home! Home to the United States of America!

Vladimir was on time with our driver, Vacilli, who had a van large enough to hold our luggage (seven pieces), plus seven people (four Wendelboes, Natalie, our translator, Vladimir, our facilitator and our driver Vacilli). We had to purchase an additional bag while over in Ukraine to hall home all the gifts that were given to us from the children at the orphanage. Many of them (about 45) had just got back from the US a couple weeks ago, and wanted to send their host families a gift. In addition, a couple other children waiting for their families to come and adopt them sent home gifts. You just couldn’t say no to these children at the time, realizing that in the back of your mind there is no way this will fit in our luggage or due to its fragile nature, it could break in transit.

We arrived at the Kiev airport just after 6:00 a.m. It was still dark outside. We packed up our luggage on luggage carts and made our way into the airport. We got through the first line of security, which inspected our passports and the children’s visas. I had to dig out the original court order for the adoption and give it to the authorities. We waited about 10 minutes while our documents were routed to a supervisor who had to review them. After going through security, we were able to wait in the common waiting area for our flight to board. While waiting, Roman, Nadia and I were feeding in 2 Ugr bills into a vending machine to drink hot chocolate. Roman ordered hot tea. When he had me smell it, I could tell it was black tea. I didn’t think this was the place or time to have a ‘teaching moment’ about the aspects of the word of wisdom, especially when we had no translator and the fact we drank herbal teas at dinner with some of our hosts. There would be plenty of time for that. Half surprised at my own reaction, I just nodded and said “yes”.


Unloading At The Airport, Kiev, Ukraine


Enjoying Hot Chocolate At The Airport, Kiev, Ukraine

Finally, when the call came to board our plane, we went through another line of security – primarily for the detection of metal and liquids, etc. I made a last minute call on our cell phone to Cami, our daughter, to confirm we were boarding the plane and coming home!

Our flights home were really non-eventful. We had a two hour flight from Kiev to Vienna Austria and passed through one time zone. From Austria to Chicago we had a 10 ½ hour flight and passed through six time zones. I was able to watch three movies and work on my computer until the battery went out. We videotaped Nadia and Roman as we touched down at Chicago, O’Hare airport. Apparently at the moment we landed in Chicago, Roman and Nadia officially became US Citizens. We went through customs where we had to surrender five nice salamis we had purchased as stocking stuffers for the children. Cheryl also had to surrender her cucumber seeds she had purchased at the open-air market in Sumy.

After going through customs, we had to go through the immigration section where we presented both Roman and Nadia’s Ukrainian passports, and the sealed envelopes we had obtained for each of them at the US embassy/consulate the previous day. The lady at the immigration area, who inspected our documents, had a slight accent. I stroke up an conversation with her and learned she immigrated from Iraq and was in the process of trying to get her father over on a temporary visa so he could see his grandchildren. Her son was currently serving our country in Afghanistan. She commented on how so many people in the United States take for granted their freedoms and the bounteous life we enjoy in America. After spending the past three weeks in Ukraine, I was an easy sell on her speech about the advantages of living in the US.


Deplaning, Vienna, Austria



Shuttle, Vienna, Austria



Our Kiev To Vienna Jet


Waiting To Board Austrian Airlines - Vienna To Chicago



Roman and Nadia - Minutes Before Becomming US Citizens


After clearing through customs and immigration, we had to change terminals where we once again had to go through security. Once in our terminal, we had about 1 hour before our flight departed to Salt Lake City. We sat down at a little airport grille and enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner. Roman and Nadia ordered hamburgers and fries and Cheryl and I each opted for a Greek gyro. It was one tasty Thanksgiving dinner! No turkey or stuffing, but it tasted American.

Upon our arrival in Salt Lake, were greeted by our three children (Cami, Calvin Jr., and Christian) and three families who had previously adopted children with whom Roman was friends. It was truly a joyous occasion to be united with the rest of our family. On the way home, we stopped by Cheryl’s sister’s (Sharron Cowan) home to pick up Cami’s car – and introduce Nadia and Roman to some of their new cousins. And yes, Calvin was able to have a piece of turkey and pumpkin pie.


