New Year's Eve

Dear Family & Friends...

Seems hard to believe that the new year is only hours away! New Year's here in Ukraine is a much bigger deal than in USA...it is when they give gifts and celebrate until January 7th, which is Christmas on the Orthodox calendar.

The days seem to run together and it is hard to remember what day we are on b/c every morning we wake up and feel like we are in the movie "Groundhog Day"! The weather doesn't change, the market doesn't change, the food doesn't change, the people don't change, the water doesn't change and our routine doesn't change too much! Ha...ha...ha... We are on day 19 now with NO sun...though I don't seem to mind it b/c it flurries or snows lightly each day.

Roma is GREAT! Truly seeing him is the highlight of our days...We are quickly running out new things to do w/him b/c we are only allowed to take him to a couple of different rooms in the orphanage and it is way too cold to take him outside for very long. He seems content just to have us there playing with him. Today Jim had to tell him "no" to something he wanted to do and we saw a "mini-tantrum"--ha...ha...ha....He is even cute when he is having his tantrums! :) He just jumped up and down a bit and gave Jim a few glaring looks, but then caved when Pa-Pa scooped him up in his arms and told him "I love you"--kind of like our Heavenly Father when we are at our worst! We took some good pics of Roma in his modified jacket and new hat--he loved them both! He also liked to wear the bookbag we bought him--like a big boy!

Yesterday proved to be a different day for us (broke the monotony of everything)...in the afternoon we met Albina and her husband, Andre, and they took us for a driving tour of Tulchyn and the surrounding area. It was GREAT! We learned a lot about what the different buildings are for and we got to see the town from a local's perspective. Andre drove us to a dirt road (snow-covered) where we could overlook and see all of Tulchyn--wow! Some of the hills would be great for sledding. He also drove us by the other orphange here in Tulchyn, for children ages 6 and up--it was HUGE!!! Hard to believe that so many children live there...

Later in the evening, after visiting Roma, we took Albina, Andre, "little" Andre and Katya (Albina's mom) out to dinner to the local restaurant--Tulchynka. We had a ball and used Albina's English/Ukrainian dictionary to try to converse with them. Toward the end of our meal, they had the local band dedicate a song to me and Jim and then had us come up and dance with them--fun! We had about seven or eight different "toasts" during our meal. After dinner we headed back to Katya's flat (where Albina, Andre and "little" Andre are living while we live in their flat) for chocolate and talking. We were able to share a little about our faith and ask them some questions about what they believe about Jesus--they were fascinated that we were Presbyterian (never heard of it before). We also learned last night that they had never heard of McDonald's and had never seen or heard of an i-pod before--we played some American music for them from the i-pods that we borrowed from our friends, Jeff & Linda...they loved it and couldn't believe that so many songs and even videos were in these little devices! We had a great time sampling different musical genres before they shared w/us a recent wedding video which we found fascinating. We have really bonded w/these new friends. They have invited us over tonight to celebrate the New Year.

Tomorrow we will also break out of our monotonous routine as, after we visit Roma in the morning, we will head to a nearby town with Ruslan and his family. We will be visiting a local church there as well as an orphange for older children/young adults w/special needs--it is a very difficult place. This orphanage is in Roma's birthtown so we will have some opportunities to snap some pics of the town for posterity. We are looking forward to seeing Ruslan and his family again.

All of my travel arrangements have been made for me to leave and we would so appreciate your prayer that all of the paperwork/documents would be properly completed prior to my departure on Saturday afternoon.

That's all for now...enjoy the pics. We love you and miss you.

Happy New Year!
Love,
Jim & Karen

Pictures and More

Roma and Pa-Pa on the playground

Dinner last night at Ruslan and Archie's house in Vinnytsya--they are raising seven foster children as their own in addition to their two year old daughter, Isabella.

Walking Home to our Flat

"Good Job Roma!"

