$600 on its way to Ukraine orphans

Photo collage by Adrienne, Alex's PCA

As I write this, our friend (and fellow graduate of the Ukrainian adoption families class of '12) is winging her way to Ukraine--for the third time, mind you. While she's there, she and her husband will be adopting four children, including one from Alex's institution. And when she visits the institution, she will bring along the $600 we raised, with many generous contributions.

Please pray for "Renee" and her family. The next couple of months are going to be challenging, even if all goes well. It's a good thing they have a spirit of adventure and a deep faith.


We'll keep you posted when we learn more about how the money is used; in the meantime, you can follow her blog at But By Grace....

A gift for the children of Alex's institution

Hello, everyone.  We have an opportunity and ask for your help.

We have a friend who is going to Ukraine in one month, and will be in the town Alex's institution is in.  She has agreed to carry over money from us (and our friends) and hand it to the director of the institution as a gift for the children there.

When we took Alex home, we left behind more than one hundred children, ages 4-16 (mostly), all with severe disabilities. Some are available for adoption (interested? talk to us!), but many, most, are not.  The director is a very responsible woman who is trying her best to provide care for all these young people, and has done a lot to transform the institution (e.g., adding electricity, planting extensive gardens and orchards, adding playground equipment). But Ukraine does not fund these institutions well, so there is a lot of making do on very low funds--the diet is the diet of the poor, the windows need replacing but that is expensive, any "extras" in that orphanage are usually donated rather than acquired. We donated Alex's care-giving funds (they came from the state with our adoption) to the institution, and the director said she was going to buy meat with it. Meat is rare in the diet of these kids, which is one reason Alex was "morbidly iron-deficient" when we brought him home. The director was very interested in us seeing the receipt, offered that we could come and observe the purchase, etc. This is all to say that the money is needed, it is well spent, and she spends it on the children.

Wiring money to this small town in the middle of nowhere is a lot more difficult than you might imagine (we've done it before). So this is a great opportunity.

We need to get the money to our friend as soon as possible. We will be making a small donation of our own; if you are interested in joining us, you can send donations via the Paypal button on the sidebar or mail it to us at 664 Winona Street, Winona, Minnesota, 55987. We will accept donations until Jan. 24, and then send the money on its way through our friend.

Thanks for even considering this, folks. I'm afraid this isn't the sort of donation you can write off on your taxes, but you can make children in a very difficult situation a little more comfortable and happy. Pass the word if you know someone else who wishes to help.

God bless,
Susan and Jerry

If you want to help...

Check below for the latest exciting post on Alex...but in the meantime, we've had a few people ask what they can do to help out. The short answer is that we're basically fine, although your prayers and words of support are appreciated more than you probably realize. For those of you who want to do something more concretely....

• We're looking for a used jogging stroller, the type with three big wheels that folds up and reclines. This will be Alex's ground transportation until we make other arrangements with his OT. We will purchase this...just let Susan's mom know if you find one (452-5399).
• If you have a bumbo sitting chair (used for infants/young toddlers to help them sit up), we'd love to borrow it for a while.  If you are thinking wait, he's 5 yrs old!-- he is really small and thin, I think it would work for him...sadly. 
• If you have some developmental toys for infants/young toddlers, like stacking rings, or simple wood puzzles, we MAY want it...check in with us when we get home, OK?
• We're looking for 3T clothes, used; if you have extras that you're getting rid of, we might take it.
• You can sign up to bring us a meal on MealTrain.org.
• I suspect that we are going to want to make the house more accessible from the garage by adding some ramps and improving the sidewalk...if you can pitch in on this major project, let me know.
• You can spread the word about the many kids with special needs who need a family in order to avoid a short, boring life in an institution. 
• You can also ask us about how to help the orphanage that Alex has been living in. Wouldn't it be great if we could buy them seven more windows???

Looking for a ride from Winona...

...no, no, no, not all the way to Eastern Europe! Just to the Twin Cities! This would be to catch our flight to Eastern Europe on Tuesday, May 22, at 10:50. The catch...we have to leave around 5:30 a.m.

We're hoping to avoid leaving at 4:30 the previous afternoon on the airport shuttle (which does not leave early enough Tuesday morning). Our trip is going to be long enough already!

