Dema's new room

Well, Cindy has finished painting Dema's new room.  When (through a translator) we asked Dema if he wanted to live with us, without hesitation, he said yes--then he quickly shared that he was so excited about his own shelves and drawers where he could keep all of his "stuff".  This is something that we take for granted, but the kids in the orphanage have never experienced, they have nothing of their own--they share everything!  When the day comes that we take Dema from the orphanage, we will not be allowed to take anything with him--not even the clothes on his back!

The pictures we have seen of the orphanage show rooms--I'm guessing 20' x 30' that are filled with 15-20 beds.  It will surely be a blessing for Dema to have his own space, his own bed, and his own desk!

We are anxious to see what toys will peak his interest...Legos, army men, toy cars and trucks, or something else?  Will his walls be filled with pictures if big game, movies, or sports figures?  Time will tell!

The TV will not be hooked up to our Dish system, that will be limited to the family room, and his bedroom computer will not be linked to the internet, that too will be limited to the family area.

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We are almost ready!

A homecoming date is set!

After much communication between our facilitator in California and agency in Kiev we have scheduled a date for the return trip to Ukraine.  I will be flying back January 9th, and returning with Dema on the 20th.  During this trip, I will receive Dema's new birth certificate, get permission from Ukraine for him to leave, and permission from the US embassy to return home.  Cindy will not be required to come on this trip, but we are hopeful that one or two of the other families that are going through the adoption process will be able to travel at the same time.

Pictures on the playground

 Curtis (One of the missionaries we know working in Ukraine) just emailed some pictures of Dema on the playground.  I was "chatting" with his Curtis's brother Adam asking what we could bring for the kids to play with while we are visiting the orphanage--the answer was a few deflated soccer balls with a pump and needle.  One of our friends who has already been there told us that she did a lot of shopping looking for playground balls...there were none to be found! 

 This is a picture of Dema playing with Denis!  We were told to be sure to bring knit hats, and mittens, it is only the "bad" parents who allow their children to be outside without them!

Denis and his sister were here this summer--they are being adopted by a family in Louisiana!  Looks like we might need to plan a reunion road trip sometime in the future...

A New Name

As some of you know, we have been trying to "Americanize" Dema's name.  A move to help facilitate this new step in his life and ours...

When we end our first trip to Ukraine, one of the final steps will be us receiving new birth certificate for him--the old one will be destroyed, as if it never existed.  So in an attempt for us to begin to help him retain his heritage while embracing his new family, country, and culture, we decided that giving him a new name would be a great place to start.  Cindy and I weren't in total agreement with our name choices, but last night we were with friends and family--all of whom are engaged in the adoption process.  The conversation was focused on how we would spend our time at the orphanage and what we would do while in country, but the conversation quickly moved to names.  Each of our families have decided to keep some form of the children's given name.  Cindy and I knew we wanted to use Dema, which he has always known as his name instead of his given name Dmytro.  We just wanted to add an American middle name since Ukrainians don't have middle names.  Cheri (Cindy's daughter) suggested Ericson, and we automatically agreed that it was perfect! 

Before we met Dema, we knew that we were to adopt him, and within minutes of him meeting me, without me knowing it, he told his translator that I was going to be his papa.   (I didn't know this until the children had been here for many days.)   It was amazing that he was being prepared for us at the same time that we were being prepared for him.  So, not only will Dema share a name with his papa, but his name will always be a reminder of how God has orchestrated this entire process before we had ever met.

His new name will be:  Dema Ericson Noel

Flight is booked!

Hey--we're going to Europe!  We were able to book a flight with a 12 hour layover in Frankfurt Germany, so we are going sight seeing!  We hear that the Christmas markets are well worth the visit themselves.  And we already have a few suggestions for must eat places, and some sights that need to be seen.  It was either book a flight with a 6 hour layover, and stay in the airport, or stay a little longer and visit some place that we have never been, and probably will never be again!  Just a couple of dumb farmers gawking around...

We're going to Kiev!!

Last night, or maybe early this morning we received a call from our adoption facilitator in California--we need to be in Kiev, Ukraine Monday December 6, or very early on the 7th for our meeting with their "SDS", (not knowing the translation for the acronym, we'll just call them children services).  This is the visit where we get permission to travel through the country and visit Dema's orphanage.  Now that we have a date, the representative from the adoption agency will be sharing it with the orphanage director, who can share it with Dema.  5.5 weeks and counting!!!

Still waiting...

We were expecting to hear from the Ukrainian government this week, but it doesn't look like it will happen!  We just received an email from our adoption facilitator telling us that it will be at least 1 more week until we get our official invitation with an appointment to meet with their children services dept..  We are still hopeful that we will be able to complete our first 21 day visit before the end of the year, but even that is uncertain because we were told that their government shuts down for several weeks late in the year, so once again, we and Dema wait! 

Just a side note, when Dema came to visit us, we had told him that we would try to be there sometime in November, but that window has now closed and we can't be sure that the reason for the delays will be relayed to him. We hope and pray that he doesn't start thinking we aren't coming!

Help needed!

We just received word that the kids are COLD!!  A missionary that we have been in contact with sent an email asking for help.  The orphanage director asked him to send a plea for financial assistance--there are 100 children in the orphanage who are in need of a coat, so they are asking for $50 per child to purchase those much needed coats.  Although the cost of living is much lower there than it is here, I have read stories where families have had to mortgage their homes to buy coats and boots for their kids.  The orphanage is given the equivalent of 75 cents a day to care for the children, so $50 per coat is out of the question!  If you are willing and able to help, please either contact us, or drop a check in the mail to:  Lori Walk Quest Haven Lodge 520 Schoch Hollow Rd Tyrone PA 16686.  Make checks payable to Truth Quest Ministries as they are a 501c3 organization.  Your gift will be a tax deductible contribution. 

Thanks for your help!