Picture Day

Today we took Pete to get his passport and visa pictures done.  Tomorrow we will receive his passport and will head to Moscow to finish up the rest of the process.

Pete is almost 16 months (about 11-12 months developmentally), and he's a lot of fun to watch.  He loves to squish bananas in between his fingers and smear it in his hair.  He had his first taste of peanut butter today on a small piece of bread, and he seemed to like it.  He is a really good eater and looks somewhat like a mini Sumo wrestler.  I almost want to put him in cloth diapers.  He is (still) sick with some sort of congestion, but we've been giving him a probiotic in some apple juice each day, along with giving him a few sprays of saline solution in his nostrils, and feeding him chicken noodle soup from the restaurant.  It seems to be working, and hopefully he will be cleared up by the time we leave so that his ears and sinuses won't be hurting him during the flight home.

Here are a few pictures I took today, along with one we received by e-mail from one of the social workers at the orphanage (dating back to April).  It's one of my favorites - he looks like he fed himself his morning kasha.

I love this one with Travis

Pete loves this musical card

The Happiest Birthday

Today at noon we went to Teremok orphanage one last time.  Pete was waiting for us upstairs, wrapped up in a blanket, naked.  It was again, a sign of stripping off the old and putting on something new.  To me, it's the most significant part of taking a child out of a Russian orphanage, because it's at that moment, they change!

We left behind a big suitcase full of winter clothing, diapers, and shoes our church members at Parkway graciously donated, and several musical CD's that our friend, Kindermusik teacher Christy Dixon, had given as well.  Pete said a "Das Vidanya" to the social workers (one with tears in her eyes), and we left, waving goodbye to the orphanage from the iron gate outside.

Ten minutes later we arrived at the hotel, and we helped Pete walk into the room.  We spent all afternoon playing and exploring.  Peek-a-boo is his favorite game.  He loves looking in the mirror and having his hands kissed.  He's saying two words that sound like Dada and Hi-ya.  Pete was laughing and making all kinds of happy noise, not even noticing that he missed his 1:00 nap.  I can't explain it, but they seem to know that life just got better.  If a child can recognize that life gets better having a family, then it's all the more reason to value the family we have.  I turned 40 yesterday, and there is not a birthday I've had since nor will I ever have that is more memorable than this. 

Celebration

Wednesday morning at 10 a.m., we had our second court appearance.  We were nervous.  We didn't want any additional issues made out of Trav's passport.  Fortunately, there were not.  The judge asked for the passport right away, and after looking at it, she continued asking us questions about our family.  You could hear the collective sigh of relief in the room...we were moving on!  We gave her the required photo album of family pictures, and she asked to take 4 pictures, including a family picture of us with Anya, and another with Pete.  We obliged.  Our interview lasted an hour, and then the judge left the room for only a moment to make her decision. 

It's official.  We are the parents of one Peter Alexander Raish!

The stress was beginning to melt away.  Thank you God.  This day could not have ended any better.  We went to Teremok orphanage and told Pete the great news.  We spent one last hour and a half with him and enjoyed every minute.

In 30 days time we'll return to Tver, and Pete will be part of our family, forever.

The Miracle

The Thomas Family

Early Saturday morning, I woke at 3 a.m., having slept about 3 hours.  I heard a whisper of God saying, "I am working".  I never went back to sleep, so I kept praying and mulling the events over in my head.  I heard another whisper, " I love you".  At 8 a.m., we boarded a train for St. Petersburg, ready to forget our troubles for the weekend and enjoy the little time we had to spend with the Thomas family.

The Thomas' came to Russia as missionaries 5 years ago, and have spent every moment since then developing and investing in relationships with the Russian people of St. Petersburg.  After getting to know and to speak with many of the Thomas' Russian friends over the weekend, we have learned how much these individual lives have been transformed (you can read more detail in their blog, www.orphandreams.blogspot.com).  Some were abandoned children, many have broken families or marriages, most felt an absence of any self-worth; but after receiving Biblical counseling and training, and learning about God's true character, all these individuals now feel hope, love, and a sense of new identity in Christ - that they are valued above all else and that He desires a father/child relationship with all of them.  As Father, He is our provider, protector, comforter, counselor, healer, and friend.  And fortunately, Travis and I were able to share with them our experience of God's nature through our current adoption experience!

