Day 27 - Passport

Up early! Ola and I meet Sergei downstairs at Hotel Mur for breakfast (they've added a great southern breakfast to the menu - #3!). Two cups of coffee gets me going. We head to the passport office in Severodonetsk to sign & pay for the *3 ladies* taxi to Lugansk. They have to appear in person so that we can get our passport quickly. We drive to Lugansk and when we arrive, Sergei scans & emails documents to N for translating. Then we go shopping at the outdoor market to get Ola some shoes (hers from the internot were trash). We browse around for a while because we do not have anything to do until the passport is ready to be picked up later this afternoon.
Sergei takes us to a hotel that he's stayed at in the past - says it was nice. After viewing our room, we try to get settled. Ola turns on the shower to show me something about camp (?) and water starts dripping from the ceiling (uh-oh). That should have been the first clue to change rooms...
But I, not wanting to be a bother, just asked Sergei to let them know so that we would not be held responsible for breaking something. The maintenance guy comes and says no problem - they are working on the room above us. I begin the chore of re-packing Ola's stuff more efficiently & transfer some of the heavier stuff to another suitcase. Ola says, "Wow, Mom, you pack good!" Thank you.
Sergei calls - the passport is ready to be picked up - YEA! I am amazed at how much running around and filling out of paperwork it took to get this one little document.

It is about 4pm by now - dark. My stomach says it is time to eat regardless of the time. We go to a Ukrainian buffet style restaurant. Only 2 more days of Ukrainian food, so we get it while we can! We walk around the mall next door - nice!
Back at the apartment we start getting ready for bed - tomorrow will be another early morning so that we can catch our 7am flight. Ola gets ready to get into the shower & guess what - there is no hot water. Sergei calls the maintenance guy again. He says no problem, just let all the water drain out of the tank & then it will be warm (ok, I'm no plumber, but that doesn't make sense!). So, not wanting to be a bother, we let the water run. It never gets warm. Sergei offers for us to shower in his room (above his job description - he is such a nice guy!). Getting late, so I fill out the rest of the paperwork (which takes about 2 hours) & get ready to get into bed (it is much later than I wanted to get to bed - paperwork is tedious). Ola crawls into bed first & says, "Oh, Mom! What is that smell?! It smells like pee-pee!" Great. We are in this 1970's apartment/hotel with a tiger print coverlet and the mattress smells like urine. It is near midnight and I am so exhausted that I can't deal with it. Ola layers some sheets on it & we go to bed.

Day 26 - Ola

December 7, 2010 – we officially become Ola’s parents and she leaves the orphanage.

Today has been filled with every feeling I can think of, except anger:Love, joy, peace, patience, sorrow, excitement, exhaustion, endurance, hunger, thirst, aggravation, happiness…

6:59: woke up before the alarm. Today is a big day.

7:19: downstairs for coffee & breakfast. Eyes do not like being open. 2 cups of coffee

8:15: run upstairs for jacket & Ola’s clothes

8:30: in the car zooming to the courthouse to pick up the court decree

8:40: courthouse actually open & Sergei goes in. During our court, a crew was cutting down all the trees around the courthouse. Looks different - maybe they’ll paint next. Sergei runs out with the court decree – YEA!

8:45: on to Rubizhna to the vital records office

9:00 arrive to the vital records office to a man and woman drinking a pint of beer each. Sergei fills out the necessary paperwork & I sign that I understand the document & approve it. I got teary-eyed (not sure why) to see the lady put a big X on Ola’s original birth certificate. In effect, she is born today to Denton Jones Elliott and Tamara Anne Elliott, a happy occasion. Sign the big book & receive the birth certificate.

10:40 left the vital records office & headed to the passport office in Severodonetsk. IT is sunny today and the drive was beautiful – through a forest of pines. Rubizhna must be a timber town – their city crest had a pine tree on it.

11:00 arrived at the Tax ID office, waited, Sergei did all the necessary paperwork & I just gave him my passport. The building is pretty inside – ceiling of mirrored tiles, walls of crushed glass which sparkled even in the dim light.

11:30 arrived at the Severodonetsk School & Internot (orphanage). The school’s lawyer is on vacation, so there is a bit of timidity. Though Yanna left the necessary paperwork, Anya seems unsure what to do. I also requested that they add the TB vaccine to Ola’s medical records so there will be a record of that when we get to the Kiev medical exam.

12:00 we’re in the director’s office. The director is afraid that we will leave something out, so she checks the documents of other children who have been adopted, calls a bunch of people, and hands us Ola’s passport which we’ll need at the passport office. They also have no idea where the big log book is, so she asked us to come back at 1:30. I also asked Sergei to inquire about getting a copy of our news interview. The director calls the news station & they will meet us at 2:00 & give us a copy of what was aired (YEA!)

12:45 head to the notary to get a notarized copy of Ola’s birth certificate for the passport office (which closes at 1:00 for lunch – hurry).

12:54 arrive at the passport office. Sergei does all the work, I pay the $600 “un-official fee”

1:30 back at the internot to the director’s office, director is somewhere in the building, so we call for Ola & she comes and says she has 1 more class & lunch, so she stays while we go to the TV station.

2:00 wait at the news station while the copies of our interview are being prepared.

2:30 back to the internot to get Ola – finally. They never did find the log book, so I guess maybe they’ll sign it for meJ Ola is packed & ready, gives a few last minute gifts to friends (dental floss to Timor, her favorite flip flops to Tanya)

3:30 leaving the orphanage after many goodbyes

3:40 got to the passport office – Sergei took care of everything there

4:00 to the notary for the newly required document in Lugansk Regional passport office. Ola must sign & have notarized a letter which states that she wants her permanent residence in the USA. (Like all the paperwork we have done so far doesn’t already state and confirm & re-confirm this.) One family did this letter, Lugansk liked it, Lugansk is now requiring it from everyone for a passport.

