So close and yet so far

Today shook out just about the way I should have expected it to.  We picked up Julia and got to the grey door on time.  Svetlana and Irina (asst orphanage director) were already there.  They huddled together for a few minutes, told us to wait, and disappeared into the police station.  After a while, Svetlana came out and grabbed Julia, and went back in.  Julia came back out and the three of us were together again.  We just stood on the sidewalk for two hours, trying not to feel to cold or be too bored.  Libby would not let me dance, but i did sing some.  Then we headed to the notary in Romny and you will never guess what happened when we got there.  Or maybe you can.  The notary computer system was down again.  Arrggghhh.  Svetlana called the nice notary in Sumy, who helped us last time, and she agreed to do what she could for us.  Because of the number of us, we had to go in two taxis.  I was a little worried about that, but since Irina was doing some of her own business, too, she paid for one of the taxis.  Started at the notary, and all of us signed an official piece of paper.  Then off to other destinations, for which I never did understand the purpose.  All we did was sit in the car, or when I couldn't sit anymore, stand out in the cold.  After about an hour and a half, Svetlana reappeared saying she got two out of three things done, but the third would have to be done tomorrow.  So we will be traveling back to Sumy in the morning, hopefully for the last time.  (Well, not really the last time.  In 5 days, we have to pick up her passport.  If things go right, just Svetlana will have to make that trip) It is so hard to be with Julia and not be able to communicate.  We really need to get her away from here, so we can have her undivided attention, and start pouring English into her.

The drive to Sumy was gorgeous today.  I should have brought the camera.  The fields are mostly harvested now, and being plowed.  Some have already been planted with winter wheat or rye, and are richly green.  The trees are all golden yellow or light orange, with a few still green.  Very, very peaceful and nice.

Nearing the End?

Today was a nice Sunday.  Our friend, Sean, was allowed to preach at the Baptist church this morning, along with two other men.  So a pleasant 2 hour service.  Everyone there is very kind and friendly toward us.  After church, the Ukrainian guys took us to a buffet sort of place, with genuine Ukrainian food ( what else would they have here?  This is hardly a tourist destination). Came home for a restful afternoon.  On our walk home, we were called by Svetlana and she is planning to come over tomorrow.  She had funny instructions for us - meet her by the grey door downtown, you know the one?  Fortunately, i know which grey door to meet her by.  So maybe at 9:45 tomorrow morning, the grinding wheels of progress will begin to turn again.  We went back to the Foxes for the evening, as this might be our last time to see them (ever?).  So we are now anxious to get home/sad to leave good friends.  Andrew, Vova, a new person Tanya, Misha and Inna for a while, were at the Foxes.  Vova brought his guitar and we discovered Andrew has more talents - he is quite good at playing and singing.  They made us sing the American National Anthem, and we talked them into singing the Ukrainian hymn.  Now we are trying to shift gears mentally, now that we may finally be leaving Romny.  We are so used to being disappointed, it is not sinking in that we may actually be on our way.  If it is a "go", much will happen in the next 48 hours.  We will try to keep you posted.

This was a quick picture as people were starting to get up from lunch today.

Autumn Day

Just hangin' out in beautiful historic Romny.  The day started off a little shaky - woke up early, discouraged, etc.  We had delayed washing clothes, thinking we would be in Kiev this weekend, but the clothes situation had grown desperate.  We had too many to do in one day ( my rope in the room can only hold so much).  So I took an arm load over to where the Foxes live and pled with the laundry lady there to wash a load for me.  She was willing to do them (thank goodness!), which left us with just underwear and socks, a manageable load for our tin tub and rope.  Beside being discouraged, Libby also didn't sleep well, so she was pretty down.  Sean came by and prayed with us, and he and I went downtown to see if he could figure out an ATM machine.  While we were there, some group had set up signs (political?) and were looking for trouble.  Another group of men were willing to oblige them.  We watched two scuffles the police had to separate.  With the number of people loitering, it looked like there would be more scuffling to come.  It seemed confined to just the "pro" group and the "con" group, though.  Everyone else just walked by, going about their business.  Back home and ate lunch.  The sun only popped out for about an hour today, so we went strolling through the leaves and went to the store.  I don't remember if I told you that Misha took us to a place that had fresh bread.  So now two "wows" for Romny - truffles and fresh bread.  This was just ordinary white bread, but don't think Wonder Bread or you totally miss the picture.  This has the perfect chewy crust, with soft, moist substantive inside.  Yum yum.  Then we had Julia for about 1-1/2 hours.  We will not get to see her tomorrow.  It is apparently her class's day to sweep and clean the grounds.  Sean is getting to preach at the Baptist church, so we will go there again tomorrow.  Sean ended our day by bringing our laundry and claiming it was "free Perry Laundry Day".  We have been playing this game all along, but now it is official!  He has thrown down the gauntlet of good deeds.  We will find a way to pay him back.  After all, he has kids here.  How hard can this be?

