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Home for a Month

What a month it has been! Time has really flown by as we have been adjusting to the new family structure.

Chris is doing great. It has been fun and, at times, challenging watching him try to understand how he fits in into our family. He is a hard-charging dude. He loves to ride bikes and Ripstick. Anything involving a ball is good with him. I took him out for a backyard football game with some of the boys and he fit right in. We went on a 6.5 mile hike at Oak Mtn. State Park. He and I ran the last 2 miles of it. He nearly died, but he would not quit or let his dad pass him by....Ukrainian pride!

At times he wears the other 3 of our children out. He has the attention span of a gnat. Our biggest challenge has been getting him to slow down and focus on a task.

O my gosh, he can eat. He is not very picky. He is a meat and potatoes guy. He reminds me of the old farmer appetite. Eggs in the morning. Plenty of bread with everything. And he likes Texmex! He is all about going to Moe's. Last night we went to a local Chinese restaurant, Hunan 2 (read that Hunan Dos). It is situated next door to a Mexican restaurant. The waiters there are ALL Mexican. He was unsettled by the fact that we had him in such a multicultural environment. He thought that we were giving him sub-standard Chinese food. He asked me where they had real Chinese food here (as he pulled his eyebrows upward).

Chris's English is amazing at this stage. He is speaking so well and we rarely need a translator. He even talked to his 3 year old cousin on the phone today. He is involved in a Russian-speaking Bible study at our church. We continue to pray that God will open up Chris's heart to the truth of the Gospel. I am reminded every day that he is looking for authentic Christianity in our home-even if he won't say that he is.

We will go for now. If there are any questions from anyone who reads this, send them on.

Blessings,
Ande

Home!

There was a bit of an issue with a friendly neighborhood custom's agent, which caused Paula and Chris to miss their flight from New York to Atlanta. They did get another flight out of Laguardia, but would have to spend the night in Atlanta. I decided to go and get them so that they could sleep in their own beds.

We will be at Jim and Nick's on hwy. 280 at 4:00 this afternoon. Even though this is short notice, we would love to see anyone who wants to drop by. If not, we will all have some great bbq!

Finally!

Praise God, Paula and Chris are confirmed for a flight into Birmingham from Atlanta on Thursday night.  They should get in at 10:30.  Thanks for journeying down the road with us.

Blessings,

The Underwoods

One More Step

Paula got the passport yesterday and the physical done today. We are so grateful that there is just one more step- the Visa, which she should have tomorrow at 2:00.

Right now, they are set to leave on Thursday about noon. Please pray that Paula (using a skymiles ticket) can get the final connection from Atlanta to Birmingham. Chris is confirmed all the way home. He is so excited about seeing everyone at the airport. He asked Paula if I could drive to the Atlanta airport and take them to the Birmingham airport if she was unable to get a seat. The flight should be in Birmingham at 10:30 pm.

Thanks to everyone for all of your prayers. Once we are all back together, the fun really starts!

Waiting...Still Waiting

Thanks to all of you for you many prayers and posts. Last week was long, and Friday was just awful. It was simply one of those days when everything went wrong. I have to laugh now about the medical exam we tried to get done. The normal doctors that our facilitators use where away at a conference (these doctors are ok with bending the rules a little). So George talked to the other doctor and he refused to do the exam without the passport- this is the legal procedure. The US Embassy requires this exam, and it can only be done at this one office run by foreigners. What are the chances- I get stuck with the one honest person in Ukraine!! (Not really- I am sure there at least 4 more- ha!ha!)

Chris and I got home around 8:30 Friday night, and I was exhausted in every way. To be so close and get delayed again. I cried, and Chris kept saying, "it's ok, Mom." My breakdown only lasted a couple of minutes, and then Chris started talking. Literally for hours. He told me so many things he remembers about growing up. His grandfather, a girl in the hospital who introduced him to pineapple, his first grade teacher, his roomate Yuri that he's known since he was 7, and all the Bible stories that he knows. I was in amazement. So I finally said "spot" (sleep) at midnight. What a precious memory!

Yesterday we had a blizzard here. We did as little as possible. We went to the grocery store, got pizza for lunch, and planned to go to a movie. Katia and Lena ended up taking Chris to the movie without me. They wanted to see an alien movie, which I normally would never let my children see. But I was desperate for a little "alone time". I started reading the Grisham novel Mark and Jenn Smith brought me (they arrived on Thursday to adopt 5 kids). It was a much needed break. It is exhausting being the only parent to a new child- 24/7. It's a lot like having a newborn, except he can say "no" and doesn't sleep 18-20 hours a day! The highlight of my day was when he said for the first time ever- "Mom, you help me please?" This may seem trivial if you've never adopted an older child, but it is huge. This means he is really beginning to trust and admit that he needs help- difficult for such an independent boy.