Monday, we had an appointment at the U.S. Embassy at 1:30.  Beforehand, Lyle Thomas took us to see some sights.  Peter the Great westernized the city to appear similar to any great European city, and in many ways it reminds us of Paris along the Seine, with the soft colors of Salzburg's buildings, and of course, Venice. We walked along the Neva River, seeing the Admiralty Peter built, along with the Peter and Paul fortress.  The Hermitage was unfortunately closed, but we were able to visit the Cathedral of Christ on Spilled Blood just a few blocks away.  The cathedral is now fully restored, and its walls and ceilings are filled with Biblical images, events and saints, all created with mosaics.  We purchased a decorated egg with a beautiful image of Jesus on it, and put it in our pocket.  Jesus in our pocket, we need a miracle today...

So, we ate a quick lunch, walked to the Embassy, and waited.  Matt, whom Lyle had previously spoken with last Thursday night, met with us and asked us what would fix our situation.  Given that the details could still cause us problems, I'm not going to mention anything more than to say it was resolved with a passport, but our emergency situation was given special consideration, thank God, and knowing it could fix our situation, it was a solution we prayed would work.  Lyle waited outside the Embassy, trying unsuccessfully to get in touch with our handler, Alexei.  We left the Embassy at 3:30, and after hearing that Alexei was unable to be reached, I left a message for Anna in St. Louis to contact us because we needed to get in touch with someone who could contact the judge.  At 4:30, we got a phone call from Sveta, the court translator for our documents.  More bad news.  The judge is now requiring a passport affidavit, apostilled.  Lyle told her it was our understanding that a document notarized within the Russian Federation negated the apostille requirement.  She called back, saying, "Try again".  Lyle played hardball for us - we don't even know what was said between them, but there was more back and forth, and all the while, Lyle had a splitting headache (of course he did).

After a cup of coffee, we returned to the Thomas' home.  Lyle went to bed to rid himself of his headache.  At 5:30 p.m., he received another phone call.  Travis and I were in the living room discussing whether we stay in Russia on faith, or get packed to leave in the morning back to the U.S.  We were online, considering the costs and weighing the options.  Diana came to get us, saying it was urgent.  Lyle was in his bed, kind of like a Godfather moment where in a raspy, quiet voice, he said, "The judge is going to see you in court Wednesday morning.  Bring nothing but the passport.  She has dropped the other requirements".  Tears streamed down my face.

Diana had dinner ready for us after we rebooked our flight, and a half hour later, Lyle's Monday night ministry group arrived for their weekly meeting.  A woman named Vera spoke about how God had transformed her life from one with fears and a lost sense of human worth, to one of validation and peace.  The group of 15 members encouraged her and prayed over her, sensing her joy of being able to openly share her feelings within the group, something which in Russia, is a rarity.  They had a Bible study, and then after hearing our story from Lyle, they prayed over us.  We felt an enormous sense of love from this group of Christians, and it was the most unique experience we had encountered in a church-like setting.  These people, as Diana and Lyle explained, are a church, even though they worship separately in other churches and within other denominations.  We prayed over the group of Russians, which was a real treat, and afterwards, we talked until almost midnight.  I wanted to keep talking, to keep asking them questions, but I was exhausted and we still had family to call and tell our miracle to!  We made it to bed at 2 a.m.  What a day, and Thank you God for reminding us that You do work miracles, You love us, and that You are always at work!

When it rains

First of all, thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and sent good cheer our way.  We feel so fortunate to be covered in prayer and good thoughts.

The status, is in short, we wait until Monday.  Anna, our agency director, along with Lyle and Diana Thomas, have graciously helped us in any way they can.  We are headed to St. Petersburg tomorrow, as previously planned, to visit with the Thomas'.  So while we are there, we have a meeting scheduled at the Embassy to see what can be done.
The best possible outcomes are these:

1.  The judge accepts a letter from the Embassy confirming Travis' identity.
2.  The Embassy issues Trav a second passport.

If neither of these are acceptable, we will fly home as planned on Tuesday and take care of matters at home while waiting for another court date.

This day has been miserable.  We took a cab to Pete's orphanage, a drive that should cost 120 rubles, but the driver refused to accept anything less than 200.  I said "Nyet" angrily, but Trav paid it anyway because we needed a ride back.  We made the best of our time with Pete.  We watched him clap his hands for the first time, and he was making baskets like a true basketball pro, throwing a ball into some bowls...I don't know, there might be something there.  We then said our goodbyes.  We chose to walk back to the hotel, and 45 minutes later, as we walked in the door, the concierge was unhappy with us because the cab driver called and said we were not at the orphanage.  She thought we were "dead".  But I explained the injustice of paying a taxi driver more than what I know the cost should be, so out of principal I refused to take the cab back.  She called the cab company and now we've initiated a scandal.  All over $2.  Don't mess with me today Russia.  But the concierge is on our side and took them on like an attack dog.

