SUCCESSFUL COURT DATE!

This picture was taken waiting outside the courtroom. After a tedious and very interesting court hearing the judge deemed us fit parents and granted the adoption of Elliott Andre Schweickert and Nicholas David Schweickert! We are all thrilled! We still do not know how the birth certificate situation for Elliott is going to play out. It is too complicated to journal but we are standing in faith that it will work out for the good of our entire new family and for the glory of God, who IS in control! Our facilitator, Olas will start making inquiries to Moldova today. He told Elliott that it is possible that he could have to stay here for a while why the birth certificate issue gets straightened out. I ask Elliott how how he felt about that and he said he has waited 15 years, he can wait a few more months if he has to. I love that kid! While we wait…we have peace. I know that probably seems crazy…but that’s God for you! Giving you peace when you shouldn’t have any. Please continue to stand in faith with us and believe that God is going to finish what he started.

Happy 10th Birthday Tyler!!!

Hi Tyler!!

The picture is of the boys holding a sign that says "Happy Birthday Tyler" in Russian. Notice the boys have the hats on that you picked out for them! We love you so much Ty and are sorry we are not there to help you celebrate your birthday! God has truly blessed us with the BEST grandson in the world!! We will all celebrate when we get home and I’ll make you fudge.
Love,
Nan Nan and Papa

October 28, 2006

The children spent the day with us took them to the waterfront, as the sea is a big tourist attraction in the summer. It is the first time we have ventured there. It is the upscale section of the city (you wouldn’t know you were in Berdyansk) with shops, restaurants and monuments. As we walked past the Vital Statistic Office, we saw several wedding couples coming and going. Olas informed us that in the Ukraine you have to go to Vital Statistic and do a legal wedding ceremony first, then if you choose you can have a church ceremony afterwards. The first wedding ceremony is not optional.

We got our pictures taken in the "wishing chair." The idea is to sit in the chair and touch a place (that is marked) that is about where your shoulders would be. I was just wishing I could get my hand back there!

We tried a couple of restaurants at the waterfront but couldn’t get in because of preparing for big parties, probably the weddings we saw earlier so we went back to our safe haven – the hotel restaurant!! It was the first time we had ate a meal with Elliott and were interested to see what he liked and how much he ate. Remember he is a very active teenage boy! He ordered 4 courses and we watched as he enjoyed it all! Nicky is not quite as big of eater but really enjoys his food. They ate until they were stuffed! Olas translated to us that he told them that they ate like horses and they laughed. I had them tell them that Mama was worried, and that really made them laugh! They really thought that was funny. We went back to our tiny abode that we now know as home and hung out together. We looked at pictures, played music, watched soccer and worked with beginner flashcards in English. It was really fun just relaxing together.

We walked the boys back to the orphanage around 5. Elliott showed us a few more short cuts – they both seem pretty familiar with the area. We all four held hands all the way back, the boys between us and and they sang the whole way! I raced Nicky up to the top of the bluff – I’m not fast but I have more brute force in the short haul – I even beat him (not by much though). There are acting like true siblings…teasing each other. They were calling each other Blondeska and Brunetteski (I’ll let you figure out which was which). As we got close to the orphanage, we came upon two of their friends. They wanted to show us their talents! It was dusk out but that did not keep these boys from performing all kinds of acrobats on the roofs of some very old & rusty metal garages! The finale was when one of them dismounted with a back flip from the roof! It scared us to death!

A little more about Berdyansk:
There are stores everywhere. They all consist of small shops that deal in one type of commodity except there are some small stores that sell a variety of items – like a 7-11 only much, much smaller. Even the mall consists of small shops. The marketplace opens at 7 so they set up starting at 5 or 6 and then they close shop at 2. Since the marketplace is huge and each booth has to set up, it is pandemonium while that is going on – all the proprietors are pushing these carts to their cars/houses/storage areas. You can get really good deals on clothes – a coat for the boys cost about $20 US and a leather woman’s coat cost about $80. The women’s coats are absolutely gorgeous and a huge variety to choose from. They have vendors on the street that sell these gorgeous flowers – roses and several others that I cannot name. They sell parakeets and other pets along the roads also. Old women sell baked goods (mostly large cakes that look like carrot cakes) and they sit at the same place every day and probably have for years. I wonder what would happen if someone new would try to move into their territory!