Salt Lake Airport



Christian And Cami With Their New Sister, Nadia



Roman With His Old Friends, All Adopted Into Utah Families


We have so much to be grateful for. We are so blessed to live in the United States of America, where opportunities and blessings abound. We are blessed immensely in a greater measure to have the gospel of Jesus Christ taught to us by living prophets. I hope that all my children – both our biological and adopted children - will one day be filled with gratitude for all of the blessings at their hand. This has been a wonderful journey to travel to Ukraine and adopt these beautiful children. However, where all journeys end, another one just begins.


Our Family


For those who have traveled with us through this blog, thanks for the encouraging emails and comments. May you have a wonderful Christmas season and my the Lord bless you in all your endeavors.

Wednesday November 21, 2007

Like clockwork, Vladimir was ringing our apartment doorbell at 10:00 a.m. to drive us down to the US Embassy/Consulate for our interview. Previous to his appearance, about 9:30 a.m., he had called and told us the certificate certifying Nadia’s clean criminal record for all of Ukraine was printed and it was to be delivered from Sumy. He asked whether we should send it with a bus driver for considerable less money, or hire Valentine (our taxi driver with the “sweet ride”) to personally drive the document to Kiev. I told him to use Valentine, due to our tight schedule, and the risk that the bus driver could be delayed, or not realize the importance of the document, etc. I could tell Vladimir was glad I had chosen to use Valentine. It is a four hour drive from Sumy to Kiev. In addition, after we received the document, we needed to have it translated into English with a certified translation stamp, prior to delivering it to the embassy/consulate.

When we arrived at the embassy/consulate, we repeated the same process as we had the day before. Having gone through security, being in the same room with our US flag seemed to lose some of the glamour it had the day before. We were here on serious business, with a pit in my stomach, offering the 10 zillionth silent prayer on our behalf. The lady at the window asked us what time our appointment was scheduled. I told her we had no appointment, but that yesterday the officer told us to just come back tomorrow. She told us that it is customary for appointments to be scheduled and that they are usually scheduled by the officers after 2:00 p.m. She took our passports and told us to have a seat. As I sat down, the pit in my stomach grew a bit larger. I thought of the expense we may have to incur at changing our plane reservations one more time, guestimating the dollar amount of spending an additional five days in Kiev, and offered my 10 zillionth and one silent prayer. After about 45 minutes, Cheryl went back up to the counter and range the little buzzer. The lady came back to the window and Cheryl asked politely what the status of our situation was. She told us to continue waiting. About five minutes later, the nice American we spoke with yesterday came to the counter and told us to go to the back, of the room, where about four private petitioned interview cubicles were situated. He began reviewing our file, signing off papers, stamping forms as he had obviously done hundreds of times previously. After his interview and another brief wait, he told us the only thing we needed was Nadia’s criminal clearance from Ukraine. I told him it was on the way and we should have it back to him by 3:00 p.m. He just said, “no problem.” As I walked out of the embassy, I knew we would have our visas by the end of the day.

Cheryl, myself and our new children walked up the hill from the embassy where Vladimir and Natalie were waiting for us. We were all very excited and happy. Not only were we most likely going home early, but I’m sure both Natalie and Vladimir (who work on a fixed-fee amount per family, and not a per-diem income amount, were happy their work would soon be completed for another family going through the adoption process. To celebrate, we went to a place called The Potato House, where Cheryl and I had fajitas, Ukrainian style. The table tents in the restaurant give an 8 step fully illustrated instructions on how one prepares a fajita: (1) spread your ‘spicy’ (flavorful, but NOT spicy) sour cream on your tortilla, (2) sprinkle your chopped parsley (instead of lettuce) over your tortilla, (3) spread your ‘spicy’ grated carrots over the chopped parsley, (3) and (4), spread your tomatoes and bell peppers on the tortilla. The right side of the table tent included a 4-step illustration of how to fold and roll the tortilla prior to eating. All and all it was quite tasty and frankly one of the more enjoyable meals I had in Ukraine.


Lunch At The Potato House, Kiev, Ukraine



Calvin At The Potato House, Kiev, Ukraine



Lunch At The Potato House


After lunch, Vladimir dropped Roman and Natalie off down town to do some shopping while Nadia, Vladimir and I went to an exit somewhere between the center of Kiev and its outskirts to meet Valentine to pick up our certificate. After paying for our currier service, we rushed back across to the other side of Kiev to have Tatiana, Vladimir’s certified English translator, attach a certified translation of the certificate we just picked up. We then rushed back to the center of town to the embassy to drop off the certificate and certified translation.