6:00 we’re still at the notary. He has never done a letter like this & needs an example, so we have to call Lugansk & ask them to email the notary a letter. Ola signs, I sign, Sergei signs, and we’re done.

6:20 we walk out of the notary & go 2 doors down to the travel agent. We arranged for tickets from Lugansk to Kiev since we will be in Lugansk to do the passport tomorrow anyway. We’ll fly out the following morning. One step closer to home.

Our next few hours were spent driving here and there looking for Larisa (Ola’s internot Mom) and Inna so we could say good-bye, and saying good-bye one more time to Ola’s friends at the orphanage.

I don’t know who cried more, Larisa, Ola, or me! It is hard for me to see Ola leave the only Mom she has ever known. Larisa and her husband are wonderful people who really care for Ola. They have had her into their home, celebrated with her, loved her. Larisa told Ola that she will have a good mother and good opportunities, but that she will miss her. I told Larisa that she will have to come to America and help me be a “babushka” to Ola’s 5 children!

9:07 we finally sit down for dinner – Sergei and I have had nothing to eat or drink since 8am. I am beyond tired and hungry. Ola is lively. Sergei is a steady man. He cuts up with Ola and explains the lyrics to the music she is hearing. She gasps and stops singing.

She’s still dancing though. She really wants to dance on the dance floor, but is “stees-na-yetsa” = embarrassed.

Day 25 - travel

Today was spent traveling back to Severodonetsk. I woke up to a nice breakfast by Lena. Tried Ukrainian "salla" (pork fat, smoked), ate breakfast pizza, drank coffee. Kolia drove me to the airport.

Sergei picked me up in Donetsk & we drove about 3 hours to Severodonetsk. We went to Ola's orphanage to visit for a bit & to make sure she was packed and ready for tomorrow's leaving the internot. She is so excited and glad I am back. I gave her a pillow case and some permanent markers so she could have all her friends sign it. It was a hit!

Then to dinner at Brava pizza. It is fast and cheap.

Day 24 - Worship

A wonderful service today and Communion Sunday. I love to worship in another language. Though I wish I understood on my own, Yulia translates everything very well (a huge task for which I am very thankful!). The songs are beautiful; I recognize most of the tunes, but the words are beyond me. When I learn Russian, singing in Russian will be a wonderful reward! I enjoyed sharing a lesson with the ladies - on trials. Have you had any lately? James 5:13 says "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise." God hears the prayers of the righteous (1 Peter 3:12), Jesus prays for us that our faith will not fail (Luke 22:32), and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). Our God is wonderful!

After service and Bible study, Kolia, Lena & I took a nice drive to their home. Ukraine is so beautiful - we drove through a forest - snow! I love their home and I am especially grateful to feel a part of their family. Lena's delicious cooking has put a few pounds on me - I definitely need a "winter layer" here!

We attended evening service at the church in Kolia & Lena's town where I met Pastor Jeff and his wife, Colleen. Service was very nice and I am thankful Jeff was able to translate! Denton - I am sad you are not here - you would love being in my shoes I know. Thank you for going home to be with our children!

Tomorrow, I travel back to Ola's city. She is bursting with excitement! I am as well. I cannot imagine her feelings as she leaves the orphanage forever - with her Mom. After living there for nearly 11 years, her peers are like brothers and sisters, and the caretakers have been like her mothers. Thank you for your prayers for her.

Day 20 - Kiev tour

I am so blessed by our church family (at home and in Kiev!)! Natasha and Dasha took me on a tour of Kiev's attractions. We first took a walk to the bus, then down 2 flights of stairs to the Metro. At this time it was about 8 degrees F. I have been on Atlanta's Marta only once, during the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. I am a little sheltered I guess. The Metro was quite an experience! There were vendors on the M, one selling calendars, another selling bookmarks which magnified print, and another selling LED flashlights. After a rocking ride, we arrived at our destination. We hopped off (quickly or you'll get shut in the door!) and took a **4 minute** ride on the escalator (much faster than our typical mall escalator) to the surface. Dasha told me that there are varying depths of the M - depending on what stop you choose. We were DEEP! I am not good with distance, but I am guessing at that speed & 4 minutes' time that we were at least 150 feet under Kiev!

The Good Lord has taught me the true meaning of cold today. We were greeted at the top of the M with brisk wind & frigid temperatures. Ice was in the air. Natasha & Dasha showed me several famous landmarks - Motherland (photo1), WW2 Memorial (photo 2), Afghanistan War Memorial, a Memorial to all the people who starved to death under USSR rule (photo 3), and Lava church (in the background of photo 3).

I tried as best I could to take photos, but my hands didn't want to work! My feet were as blocks of ice & I was not sure they were still attached to my ankles. I can now understand why many of the ladies here wear platform stiletto heels - to keep their feet as far away from the cold pavement as possible!!! I told Natasha & Dasha that the Ukrainian people are very strong to survive this cold (and it isn't even winter yet!). We then took the M to the nearest McDonalds. Just like America, with a few exceptions: they serve hot tea, they wear jeans with a McD's "M" on the back pocket - nice touch, and theladies who clean up the dining area wear very tight red skirts, white shirt with a vest, and heels. They almost look like airline attendants. Just outside the M, I saw this wonderful idea - the coffee bar/car combination! For you coffee lovers, this is the perfect ride for you!

I am truly happy and joyous (though I wish my family could be with me). The pain and cold in my feet is subsiding. I am in my bed (Yulia forced me), under the covers with a heater next to me, comfort food, and I'm on my 3rd cup of hot tea.
If you are concerned that I may be bored, no worries. I am content. It is well with my soul.