June 7: Tyumen

It is Wednesday... a busy Wednesday. The five of us piled into two cars along with two translators and our agency contacts (one of whom is driving the other car). How we squeezed 5 people into our little white box of a car, I'll never know. Riding along the road at 140 kph/80-90 mph is hair-raising in this tiny car with no seatbelts in the backseat. Russian roulette must have gotten it's start in a car on a two lane road. I am sure of it! On the trip to Berduhzky, Julia (our translator) and I talk about life in America. She has questions about this and that and I try to answer them. She knows all about Walt Disney World and would love to go there some day. When I ask her if she will, she says she doubts it. I probably would have said the same thing if someone had asked me 20 years ago if I would every travel to Moscow, let alone some remote little town in Tyumen.

We arrive in Berduhzky (I don't know how it's spelled) at the Department of Education's office in this "county". The roads are sometimes dirt, sometimes asphalt. The houses in this "county seat" vary from primitive wooden frames to concrete blocks with tin roofs. Still the people who work in this city dress very nicely- especially the women. After a few minutes, Tatiana, the director of the detsky dom, steps out of the building and comes over to shake our hands. She looks scary all dressed in black with her black hair piled on top of her head with dark red lipstick. I'm sure I'm just as much an anomoly to her with my leopard print tank top and black capri pants.

Then Slava comes out of the building!!! He has gotten taller, but still has the million dollar smile that stole our hearts. He looks a little shy and a bit out of sorts for a few minutes, but then he takes my hand and we all go inside to visit for a little while. Our translator, Julia, keeps up the conversation asking questions about the photos we've brought along to remind him of our time together last summer. It is difficult to find a tiny moment to talk to Slava about the court appointment that takes place tomorrow. We know that Tatiana is trying to get the kids to say they want to stay in Russia, and we want Slava to know that whatever he decides will be final; we will not be able to return if he should change his mind.

Finally over lunch, Julia explains to Slava about tomorrow's court appearance. Slava tells Julia he is going to say yes. He wants to go home to Michigan with us!

Too soon it is time to say good-bye to Slava. He is still grinning from ear to ear and excited about tomorrow's events. It is a quiet three hour trip back to Tyumen. I keep playing back our visit over and over in my head. I have missed our boy; Matt has too.

Tonight is our last night at the Hotel Prometey! Hallelujah!!! Tomorrow after our court date we will move to the Quality Hotel across the street. A/C and Slava!!! I cannot wait!

Another Ambien night....

June 6: Tyumen

Today was a good day for walking about Tyumen. We met up with the Spooners after their court date. It was not the day we had hoped for. Their son, V-, has decided to remain in Russia. Luckily, the judge was not prepared to rule so quickly and has given the Spooners and V- a week to reconsider. The scene in court was very emotional, needless to say.

V- will remain in Tyumen instead of traveling back to Uktuz to the detsky dom. The Spooners hope that they will be able to visit with V- during the week to remind him of the wonderful time they had together last summer and hopefully persuade him to return with them to America.

We called MI tonight to ask for prayers from our friends at church for peace during this tough time. About the time we hung up, we received a call from Alla with encouraging words for our meeting with Slava tomorrow. While it is hard not to be anxious, I must say that there is a peace between the two of us. We ultimately believe that this entire adventure is in God's hands, we just have to trust Him.

The heat is miserable here at the hotel Prometey. The whining of the mosquitoes almost drowns out my own.... : )

June 5: Tyumen

We arrived in Tyumen last night at about 11:30PM. It appeared to be sunset. The misquitos were immediately evident... and boy were they hungry! We were met at the hotel by our agency hosts, Sophia and Vlad and our translater Inna. Inna rode with us on our way into town and answered some of our questions and gave us an idea of what was tenatively planned for tomorrow. We arrived about an hour later at our hotel. I never would have guessed it was a hotel. There is a big sign (I mean really BIG on the side of the building) advertising VIP Men. I'm not sure at this point if it is a men's clothing store or a gentleman's club... or maybe a Russian Chip & Dale's. Interesting.