Crossing One Of The Three Bridges Over The Dnepro River, Kiev, Ukraine



A Sample Of The Huge Amount Of Building in Kiev, Ukraine


We arrived at the embassy between 3:00 – 3:15 pm. After going through security and back to the adoptions/visa area, I rang the buzzer at the window and gave the worker the background check on Nadia. While waiting, I was able to chat with a couple other families adopting children, until they were called up to the counter where they received their visas. Finally, I was called up and given the visas for both Roman and Nadia. I was also given a large 9” X 13” sealed envelope for each of the children. I was given specific instructions not to open the envelope. I noticed the envelope was stamped and taped over the seal, so that any tampering with the envelope would be obvious to the custom officials in the U.S. We were instructed to present these envelopes to the INS/Custom officials at the airport where we would be entering the United States. After I received the childrens’ passports with visas, and the stamped envelopes, I walked down the hall and noticed that it was about 10 minutes to four. I thought of all the times I would show up between 11:30 p.m. - 11:45 p.m. on the evening of April 15th to drop my tax return, or extension to file a tax return, to the US post office. I thought of the times when I’d have to file financial reports for work with just days to hours to spare before the filing deadline. I thought it was very characteristic that I had an hour and 10 minutes to spare, prior to the embassy closing for the Thanksgiving holiday. I was finally walking out, under the deadline, with what I needed to get my family back into the United States of America.


Billboards - Capitalism Alive And Well in Kiev, Ukraine



Billboards - Capitalism Alive And Well in Kiev, Ukraine


The balance of the evening was spent doing some last minute shopping, eating, and packing. We were able to get to bed by about midnight. We set our alarm for 4:15 a.m. to get ready. Vladimir was going to be at our apartment at 5:15 a.m. to take us to the airport.


Roman and Nadia, Displaying Some Ukrainian Clothing



Calvin And Cheryl - Tired And Ready To Go Home

Tuesday November 20, 2007

This morning I went for a run – it has been four days. It was exhilarating! Was it was just the newness of running along the banks of a canal which joined the Dnepro river, or the cold, crisp frosty air which filled my lungs with each stride? Perhaps it was the beautiful sunlit skyline I was able to observe, or the pride of being a crazy American running with gusto in his white underwear top and bright blue and yellow t-shirt past the drab, dreary-dressed pedestrians on their way to work. Maybe it was trying to get my arms around the reality of being in Kiev, Ukraine. I’ve run on the island of Oahu on the rich red dirt trails in the humid ‘jungle’ or on the beautiful beaches of Waikiki. I’ll have to confess, the times I have run when visiting places have made me feel more at one with a place, or culture, than most any other experience.



Outside Our Apartment Window, Kiev, Ukraine



Morning Run, Kieve, Ukraine



Morning Run, Kiev, Ukraine



Morning Run, Kiev, Ukraine



Morning Run, Kiev, Ukraine



Morning Run With WW II Memorial in Background, Kiev, Ukraine

Today Vladimir showed up to our apartment at 10:00 a.m. sharp to take us to the US Embassy/Consulate to file all our paperwork with the US Department of Home Land Security. When we arrived, there were about 30 or so people waiting outside for their appointments. Natalie told us that because we were American citizens, we did not need an appointment. We just marched to the front of the line and went into the Embassy/Consulate. Only Cheryl, myself and our new children were allowed in the consulate.

In the building, we were checked by security; much like any government buildings conduct security searches, subsequent to “9/11”. After going through the familiar metal detector, we were directed into another building and down a long hallway to an area that handles adoptions and visas. We were helped by a Ukrainian lady who spoke wonderful English. We were separated by a glass window. I had to slide my documents under the window through a metal-lined opening, crafted to allow the passage of documents. The room was small, but had such a distinct flavor of the United States of America with an American flag posted in the corner and a sign that said “Maxim Occupancy Load 13 People”. I felt like I was home for a minute and got a lump in my throat as I gazed upon our beautiful American flag. The lady helping us was very complementary of how organized our documents were. She indicated some facilitators just send their clients in with a pile of papers.

