Week 2

Our second week in Ukraine is nearly complete. We don't have much to report on the status of our adoption right now since we are just in the waiting stage and praying all of our paperwork will move quickly through the SDA review process and anti-corruption committee. Our facilitator told us to expect at least 3 weeks before court so we still have at least 2 more to go. Last Sunday, since we could not visit the orphanage, we used Uber to get into the city center of Odessa and walk around the beautiful buildings and get a glimpse of the Black Sea. (Side note- Driving in Ukraine is CRAZY!! And this is coming from two people who lived in and traveled around Asia!!!) On Monday we moved into a more permanent apartment than the guest room we stayed in our first few nights here. We also started our routine of going to the orphanage to visit our child once or twice a day (depending on the day and the orphanage schedule). We pack a little snack and some toys, take the bus to the orphanage, and spend two hours at a time playing and loving on our little one. When the two hours comes to an end it's never easy saying goodbye and leaving the orphanage without our child, but we are hopeful it won't be this way for long. 

Now that we know we will be in this place for a little while, we have been able to go grocery shopping and start cooking in our apartment. English writing and speaking appears to be basically nonexistent in the area we are in so we rely heavily on google translate in the grocery store and to translate menus when we go out to eat. We are working on getting better at reading Russian, though it doesn't seem to be quite as easy or phonetic as Korean is, so that we can at least try and read things. There is not a whole lot to do in our area either so right now we spend a lot of time in our apartment or at a cafe (preferably one with air conditioning and wifi :) ). Other than taking the bus to the orphanage, we aren't sure how to navigate the bus system since nothing is in English, so when we do want to go into the city center we use Uber, though there aren't a lot of Uber drivers in Odessa so sometimes it's a long wait. It's been a bit of an adventure at times but we learn how to adapt and manage! 

Please continue praying with us that our adoption paperwork will move quickly through the system and we will have a court date for early August, as well as patience in the waiting. Also, that the bonding and attachment process would continue to go well with our little one.