October 27, 2006

Today all of us (the Bruce’s and the Schweickert’s) walked to the orphanage through the cemetery. Olas explained to us the significance of the tables in the plots. Around Easter each year, the families of the deceased bring food and vodka to the plot. They set a place for the deceased and then they eat and drink. Then they leave food and a drink for the deceased when they leave. Kinda like leaving cookies for Santa but I wonder who ultimately drinks the "wodka"???

There is no place to sit on the playground so when we sit with the boys we sit on a pipe that is mounted about 6 inches above the ground (see pic). Yesterday we spent the majority of our time at the orphanage sitting on the pipe trying to communicate with the boys through our Russian/English dictionary one word at a time! It will be so good when we speak the same language!

Today we spent our day at the orphanage on the playground in the gym with the boys. A group of boys (around Nicky’s age) hang out with us everyday and we are getting better acquainted with them. They all are calling us Mama and Papa and one of them gave us a hand written card with all four of our names and the words love, family and happiness. They really are happy for the boys and dream that someday it will be their turn.

PLEASE pray for God’s favor for court on Monday. Olas is going to ask for "immediate execution" so he can proceed with the birth certificate issue during the 10 day waiting period. Many thanks and blessing to all for BELIEVING GOD with us in this!

Just a little info about the Hotel Berdyansk:
They haven’t turned on the heat (hot water) in the hotel yet (still mild outside – 45 to 70). I heard they were working on it yesterday. To compensate, they have these neat sheets that are like an envelope and a blanket fits in them – they are very warm but you don’t want to get out of bed in the morning! The hotel room is the size of a cruise ship room except there is no place to put your clothes. There is a small wardrobe that barely holds the coats. We are getting the room for about $28 a night and that includes breakfast. They have laundry service but it is expensive so I do the underwear and hang it to dry and send out the pants and shirts. It appears that all the rooms on this floor (11th) have been remodeled recently. They have two elevators but the operating mechanism has no intelligence – when you press the call button only that elevator will come and if it is in use, you may have to press it again! We have a TV that gets 30 channels; mostly US reruns dubbed in Russian. They do have Discovery and Animal Planet – Its funny to see Orange County Choppers with the characters speaking Russian!!! There is an Internet area in the lobby with 5 computers. It is slow – about the speed of dialup, but it is cheap – about one dollar per hour. They also have wireless set up on the 10th floor. I can pick up the signal by the elevator but if I walk down to the 10th I get 52 mbs. It is more expensive - about five dollars per hour. The restaurant in the lobby is good – just need to order at least an hour before you want to eat and they have it already to go – if you wait till you want to eat it takes a long time – they only have a four burner stove. There are many good restaurants in Berdyansk. Dinner with a glass of wine costs us about $20 to $30 with tip. Tips of 10% are huge!!

COURT HAS BEEN DELAYED

Our court date has been delayed until Monday, October 30th. Unfortunately, the SDA could not read the Moldovian birth certificate of Elliott’s. It is neither in Russian nor Ukrainian. After jumping through some hoops, it was submitted correctly this past Monday. It takes one week from the time submitted, so hopefully it will arrive by train next Monday. We are disappointed, as this delays the process at least 3 more days. We haven’t told the boys yet and we are not looking forward to it as they are so anxious to go! We believe God’s hand will be moved as we pray about the completion of this birth certificate issue. Please join us.

We found a short cut to the orphanage through the cemetery. It only cut off about 5 minutes but Kathie didn’t have to look down the entire time for potholes and broken sidewalks and their cemetery is very interesting. The bigger plots (10’ X 10’) have a little table and bench in them – I guess so you can have lunch with your deceased relative or friend. Some of the smaller ones don’t include the bench but a high (bar) table – maybe for just sharing a beer and shot of vodka (very ukrainian)! I don’t know how they get to some of the plots as other plots surround them and most of them have fences. Most of the monuments are made of metal and many of them have pictures of the deceased on the monument. The picture makes the cemetery look nicer than it really is – most of the plots are overgrown with weeds and the monuments are rusty. The entire cemetery is surrounded by metal garages. Since most people live in apartments, this is where they park their cars.

