After a very long night with not much sleep, we were off the train at 7AM and rushing to meet our driver Andrei in Zaporizhye. It was misting, but that wasn’t the primary reason for the grey skies and fine dirt that had settled everywhere. Zaporizhye is a highly industrial city, with many factories and plenty of air pollution. Andrei skillfully drove us through the city to our 11th floor apartment, where we were greeted warmly by our landlady. The inside of the apartment and the outside do not match at all. Inside is newly renovated and beautiful, with shiny tile floors, spacious rooms, and balconies that overlook the city on either side of the apartment. Outside looks like the kind of place you stay away from after dark.
We rushed to get cleaned up while Natasha signed the contract with the landlady, and soon we were out the door, ready to meet the (adoption) inspector without time to grab coffee or breakfast. Thankfully we kept fruit and power bars with us, and Anna was such a trooper, not complaining at her minimal breakfast. We arrived at the inspector’s office, nervous and running on little more than adrenaline at this point.
The inspector was a middle-aged woman, who was dressed nicely in a skirt and 4-inch heels, as most of the women we have encountered so far do. Kind and friendly, she was juggling phone calls and interruptions as she looked over our referral letter about Tanya and Viktor and began getting more documents in order. What we have learned is the enormous amount of paperwork Scott and I have prepared so far in our dossier is like the entrance exam to a prestigious college. The real work starts now, and we are thankful to have Natasha as our advocate and facilitator.
The inspector asked us why we wanted to adopt 2 teens when we already had 4 children at home? How many times have we answered that question in the last few months? We were glad to briefly answer that we knew we wanted a big family, that after meeting Tanya she felt like a daughter to us, and when we learned about Viktor, it was important to us to keep them together, and we had a growing love for both of them.
From the inspector’s office, the inspector’s assistant came with us to head to the orphanage (there was some domestic violence in that region that the inspector had to deal with unexpectedly). Our hearts were pounding and our palms were sweaty as we anticipated the meeting with those 2 officials, not to mention seeing Tanya again and meeting Viktor! The road to Matveevka Orphanage is a long, winding road through the village of Matveevka, with small houses dotting either side of the road, and vegetable and flower gardens in nearly every front yard. We reached the orphanage and were greeted by many children, some of whom we had met this past Christmas with Bridges of Faith. Tanya and Viktor were no where to be seen, obediently staying back until they were called in to the meeting by the orphanage director.
The orphanage director, Larissa, was another middle-aged woman dressed in the usual skirt and high heels, who was warm and inviting to us. We had heard much about her prior to this meeting, all of which was good and true. She told us about Viktor, and then she invited the children into the meeting. It was all smiles for everyone as Tanya came in first, looking more grown up and tanner than we left her in January, who greeted us with shy hugs, her beautiful blue eyes meeting ours. Viktor came in next, dressed handsomely in a white button-down shirt and black pants, his shaggy blonde hair hanging in his face, and a beautiful smile, shining blue eyes and a warm hug for each of us.
We all sat down in Larissa’s office, and Larissa began to ask the children if they indeed wanted to be adopted into our family, which was answered with an unhesitating “Da” (YES) and head nods. She lectured them for several minutes, explaining to them their need to obey us, to stay out of trouble, to keep away from cigarettes and drinking, and that while they were cared for at the orphanage, once they left the orphanage they would be on their own with no family. She didn’t need to convince them. She proceeded to tell them how adoption is having a family forever, and on and on. They listened respectfully, and Scott and I were both so appreciative of her seeming to transfer the mantle respect and authority from her to us. They love and respect her, and they seemed to take it all in.
Tanya and Viktor were escorted to the next room with the inspector’s assistant, where they had to write a formal letter stating their wishes to be adopted by us. They came back in quickly, and we celebrated with cookies and coffee and so many smiles you couldn’t count them if you wanted to.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Tanya and Viktor and some of their friends while Natasha worked on paperwork with Larissa. They showed us around, from their classrooms, to the bedrooms they shared with several other children, to the ping-pong area, soccer field, and playgrounds. We were so pleased at how kind and respectful Viktor was, and how both of them were already looking to us and affectionate with us and with Anna. Soon Anna and Tanya were running around together, playing games and laughing with each other as Viktor led Scott to the ping-pong area where he graciously lost a couple of serious ping-pong battles with Viktor’s friends. Scott and I feel so bonded with them already, and kept squeezing each other’s hands and sharing knowing looks as we cannot believe God would choose us as their parents and weave this story in such an unbelievable way, putting us together as only He could have.