Please continue praying. I certainly feel all your prayers. I miss everyone and can't wait to see you all.

Love,
Paula

We Need a Passport, Gotta Have a Passport

Ok. We had the picture made on Wednesday and were told that the passport would be to us on Friday evening. As of Saturday, the truck still has not arrived with it. The truck (yes, there is only one) has not run since Thursday and there are hundreds of people waiting on passports. The factory, one hour away, verified that our passport was done. Nobody seems to know why the truck has not made it back to the office. My only guess is that the truck drove into a wormhole and is now headed up U. S. Interstate 75 in the year 2063.

The Embassy gets MLK Day off on Monday. Provided the truck makes it back through the space-time continuum, we should have the passport on Monday evening and get the Visa on Tuesday. Delta has set the expectation that Paula will fly home Thursday. For the love of all that is good, we hope so.

Thanks for all of your prayers!!

Long Days

The last 2 days have truly been a waiting game. Thanks to all of you for your prayers. God has granted us favor an I am closer to coming home- and coming back! Let me explain...Wednesday, I took Chris to the passport office to have his digital photo made. Simple enough, I thought. George had already met with the official Tuesday afternoon and paid the expediting fees. We came at 2:00 pm, met the official, and got in line. There were only 2 people in front of me, so I felt pretty good. At 4:30, that feeling had completely left me! At 5:30, Chris was at the end of his rope. It took 4 hours, but by 6:00 we were told that we would have a passport on Friday evening.

On Thursday, George and I were off to the SDA at 11:15 am. Katia, thankfully, agreed to watch Chris because he could not go with me. I told Katia I would be finished by 1:00 pm-HA! At 5:30, I was in the last of 3 lines for the day. Despite the frustration, I was given both the original dossier we had submitted (for you-know-who), which would have been null and void in February. Miraculously, another number printed for us while I was in line for our dossier to be resubmitted in March. I could only do this in Ukraine! A new law was passed in January that prevents updates. So this is possible only because of our delay. Without this new number, we probably could not have submitted until the summer (over 1200 families have requested a number for 2008). God is good.

Important Things

Paula has the photo for Chris' passport. She was told that the passport should be ready Friday night. IF it is, and IF the Visa can be obtained on Monday, then she should be able to leave on Tuesday.

Paula has one more visit to the SDA (central adoption office in Kiev) on Thursday. I am not sure what SDA means, but I interpret it as "Shake Down Americans."We are still interested in adopting a certain girl from an orphanage to the south of Kiev. Paula's visit will determine if we can keep the registration number that we have been given for her dossier, or start all over. The explanation is complicated. We are told that she should come available in the spring. God willing, we will be able to go get her with our current registration number at that time.

Hopefully, we are almost all home!

From Dad

When I spoke with Paula yesterday morning, I was so happy that we finally arrived at the point where we did not have to ask the orphanage's permission to spend time with our son. Paula shared with me that she asked Chris to see the contents of the duffel bag that Chris left the orphanage with. He told her that there was nothing in it. Most parents of boys this age know that a boy answers a question with "nothing" when he does not want to answer the question. In this case, there really was nothing in the bag... except a tie and a small stuffed animal. What remained, from all he ever owned, was 2 items that were not stolen from him. Am I bitter? No. What I am is grateful that this boy will never again be treated in this manner again as long as he resides under the roof God has given our family. For the first time, he will experience dignity.

We did not come to Ukraine to rescue a boy named Andrey. We came to bring our son home. A rescue is an event that, after it happens, life one day resumes again at normal. Adoption changes everything for everyone involved. And this is the message of the Gospel. Christ did not just rescue us. He changed us. He changed our names. That change should make every day of our lives different than they would have been in the ordinary. That new name gives us privileges that we never before had. A new life.

I Have Chris!

I am so glad to say that Chris is now with me. George called me yesterday around 1:00 p.m. and said, "The director says we will go today at 4 p.m." I could hardly believe it. I had to race back to my flat and get the presents ready for all of his teachers, caregivers, etc. I had planned on doing this later that evening. I also wanted to clean up the apartment a little and get everything just perfect. Oh, well! Here I was headed to the orphanage with my purse, a backpack, a suitcase and flowers for the director. I'm sure I was quite a sight to all those on the metro and the bus.

