I have to say, I don't think either of us was prepared for how emotional it is to visit an orphanage. We took the overnight train to the city where our referral's orphanage is located. Neither of us slept much at all. We arrived at approximately 6:15am and a driver was at the train station to pick us up. We immediately went to our appartment to freshen up before going to visit the orphanage. Irena and Leo, the couple that own the apartment, had prepared breakfast for us. Talk about hospitality! We ate, then freshened up and we were off to the Inspector's office to obtain approval to visit the orphanage. Once we had that approval, we stopped at a market to purchase a small treat for the little girl's group to share. Then we drove to the orphanage. We met the director first. She was a very warm and friendly lady. She told us all about the child we were scheduled to meet and showed us current pictures. What a beauty! We did find out after arriving that this little girl's file at the SDA was very accurate. She does seem to have the exact conditions that were described to us. We were able to visit with her a little bit, but she was very scared of us. We also spent some time outside watching her group play, then we went inside and observed them eating lunch. Neither of us had ever been inside an orphanage before so we have nothing to compare to, but this particular one is very neat and clean and in very good repair. The caretakers seem to genuinely care for the children. The little girl we visited seems to be very close to her main caretaker. The caretaker also obviously cares about the little girl. We felt that she really wants us to adopt her.
We had already decided before we made the trip that we would not make a decision the first day, especially if the child's medical condition was as presented by the SDA. We are really tired and it's hard to process all the information when you are sleep deprived. This precious child was created by God and deserves a loving, forever family, but we want to make a decision based on as much of the facts as we can obtain. We were able to email some copies of medical information to a doctor back home. We will continue to pray and sleep on it before we make a decision. There seem to be some very real obstacles. Please pray that we will continue to seek God's will and follow his leading.
9 comments:
I'm glad you had a little time to freshen up and prepare for the first meeting. It is so emotionally challenging and to do so on little or no sleep is very hard. Your plans to wait before making a decision make a lot of sense. Visit her a few times, watch her in her current environment, get feedback from your doctor, and pray. Continue to let God lead you and you'll be at peace with whatever decision you make for your family.
It's great to hear that she seems to have such loving care. Tjat os a blessing. We found the same at our daughter's orphanage and she still speaks favorably about her life there.
We'll keep praying for you!
Wow, it's great that you were able to freshen up - we weren't so lucky! We were picked up around 2 AM in Kyiv, and drove until lunch time. We stopped to get regional approval, then went to the orphanage. We were exhausted & ragged!
I pray that God will give you clear signals & unquestionable peace about your decision. It's good that she's in such a stable and caring environment. I believe that has A LOT to do with our son's pleasant disposition and even with how easily he has transitioned since coming home.
You seem very guarded and that is understood. I pray that God will give you the answers that you seek. We met with our doctor yesterday and she offered any help that she could give while we are there. Hopefully yours will also have some good news for you. God has a plan and he will reveal that to you. You are in our prayers.
Tammy
Just some information for you. The Shriners Hospitals here in the States will pay for or help pay for medical expenses for children adopted internationally. It doesn't matter if there is a Shriner hospital in your state. Cost of surgeries was an issue for us so I thought I would pass that info along just in case. Good luck!
It is a really difficult challenge to stop and think with your brain - when so much of your heart is involved! You are making the right choice to find out medical info and what treatments are available BEFORE you make the decision! We spent our two days waiting in Kyiv before we could travel on the internet researching everything we could about the conditions our daughter "had"... it was scary - but we are so glad we did - it made choosing her much easier!
My thoughts are with you!
Amy
i can't imagine how difficult this decision would be! I'm praying for you guys!
Hey guys, had some computer probs...now I can blog. :) I don't think I realized just how emotional this journey was going to be...it makes me emotional just reading everything. I can't wait to meet your little girl! She is going to have such a great family. Just know I am praying for you both. I know God will be faithful in it all. Love you both!
I have been following your journey and I so hope that things work out with this little girl.
Food for thought. Our little boy just came home last week and I must tell you that while he has special needs, he is already a completely different child now that he is at home. We had dificulty feeding him initially, he hardly made any noise, he seemed very weak, he crawled sideways. Now that he is home, he eats like a horse and has already gained weight where you could see less of his ribs, he is ready to take off walking without our fingers, and he jabbers like he is carrying on a conversation with us. Sure he will need numerous surgeries, but the happiness that he has brought us has made it all worth it.
You said it so well in your post...... This is a child of God.
With that I would add, "He will carry you and give you everything you need to care for her as he bonds your hearts together."
Blessings to your family as you make this dificult decision... whatever it may be.
Rodney and Vicki, I'm so excited for you guys and will pray for this relationship, as well as for wisdom and discernment. Someone mentioned the Shriners providing free medical expenses....In short, I have a pretty significant relationship with the Shriners through my work and I will make contact to them tomorrow to find out details. Feel free to email or call me for specifics. I will post what I find out ASAP.
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