These girls were watching on the playground as Kathie hung out with Nicky and Elliott’s friends. As soon as all the boys went off to play soccer she motioned for them to come over and they came running. As with the boys, they just wanted to be show love.
The girls are all 11 years old.

October 23

When adopting boys from the orphanage your days as you wait tend to be centered around physical activity! It was a nice day so we spent our time again outside on the playground!
Many of the boys hung out with us. The average age was 11 years. They want smiles, hugs and just to be noticed. They saw Dave give me a Listerine Breath Strip and the next thing you know they all wanted one. It was hysterical watching their reaction as they let it dissolve in their mouths! It was a big hit and Nicky pleaded with us to bring more with us tomorrow.

I was starting to get concerned because Elliott was still not back yet from going to see his sister, Roslanna. Then, out of nowhere, someone was tapping on my shoulder from behind and I turned around to see Elliott with a big smile! I screamed and he laughed! We were so happy that he returned safely. Nicky was like an appendage to his side, jumping on him and talking a mile a minute, telling him everything that had happened since he left! Elliott told us his sister signed a paper saying she had no objection to him being adopted, which made me feel both happy and sad. Roslanna is 4 years older than Elliott which is the same age difference between Tobi and Spencer. I think of how sad Tobi has been without her brother around. Elliott’s Mother died from a blow to the head when he was only 4 years old. Roslanna was taking care of him because the Father wasn’t. They both ended up in the orphanage (the Father has since passed away). Roslanna is now married with a baby girl but not able to take care of her little brother. Even if you have not been orphaned, it is very difficult to survive here. His sister would not object, because she knows there is no hope for him here, but how hard it must have been to say Goodbye.

The picture is of Sasha, Nicky’s best friend at the orphanage. He is also 12 years old. He has been in the orphanage since he was 3. He is as sweet as he looks. Please pray for a family for him. May God in His great mercy rescue them all.

Until tomorrow…
We love hearing from everyone and asking the Lord to bless those who are praying so diligently for us.

October 21, 2006
We had a grand time today. We took Nicky out of the orphanage for the first time! We arrived at the orphanage with Victor and the Bruces at 10 AM and met with the orphanage director, Galina. She had us fill out a petition to take the children Saturday and Sunday. The Ukrainians seem to have a thing about these petitions – and they have to be hand written. I would have thought they would have a standard form as each couple that comes to adopt has to complete one. After many instructions we were finally free to take them with us for the day!
We all went shopping at the market. The open-air market is huge but very cramped. There are several hundred individual, small, tented shops (10 ft square) in the market and they sell everything from clothes to building materials. There are a few small buildings in the middle that were heated. Nicky told us he knew the market (when he was on the streets) like the back of his hand . We were on a quest to get him some shoes to wear home. He was VERY particular (not surprising after the whole Leonardo thing) and ended up at the end of the day with a pair of "Puma" tennis shoes for 60 grivna (12 bucks) and absolutely thrilled! He put them on immediately and could not stop grinning from ear to ear!
All of us had lunch together at the hotel café. There were 8 of us in all and it took about 2 hours to complete. No one eats together as the food comes out as it is individually prepared… and there was only one cook!

Testosterone

October 20, 2006 We have a Court Date!

It’s me, Kathie. Praise be to God we will go to court on Friday, October 27th at 4 p.m.
The 10 day waiting period following will be up on November 7th. Elliott’s 16th birthday is November 6th! We did not expect to be able to get the court date until Monday, October 30th, so once again God’s timing is perfect and He has granted us favor!