After a while, the lady said everything was in order, except for the document indicating Nadia had no criminal record in Ukraine (due to her age). We had only a copy of the document of her criminal record search for the Sumy region. Vladimir said the document should be here in Kiev today or tomorrow. Nadia was then escorted back and had her finger prints taken. These were to be sent electronically to the US where they would be compared to a national database, to insure we were not adopting a convicted felon. A gentleman from America (it was great to hear a thick American accent) helped conclude the balance of our interview. He indicated that most of the time the database searches come back the next day, yet a priority was given to people adopting small children. He told us to come back tomorrow for our interview – and that our visa for Roman and Nadia would be issued (subject to the database search and the document regarding Nadia’s criminal record for Ukraine).



WW II Memorial, Driving to US Embassy/Consulate



Church, Outside US Embassy/Consulate


Church, Outside US Embassy/Consulate


Cheryl, who was sicker than a dog, had Vladimir take her home to the apartment so she could crawl in bed and sleep. Me, Natalie, and the kids went shopping to a ‘Walmart’ type hyper-mall (pronounced “OK” store) where we were able to shop for Serge, Nadia and Roman’s older brother. We then went to the post office where we purchased 10 international letters which I addressed to both Nadia and Roman Wendelboe, at their new home address. We packed these, with the contents we purchased at the store, to his address in the prison at Donesk.

Not feeling like trying to get a meal together for four people and a wife who was sick in bed, we decided to let Cheryl sleep. The four of us – me, Natalie and the children – took the metro into Kiev from our apartment. We ate at the same restaurant (translated ‘big belly’) which we ate on Monday, after the kids’ medical examinations. It was the same restaurant, but at a different location. After dinner, we walked to the cinema to see a movie. On the way to the movie, I was shocked when right in the middle of down town Kiev; I saw an office building with a large “Ernst & Young” sign on it (one of the big four accounting firms). I wondered if most of their business was consulting, or if there are any auditing and accounting standards in Ukraine, or if there are public companies based in Ukraine. I believe they have a stock market here with publically traded companies. I wondered about the restaurant we just ate. I don’t know if it was owned by the same owners, or they have franchises here in Kiev. Natalie told me earlier there are 24 McDonalds just in Kiev (6 million people). I see a ton of new building going on here with residential apartments. There is definitely an infusion of capital here in Kiev – whether it is local or foreign money would be an interesting bit of trivia for this bean counter to delve into. Anyway, the kids and Natalie ended up going to a 3-D cartoon movie while I sat in the Internet café (upstairs from the movie) where I was able to read and answer some email. The movie was only 1 hour and apparently pretty lame, even by Ukraine standards. I guess the 3-D effect was barely enough to hold their interest for the entire hour.



Downtown Kiev, Nightime



Ernst and Young, Downtown Kiev, Ukraine



Billboard, Downtown Kiev, Ukraine (Roman's Favorite Ukranian Soccer Player)



When we got home, Cheryl and I had to make a decision. Our scheduled flight to leave Ukraine was for Thursday, November 29th. Based on what the gentleman said to us at the US Embassy/Consulate, there was a good chance we could get our visa’s tomorrow, on Wednesday. On Thursday, the Consulate would be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, a worker at the Consulate informed us that they observe both US and Ukrainian holidays and because of that fact alone, made it a great place to work. I got on the phone and called BYU travel to look at the possibility of moving our flights to an earlier date. According to Nancy Bean (BYU travel), the only flights available were on Thursday (Thanksgiving) and the following Tuesday, a mere two days prior to our scheduled flight. If we scheduled a Thanksgiving flight, incurred the extra costs, and did not get our visas tomorrow (Wednesday), we would have to inure the extra costs once again to change our flight until next Tuesday. There were only four seats available on the Thursday flight. I hung up the phone and told Nancy I’d call her back in 5-10 minutes after we had discussed the issue. Cheryl and I discussed this, along with Natalie (our translator). We weighed the pros and cons – extra costs incurred each day for staying in Kiev, Calvin on leave without pay from work, away from our family, etc. Cheryl said that perhaps it was not a coincidence that there were only four seats on the flight home. Of course prayers were offered and I wish I could say I had a feeling or prompting which made me say “yes” to Nancy when I called her back in about 10 minutes. A bit of panic hit me when she repeated the large amount of money she would be charging my credit card for the price associated with Roman and Nadia’s ticket, inclusive of the extra costs incurred for changing our previously arranged flight. We went to bed that night, praying very hard that we would receive our visas tomorrow.