Our room is a tiny place on the top floor (6th). Room in the living area for two chairs, a coffee table, and a small tv. Our bedroom is a little bigger sporting a dresser and a double bed. We opened to windows in hopes of cooling off our room. There is no a/c here and it feels like 85.

I woke up at around 4AM. It is getting light outside and the buzz of misquitos is the only evidence of air movement in the room. Finally I tossed around and slapped at the misquitoes enough to wake Matt up. This is not pretty. I need my sleep (even just 8 hours), and I need my a/c. Granola bars for breakfast.

We met up with Inna again today and the five of us went with her in search of a restaurant with an English menu. Hallelujah this place also had a/c. Lunch was a tasty dish of potatoes and sashlik (shish kabob). We walked back to the hotel and met up with Sophia for an update on tomorrow. We will be going to the Department of Education to get permission to visit with Slava on Wednesday. At this point we aren't sure if we will be going to the detsky dom or if he might be travelling to Tyumen to meet us. This doesn't sound likely since it is a 3-6 hour drive (depending on how fast one drives).

It was an Ambien night....

June 4: Moscow

We arrived in Moscow at 10:30AM. WOW! Their alphabet is different. I knew that already, but for some reason it's just blatantly obvious when you arrive and their is VERY LITTLE English about. Even most of the airport signs are in Russian, so we quickly developed a "herd" mentality and followed the pack to customs and beyond.

Alex was there waiting for us. A cute young man with a talent for driving in Moscow. Need I say more. He has a decent car and is great about pointing out every McDonald's we pass. He asked us if we'd like to eat there for lunch and we both said NO! Take us to one of your favorite places to eat.... so we ended up eating at the neatest restaurant on a boat moored on the Moscow (?) River. Yummy shish kabob!


He took us on a tour of Red Square where we had our pictures taken with Lenin and Nicholas II (for a small fee : )). Still was great fun with a bit of "I can't believe we are really here!" Seeing St. Basil's kinda made me say, yeah, we ARE here!!! (Like the writing hadn't convinced me yet?????)

By mid-afternoon we travelled to the other airport to meet up with the P Family who are also enroute for a June 8th court date to adopt their two boys.

Tomorrow we leave!

All is packed. All paperwork is accounted for. Just time for a little sleep and then we are off to Russia. We are spending the night at the airport... our last little luxury since I doubt we'll be staying there once there are three of us. Just the same, it will be a sacrifice well worth it!!!

Posting from Russia will be questionable, so most likely this will be updated once we return home. Thank you for your prayers. Be blessed.

Packing isn't for sissies... and I am one

I am a wreck today. Silly me. It's not even about the hold ups, it's about what to pack. Will it weigh too much? Maybe I should just take all black pants, but it is after Memorial Day... do any of them wear white pants after Memorial Day? OH, yeah, that's a US holiday. *sigh* I have such confidence in God about this trip and it's outcome, but I have no clue what to wear. Is it possible to pray for wisdom in packing... oh sure it is. Silly me. I can see God's to do list: Comfort grieving Smith family. Steady surgeons' hands working on Daniel. Ease the suffering of Alice as she undergoes chemo today. Pick out Julie's wardrobe for Russia. Drive Bill safely home from college. Bless the union of Brenna and Matt. See what I mean. But He'll do it.

In the meantime, seasons are finally rolling over and I am ready to swap the "winter" clothes for the "summer" clothes, but maybe I should pack some of those. I just don't know. I have read so many blogs and group boards about packing. I'm to the point where I'd just rather not. I don't know how long I'll be in denial (after all, they WON'T let me in the country naked!), but hopefully this too shall pass before this afternoon.... okay, pass by Sunday night.

Back to the suitcase... *sigh*

Proud Mother of the Bride

This past weekend we flew to TX to see B get married. What a beautiful bride she was!!! In spite of all the excitement surrounding our trip to Russia next month (fingers crossed), I have to tell you this is on the same level of excitement and blessing. Seeing her all dressed up in her bridal dress, she looked every bit the fairy princess... putting even Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella to shame. **Sigh** My baby girl has grown up... Be blessed...