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Thursday, January 21, 2010
We can hardly believe it!!! Today at 3:00 p.m. we received Joy's Visa at the US Embassy! It took a total of about 10-15 minutes (which in itself in a miracle... we can't hardly cross the street here that fast). In the picture at left, Jeanine and Joy are celebrating as we walk back to the apartment. We hope our experiences will stand as a testimony to God's faithfulness and serve as an encouragement to anyone who senses that God is leading them to take some steps of faith. Of course, as we said at the outset, we know that our own journey with Joy is just beginning! _________________________
The locals tell us that this winter is colder than they have experienced for a number of years. It snows almost every day... except for today when we took a long walk around Kiev. The picture at left was taken at the site of the "Friendship Arch" which commemorates the commitment of good relations between Russia and Ukraine. _________________________ We are thrilled and resting in Kiev today! We are making progress! Here's what happened...
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Well, here we are... still in Chernivtsi with Sasha Joy (at the historic university, former home of the Orthodox Metropolitan). _________________________
Something new has come into the picture for us (compare photo with the previous post).... JOY (also interchangeable at the moment with Sasha Joy and Sasha)!!!! The 10-day waiting period is now over. At about 9:30 a.m. this morning, we received the final "court decree" from the judge (10 copies of it), saying that Sasha Joy Le Shana is our daughter and officially in our custody. We then left for the orphanage where we found Sasha Joy waiting with her bags packed and ready to go (it was only one small backpack with not much in it)! So, we got to spend a chunk of the afternoon doing something new to us... shopping for young girls clothes! Is it OK to say that we are over-joyed?! We are thrilled! At times, it feels hard to believe... it feels like it has been such a long time! We know it has not been easy for us, but she has been incredibly patient through this whole process. We are very proud of her!
_________________________ The judge changed his mind about waiving the 10-day waiting period. Sasha Joy is still our daughter... but we will now not have custody of her until December 31. Due to the Ukrainian holidays (New Year's and their Christmas on January 7), no government offices are open again until January 11. That is the earliest we can resume the paperwork to bring her home (which will take another 10 days or so to complete). Bottom line... we now plan to be here in We initially knew this could take up to 6 weeks. We made plans for that possibility (although we always thought and hoped it would be faster). We are disappointed, still somewhat in shock, but resolved that we need to be here with Sasha. We feel like we cannot leave her now. We will miss you and be praying for you all and the Candlelight Services tonight and tomorrow! Merry Christmas and JOY to the world! "Our God is With Us" in Ukraine, too! -- Jim and Jeanine
________________________ Wow!!! Sasha Joy Le Shana is now an official part of our family!!! Amazing!!! Born 11 years ago... but now our new daughter! We can hardly believe what happened in the courtrtroom. It took less than an hour. The judge interviewed the social services representative (pictured far right), the orphanage director (second from right), the prosecuting attorney (not pictured), both of us AND Sasha. Olga, our facilitator (far left), translated the proceedings for us. We are so thankful for God's grace and for all of your prayers! We felt your prayers as we entered the courtroom (at right) and throughout the hearing. I couldn't help but think that although this man was the judge, God can do anything! And He did! Friday, December 18, 2009 Dear friends and family, The snow has finally stopped falling and we are told we might even see the sun next week! Today we were to be observed by an official, but she failed to show up for the second time - we were told not to be concerned about it. Tomorrow we will watch the St. Nikolai program at the orphange and take lots of pictures! This evening we had dinner with the leaders of a small group of believers in this city. We had sweet fellowship and felt like we were able to encourage them. They encouraged us! Our facilitator informed us today that our adoption was approved by the state department of adoption in the capital city. So,we are going into our court date on Monday with approval from all concerned parties - except the judge. He will make the final decree at 2:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. your time) on Monday. Pray for our little girl as she speaks to the judge and for us to give answers that satisfy him as well. We are thinking of you and praying for you! _________________________ Thank you for praying. Our health is good, sleep is adequate (sometimes), and we are staying warm despite snow and much cooler temperatures than we are used to! _________________________ Each day we make the 40 minute drive to the orphanage to spend some wonderful hours with our little girl – playing games, looking at pictures, hugging, smiling, and communicating as best we can. Tonight (Sunday), after returning from the orphanage, we visited a small Christian church that some other families from Rose Drive have attended. Jim preached (with the aid of a competent translator). It went well. We even knew one of the songs. Tomorrow (Monday) is the next “big day” for us. First, we hope to receive official approval from the orphanage which will be taken along with a letter from "our daughter" to the Social Services department. After they approve these documents, our facilitator takes them (and other documents) to a judge who will be asked to set a court date. The timing of our court appearance will determine when/if we return to California over the Christmas holidays. Please pray that: 1) all goes smoothly with the paperwork process, 2) the right people will be present at the right times for all approvals, 3) our court appearance will happen soon, 4) we will experience continued safety and good health. Thank you! You are in our prayers! _________________________
Thursday, December 10, 2009 Joy-filled Reunion!!
