Great News!!!

Good news this morning. Thank you to everyone who has been praying. Do not stop. The fervent prayer of the righteous man availeth much. We are living it.
Last night, Daniel and I both slept very well, having put the situation in God's hands. Today, Igor said he had a terrible night, worrying.
As we walked into the orphanage this morning, Igor suggested that instead of going directly to see Maxim, we should at least say good morning to the director, Tatiana. He said he felt she still had something weighing on her heart about this adoption. When we stepped into her office area, she invited us in although she was very busy, and Igor boldly asked her to express whatever concern she still has. She admitted that part of it is that Maxim is loved by the staff and they will simply miss him. Also, it breaks her heart that the reforms in Ukraine for taking better care of their own orphans are taking so long. To have a better life, Maxim has to leave the country.

Yesterday, Igor faxed a letter to Maxim's birth town, asking for clarification of the situation with his brother. We needed to see official word on whether Maxim's brother is also waiting to be adopted. This morning, Tatiana had already received the response. Maxim's brother is in the good care of a woman near their birth town and is validly not registered as an orphan. We are free to adopt Maxim alone and the process can move forward. Hallelujah. As soon as Igor told us this, Daniel and I were both struggling not to cry in Tatiana's office. It is so amazing to see God's hand.

As early as Monday evening, the local papers will be completed and ready to be sent to Kiev by train.

Right now, in the evenings, Daniel and I are reading "The Heavenly Man", by Brother Yun, a house church network leader from China. His accounts are very difficult to read sometimes but the Christians in that country have paid a tremendous price for their faith. But his testimony also proves that in the worst situations and conditions, it is still possible to feel God's presence and peace. It also proves that no matter what politics and bureaucracy say, God is bigger. From reading this autobiography, I am encouraged that if this adoption is God's will (we believe it is), we will receive every signature and stamp we need to complete it.

Another milestone today; Maxim accepted many kisses from us, and as Daniel flipped him over his head and back, Maxim would kiss me when he came back my way. Daniel received some too.

We also got to sit in his classroom as he worked with his teacher and see some of the things he's been working on. He has many of the skills of a typical five or six year old. Still gets some number and alphabet order mixed up but we can see that he is a very observant, detail oriented boy when he's with us. He does not miss a beat. I believe his skills will grow just fine as we work with him.

We met the German teacher again today, out on the playground. When we saw him the other day, he said he knew we were Americans right away by our smiles. Ukrainians are not, in general, very smiley people.

Here are a few things of interest in Kherson: the traffic lights are set up so after a light turns green, it blinks a couple of times and then turns yellow, then red. After red, it again turns yellow before green. This way there is a warning before it's time to stop as well as before you can actually go. Yet, the traffic is a little crazy, with people passing in very tight spaces as someone coming the other direction is trying to do the same. We occasionally see people walking along with a goat or cow, right down the street. Typical dress for women at this time of year is a very warm coat along with short (sometimes extremely short) shirts, dark pantyhose and stiletto boots. I am just not going to fit in with my cords and white tennis shoes. Yikes. The men typically wear very dark clothes and do not have beards. Daniel has a very nice beard, so there you have it. That's okay.
A common site along our walks through town are groups of stray dogs and spit on the sidewalk.
The dogs are a tremendous problem because, Igor says, programs to collect strays were stopped as soon as Ukraine gained its independence from Russia. We saw a pack of ten or twelve go past our kitchen window this morning.
That's all for now. We still have to get to the market and back to our flat (typical soviet era apartment complex; double entry doors with the interior one padded) before dark.

P.S. The government controlled heat was turned on yesterday morning so we are staying warm.
Generally, from April through October there is no heat and as winter comes, they turn the heat back on in different areas according to how cold it has become.