Roma performing in his New Year's Program

Roma with some of his friends

Roma and Pa-Pa on the Seesaw

Christmas Tree Lot

Karen, Svetlana, and Albina (owner of our flat)

Our Day in Court--Jim, Karen, Social Worker, and Translator

Pa-Pa and Roman playing with a "See-n-Say" (Roman using his feet)

Roman James Weaver!!!!!

Greetings Family & Friends...

It is Thursday (27th) here in Tulchyn and we are overjoyed to share with you that as of Wednesday, December 26th at approximately 2:20 pm we became the proud parents of Roman James Weaver!!

We had our "day in court" yesterday at 2 pm, but we were not able to update yesterday as the internet cafe was closed by the time we had time. Svetlana arrived Christmas evening and we were so glad to see her--please pray for her as she has not been feeling too well. She informed us that our court appointment would be at 2:00 and so yesterday we got up and went to see Roma like normal. Then we came back and got ourselves together for the walk to the court house.

We crossed over the "main street" here in Tulchyn and found ourselves on some muddy back alley-type road and walked through an old gate to a very OLD building--it did not look at all like a courthouse, but it was! :) The judge was ready and waiting for us...we met our translator (an older gentleman named Michael--he was cute!) and the social worker and headed into the courtroom. It really looked like a courtroom--complete with a makeshift jail cell and everything! The whole proceding took less than 30 minutes and the judge was very gracious to us and granted us permission to be Roman's parents after asking us 2 questions: 1) Why did we want to adopt a boy such as Roman w/so many needs and 2) How much money did we make?! ha...ha...ha...Jim responded to the judge w/such love in his voice describing how we had even learned of Roman and how our hearts had fallen in love "with such a boy" and how it was our greatest joy to be his parents! It was great! The prosceuting attorney had no objection to our adoption--and that was it! Short and sweet. By the way, the judge was not able to grant us a waiver of our 10 day waiting period--which we were prepared for. There are good reasons for this 10 day waiting period given all of the corruption in some of the courts in Ukraine.

As we were leaving the courtroom a group of men walked in--a police officer, a guy in a suit and a guy in handcuffs! They put him right in the holding cell...Svetlana became anxious immediately and told us to hightail it out of there--and so we did.

After we returned to our flat we began to make preparations for my return home to Delaware and Jim's stay here in Ukraine. Here are our tentative plans: 1) We will return together to Kiev on January 3rd to meet w/some officials at the U.S. Embassy. This is a very important meeting as I have to make sure that all of my documents needed for Roma's sake are complete and that all power of attorney has been given to Jim. 2) Our brother-in-law, Matt (Wendy's husband) will arrive in Kiev on Saturday the 5th at approx. 10 am. He will take my place and help Jim complete the process and bring Roma home. 3) I will fly out of Kiev on the 5th and arrive in Philly on the same day in the evening. Once home I have a lot of work to do to get things in order for Jim & Roma's homecoming and try to help the children prepare for their new brother and how life will be different. 4) Jim and Matt will head back to Tulchyn on the 5th. 5) On January 8th the 10 day waiting period is over and Jim & Matt will go w/Svetlana to a Roma's birthtown to acquire a copy of his birthcertificate. 6) On the 9th (or maybe late on the 8th) Jim, Matt & Svetlana will head to Vinnytsya to secure a passport for Roma. 7) HOPEFULLY on the 10th they will all--including Roma--head to Kiev for all the U.S. Embassy appointments--doctor, visa, etc. 8) And, they should leave Ukraine for the U.S.A. on Thursday, January 17th!!! This would put Jim and Roma home not quite 10 days ahead of last year's schedule.

