In 2011 we were pursuing the possibility of adopting an an older (3-8 year old) American child through Bethanna Adoption Agency. We had completed our home study and were ready to move on to the matching process when my older brother, Kevin, who had been struggling with cancer for 3 years, went into rapid decline. As Kevin entered hospice for what we thought would be a period of months, we put the adoption process on hold. Then Kevin died just days after he entered hospice. We were devastated and consumed with the task of cleaning out Kevin's apartment, dealing with his bills etc.
Some time before my brother's death, my employer at Vision Video suggested that we take part in an orphan hosting program. He knew of our interest in adoption and suggested that hosting an orphan might give us some insights into what it would be like to adopt. We were all set to do this but when Kevin got very ill we backed out. After Kevin's death we couldn't think of anything but dealing with the aftershock. A few weeks later we were contacted by the hosting ministry, "Would we still be interested in hosting?" Though still in grief we decided maybe we could...maybe it would help take our minds off our loss to some degree.
We met V on a July evening at a small church in Souderton. He and about a dozen other Ukranian kids gathered there to meet their host families after a very long flight from Kiev via London. We had seen a photo of him but still had trouble picking him out of the crowd. We were introduced to him, a lanky boy with a short hair cut and handsome face. We sat and tried to communicate with him. Of course he only spoke Russian. We tried hand gestures and drawing pictures. When that wore thin we sat awkwardly staring into the distance before a translator spotted our desperate expressions and came over to help. Through her translation we were able to communicate some basic info and V seemed to relax. When we got home we headed straight for the computer and logged on to Google Translate. This was a huge help throughout V's visit.
After only a couple day's V became more comfortable with us and we started to see his personality emerge. He was bright, funny and easy going. As time passed we quickly fell in love with him and began to dread the day his visit ended. It seemed God had brought us the boy that was meant for us. We had never considered international adoption...much too expensive and we were very aware of the huge needs or orphaned children right here in our own back yard. But God has a way of upending our preconceived notions. After a very difficult goodbye, we decided to file paperwork with the Ukranian government to see if V was available for adoption. A few weeks later we were delighted to find out that he is available.
Recently we completed another home study. This one for international adoption and we are awaiting the social worker's report. The next step will be to file paperwork with the U.S. Immigration Department.
Sometimes we think we are crazy. An adoption from Ukraine will cost about $20-$25,000, money we certainly don't have. And it entails spending 45 day's in Ukraine to finalize the adoption! But we have been encouraged by our church and our friends that if God wants this to happen he will make a way. In the near future we will be applying for grants and loans, planning fund-raisers and sending out support letters.
We are very thankful to all those who have already been tremendously supportive and we ask for your onging prayers as we continue this journey.