 This morning we had the thrill of re-uniting with our little girl after 11 long months! She threw her arms around us and we kissed, hugged, cried and smiled at each other! She gave us a personal tour of her orphange, introducing us to friends and teachers. She showed us the suitcase under her bed where she has kept all of the cards and letters we have sent her. We met with an orphange legal representative, the assistant director and a woman from child protective services as well as our facilitator/translator. They asked our little girl who we were and she proclaimed us "mother and dad!" A lot of paperwork was processed today, but there is more to come tomorrow and the beginning of next week, before a court date can be set. Please pray for favor as these papers pass through different hands for approval.
Our 15 hour train ride into this region was quite memorable. It was full of bumps, twists, turns and lots of noise!
Thank you for your faithful prayers for us here and our family at home. We are praying for you!
In His love,
Jim and Jeanine
_________________________ Monday, December 7, 2009
Do we look happy?! We are elated!!! Just minutes ago, we completed our appointment with the official psychologist at the State Department of Adoption. The meeting was startlingly brief... it happened so quickly that it was hard to believe it was over. At least one other family was there when we arrived and still there when we left. _________________________ Sunday, December 6, 2009 Dear Family and Friends, We arrived early this morning (1:30 a.m.) and have done some eating, sleeping and walking. The apartment we are staying in is spartan, but adequate and located within walking distance of everything we need. We met with our adoption facilitator briefly this afternoon and still anticipate an appointment with the State Dept. of Adoption on Tuesday morning. Please pray for this initial legal step to go smoothly. Thank your for your support and prayers. We are praying for you! In Christ, Jim and Jeanine _________________________ Friday, December 4, 2009 Wednesday, November 11, 2009 We will then have a 15 hour train ride to the region she lives in and begin the legal process there. Our facilitator is hopeful that we may be able to have a court date within about 2 weeks. A judge will decide if this is in the best interest of the child (easy decision, we think). Then there will be a 10 day waiting period…and it gets a little tricky here…because it will potentially lead right up to the long holiday period that lasts until January 10. So, we may end up coming home for those days (which could end up being close to 3 weeks) and return to complete the process when their holidays are over. Or, we may need to just stay – we will have to make that decision when we are there. That might be way too much information for some of you…but some of you might be interested in all that. Thank you for your patience and support through this roller coaster we’ve been on. Please continue praying for us to be prepared when it’s time to leave and for God’s help and wisdom and protection while we are there and for our family here too! We love you all and are thankful for you!!! -Jeanine and Jim (Note: Eastern European time is 10 hours ahead of P.S.T.)
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We didn't dream about a White Christmas, we lived it! We have a nice little tree and a few decorations in our hotel room in Chernivtsi (we moved back here temporarily because it is closer to the orphanage). Christmas Eve night, some new friends from the small church here took us bowling and for crepes (they thought we might be lonely). A memorable and different way for us to celebrate!
some kind at her school. Then on Thursday, if all goes well, we will have full custody of Sasha! The adventure continues! Thank you for your ongoing prayers!
