Day 4 - Sergei's answer - Sept 21

Wednesday – Day 4 Getting an official answer.

We were almost ready to go out the door when Ksenia called at 6:33am. We drug our bags out of our room and made our way down the elevator. Once again we loaded all our bags into the taxi and sped off in the dark toward Oktyrka. We arrived at a hotel room to drop our bags and change drivers. At first glance the room seemed adequate. There were 3 single couches and a separate bath. It was only for a few nights, we could live with that. We rushed back out the door to our new friend, Sergei who was waiting to take us to the Inspector's office. We waited in the car as Ksenia went in and arranged things with the inspector. They both came out and Darren moved to the front and the three of us ladies shared the back seat. Next stop, Sergei's orphanage. When we arrived, the director was not available, so we sat and waited. When she finally got there, they spoke of the documents and confirmed that we were aware of Sergei's eye injury. We said that we were aware and that it was no problem for us. We had our friend who was an eye doctor examine him and found no issues with his vision.

Moments passed as the women conversed in Ukrainian and we were clueless as to the meaning and what to expect. Then a quiet knock on the door and we saw a shy young man sneak into the receptionist's room and peak at us. A quick wave and, “Hi, mom” was all we got as they pulled him aside and “made him presentable”. Completely unnecessary for us, as we were so anxious to see him again. We did not get to give hugs or real greetings as the interrogations began as soon as he entered the director's office where we sat waiting. The inspector grilled him to confirm that he really understood that he was leaving his country to stay in America permanently to be part of a family with the rights and responsibilities that come with it. He looked like a deer in headlights looking for a place to leap for cover. He spoke his assent quietly and meekly. This would be good practice for the court hearing where he would have to stand before the judge and other officials when he had to give his final answer. But my momma's heart longed to reach an arm around his shoulders and give him some reassurance of our love. Once his answer was given, they brought him back to the receptionist's desk and he began writing his letter stating his wishes to be adopted by us. On the way over we finally got to give him some hugs! We could tell that he was still not relaxed. After the letter was written we were free to go outside and just “hang out” until the others were finished. We gave some more hugs and he began to relax. We talked and began to ask questions about his school and where he slept and which building is this. Then he asked if we wanted to go to the sport field, so we went and found a soccer ball to kick around. As we were hanging out, Sergei stopped friends here and there and introduced us as his mom and dad. Then we got photos of him and his friends. At the soccer field Sergei, Dad and another friend kicked the ball around for a bit. The sun was getting warm, so Sergei wanted to go and change out of his dressy school clothes and into some sport clothes. He took us to his room to show us around, but he forgot to get the key to unlock the room with the clothes that he needed. He had us wait and then he rushed out to find a friend who had the key. On the way back he was given a mini-watermelon. This he presented to us. Then he got the clothes that he wanted and changed. While in his room, Darren had sat on his bed with him a minute. It did not look bad, but when he sat, he knew better. He had me give it a try. It kind of felt like it was supported similar to a hammock and certainly was not comfortable.

Back outside we did some more sports and meeting friends. We tried the watermelon and Sergei got some spoons to make it easier to eat. As we had only a protein bar in the car on the way there, even the bland tasting watermelon seemed good. I took more pictures of him and his friends and of the buildings and areas around the only home he has known for the last 7 years. We do not want him to forget this part of his life.

As we were out walking around we got a text from Ksenia that she and our driver, Sergei were taking the Inspector back to her office and they would return later. We were happy to have the extra time with our Sergei. He showed us the photos that we had sent to him of our family. He was happy to have this connection with us. I played the video that TJ and Bekka had made of a greeting for him. He laughed to hear their message. He also was glad to see photos of Frodo and Sam. It was a pleasant afternoon. We watched him join his PE class for some running and stretching, jumping and racing. He came back all sweaty and dirty, but very happy. Soon after the PE ended, Ksenia and Sergei were back and we had to say good-bye and get into town to notarize the paperwork that would give us the chance to ask for a second referral to adopt Yarik. We gave hugs and promised to be back the next afternoon with his birthday present and a phone that he could use to keep in contact when we were apart.

The ride back did not seem nearly as long as it had in the morning. We got back to town and Ksenia went to the notary and sent us for some lunch. Before we even got our main course, she was back and the documents were ready to be signed. We hurriedly ate our meals and went back to the notary with Ksenia. We each signed about 4 documents and copies of the originals and then signed another ledger book. Then we were done and we had some time to exchange money and go to the grocery store. We got food for breakfast and a big bottle of water. We wanted to get the sim card for the phone we had for Sergei, but the area to buy the card was blocked, so we planned to do it in the morning. In the meantime, another adoptive Mom who had been here for some time called and asked if we could meet her somewhere in town to get to know each other. So we had Sergei take us back to the apartment to drop off our groceries and back packs and then had him take us back to the restaurant to meet Tonya.

Tonya and her sister-in-law were waiting for us there. We had been facebook friends, but now we got to meet in person. We were both adopting from the same orphanage. She had already had her court date with her husband and now he was back home and she was waiting out the 10 days. They were ready for some American companionship. We sat outside in a lovely flower covered gazebo and had tea, cold coffee and soda. It was nice to sit and chat and hear each others' stories. She had been so thankful to Yarik for his kind willingness to fetch their son when they called to the orphanage on Yarik's phone. Tonya was anxious to meet him. We told her that Yarik should be with us on Friday night if Ksenia could make the arrangements for him to come and stay with us for the weekend. Then we could all spend some time together before we both had to go to Kiev on different days. The girls wanted to get back to their hotel before dark, so they left and Darren and I took our time, using the nice bathroom at the restaurant instead of the squatty potties that we discovered were our only option at our cheap hotel. So glad that there was another hotel lined up for tomorrow! We had a leisurely walk back toward our hotel when we heard some lovely music from a side street. There was a group of ladies singing on the sidewalk with microphones and a small crowd had gathered to watch. We found a spot on the far side of the street to take in some Ukrainian culture. After the women finished, a young man stood up with his accordion. He played a peppy song that I think would have made TJ interested in learning to play the accordion. After him was another couple on a guitar and violin. We are not sure what the occasion was, but it was a nice diversion on our way home. We walked the rest of the way through the center of town and on to our apartment way...way...down the street. The weather has been beautiful all day and we could not have asked for any better to enjoy being outside nearly the whole day.

Now we are making the best of our hotel room and ready to call it a night. Looking forward to seeing Sergei and celebrating his 15^th birthday. I hope Sergei our driver knows where we can get some kind of birthday cake!