We rushed to get cleaned up while Natasha signed the contract with the landlady, and soon we were out the door, ready to meet the (adoption) inspector without time to grab coffee or breakfast. Thankfully we kept fruit and power bars with us, and Anna was such a trooper, not complaining at her minimal breakfast. We arrived at the inspector’s office, nervous and running on little more than adrenaline at this point.
The inspector was a middle-aged woman, who was dressed nicely in a skirt and 4-inch heels, as most of the women we have encountered so far do. Kind and friendly, she was juggling phone calls and interruptions as she looked over our referral letter about Tanya and Viktor and began getting more documents in order. What we have learned is the enormous amount of paperwork Scott and I have prepared so far in our dossier is like the entrance exam to a prestigious college. The real work starts now, and we are thankful to have Natasha as our advocate and facilitator.
The inspector asked us why we wanted to adopt 2 teens when we already had 4 children at home? How many times have we answered that question in the last few months? We were glad to briefly answer that we knew we wanted a big family, that after meeting Tanya she felt like a daughter to us, and when we learned about Viktor, it was important to us to keep them together, and we had a growing love for both of them.
From the inspector’s office, the inspector’s assistant came with us to head to the orphanage (there was some domestic violence in that region that the inspector had to deal with unexpectedly). Our hearts were pounding and our palms were sweaty as we anticipated the meeting with those 2 officials, not to mention seeing Tanya again and meeting Viktor! The road to Matveevka Orphanage is a long, winding road through the village of Matveevka, with small houses dotting either side of the road, and vegetable and flower gardens in nearly every front yard. We reached the orphanage and were greeted by many children, some of whom we had met this past Christmas with Bridges of Faith. Tanya and Viktor were no where to be seen, obediently staying back until they were called in to the meeting by the orphanage director.
The orphanage director, Larissa, was another middle-aged woman dressed in the usual skirt and high heels, who was warm and inviting to us. We had heard much about her prior to this meeting, all of which was good and true. She told us about Viktor, and then she invited the children into the meeting. It was all smiles for everyone as Tanya came in first, looking more grown up and tanner than we left her in January, who greeted us with shy hugs, her beautiful blue eyes meeting ours. Viktor came in next, dressed handsomely in a white button-down shirt and black pants, his shaggy blonde hair hanging in his face, and a beautiful smile, shining blue eyes and a warm hug for each of us.
We all sat down in Larissa’s office, and Larissa began to ask the children if they indeed wanted to be adopted into our family, which was answered with an unhesitating “Da” (YES) and head nods. She lectured them for several minutes, explaining to them their need to obey us, to stay out of trouble, to keep away from cigarettes and drinking, and that while they were cared for at the orphanage, once they left the orphanage they would be on their own with no family. She didn’t need to convince them. She proceeded to tell them how adoption is having a family forever, and on and on. They listened respectfully, and Scott and I were both so appreciative of her seeming to transfer the mantle respect and authority from her to us. They love and respect her, and they seemed to take it all in.
Tanya and Viktor were escorted to the next room with the inspector’s assistant, where they had to write a formal letter stating their wishes to be adopted by us. They came back in quickly, and we celebrated with cookies and coffee and so many smiles you couldn’t count them if you wanted to.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with Tanya and Viktor and some of their friends while Natasha worked on paperwork with Larissa. They showed us around, from their classrooms, to the bedrooms they shared with several other children, to the ping-pong area, soccer field, and playgrounds. We were so pleased at how kind and respectful Viktor was, and how both of them were already looking to us and affectionate with us and with Anna. Soon Anna and Tanya were running around together, playing games and laughing with each other as Viktor led Scott to the ping-pong area where he graciously lost a couple of serious ping-pong battles with Viktor’s friends. Scott and I feel so bonded with them already, and kept squeezing each other’s hands and sharing knowing looks as we cannot believe God would choose us as their parents and weave this story in such an unbelievable way, putting us together as only He could have.