Chris called me about 10 times between 3 and 4 p.m. to make sure I didn't forget. How could I forget-- I 've been here for 2 months waiting for this very moment! He was so excited.

George and the inspector met me at the orphanage. George had told me that the director agreed to the meeting because she was already seeing another family at 4 to give them their son. I thought this was strange because I have not seen any other familes visiting. It turned out that it was one of the boys who came this summer- Dima Y. He was adopted by a Ukrainian family here in Kiev. He was very happy. It was so great to meet the parents and know that this sweet kid will have a family. He is 15, so this is very unusual. Many of you remember Dima from this summer, and he said to tell everyone hello.

The director only spent maybe 10 minutes with this family, so I expected our meeting to be short as well. It was not- we talked for over 2 hours, until the inspector said she must be leaving. I know Chris was thinking, "will this ever end?", but it was really amazing to me to see the change in this visit and my first meeting with the director 2 years ago. She said she really loved our family and was very happy for Chris. She became very emotional. It was a surreal moment for me. I know that God has used so many families from Birmingham to touch the director's heart, and I continue to pray that she will come to know him personally one day.

We left the orphanage and headed to our flat. Chris said he had cried a little when he told his caregiver, Svetlana, goodbye. She has the closest thing he has had to a mother. She is a wonderful woman. Chris was very happy and was excited to see the new flat.

After dropping off his things, we went to eat pizza. We came back and did a 250 piece puzzle until 11 p.m., then played checkers, and then I finally said it was time for bed. I only wish Ande and the kids had been with me. It was really special! I know I will always treasure this memory.

Chris is sitting here with me at the internet cafe, sighing. He's bored. So I'll go for now.

Love you all and thanks for the prayers,
Paula

One Step Closer

This morning went great. We got the country code quickly and easily. Now they send it somewhere- who knows! George took the new birth certificate to register it with the Mininstry of Justice.

I saw Chris yesterday, and he was very sad at first. After a short talk with Papa in America, though, he was back to mostly smiles! He really misses Ande and the kids. But he is a trooper. I have given him my extra cell phone now, so I get several calls a day from him. He thinks it is really cool to call me whenever and see what I'm doing.

The plan is for me to go get Chris from the orphanage tomorrow around lunch. Finally- yeah!!

I would like to ask for prayer in a certain situation. As you have all read, we have spent a lot of time with several orphan graduates. One of them is making very poor choices and is harming herself with her choices. I am completely frustrated with this situation. I have made time almost every day for weeks to be with this girl, and I'm just not getting through. Only God can rescue her from herself. Please pray that He does. I confronted her yesterday, and it was very difficult. I am not sure how she will act now. It is all in God's hands. Thanks for joining me in lifting her up to Our Father.

I love all of you and miss you so much.

Paula

It's a Boy!

I want to say in advance that I am sorry this is so long. I've been trying to post for 3 days, and I always get cut off. SO here goes....

As I sit here to post this, I am again reminded of how much my Heavenly Father longs to care for me and bless me. God intervened with travel plans so He could give us an extra day together, which we all needed. We were able to have a relaxing evening on Wed. night alone with our family. We watched a movie, did a big puzzle, and just enjoyed our last night together for a while. Then on Thursday morning, it was very calm and uneventful as we all prepared to leave our apartment- the total opposite of Wed. morning. Ande and the kids headed to the airport, and I moved into my new home for the last leg of the journey. I am staying in a flat situated in the top floor of the Nazarene church. It is not quite as nice as our other flat, but it is safer (24-hour guard) and more convenient to everything I need. And I don't have to hike up that enormous hill!

I visited Chris at the orphanage on Thursday. He was "ploha" because all the kids are still away for holidays (only 4 stayed). I came with McDonalds, and that always makes things better. He will be shocked when we get to America to find that we never go to McD's. I was suprised to see my facilitator, George, on the bus. He had come to take Chris to get photos made. Perfect timing! George, Katia (who insisted on going with me b'c she thinks i still can't find the orphanage myself after 7 1/2 weeks- so sweet!), Chris and I headed out for pics. Katia and I also took Chris to the supermarket for snacks. They are only getting kasha (like cream of wheat) and chai (hot tea) each meal during the holidays. He hates it!

I have to admit that I was really tired and not in the mood to be out in the cold again, but my heart melted when I saw his sweet, smiling face, and made it all worth it! He held my hand the whole time we were out. He laid his head on my should on the bus. I am so ready to get him home!

Friday I met George at 7:45 am to get the court decree. This is the earliest I have been out in almost 2 months. Ukraine doesn't usually do early, and the guard at my flat was quick to tell me that it was too early to go out at 7 a.m. I couldn't agree more!