Monday November 19, 2007

Today started at 2:30 a.m. We finished our last minute packing and Vladimir showed up in his car and another taxi at 3:30 a.m. sharp to shuttle us to Kiev. Our taxi driver, Valintine, had a nice Renault, which compared to our initial drive from Keiv to Sumy, was a dream. He had shocks/struts that were fully functioning and had not completely worn out on the bumpy roads. We told him his car was a ‘sweet ride’. I don’t know how that translated, but Natalie got the point across as we told him we voted him the best taxi ride and best music we had experienced in Ukraine so far.

Cheryl was sicker than a dog and I regretted not charging my lap top prior to our departure. I was able to type for about 1 hour before my battery ran out and my laptop shut down. That was also my que to shut down in sleep mode for an hour or so.

At about the half way point (4 hours each way) between Sumy and Kiev, we stopped at a “rest stop”. It was a little market place off the freeway where everything from smoked chicken, fruit, nuts and hot tea was sold. We had a potty break, purchased some hot herbal tea and some treats and got on our way. I was able to sleep another hour or so in Valintine’s ‘sweet ride’ prior to me waking up on the outskirts of Kiev. I bit into my apple I had purchased back at the market. I had cleaned it by rubbing it profusely on my shirt – almost like it was a lantern with a magic Jeanie inside. Once I bit into my apple, I had the flavor of heating oil gas diffuse itself throughout my pallet. It brought back a million and one memories of when we lived in Boise at 909 North 16th street, in a little red house we had rented for about 8 months, prior to purchasing a home in Boise. We heated the home with heating oil, which I had to purchase one or two times during our stay. The heating oil has a distinct odor which I haven’t smelled, or remembered, since the winter of 1990/91 – the same Winter Nadia was born. Needless to say, I didn’t finish the apple.



Rest Stop



Market At Rest Stop

We arrived in Kiev right about 8:00 a.m., right in the heart of rush hour. It was slow going. At one point, another driver honked at us and told us we had something wrong with our car. Our right rear passenger tire was extremely low. After another mile or two, we had to pull off the road in the right-hand lane. Emergency lanes do not exist on the freeway here. Thank heavens for the press of rush hour to slow the traffic down to lessen the chance of an accident. In a previous life, Valentine had been both a musician and a race car driver. He proceeded with lightening intensity emptying the trunk of our bags and changing our flat tire for a spare kept in his trunk. Vladimir was able to find us on the freeway, obtain the documents we had, which he needed, and took both Roman and Nadia to the clinic where they were to receive their medical exams, necessary to their entering the United States.


Kiev



Valentine Fixing Our Flat Tire



Downtown Kiev


After our flat was fixed, we were able to be on our way and meet Vladimir at the medical clinic. While there, we spoke to a family adopting a special needs boy (7 yrs old with cerebral palsy) along with a 9 and 13 old boy/girl sibling pair. This family and another family Vladimir spoke with, who were adopting twins, had been there 5 and 6 weeks, respectively. I felt lucky that our facilitator had worked his tail off and that we were here three weeks to the day we stepped off the plane.

After the medical clinic, we went and ate brunch at a cafeteria style restaurant. It was really quite tasty. I felt alive and energized as I was back in a big city. We drove to our apartment, which was located in the same vicinity as the apartment we initially stayed in when we first arrived in Kiev last year (month – but it feels like a year). Vladimir in his awesome, but consistent style, was able to negotiate $10 off per night from our apartment with our land-lady. It is a three room apartment with a small kitchenette which suites our needs adequately.


Our Lunch Group



Cheryl - Lunch With Roman and Nadia



Outside Our Kiev Apartment


Tonight with Cheryl being sick, I took Natalie, Roman, and Nadia to Micky Dees for (hopefully) one last hoorah at the golden arches. I spent most of the evening filling out forms for both Nadia and Roman, preparatory for our visit to the US Embassy/Consulate tomorrow morning.