Libby's yellow tunnel

(Libby)

Yesterday was a fun day despite our sadness over another delay. I got to spend most of the day with Cosette and the kids.  They are so much fun and have been a real blessing.  Through knowing the Fox family we have met a few Ukrainians,too. While walking to the store yesterday, Andy and I met Misha on the street!  It was so fun to see a familiar face.  He offered to accompany us to the store and helped us buy things that require more language skills than we have.  He also showed us some Ukrainian foods to try.  We invited him to have lunch with us and he accepted.  It was so nice to be able to offer hospitality.  The Foxes have been so hospitable and we have benefited greatly from it.  We are handicapped here because we have no way to cook in our room.  We have a fridge, but no microwave or stove, so all we can serve are cookies and tea and sandwiches and fruit.  We also have only two plates, and three plastic knives, forks and spoons, so we are limited in ability.  It was very fun to serve a sandwich to Misha with the food he helped us buy.  The bread Andy mentioned is wonderful! After  our visit with Julia i walked with Cosette and the kids to a playground.  Moriah made two friends with some kind and friendly girls who were there.  One of them said hello in perfect English. She could not say much more, but it was enough for the girls to play together.  While the boys watched football at Andrew's house Cosette and I fellowshipped and played with the kids.  They entertained us by performing commercials for all the products they could find in their mom's purse.  We had to end that game after a few items when Elijah (2) came out with lipstick.

Today started off with a bout of homesickness.  The gloomy skies matched my gloomy mood.  When Sean came and prayed for us it was such a blessing.  We also got some emails from home and that always helps.  The sun came out and the day ended up being pleasant, although I really missed Cosette and the kids.  When we took Julia home she told us she loved us (as usual, in English!) and as we were walking away we heard a noise behind us.  It was Julia's roommate, Kristina, who was running to give us a big hug and kisses.

Flower vendors near the stores

Screeeeccchhhh!

Yes, you heard correctly.  That's the sound of our passport progress coming to a halt.  We had hoped today would be the big day, but still no movement.  So the earliest we have a chance for progress will be Monday.  Today was very pleasant after a rainy start.  The sun came out, the temperatures got up to the upper 50's, the trees are autumn colors.  We met Julia on time today, and spent some nice time together.  I have been pressing her to ask us hard questions, which has helped our conversations.  She asked today what our life will be like right after we return to the USA.  We told her, although that was a rather dry conversation.  Then she asked, "What did i think of her?"  How's that for a bold question?  But this gave us more chance to have meaningful dialogue.  We really enjoy these times.  I showed her some of English apps i got, and she thought they were too easy.  That is good!  Perhaps she has more vocabulary stored up than i know.  I went with Sean to Andrew's house tonight and we finally watched the replay of the Ohio St vs Northwestern game.  Now Sean finally knows that OSU is still undefeated.

Here are a few blurry pictures from today.

More running around

For those who like to get to the bottom line right away, we still do not know if the passport hangup is resolved yet, and I still don't have the immigration paperwork issue fixed.  Svetlana is coming back over here on Friday morning to see if she can shake things loose.  If she is successful, we will run over to Sumy and try to get everything turned in.  Then we need to come back and have Julia's pizza party.  So tomorrow could be (hopefully is) a busy day.  I walked over to Andrew's house again today to scan another document, and then sent it to the embassy.  Then the Foxes and we had lunch with two ladies who are here setting up the hosting program for Christmas time.  This is the same group that got us attached to Julia, so we have a special affection for them.  We almost missed seeing Julia again today.  We did not see her at all yesterday.  We checked her place, our place, then I discovered I had no minutes on my phone so I made an emergency run to take care of that, then back to our place, then her place again.  Still no Julia.  We walked downtown to look for her there, stopped in the store quickly for more water, then back to the orphanage.  We were going to stake-out the front door so we could see her as she came in.  But I decided to check her room once more, and there she was, asleep.  So we at least got to hug her a little bit and we made sure of our meeting time tomorrow.  Two of the boys there who know a little bit of English came in and helped us talk T her.  On the way back home, we had an impromptu meeting of the hosting women, Sean, Libby and me, Andrew, then one of the guys from the orphanage, and then another guy who has graduated from the orphanage.  As Andrew would say, who would have thought there would be so many Americans in Romny?  Back to the Foxes for leftovers for supper and finally home.  A least I got to have some truffles today.  The wind is not quite so cold when truffles are on the menu.

In other exciting news, one of the women I work with had her first child today, and I had a great nephew born today!  Or maybe yesterday . . . I don't even know what day it is anymore.