George and I finally got the decree, but only 2 copies. The judge did not want to sign the 8 copies that we need to complete the adoption. And since they only work on Wed. and Frid., we'll get the copies next week. It's interesting, too- all the other districts opened on Jan. 9, but this district just returned to work today. I'll spare you all the gruesome details- the inefficiency of this government is astounding- but 5 hours later, walking at least a mile in the cold, visiting 6 different offices, and George tells me we're done with this part. I think this means that Chris is officially our son! Hallelujah!

Tomorrow (Saturday, which is actually today since I couldn't get the internet working last night) I still have to go and get a new birth certificate (I got it!) Next week is going to be very busy, and I really am a bit overwhelmed. I still have to get a country code (like Social Security number) on Monday before I can get Chris out of the orphanage. Please continue praying for all these steps to be successful. It seems that everyone is mad about having to come back to work after the holidays, so we're having to bribe everyone! Chris is dying to get out of the orphanage, so I don't want it to be delayed.

Love you all and miss you so much,
Paula

Yeaaaaaa Delta!!!!

The kids and I left Kiev yesterday at 4:30 am, CST. When we arrived in Atlanta at 9:30 pm, EST, I got to the desk to check in and there was a problem. I had a boarding pass, but none of the kids did. The flight was overbooked. In short, the explanation I was given was that somehow the kids seats from here to Birmingham had been given up. Yes, the flight had been oversold. I had the 3 of them looking at me, and I know that I had to maintain composure. With at much class as I could gather, I let them know of my disdain at the airline's apparent lack of competency and then I headed to speak to a supervisor. We spent the night in Atlanta and I am posting this from our hotel room. We should be back in Birmingham at 9:30 am. I am glad that it happened here instead of New York. At any rate, the kids all enjoyed a Belgian waffle. Food does a lot to help make things better.

Paula is back in Kiev. She moved into a flat that was made available to us by some missionaries at the last minute, and is close to the Embassy. It is a much better place and I am thankful to God for giving Paula a good situation before I left. At this point, I think we all feel connected almost well enough to live in Kiev and survive without much problem. Our facilitators have felt that way for a while.

As for Chris, he is officially our son. The court decree and birth certificate SHOULD be available today. I hope that Chris will spend his last night at the orphanage Sunday night. He is so ready to get out of Ukraine. Please pray for Paula. If everything goes perfectly, she will be home some time between Saturday and Tuesday.

Merry Christmas. Again!

Ukraine celebrates Christmas on January 7, in accordance with the Orthodox calendar. Presents are given on New Year's, leaving Christmas as a day to remember the birth of the Saviour. Most businesses were closed, but it there was still quite a feeling of business as usual for the most part.

We decided to go to a shelter and take some small gifts on behalf of Reach Orphans with Hope. What we found was a lot of wonderful children who had run away from home and were trying to survive. Circumstances vary from child to child. To be truthful, we wanted to peer into a world where our new son spent much of his life. He went with us. According to the worker we spent time with, most kids here had terrible home lives and were found by workers of this shelter living on the streets of Kiev. Looking at the size of some of them, we wondered how they made it this far. Some go back home if parents get their acts together. Others stay here for years. Our time was short, as a church from Atlanta came to have a celebration with them.

Sorry for not posting much. Our internet has been down.

Our flight has been changed. We arrive in Birmingham at 10:30 pm instead of 4:30. It is a miracle that we will make it home, as the Kiev to Amsterdam leg of the flight was cancelled!! Thanks be to God, and a wonderful friend in B'ham with connections, we will get home on the same day we had planned. A brother has to get to work!!!

Almost There

Yesterday we had to get Chris back to the orphanage after he was able to spend a week with us. For the first time, he was not visibly sad. He has become secure that we will not be trading him in or changing our minds in any way. If we could only get him back to our house! I will fly out with the kids on Wednesday and arrive back in B'ham Thursday @ 4:30 pm. Paula will have to stay and get the court decree (since they decided to stay closed until the 11th), birth certificate, visa, physical, passport. Please pray that all will go well and that she can return home with Chris on the 18th.

This morning we went to an English-speaking fellowship in Kiev. It was 10 degrees. We had coats and scarves on inside most of the time. We enjoyed meeting English-speaking people from Nigeria to China.

Our internet is out at the flat again, so we may not be able to respond as quickly as we would like. I am looking at a good possibility of moving Paula to another flat before we leave, so we will deal with internet then.

We miss you all. Thanks for the prayers! Don't let up, so much has to still happen.

