Greetings from Kiev, Ukraine!!

Hooray! We're in Kiev, and the quarantines have been lifted in nearly all the regions. But let me back track.

Our facilitator called us last week and said the news on the street was that the quarantines would be lifted Monday, the 23rd. He crammed our SDA appointment into Wednesday the 25th between two other families and said to come. We knew it was a bit of a risk and were so relieved to get off the plane in Kiev and learn that, indeed, the quarantines had been lifted!

Our flight here, via San Francisco (weird, I know) and Munich, was uneventful. No late flights, no lost luggage, no long lines, and the airports were all fairly deserted, just how we like it. Don't get me wrong. The 24-hour process of getting here was grueling, to say the least, but it went about as smoothly as it could. We went on Lufthansa, and they are great, and Eldon from Golden Rule Travel is fantastic.

Our SDA appointment was today at 11:00 a.m. We walked from our apartment on the square, and when we were almost to the SDA, our facilitator called us and told us to bring our lap top to show the SDA photos of us with Sasha. (We forgot to bring hard copies of photos, so put that on your check list, families headed to Ukraine.) So we ran back down the hill to our apartment, ran back up the hill, and headed for the SDA. This was all done in my high-heeled black boots. It was painful.

The appointment went smoothly, and it looks like we'll be in Sasha's orphanage by Friday morning. Yahoo!

Michael and I are determined to lose weight while here. We walked a lot today, took the stairs every time to our apartment (6th floor), and ate authentic healthy Ukrainian food at our favorite restaurant here in Kiev. The total tab for the two of us was forty grievnas (spelled wrong I know), which is five dollars! You can eat for cheap, but I looked at shoes today in a store for $200! So clothing is expensive; food is cheap.

The weather is mild, warmer than usual we're told. No snow here yet. Hardly anyone is wearing the face masks anymore to protect against swine flu.

Sasha lives in a teeny tiny village, and we're staying with an English teacher and his wife. The wife is employed at Sasha's orphanage. I hope it's not too uncomfortable to hang out with Ukrainians we've never met, but apparently there are no other places to stay in a village that small. We don't know if we'll have internet, but we'll try to post whenever we do.

Our goal is to get through court before everything shuts down for the holidays. Then we'll come home for the 10-day wait, and one of us will come back in January to finish out.

Here We Go Again

We're flying out today to Ukraine to attempt this again. Each individual oblast has the decision-making power to either continue on with the quarantine or lift it. We are hoping and praying we will meet with favorable conditions when we arrive. Please keep us in your prayers.

Two posts in one day! Wow!

(Also see previous post regarding Ukraine and letter from Sasha!)

Eric calls us every Friday evening from Guam, which is Saturday morning for him. He called again last evening (Friday), and I had the chance to have a good conversation with him. I was the only one home as Marissa and Zack were out for the evening and Michael and Quinn were on an overnight camp freezing their toes and fingers off with the Scouts! Wow, imagine me being home all by myself. Weird.

Eric is being sent to Fort McCoy in Wisconsin November 28 for training in preparation for Iraq. He will be there until December 22, then fly back to Guam and await for deployment to Iraq in January. We will not see him while he is in the States, which is sad. He brought to my attention all the time changes he's going to have to go through from Guam, then to Wisconsin, back to Guam, then to Iraq. Imagine the jet lag!

Eric seems to be in good spirits. We pray for him every day.

Letter from Sasha

Michael called me from his office Friday to say, "Have you checked the e-mail? We got a letter from Sasha!"

I fairly flew to the computer. In our in-box was an e-mail from someone named Igor. Here is what it said. (To protect people's identities, I have not included last names or names of cities.)

Dear Michael and Lori,

Good afternoon. I'm writing to you from R_____, Ukraine. My name is Igor _____. I'm 29. I live in _____. I work at school as a teacher of English. I'm married. My wife is Natasha. She works at the boarding school where Sasha _____ studies. The director of the school said that you are going to come to R_____ in November and we agreed about your staying at our place. That's why I decided to write you some words about our family beforehand. Besides we talked to Sasha. He misses you very much and he wrote a letter to you. I'll translate it for you.

