Thursday, May 24, 2012

Rats!

That title is appropriate today, because as we were leaving the apartment this morning, we were greeted by a fat, happy rat in the hallway.  He was crouched in the corner right by the door as we were about to leave, and his beady little eyes were rather intimidating!  I am a wimp of sorts, and so I immediately had goosebumps and was completely grossed out! I stuck close to the wall on the opposite side of him, and didn't take my eyes off him as I walked out....sad to say, as I was walking out he was scurrying up the stairs.  Wish he went the other way, but I have to try not to think about him or where he went, lest I may not sleep here again!!! So gross! In our facilitator's words, "Welcome to Ukraine!"

But "Rats!" is also appropriate sentiment for a hurdle we encountered today.  We were hopeful to make it through this journey without a hitch, but it seems that is not to be!  Our facilitator let us know that there was an ommision in recording when Ruslan's mother lost her parental rights, and his name was not included on the paperwork.  We had to go in to Odessa today to try and straighten that out, and as a result we weren't able to go to the orphanage today. 

This makes me sad for a couple reasons.  Of course, because we weren't able to see Ruslan and the other children.  But mainly because we told him we would be back today.  I even made a point to ask if we would be going to the orphanage today before I told him, so I didn't give him false hope  (No one's fault, the glitch in paperwork couldn't have been anticipated).  But at a time when building trust is crucial, I feel terrible that he sat in that orphanage today waiting for parents that never showed up.  Just part and parcel of his orphanage life.  I understand that the paperwork is the most important thing at this point, and without straightening that out, there is no adoption.  But it breaks my heart to think about him waiting for us, wondering when we'll be there, and perhaps doubting if we're even coming back at all.  The facilitator has assured us he will help us explain tomorrow morning that we got held up getting paperwork fixed, and wanted to be there but couldn't.  I pray that he can understand, and I pray that he can continue to trust and depend on us.  And from now on, when we leave, I'll be saying "See you soon" instead of "See you tomorrow!"

We are also a bit disappointed because it turns out it is going to cost almost double what we were expecting for Bill to stay for the ten day waiting period.  We weren't expecting that cost, but we also don't want to leave Ruslan for ten days after he has gotten used to seeing us regularly.  We have some decisions to make with regards to that.

Please pray that Ruslan's heart is guarded, that he can understand when we are able to explain in the morning, and that the paperwork error is easily correctible without adding too much cost and time to the process.  Pray for us as we make decisions about that ten day period as well.  Thank you so much for being on this journey with us.  Your encouragement, comments, support and love are really helping us get through this time!

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