In other news...we are packing and preparing like crazy. Things are feeling a little frantic around here, with everything that needs to be done. We'll be posting more once we're actually on Alex's home country's soil. : )

Update: What we need...learning Russian...and what we're reading

We're kind of in a lull in adoption land. Most of the paperwork is off, although those fun-loving bureaucrats like to keep us on our toes by demanding entirely new documents every week or so.

A lot of people have asked what we need right now. Aside from prayers, we are looking for a dining room table that will accommodate eight people. I know, strange request! But we will need the extra room, and those things are expensive. Obviously this is not a pressing need, but it may take some time to find one used locally. So we're asking for helpers...if anyone local sees a decent used dining room table that could accommodate eight, let us know! We will pay for it, we just need extra eyes. We are getting help from a friend who is going to help me modify the boy's room to accommodate Alex -- just some light carpentry work. We're going to need to move things around quite a bit and add a bed underneath our 11-year-old's loft.

Another big need: If you live locally and can be on our "backup helpers" list, we're starting to compile that now. Susan's mom will be coming to stay with the kids for a few weeks while we're in country, and we'd like to have plenty of backup help. This would primarily involve watching the kids once in a while and possibly being available in an emergency (e.g., if Susan's mom gets the flu and needs extra help).

As Susan mentioned, I have been studying Russian as best I can with my busy schedule. You will be glad to know I can now say that I do not speak Russian at least a dozen different ways! All kidding aside, I do think it will be helpful. I can read the Russian alphabet, which is a big help, and I figure I know maybe fifty to seventy-five words, phrases, and sentences. I have a friend of a friend who is a native Russian helping me; plus I have been listening to a Pimsleur audio program, and a "Russian child phrases" CD, and a new CD called "Learn Russian in Your Car" (!) that has a very practical bent. Also, I have been doing LiveMocha as I am able, given my lack of time. Google Translate and the Russian Keyboard have also been helpful. My focus is primarily on basic "getting around" phrases, plus really a lot of phrases that might be helpful for communicating with Alex.

One of the ways we keep our spirits up is to read the adoption blogs being kept by other families who have gone through the adoption process or are going through it now. It is also great preparation, in terms of learning what we might expect. If anyone else wants to follow these to get a bit of a window into our "vicarious" adoption journey, here's what we're reading. I will post these in the sidebar, too.

Bringing Winston Home
This blog is interesting mainly because the couple adopted this past summer from the same city that we're adopting from. In fact, we spent more than an hour talking on the phone with the mom a little while ago, just to figure out what to expect. The blog is no longer updated, but go back to July and you can get a bit of a sense of what it will be like when we go over there. Except that when we go, it won't be July. It will be cold!

Bringing AJ Home
This is the blog of the Putz family, who are adopting AJ -- better known to those who have followed our own adoption journey as "Anthony." They already have an Anthony at home, so they needed to give him a new name! We fund-raised and prayed and prayed for Anthony for many months, so it is heartwarming to read about them finally meeting him, and getting to know him. He has warmed up to his new parents very quickly! Lots of video of them playing with him in the orphanage visiting room. He is an amazing kid who far outshines his severe CP. This is a private blog, but if you want an invitation, e-mail us and we will see whether Leann would be willing to add you. (It is private mostly to avoid spammers.)

Asking with Faith
This is the blog of a remarkable 17-year-old young woman who is VERY passionate about helping kids in need all over the world. She was one of two tireless advocates for Alex, raising money and pleading an praying for an adoptive family. Her own family just adopted a nine-year-old from Bulgaria; scroll back in her blog to November or so to see her story. Joanna is currently preparing to travel to Uganda to work with orphans there -- but she is in need of funding. You can help out by purchasing some of the cool stuff she is selling to raise money (see this post).

Three More Jacobsons
Here's a family that is attempting to adopt three kids! Their process is even more complicated than ours, and there have been lots of ups and downs, but they bring an inspiring faith to the process. Right now they have a great video of the boys practicing for a play -- singing a song, complete with actions, in Russian. Very cute!

The Blessing of Verity
This is the blog by the family that adopted the nine-year-old girl that they've named Katie -- the one who looks like an infant. Two months out from the adoption, they continue to update about her remarkable progress...still fun to pop in on every once in a while.

We're also following more adoption stories on a private Facebook group for families adopting from Alex's home country -- which is just to say that whatever we go through on this journey, others have forged the path already, and are accompanying us, too. (Some of them maybe literally!)