The Day We Took Alex from the Orphanage

I wanted to write about last Thursday, the day we took Alex from the orphanage permanently. It's one of those days that will be etched into my memory forever. Michael and I had gone to the director's office first to pay our "donation," where we were joined by Alex. The three of us walked to Alex's classroom so he could collect his "things," and say good-bye to his classmates.

As we entered the classroom, the teacher was at the front of the room and class was underway. Things abruptly stopped, and all eyes were on us. The teacher asked Alex when he was leaving, and he said right now. There was a flurry of activity as the children rushed to help Alex get his stuff. (Everything he owned could fit in a shoebox.) Alex has lived in the orphanage since 2003, when he was six years old. Many of these children have spent 24 hours a day together for years. I noticed his friend Seruja starting to get teary-eyed and then very emotional. He was embarrassed and went and stood at the back of the room. Then his friend Ruslan also started to cry. It was a very sad scene. Michael and I both had tears in our eyes. Alex did not cry and seemed surprised others were crying. We took pictures and went outside to the taxi. The children were all gathered waving good-bye out the window. I snapped pictures.

Alex's stuff consisted of a few notebooks containing current schoolwork and the pictures we had given him of his trip to Utah. There were no pictures of him as a baby or little kid, no records of any kind. We have a copy of his father's death certificate and a copy of his mother's termination of parental rights decree. It's as if he didn't exist before now.

Sunday, Dec. 20

It snowed all day today, and the locals were panicked by all the snow. It just piled up, and the city was unprepared with snowplows and salt. People were out trying to clear six inches of snow with babushka brooms. We found out from the missionaries where church was held and couldn't believe the coincidence. Our apt. was two blocks away from the building. The three of us walked to church in the snow. We had a choice of the Russian-speaking meetings or the International English-speaking meetings. We opted for Russian so Alex could endure three hours of church. Elder Thorpe from Bountiful kindly translated for Michael and me. The meetings were great, the members were friendly, and the spirit was strong. It gave us a real lift to be there.

Monday, Dec. 21

Inna got Alex's passport today, nothing short of a miracle. We are told it's unheard of to get a passport in one day, but she did it.

Tuesday, Dec. 22

Today we went to get Alex's medical and were taken in front of others already there. I don't know how she did it. Then we went to U.S. Embassy to apply for Alex's visa. We pick it up tomorrow at two p.m. We fly out Thursday at 5:30 a.m. and arrive in SLC 8:10 p.m., Flight 6449 from Chicago.