The last 2 hours we have been listening to a wedding party whooping it up with loud music, stilettos, and chants of "skolka" filling the air.  Maybe they won't notice if a few bottles of Stoli go missing.

Come again?

At 10 a.m. this morning, we were waiting outside the judge's office with our translator when Alexei came out and asked why Travis' middle name was not listed in his passport.  Travis explained, and while we did not understand why this suddenly became an issue, it was obviously a big one.  Fifteen minutes later, we proceeded downstairs to the courtroom for the first of our two court appearances.  Today the judge went through each document, as we sat with a prosecutor, the orphanage social worker, our translator, and two others.  Again, Travis was asked to give the court an explanation regarding the missing middle name in his passport.  The judge explained that she is unable to issue any adoption documents without the passport matching the name on the rest of our submitted documents.  Nothing else would suffice; not the marriage certificate, not Travis' birth certificate, not the previously submitted copies of Travis' expired passport, all of which she had.  This is Russian bureaucracy.  We continued through the rest of our documents for the next hour.  All were satisfactory.  We were then asked to wait outside the courtroom while the rest of the courtroom discussed the passport issue.

The verdict was that our second day in court, scheduled for tomorrow morning, would be canceled.  We need to provide satisfactory documentation from the U.S. Department of State that Travis is who he says is according to his passport.  The prosecutor asked whether it mattered to the U.S. that the adoption documents would be issued with Travis' middle name missing.  We answered 'no'.  Travis asked if there was any other alternative to satisfying this requirement, but the answer was final.  Pete's adoption is further delayed by at least one more court trip + 30 days.

Rules are rules, and there are no exclusions.  No one, not even a judge, has authority to make an independent decision, even for such a trivial matter.  This is socialism at its worst.  Bureaucracy and big government unable to allow independent thinking and problem solving.

The judge left the courtroom, and the translator told us that the social worker was upset, but told us not to worry.  Tears welled in my eyes.  We're upset, but we understand we're adopting Pete from a foreign country, and it's the way it is.  Did anyone catch this oversight before now?  It's a mistake that costs an awful lot of money, but Praise God that He provided Travis with a new client yesterday so that we can pay for it.  And then there's the greatest cost of all:  Pete is left in the orphanage for an untold additional number of days, unable to bond to a family anxiously waiting to carry him home.

In a few minutes, we're off to see Pete, and it's going to be bittersweet.

Trip 2, Day 3

The last three days have been relaxing.  Monday morning, we took care of our in-country medicals, and visited Pete in the afternoon.  It has been 2 1/2 long months, and we were unsure whether Pete would remember us.  We brought the same toys as the first trip, to help jog his memory.  Three additional teeth have filled his mouth, and he is walking faster, holding onto us with both hands.  His legs still don't hold up for very long, because he doesn't get many opportunities to use them.

The staff still sing his praises; he is well-liked.  They describe him as "such a good little boy".  They gave us back the disposable camera we left with them in June, and they told us they would e-mail us more.

The orphanage grounds have transformed from a dirt-filled mass of land and construction to a playground-filled entertainment zone.

Pete still has a cold and chest congestion, so we didn't get to take him outside on Monday, but we still had a good time playing with him.  I showed him how to pour a ball from one cup to another, and he mastered it on his own in one try.  He likes throwing objects on the floor for us to pick up.  He still loves the small musical instruments we brought and likes to hold one in each hand.  He doesn't let go of them, even while he's sleeping!

Tuesday, we were able to take Pete outside after he was bundled in 3 layers for the 60 degree weather.  It was so nice outside, so we spent our entire time walking and playing on the playground equipment.  He still looked a bit shell-shocked to be outdoors, but he had some smiles as we helped him down a small slide and on to the see-saw.  He was quiet as a mouse.  He fell asleep after about an hour and a half, so he had all the excitement he could handle.

This morning, Pete arrived in a woolen Oompa Loompa outfit.  He looked so adorable, just like the little fella from the original Gene Wilder version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  So, Trav sang him the Oompa Loompa song as we walked around the orphanage.  Somehow, he knows all the words.  It was quite fun.  Pete fell asleep again after only a half hour of interaction, but luckily, he only napped for a half hour.  Today, he was smiling, laughing, and enjoyed being outside. We took him on the swings, the slide, clacked toys against the wall, practiced walking, searched through a backpack, and all that exciting stuff.  He showed his first sign of looking for my reaction today - he would stack cups together and look at me as if to say, "are you impressed"?  And I was.  We played little games today.  I kissed his chubby little hand, and after that he would lift it up to my lips for another.  Or, he would lean his face back toward mine for a kiss on the forehead.  Today, he knows he is loved.

