Tuesday July 20, 2010

Yesterday (Tuesday) was our meeting with Lyubov, a director of child welfare in the girl’s hometown.  It was a long trip in a van that Natasha got us.  The driver was a short, dark, hairy beer- bellied guy who wore his shirt completely open.  He actually looked a lot like that Italian guy who had a crush on Sandra Bullock in “While You Were Sleeping.”  (For those of you who have any affinity towards Seinfeld - I won’t tell you our driver’s name, but it rhymes with Mulva!)  

Our cab driver

It was pleasant to see the farmlands and roadside fruit and vegetable stands. The roads are a little smoother here than what we experienced three years ago in Sumy. We drove about an hour and a half to the city where her 17-year-old sister Valentina (or Valya) lives. We picked her up there and took her to the girl’s hometown called Karasnoverekopsk (say that three times fast!).  The purpose of the meeting was to get the okay to separate the sisters.  Valya is 8 1/2 months pregnant and adoption is obviously not an option for her.  She still needed to write a letter indicating she gives her permission for her sister to be adopted, without her, as she is not 18 yrs old yet.

Valya (Valentina-left), with Anastasia (right)

Anastasia supporting her sister, Valya, as she writes her separation letter

Lyubov Vladimirnova (the lady inspector) took some time speaking directly with the girls and reminding them of the neglected situation their family was in when the state took custody. She described the house and the state of their alcoholic parents.  She asked them directly if they thought it was right that she took them away from their parents.  Anastasia was reluctant to reply but Valentyna who is two years older said it was good that they were taken away.  I’m sure it was a difficult meeting for the girls, but I think a good and necessary step for some closure, especially for Anastasia.  I noticed that she seemed more affectionate than ever on our way home. We went out for pizza and gave Valya a small gift for her baby and for herself from Anastasia and then we gave her a little money to help with the expense of childbirth.

Left to right: Valya, Lyubov (the inspector), Anastasia, Calvin, and Cheryl

What made this most interesting was that Lyubov (the lady inspector) was the woman who took these children away from their parents when Anastasia was about eight years old.  She had an excellent memory of the situation because she has been involved in the subsequent separations of the 5 sisters and has reviewed the case several times.  Also, it seems that their birth mother took some kind of retaliation on her after she took the kids away.  She wouldn’t say exactly what she did, only to say it was unpleasant.  

It was a little heart wrenching to see these girls say goodbye.  They did so with very little emotion, aware and timid of the attention on them, but Anastasia said she talked to Valya later and they were both in tears.  I worry very much about this young 17 year old mother, who has a young boyfriend and has never had an example of a good family to help her raise her own child. She seems much more sweet and unworldly than I’d expected.  The father thankfully has plans to go to school and is currently working.  We’ll add her to our list of people we regularly pray for.
Anastasia’s adoption and trip to Kiev will happen sometime around the baby’s due date.  I think she’d never forgive us if we didn’t let her see her new niece or nephew, so I hope he/she comes sooner than later.  

The latest updated schedule for our adoption is to have our court date in a week (Thursday July 29th).  The Interpol reports only come in about once a week and ours wasn’t there on Tuesday, otherwise things would be moving along sooner! We will probably be returning home around next Saturday (July 31st) and then one of us will return to Ukraine to finish the process and pick up Anastasia about a week–and-a-half later.  

We are feeling healthy and doing quite well. Our main complaint is that this stone mattress and the jolting buses are not the best for our backs, but all the walking is probably pretty good for them, so overall we are doing great.  We got our hot water back yesterday, so no more cold showers! Our main problem is just a little homesickness for our beautiful family at home.  We are so appreciative of Margie who has taken our two sons on a Lake Powell family vacation with them.  I can only imagine how much fun they are having with Kent teasing them a mile a minute! Nadia is back safe and sound from her trip to Oregon and the girls sound great holding down the fort and keeping Grandpa out of trouble.  Love you girls!