My prayer request today concerns my husband. He is trying to keep up with the boys and behaving like he was 16 again. So far he has played soccer, basketball, did cartwheels in the orphanage hallways and climbed a rope 20 feet up straight up! I realize we are not yet “Abraham and Sarah” but neither are we TARZAN and Jane!

Yesterday we walked to the orphanage (45 minutes) and played with the boys. Elliott left last night to go to Mariupol (1 hour away) to visit his sister at her request. He went with our facilitator, Olas by cab, as Olas was leaving on the train to Kiev (with our paperwork). I was immediately concerned about this trip. Has he ever done this before? How would he get back to the orphanage, would he know phone numbers to call if he got lost, etc. It is not that we aren’t happy for him to go but the “Mama” thing kicked in! Then I remembered that God knew exactly where he was going and how he would get back and I just needed to pray and TRUST. Will I ever really grasp that concept?

Medicals

October 18, 2006 Yesterday was a great day. I (Dave) went with Olas to get the boys their medical exams. The picture is of the boys as I waited with them at the hospital. We spent the better part of the day going different places for different signoffs. The picture of the little girl was in the morning at the orphanage dispensary after she got a shot. She was crying a little. I wanted to pick her up and comfort her but I didn’t know if that was allowed. After I took her picture, she walked down the hall by herself to another room. It was so sad to see her so alone. As we were leaving a group of three-year-olds was going down the hall to another room. The little boys had shorts on with leggings on under them (it is rather chilly in the orphanage as they haven’t turned the heat on yet). They were all smiling and they were so cute!!! I can see why they say to fill out the paperwork for one more than you think you’re going to get! I’d have a half a dozen by now if it weren’t for the fact that I wouldn’t leave until March!

We found out this morning that our paperwork will not make it to Kiev until Friday, which could delay our court date until Monday (10-30) instead of Friday (10-27). Please pray that the judge will grant us favor to have court on October 27th, as well as the birth certificate issue for Andre….oops, I mean Elliott! By the way, Nick wants to be called “Nicky”, not Nicholas or Nick. Kathie says she doesn’t care what he is called as long as it isn’t Leonardo! By the way, Leonardo isn’t the Decaprio or Devinci Leonardo; it’s the teenage mutant ninja turtle Leonardo!! Just wanted to set the record straight.

We can receive e-mails through our cox accounts. Thanks for your comments and prayers!

Time with the Boys!

We got to see the boys!! We were taken to the orphanage about 2 PM and we met with the orphanage director. We went over the boys files. The director (Galena) started to cry when she opened Andrey's file (she was very happy he was being adopted. She has a real heart for getting the boys adopted. Then they brought the boys in and they were shocked!! I hugged Andrey so hard I thought his head would explode!! Then the boys had to write a document stating that they wanted to be adopted in their own handwriting. They also had to pick a name cause the name had to be in the document. Kolya wanted "Leonardo" but we talked him into "Nick". Andrey liked Elliott so... from now on they are Nicholas David and Elliott Andre Schweickert!! We are so happy we haven't stopped smiling all afternoon!

Tomorrow will be Medicals for the boys.!!

Praise God for the joy we've had today!!!!!

Berdyansk

This morning we went to the Inspector's office with the Bruces. The inspector took the Bruces to the orphanage and said we had to wait till they get back - about 11 AM. Our facilitator went to the orphanage to get some paperwork that needs to be notorized and will meet ua back at the hotel around 10. We should be able to see the boys today!! They still don't know we are here!

Here are a few pictures. The view of Berdyansk is taken from our room on the 11th floor and the Restaurant is in Kiev were we ate supper all three nights (they had an english menu and lots of vegetarian selections!).

Please pray that we find a notory this morning and that we get to see the boys today! God is great!!

In Berdyansk

October 15, 2006 We arrived in Berdyansk at about 10 AM. We can't believe we are so close to the boys! We won't be able to see them until tomorrow because we have to see the Inspector\Social Worker\Lawyer. It's a real taese being this close. We may go check out the orphanage and maybe we'll see them!