Jesus Calms a Storm

Matthew 8:23-27

23 fAnd when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but ghe was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, h“Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you iafraid, jO you of little faith?” Then he rose and krebuked the winds and the sea, and lthere was a great calm. 27 And the men mmarveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even nwinds and sea obey him?”

As many times as we have heard this passage of Scripture, it just didn't register with us last week.  We let fear creep in last Wednesday, as we desperately explained that we were unable to complete the last of the judge's requests for documentation before leaving Saturday for Russia.  Could we complete the documents in Russia?  Or, would she delay our court until we were able to complete them in the U.S.?  We were told she would make her decision on Friday whether to confirm our court date.  

We waited.  We packed.  The phone rang as we were in carpool ready to pick up Anya.  The answer was, "Yes, you may leave tomorrow".

At 11 a.m. the next morning, we checked into the airport, arriving in Moscow at noon on Sunday.  Our contact was there to meet us.  No waiting.  We made it to Tver in record time.  Then we took a deep breath, and exhaled.  Thank you God, for one more miracle.  

Hope

Tuesday and Wednesday, we were able to visit Pete three times.  By this time, we noticed how different Teremok orphanage is from Konakova.  Each day, as we sat in the lobby waiting for Pete to arrive, we heard babies crying and screaming.  This was a somewhat pleasant surprise, because babies in crowded orphanages quickly learn that crying is futile; crying brings no comfort, no food, no interaction with a human being when it is needed at the moment.  Anya's orphanage, Konakova, was always eerily silent.  This was only a perception, not necessarily a truth, but just the sound of a baby crying made us feel a bit optimistic that the care the babies were receiving at Teremok orphanage was better than we expected.

Another surprise - we were given the opportunity to take Pete for a walk in the stroller, outside the gates of the orphanage, and without supervision.  We jumped at the opportunity to bond with him without the distraction of other faces and voices.  We walked by the apartment buildings surrounding the orphanage to a small playground.  We played a bit, but couldn't help noticing that Pete seemed less engaged with us outside of his apparent comfort zone.   So, we returned back after a short spell to alleviate any of his anxieties. 

Wednesday morning, I went up to get Pete from his room, and I saw about 12 or so other children all his age.  Two were sleeping, one each to an extra large crib; 1 was being fed kasha (similar to oatmeal) by one of the social workers; 2 were rolling around the room in their baby play centers; and Pete and the others were corralled behind a few furniture cubes with a room full of toys behind them - most of them looking at me with big smiles on their faces!  We'd never seen "happy" at Anya's orphanage, so this was again, pleasantly surprising.  I giggled in response.  That's hope.  They have hope, and that's encouraging.  That's our prayer.  That although there is suffering, God will provide the hope to endure, and families to end their suffering.  Pete and his friends behind those cubes weren't playing - they were waiting - patiently, hopefully, waiting. 

Second Wind

"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". Philippians 4:6-7

No two experiences are alike, and therefore each one comes with its own set of anticipatory anxieties. This trip began with a one-night stay at the Holiday Inn Sokolniki - the same hotel in which Trav and I spent a week in December of 2010 making a painful decision - and then arriving the very next evening in Tver at Hotel Osnabruck to spend a wek in room no. 234 - the same room in which we spent our joyful first nights together as a family with Anya.

Everything seems to come full circle.

 Monday morning, June 18th, we rejoined Alexei (our long-time CHI Tver consultant extraordinaire), and went to the Ministry of Education to get permission to visit our child. Fortunately, he is located in the Teremok orphanage, a short 10 minute drive from our hotel. We sit in the lobby sandwiched between a giant stuffed elephant and a 3-headed stuffed dragon that stands 3 feet tall. Within minutes, a social worker arrives with a chubby-cheeked, dark-haired, smiling little boy. As we begin to get acquainted, the doctor arrives and says, "Blah, blah, blah" (all good news health wise). We get to spend 2 hours with him, and we notice how observant he is. And WOW does he respond well to Travis! This makes me so happy.

Our little one seems trusting and friendly, and very relaxed. He crawls and can stand while holding onto the table. He makes simple gestures for things he wants. He likes the book we brought - a touchy-feely animal book that he can turn the pages of, but would rather chew. His 2 front teeth are pushing through, and it just feels good, I'm sure. He's got a strong grip on the musical instruments we brought, and loves to shake and tap them on the table. He squeals and smiles when we hold him up in the air, and never seems to tire of it. It was a great first day!