"Dear my family!!!
I've read the letter you wrote to me. Mother and father come to Ukraine, please. Mavesa (Marissa) and Kven (Quinn) my study is OK. I try to learn English as much as I can. I already know the ABC. How is Kven. Does he go to school? I love you and I'm looking forward to see you soon. I'll prey for you to come to Ukraine and take me with you.
I'm looking forward to our bicycle riding, mountain trips. I miss our visits to Mavessa (Marissa) and Gache (Gage). I'd like to play James Bond with me. I am OK. I see dreams that you come and take me with you and we live happily.
Love, Sasha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

How cute is that? Michael promptly fired back an e-mail. Here is an excerpt:

"Thank you very much for the kind e-mail. It is so good to hear from Sasha. As you have probably heard by now, Ukraine is not issuing referrals to orphanages because of the swine flu epidemic. In fact, we read today that ______ was added to the list of oblasts that are under quarantine. So we do not know when we will be able to get over there to get Sasha. We are very disappointed about the delay. Please explain to Sasha that the delays are beyond our control and that we will get there as soon as the Ukrainian government allows. Please tell Sasha we love him and pray for him every day. Please tell him Quinn and Marissa are doing well. Tell him Gage left for two years on a humanitarian mission last week."

So there is no more news really about the quarantine, just that it continues. Our facilitator is predicting the week of November 23, but no one knows really. Once it is lifted, the SDA will give us a new date. We are trying very hard to keep our spirits up. The government offices in Ukraine close December 22 through January 7, which is looming and will most likely interfere with completing any adoption. That would mean one of us going back after January 7 to finish out the process if we were able to go in November to start the process or, alternatively, waiting until January to begin the whole process. I guess three trips to Ukraine will not be enough, but who's counting?

We ask for your prayers. We have asked Heavenly Father to open doors for us according to His will, and we will try to smile through it all.

We took Gage to the Missionary Training Center Wednesday, November 4, 2009. He has been gone one week now. The week went by pretty quickly for me. I wonder if it went as quickly for him? Here he is the morning of November 4 in his bedroom, all packed and ready to go. He looks so young to me. It will be strangely quiet not to hear those drums beating underneath my office.


In the driveway about ready to leave.

We ate lunch at Golden Corral in Provo with Grandma and Grandpa Lawrence.

I can never get a genuine smile from them all at once!

One last picture with Grandma and Grandpa

Here is the fateful moment when you're not sure if your heart can take it. The departure at the MTC is literally a drop-off. You barely have enough time to jump out, give your missionary a tearful last hug, and he's off with a sea of other dark suits and white shirts. I could not help but think of the words to the Primary song:

We are as the army of Helaman;

We have been taught in our youth;

And we will be the Lord's missionaries to bring the

world His truth.

If it were for a lesser cause, we could not part with our 19-year-old sons. I feel it a privilege to let him go and have the experience. It will forever shape his life, and I know there are people in New Mexico waiting to hear his message.

Funny how your mind can play tricks on you. All week I've had little moments where I've forgotten he's gone, and I'll think, "Oh, Gage should be home soon," or, "Oh, is Gage out of bed yet?" And then I'll remember he's gone, and it's hard to explain the empty feeling you get. The house seems so quiet. I can't quite get my mind wrapped around it. I don't like having half my children gone.



The next day we sent this sweet girl back to Ukraine. This is Rita (on the right). She was in our home for the last three days of the hosting program. Shelby (on the left) is our friend and neighbor and translated for us a lot.

At the airport sending the kids home to Ukraine.

We're still in a holding pattern waiting for Ukraine to lift the quarantine. We hope to go soon but most likely will not be able to keep our original SDA date of November 17. It's very difficult to know how to plan.

Today is Veteran's Day. No better time to say how thankful I am to be living in such a great country. I am so proud to have a son serving in the United States Air Force. We love you, Eric!

Today the SDA in Ukraine officially suspended all visits to children in institutions due to the H1N1 scare. That means the SDA will give no referrals to anyone wanting to go to orphanages to get their kids. No one knows how long the suspension will be. The guess is three to four weeks. The SDA has promised to revisit the issue in nine days.

So do we buy plane tickets? Do we wait for nine days to see what happens? What if the suspension were lifted in nine days? That would give us three days to buy tickets and get a million things done in order to be in Ukraine on November 17. I must be on Candid Camera to see how far someone can be pushed before they crack. I'm just about to the edge. I hope we get better news soon.

SDA Closing?

We got word today that thousands of people are sick and in hospitals in Ukraine because of flu/swine flu. Some parts of western Ukraine are quarantined. People are being told to stay in their homes if possible. Tomorrow the SDA will be deciding whether to shut down or conduct business as usual. If they shut down, SDA dates will be cancelled and reassigned. Noooooooooo!!!!!