Blessings,
Ande

A Random Thought

First off, it will be a surprise to no one that I (the "adult male"), am the one posting this. You do not have to be able to read Russian to get the name of this shopping mall. We explained to our friend, Oleg Vasilevsky, what this word means in America and he said "No wonder Americans laugh when I tell them to meet me at Komod." I told Chris what this means at home and he loved it. Yes, it is round on the inside. There are many stores and a grocery store at the very bottom.

I will open up this post for all of your jokes. Please share them. Here are a few that come to mind:

- Gee, the crap they have here is expensive.

- It is the ONLY public one in Ukraine where they do not charge you to come inside.

- We bought chocolate here and took it to the New Years party 8-)

- Wow, there is no place to sit down here!

- How many Ukrainians can you fit inside one Komode?

Paula told me that that is enough for now. We will return to substance tomorrow.

14 Years Old Forever,
Ande

Happy New Year!

The last few days have honestly been a blur! I don't know how we have managed to pack so much in, but we are certainly feeling it- at least me and Ande. Where to begin...

Our friends, the Graces, have finally made it back to Kiev. We were thrilled to see familiar American faces. We met them for lunch on Sunday, and spent a couple of hours catching up. It was really amazing watching our families. We've been through this journey together the last couple of years, even spent Christmas together with our families. And then to watch our kids interacting with a new sibling each. It truly was precious. We spent a couple of hours together, and then it was time for us to head off to attend St. Paul's Christmas/New Year's service. This is the first time we have attended corporate worship since November 11th! We (at least Ande and I) were excited. Katia and Sonya met us to take us. This is a group headed up by Music Mission Kiev- a group we've been familiar with for a couple of years. They used to be very involved at Chris's orphanage until the director kicked them out. Roger and Diane have been in Kiev for 10 years, and many of the graduates from Orphanage 21 have worked for their ministry.

To say that this was a different experience for us would be a huge understatement. While we were waiting for the service to begin, Roger was finishing up practice with the choir/orchestra. They were doing sound checks. People were putting up decorations. Like most fellowships here, they rent this building along with many other groups. So you come in, do your service, and get out quickly so the next group can start. I couldn't help but think about Jim Watkins (our worship minister at Brook Hills). He would have been unnerved. In America, at least in our larger churches, the services are so polished. This was much more disorganized, but a little refreshing as well. And then there were the people. The little babushkas came in, took off their wigs, brushed their hair, and then reassembled. No one seemed to notice!- except me and my kids.

The service itself was very nice. It was done in English and Ukrainian. The music was beautiful. More formal than we're used to, but very nice. And then IT happened. I know that this memory will be forever etched in all of our memories. Roger had asked everyone to turn off their cell phones at the beginning of the service. They didn't, so cell phones rang intermittently throughout the service. This one babushka answered her phone and began talking quietly. Another babushka a row behind her rolled her up her order of service, hauled off and hit the one on the phone, and yelled "Shut up!" We were a few rows behind these ladies and had a perfect view. Anderson (and Ande) laughed so hard they cried. We finally settled down, and enjoyed the rest of the service.

A couple of observations.... this fellowship was about 200 people. 80 % of the people were over 60, and 90 % were women. We attend a very young church, so this was really different for us. I couldn't help but wonder, "Where are the young people and the men?" But this is very common in Ukraine. It is another reminder of how desperately this county needs the gospel.

On a lighter note, we had the opportunity to spend New Year's Eve with our Ukrainian friends, Oleg and Lena Vasilevsky. Oleg picked us up at the Metro around 7 p.m. and took us to their home. We love these dear friends and were looking forward to seeing a true Ukrainian New Year celebration. This country has been preparing for the holiday for the last few weeks, so we were ready to experience it. We ate salads around 9 p.m., visited for a few more hours, grilled chicken and rang in the new year. In between all the Ukrainian eats, Father Frost (Santa Claus) came and gave presents to the children. Fireworks were in the background noise until about 3:30. We all slept in until about 11:00. When we got up, we ate some more! We rolled out of there about 3:00 this afternoon, but not until Oleg tried to convince us to spend 8 days in Egypt. For $190 per person, we could spend the entire time at a 5-star hotel that includes food and airfare. Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Had we known about this, we could have been chasing down King Tut's treasure instead of groceries here in Kiev.

It is getting to be, what Ande calls, "stupid cold" here. As we write this, it is about 20 degrees here. It will be getting down into single digits by the end of the week. We hope all of you are able to gather around and enjoy plenty of good food and family.

Here's to 2008!
The Underwoods