This sounds pretty straightforward, but it is not in any way shape or form. First, there are a lot of details for us to take care of before I can leave... a lot! Please pray for each detail and that we would be able to complete everything before I leave. Second, this decision for me to travel home has been a very painful one! We both know that it is important for me to return home and care for the kids, but Roma is very attached to me and my heart just aches thinking about not being w/him every day. This decision has not been an easy one. Third, Jim and Matt have a lot to do starting on the 8th and they will need energy and patience as they go from place to place and then take Roma from the only home he has ever known. It will be emotional for sure! Fourth, traveling to Kiev is a long trip and Roma has never been to such a city or traveled for so long...it will be an adventure, but it has the potential to be very hard! Please pray now for Roma's heart and the changes that are just around the corner. Pray for Jim to have the strength he needs and for Matt to be a great source of encouragement for Jim.

We are headed to Ruslan's today for dinner and also to have some documents notarized and translated. We are looking forward to fellowship w/them and are so grateful for their willing hearts to come alongside of us.

We ended up staying in Tulchyn for Christmas, as we were unsure of exactly when the court appointment would take place--too much up in the air. It was nice...we went to the orphanage and then rested for a bit and then counted the hours down until we could call home. After all of our phone calls, Albina (owner of the flat we are staying in) came over with a wonderful meal for us! It was very nice...we were missing home, but felt such peace. Thanks for your prayers.

Whew...this is a long update! Hope you all are well...We love and miss you! Keep pressing on!

Love,

Jim & Karen

Christmas Eve

Dear Family & Friends...

Well, it is hard to believe that Christmas Eve has finally arrived. Aside from the bone-chilling cold it doesn't feel much like Christmas--kind of a good thing being so far from home. Many times today our minds have turned toward home and all of you and our hearts are overflowing with love and thankfulness as we think of you and pray for you.

There is not a whole lot to report on today...We are hoping that Svetlana will return sometime today or this evening with our official letter from Kiev giving us the "green light" for our court appointment. She is still very hopeful that we will be in court tomorrow...we will be sure to let you know if that happens!

We've been invited to spend Christmas Day w/Ruslan and his family in Vinnytsya tomorrow and we are very much looking forward to spending time w/our new friends. Ruslan has offered to come pick us up and bring us back--an hour each way!

We will be meeting w/Taras & Dr. Jim Piepon on Wednesday here in Tulchyn to discuss the upcoming medical education trip. We are excited for this visit and looking forward to spending time w/these men and will be visiting Roma's orphanage w/them as well.

We have been going to the orphanage 2 times each day (morning and late afternoon)...it has been wonderful to be w/Roma each day...last night he did not want to stay w/his workers when we left. He just lights up from ear to ear when we walk in and he gets so excited and runs over to me and signals w/his hands for me to pick him up. He has been impressing us w/both his physical and mental agility--doing things w/his feet that are simply amazing! Today we noticed that he had some sores on the side of his mouth--looks like it could be Herpes. He also has many sores on his legs that look like they could be Scabies...it is sad to see him w/all of these sores and not know how he got them or being able to alleviate any discomfort.

Today was particularly fun as we took him into another building for some "alone" time and while there Jim pulled out his cell phone and turned on the different ring tones for Roma to hear. Well, he loved it and he and Jim danced all around--too bad we didn't get it on video. :) Roma LOVES music!! Every time we start to sing to him he runs over and practically throws himself on my lap so he can listen to the songs...very cute.

The other day when we arrived the children were outside taking a walk around some of the buildings and they all started shouting when we walked up behind them. It was so cold but they didn't seem to mind. Roma was so excited that he practically slipped on the ice to get to Jim! We played outside for a bit w/them and some of the other kids let Jim hold them, while I held Roma.