Sunday November 18, 2007

Today we all slept in a bit. It was official with Cheryl – she had been trying for the past couple days to come down with a cold/flu and finally succeeded. She was not at all well. Her coughing and hoarseness topped off with a headache made her day quite miserable. There was no church today as the entire branch had chartered a bus to go down to Harkov, for the regional conference presided over by Elder Bednar. We had quite a full day trying to get all loose ends tied up prior to our journey to Kiev on Monday.

At 12:00 noon, Tonya Bobko, the ‘egg lady’ came to our apartment and dropped off some painted plates for us to deliver when we get back home. We also clarified the details of our order of Christmas ornaments. At 1:00 pm, Natalie and I met Vera (the lady who took care of the Hunter’s children’s mother’s grave) at McDonalds. We took care of some last minute business concerning the grave marker. It was such a beautiful, sunny Sunday. I asked Natalie if she wouldn’t mind walking home instead of taking a taxi/bus home. She agreed and we enjoyed a beautiful walk home through the heart of Sumy and past the picturesque Psel River to our apartment.


Psel River, Sumy, Ukraine



Calvin By Psel River, Sumy Ukraine

While Natalie and I were gone, Vladimir had taken Roman to the orphanage so he could say good-bye to his friends one last time and pick up his tooth brush. Nadia was out visiting some of her friends to say good bye and Cheryl stayed home in bed trying to nurse her flu. Nadia had also made arrangements to have several of her friends over to our apartment at about 5:00 p.m. to visit and say good bye to her.

Natalie and I took a taxi/bus to the orphanage where we met Roman at Maria Andreana’s home (Roman’s ‘mother teacher’) for ‘tea’ at 5:00 p.m. (Maria lives a few doors down from the orphanage.) Maria had outdone herself with her splendid table spread with open face sandwiches of different varieties, an assortment fruit, and cakes for desert. Besides myself, there was Natalie (our translator), Roman, Edward, his son, Serge Mehilovich (Roman’s music teacher), Serge’s wife and son along with our host Maria. Serge peppered me with all kinds of questions about the United States from income levels to post-secondary school opportunities and programs. Being the numbers guy that I am and working for BYU, I believe I was able to give him a lot of information concerning the cost of living, cost of education, wages for teachers as well as wages for skilled and unskilled labor. Serge’s wife asked us why we would adopt two children when we already had children of our own. I was able to tell her briefly of how we are a religious family and that we believe that God had asked us to do this thing. I told her when we gathered our own three children around us - either at meal times or for family prayer - that our family did not feel complete. One thing led to another and we ended up here in Ukraine adopting Roman and Nadia. Their questions then were interlaced with questions about our Church beliefs which included discussion of several topics including eternal families, prayer and fasting, fast Sunday and helping the less fortunate. Serge was familiar with many of these as he had just returned from America with the last group of 45 orphans who visited host families. Serge commented on the gymnasiums as part of the church buildings he saw in America. I mentioned the church here in Sumy only had a room with a ping-pong table, but one day they would have a church building in Sumy. A couple of them looked surprised when they found out there was a Mormon church here in Sumy. Natalie (our translator) told them were it was located, above the electronics shop. She also mentioned the missionaries gave free English lessons, of which (I believe) Serge was aware of. I asked Serge if he would like me to have the missionaries contact him about the free English lessons, or to answer more questions about the Church. He politely declined and told me he knew where the Church was located and would go there on his own. I have no doubt about the goodness of these people. One always hopes they will investigate the Church at some point in their lives, but if they do not, it will not change their goodness and how I appreciate their efforts in educating and mentoring these young orphan children.


Dessert



Dinner Group



Roman Saying Good-Bye to Friends


On our way home (Edward drove us in his car), Natalie got a call from Nadia, who was stuck in the elevator with her friends, in our apartment complex. When we got home, Roman and I found the elevator had stopped on the second floor. We went and knocked on the elevator door. One of Nadia’s friends was able to open the door, which revealed her friends in the elevator with the floor of the elevator perched about 1 ½ - 2 feet above the floor of the apartment building. As 16 year old girls, do, they were all laughing and giggling. I told them all to get back in the elevator as I wanted to take their picture. After a couple minutes of pictures and laughing, we were able to take the stairs down to the ground level where I walked with Nadia and her friends to the bus stop. I waited on one side of the street while she walked her friends across the street and visited with them for about 5 – 10 minutes until they had all boarded their respective taxi/bus. I walked Nadia back to our apartment with her arm in mine, to insure my new daughter would not slip on the ice. I sensed she enjoyed having a new papa to look out after her.