We took the train from Kiev to Mariupol and then took a car to Berdyansk. The train was different from any train I rode in the US. The room had two bench seats and two bunks up above. There were rolled up mattresses and pillows and we rented bed linens and towels. The real kicker was the restroom. The toilet dumps right on the track and you are not supposed to use it while stopped at the station. Because the train bounces all over the place, it appears that most folks have a hard time hitting the stool - in other words the floor is always wet and stinks!! You have to hold onto the bars on the window to maintain your balance.

The car to Berdyansk was a real introduction to Ukrainian driving. To pass you get right behind the car in front of you and that person moves to the edge of the road and then you zip around him - if a car or bus is coming in the other direction then they also move to the edge. Then you floor the peddle and see how fast you can go. We road in an old VW rabbit that didn't quite have enough room for our luggage and the facilitator. So we had to pack luggage in the back seat with Kathie and I. It was an intimate ride. If we were gonna die, we were going together for sure!! Speed limit signs are mere suggestions and this guy was going double + the limit. It took less than an hour to go the 62 miles and that included stopping to get directions to the hotel.
The Hotel is fairly nice. We are on the 11th floor and have a stunning view of the sea of Azov. It is a sunny day and the bay that Berdyansk is on is beautiful!. The Bruces are right next door and it is a blessing to have them so close!

We can only praise God that we made it this far and are this close to meeting with the boys!

Going to Berdyansk

We are waiting for the 3 pm train to berdyansk. We will arrive there about 11 am Sunday. We are praying that we can see the boys right away! Normally you have to get permission from an official on a working day. Praise God either way - He has gotten us this far He will complete the good work He has started!

In Kiev

October 11, 2006
We arrived in Kiev on time as well as our luggage! We did not use the VIP service from the airport and yet we zipped in and out of the airport within an hour! After going to the SRC and meet Yuri and the gang we got settled in our apartment, which is fairly nice and spacious but have to agree with the Bruce’s…the elevator was interesting to say the least! We met the Bruce’s for dinner at a Italian restaurant (with an English menu) that met our dietary issues! We went to bed exhausted but amazed at the favor God has given us! Thank you for your prayers!!
October 12, 2006
We had our appointment with the SDA today. The good news is both boys ARE available for adoption now. The bad news is Andre does have a birth certificate from Moldova. We covet your prayers on this issue. A family adopting a girl from Russia found out today that her birth certificate may delay her coming to the states for up to 8 months. In the meantime she has already been adopted but unable to go home with her new parents until this birth certificate matter is taken care of. The Mother is coming back to the states tomorrow without her. We do not know if Moldova will have the same issue as Russia, but covet your prayers on this matter. We are praying there are NO hindrances and delays because of Andre’s birth certificate. Please join with us in prayer. Tomorrow we take the overnight train and hopefully will get to see the boys on Sunday afternoon!.
We had our cell phone activated. Our number here is 8 (095) 849-91-70. There is no charge to us for incoming calls. Please be mindful of the time change (7 hours) – call between 2 am and 2 PM your time!

In Vienna

Here we are in Vienna! Seems like we flew all night but it was just 8 hours! It is 3 am in Virginia and 9 am here! The flight was great - good food, great service, lotsa movies and not much sleep. It is easy navigating the airport as all the signs are in English. Feels like we are home! One more flight at 10:30 and we will be in Kiev. Can't wait! Please pray for sleep for both of us - I feel like we will crash hard and soon!

On the road Tomorrow!

We spent the weekend packing our suitcases. We still aren't finished but we have a very good start at it! What to take? That is the real question. We have food, clothes for the boys and some games that will help them with their English. Also, lots of books to read in our spare time. We hope to be able to spend time in Berdyansk with Gary and Beverly Bruce who left on Saturday. It is a special blessing to have someone we know there to share with. The Timmers let us borrow the cell phone they had purchased in Ukraine last year. When I get the simm card and know the phone number I will post it. Incoming calls are free for us!

Our church prayed for us at Sunday Services and we were really blessed by it.

We leave from Richmond at 2:30 PM Tuesday - Please pray for traveling mercies!! I understand that getting through customs is going to be a two hour ordeal!!