...turned out pretty well for all the families involved. All three families I know (us included) walked away with a sly smile on their faces (that's right, I saw that smile there Carrie and John :)) We did accept a second referral. This time, it was for a little girl, Sophia. She just turned 5 in January. Reports say that she is outgoing, very active, and has a speech delay but that she does speak and understand very well. Did I mention that she is the cutest thing you've ever seen!!! She stole our hearts when we first saw her. It was one of those "Oh, how precious. Isn't she cute?!" moments we have heard so much about. We are actually going to visit her tomorrow!!! Praise God that we don't have to wait until Monday to get to visit her.
She lives in Zhitomir (pronounced zit-o-mere). From what we have heard, Zhitomir is a "resort" town. It's not very large but it is beautiful in the city. We have a friend that will actually be in Zhitomir over the weekend for a wedding (crazy how many connections you will have if you just ask). Perhaps we will meet her there.
So now, we are off again to find our child. Please remember us in your prayers. Pray that this is the little girl we were meant to come for, the one that will complete our "forever family". Include all the families here adopting in your prayers. We met one family that was on their 3 referral and one family that was on their 4 referral in 2 years(they started over again, nothing illegal). It is very hard declining these referrals and I know they could use the extra pled in your prayers.
We hope to leave by lunch tomorrow. Zhitomir is about 2 hours west of Kiev. Not near as long a trip as going to Kharkiv. Our plan is to get to Zhitomir and to a hotel/apartment by 2pm. Then, we plan on visiting the inspector in that region and, assuming there is a doctor on staff at the orphanage, we will go to visit Sophia. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a very descriptive and amazing post.
Tomorrow from Zhitomir...
19 comments:
I can't wait to hear how it goes - praying for all of you.
So excited to hear about your visit today to the SDA. That is wonderful news. I hope and pray that Sophia is the one you've been waiting 2 years to meet!! 5 is a very fun age too. I love the name Sophia and it is fun that you are getting referrals with names that you are able to keep (if you want) once home. I cannot wait to hear about your trip and your first visit with Sophia. Now, I'm off to google the town you will be traveling. A resort town...sounds nice! I guess you could handle that for a week or two ;o)
Still doing the happy dance for you! Can't wait to see pics of this adorable girl! Love the name too!
Wonderful news you guys. We are at complete opposite sides of the country. Many blessings on this next leg of your journey!
Oh, this is so exciting! I do pray Sophia is the one for your family. Can't wait to hear more!
Zhitomir is very, very near the place where Garth's father's family lived...it's a very little town/village northwest of Zhitomir. The whole region is called Volhynia; there's a Web site: www.volhynia.org. We hope to be able to visit when we go adopt our girls. Can't wait to hear more about your adventures, Sophia, and maybe even pics of the countryside. :-)
Praise God!! Please update asap!
We are praying that Sophia is the one for ya'll. We will keep the other families in our prayers as well. So excited for you both. Can't wait to read more.
Hoping it goes well for you... Blessings!
Yeah!!!!! Can't wait to hear how it turns out.
As for her speech issue. Ella turned 5 in October...she was diagnosed in Ukraine with the same diagnose. I cannot tell you how wrong they were! She has picked up a full English vocab already and while she does have some pronounciation problems they are correctable. She begins seeing a speech-lanuguage pathologist soon.
Sounds like a positive referral and I am thrilled for the both of you!
oh, we are so excited to hear the news & pray that all goes well tomorrow. Can't wait to hear & see pics.
Billy & Darlene
Good luck tomorrow.
Shawn and I are praying, oh yeah, so is Betty Boop.
Smithville
We're praying that she's "the one" for your family! And just in case you didn't know, the name Sophia means wisdom. Sounds like you chose a good one! Blessings!
Sounds wonderful, can't wait to hear about the meeting. Praying!
Don't worry about the speech problem...Jim Bob can teach her. Good old southern accent. I thought you might need a little down home humor to get you though the day and make you feel like you are back at work. You know I'm praying all goes well.
Love you bunches... Betty B.
I hope it goes well! Cornethia if you have any concerns please email me. Things that seem overwhelming today, God will choose to shine through and bring you joy the next. I know this to be true.
SO excited for you! Sophia is Maddie's middle name - well, different spelling 'Sofiya'...and Maddie is five too! How awesome! You'll LOVE that age!
We'll be praying, praying, praying!!! :)
Hope all goes well. We will keep you in our prayers. I know there are some other couples that have been to the same town you will visit.
Tammy
I really enjoy your blog. We are in the paperwork part of the process and have our appt. for fingerprints in two weeks.
I just had to comment because our church does mission work in the same area you are going for your referral. We hope to sent to this area as well, but haven't heard of anyone who has been sent there lately.
You will be in our prayers!
We are so excited for you. I hope it turns out well! Please post soon.
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