Nadia in Elevator With Friends



Nadia With Friends

Saturday November 17, 2007

This morning, Vladimir had made arrangements for us to drive down to the Donesk region to visit Serge, Roman and Nadia’s 19 year old brother, who is in prison. We felt this was important to the children to show our love towards his brother and give Roman a chance to say good-bye. The last time Roman saw his brother was back in 2004/05 prior to his sentencing.

Serge Kuzmin was 8 or 9 when he went into the Sumy boarding school/orphanage. He was quickly recognized as being a leader amongst his peers for his personality and ability to control a soccer ball on the field. Some of the teachers talk about what a shock it was when he and some other boys robbed an individual – the reason behind his prison sentencing. He was between the summer of graduating from the boarding school and going into the technical school when this unfortunate incident occurred. He was enrolled in a technical school which centered on construction and building trades.

The prison was located about 300 kilometers or about 240 miles from Sumy and took about 4 hours to travel one way. We really didn’t know what to expect, except based on Nadia’s previous visit. Prior to going into the administration building, we emptied all our pockets of everything, except a few Ugr (abt $8.00) to pay for the entrance fee, and our passports, for identification purposes.


Our Hired Van




Asking Directions



Prison - Donesk Region


Prison - Donesk Region

The administration building foyer was joined by an office on one side and a toilet on the other. It was like going back in time 70 years being in this place. The administration officer was a young man in his mid-twenties who was dressed very smartly in an official uniform – something like you would see in a WWII movie – green cotton shirt complete with a dark green tie, green wool dress pants and coat and an officer’s hat. The uniform itself gave an official heir. This along with the serious manner in which he took his responsibilities, put me somewhat on edge. All the old WWII movies I viewed growing up picturing German officers combined with any propaganda – whether true or not – of the former Soviet Union, gave this a bit of a creepy and dreary feeling. We waited and waited – probably a good 1 – 1 ½ hours before we went in to see Serge. Due to other factors, including Cheryl trying to come down with the flu, she remained behind and stayed in the van while we went in to visit Serge.

Serge looked like the few pictures we have seen of him. He has a dark complexion, much closer to Nadia’s than to Roman’s. He was quite happy to see his brother and sister and quickly it was easy to see why he was considered the ‘alpha’ of his class/grade at the boarding school. He was happy with quite a charismatic presence about him. He smiled and joked with his brother and sister as he spoke to them on the phone line through the partition which separated the inmates from the visitors. It was hard for me to connect this handsome young man to the deeds which put him in his current situation. After a few minutes, I got on one phone and Natalie, our translator got on the other. I told him that we would take good care of his younger brother and sister – that they would be well cared for. He told me “thank-you”. I told him we would think of him and pray for him. Again, he told me “thank-you”. At this point I couldn’t think of anything else to say. I turned the phone over to Nadia, who seemed to monopolize the majority of the conversation. At one point, she pulled out her and Roman’s Ukrainian pass ports and held them up to the glass separating her on one side – with a distance of about two feet before his metal mesh barrier separated him. He was able to see their new passports and pictures, complete with their new names. He also held up Cheryl’s passport picture so he could see what his siblings’ new mother looked like. We told Nadia and Roman previous to visiting Serge that we would provide him some clothing. Part of our visit consisted of Serge giving a laundry list of items to possibly provide him. In all it consisted of clothes, shaving toiletries, ping-pong balls and cross-word puzzles. Due to the restrictions placed on the amount of clothing (2 pair), Cheryl and I felt it was the least we could do to show our love and support to their brother by providing him with these items. We spent an hour in the prison visiting with Serge when the guard came back in to let us know our visit was to be concluded. It was about 3:00 pm when we went out to the van. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky and I was ready to begin our long journey home.

On the way home, we passed through the town of Donesk. I knew that Elder Bednar was in the town of Harkov?? to dedicate a new chapel there. He was having meetings there on Saturday and Sunday and I felt a little sad that we could not be part of the conference. On the other hand, I felt excited about our upcoming journey to Kiev on Monday.


Nucleur Power Plant - Downtown Donesk (Blurry), Next To Residential Housing