(Libby) 

While still in a state of undressed, drying my hair and some socks, I heard a knock at the door.  I was so glad it was not housekeeping, since I can't speak Ukrainian and they can't speak English.  It was Cosette, moriah, josiah and Elijah.  After I threw on some clothes they came in and we had a fun visit while Cosette checked her messages and the kids watched tv and I put on my make-up.  Moriah made me laugh when she said, very sweetly, "Miss Libby, you do not look like Miss Libby."  I told her to give me a few minutes and Miss Libby will return."  When the paint job was finished, she said,"now you look like Miss Libby!"  So Virginia, make-up is a necessity to your mother!

Then we all walked to the pink store and bought the food for lunch.  Along the way we walked through a beautiful tunnel of yellow leaves.  The ground was covered and the trees reached over us forming a lovely fall tunnel.  We got home, cooked the food and our guests arrived.  We had such a great time of catching up, encouraging prayer and sweet fellowship.  Andrew was amazed that the Fox family and we had only known each other a short time.  I tried to explain the reason we enjoyed each other and loved each other is because the Spirit of Jesus lives in us and causes the love.  I hope he understands what i was trying to say.  He helped us all day long with a genuine smile on his face.  He is so humble and loves for us to correct his English.  He is a treasure.  God just keeps pouring out His blessings despite our stuckness.  We are so ready to come home, but we see God using our time here for good and He is using all our loved ones at home to show us His goodness, too, as you care for each other and pray for us.

At home in Romny

While this has been a disappointing day as far as getting ourselves and Julia out of here, it has also been a day that I felt at home here.  I do appreciate so many things about this pretty town.  First, the walking.  I love walking to all the little stores where we buy groceries and chocolate--another thing I love here--and the peace and quiet.  You do not hear sirens blaring or boom boxes rattling our windows.  People dress very nicely --no saggy pants can be seen here!  I do not know how the ladies walk in the shoes they wear-- high heels on bumpy sidewalks or roads with holes or patches-- but they look nice! I enjoy watching the children walk past our window that looks out on a school across the street.  Today I saw two cute little girls gathering big yellow leaves which are falling from the trees and skipping down the street while their mothers walked a little ahead of them.  Even though the weather is mild today, all the children are bundled up in hats and coats. The fun things that happened today are that I read a sign in Ukrainian!  It said Kievstar, which is the name of a phone company.  The other fun thing is that we recognized someone we know from here on the street and we greeted each other in Ukrainian.  The person we met is the adorable waitress at the cafe in our hotel.  She has been patient and kind and always welcoming despite not being able to understand what we are saying.  Smiles go a long way.  She reminds us of Andrea Fretts, so that is another nice thing.  We also have something to look forward to tonight:  the Foxes have invited Andrew, Vova and some other men to watch Ohio State vs. Northwestern and they included us, too.  We love any chance we get to be with the Fabulous Fox Family and Andrew.

We are having Way too much Fun!

Suppose you lived in a different town from me and I had a purple crayon.  You wanted me to prove that my crayon was purple, so i scribbled on a piece of paper and mailed it to you.  You then called me up and asked me if the purple was made with a red and blue crayon, and I said "no", it was made with a purple crayon.  You replied that only purple made with red and blue crayons was truly purple.  I have no way of knowing this, so you suggest that I contact the crayon manufacturer and have them certify that the purple I sent you was made from red and blue crayons.  Also, the certified letter (on company letterhead, of course) must be notarized, apostilled, and delivered within 5 working days, by a certified courier.  Without going into anymore details than my fable, this is what we are dealing with right now.  And sadly, there is very little exaggeration to my story.

Today was busy and interesting.  I started by going to Andrew's house to print, review, correct, and email the translation of the court resolution back to Svetlana.  Then Sean appeared (with some really good pastries)  and then all three of us walked to the bus station to meet two arriving Americans and help them get to their destination.  Sean and I knew one of the ladies, so it was a mini reunion in Romny.  Six adults smashed into a small taxi, back to the Foxes, and we all had lunch together.  While the guys were doing this, Libby, Cosette and the kids walked to the market to buy cucumbers and collect ladybugs, and then made lunch.  Andrew remarked he had never seen so many Americans in Romny before in his life!  Everyone split to go in different directions.  We had Julia from 3-5 this afternoon and had a really great time with her.  We had good, open sweet conversation, and she told us how much she looked forward to being in America with us.  After not seeing much of her the last couple of days, this was uplifting to us, particularly Libby.  I needed to call the immigration office in the US, but needed to use Sean's phone, but we had to add minutes to it, so off to the phone place, bought some minutes (lots of hand gestures and scribbling on paper), loaded it up and made my call.  (At this point, refer to fable above).  Cosette insisted we eat their food again!  Maybe she has adopted us in this process and i just missed it!  And finally home, to be greeted with a message we have a child with a health issue.  Fortunately, Sam and MB are taking care of everything.  Whew!  What a day.

Here, finally, is an authorized photo of Andrew (local hero, at least to the Foxes and Perrys), and Katherine (peace corp teacher).