As we left the orphanage today we felt heavy-hearted. After being here for a little more than a week you start to pick up on the monotony and emptiness of life here. The children do the same things day in and day out and have very little to look forward to. Their lives are lived in 3 rooms--one to sleep, one to eat and one to play. The work crew last night actually made the children sit on the little benches while they watched one of their adult nighttime TV shows--one of the ladies kept making the children be absolutely quiet and still so she could hear the TV. I had to interrupt her "TV time" to tell her that Roma needed to go to the bathroom and she just looked so put out...thankfully the older lady in the room jumped and seemed ready to help. It made us sad to think that the other woman was so absorbed by the TV that she was oblivious to the needs of 15 3-4 year olds!! They all sat so still and quiet...Jim and I actually thought at one point that we would ask if we could play w/them and take them off her hands for a bit, but we knew that would not go over so well. It has also been hard to be here b/c we see the needs that Roma has and we know that he needs to be seen at home asap...the sores, his teeth, his hearing, his eating needs, and on and on.

We have been missing our children more than we can say today...longing for them! We are proud of them and thank God for His faithfulness to them so far during this journey. Please continue to pray for them as they celebrate another Christmas w/out mommy and daddy.

Please continue to pray for us and the process here...pray for the court apppointment and the judge that will preside over our case. Pray for our 10-day waiting period to be waived in light of Roma's needs.

We love you! Merry Christmas!
Love,
Jim and Karen

Day 5 in Tulchyn

Hi Family & Friends...

We hope you all are doing well and enjoying the time as the Christmas holiday draws near! We are good and are missing you all so much. We spoke w/some of the kids yesterday afternoon (about 11:30 pm our time) and that was wonderful! It was great to hear their voices...Georgia said she misses Roman already. :)

Well, yesterday and today we visited the orphanage and spent some good QT w/Roma. Last night, after dinner we walked over and spent a little more time. He is so happy to see us when we come. Today, we played in his "pod" a good part of the time and he was very protective to not let the other children get too close to me--he doesn't seem to want to share his ma-ma! He is very comfortable w/both of us and lets us both hold him and hug on him...

Jim did some "tricks" for the kids today--he got them to sit down and then he walked on his hands for them! They were going crazy after that...one boy was so freaked out by it that he started to cry! ha! ha! ha! Then Jim called them over one at a time and he helped them do forward rolls--even Roma did one! The children loved it...

We saw Roma help set the tables w/another girl, Natasha, today and he did a great job. We also saw him clean up some toys and put things in their proper places--wow! He is so smart...He is a joy and delight to go visit every day...Last night we saw him do some pretty amazing things w/his feet--throwing blocks back into their bin from a great distance...amazing! We look forward to our "orphanage time" w/such great joy every day...the workers have been pretty agreeable toward us and have been helpful and very kind--an answer to prayer!

We received word today from Svetlana, in Kiev, that we will receive our court permission paper on Monday (24th) and she thinks that we will have our court appointment on Christmas Day!!! This is great news...that means that we are ahead of where we originally thought we would be at this time and we are WAY ahead of the game compared to last year this time.

Keep praying about the 10-day waiting period to be waived...as we have said before it is very RARE but Roma's social worker and Svetlana both agree that we must ask. It is up to the judge whether or not to waive that waiting time...pray for his heart to be moved w/compassion and that the Lord would put it on his heart! Nothing is too hard for our great God!!

By the way, the water situation is MUCH better :) and the food has been great! It has been SUPER cold here w/no sun the entire time we've been in Ukraine...maybe we will get some more snow! :) We love you all very much and are thankful for your love and support and prayers...

Love,

Karen & Jim

St. Nicholas Day!

Greetings Family & Friends...

Today is St. Nicholas Day here in Ukraine--a day of gift-giving in honor of the 3rd century Saint, Nicholas. It was on this day exactly one year ago that we were shown the picture of our Nicholas and so this is a special day for us.

Svetlana had told us that there would be a St. Nicholas Day Celebration at Roma's orphanage this morning and so we went around 10 am. We were able to play w/him in a separate room for a bit & then we were invited to come back to the larger room where there was the most adorable little celebration. There was a lady playing piano and the children sang songs and recited things about St. Nicholas and then one of the workers came in dressed as St. Nicholas--they were all mesmorized! There were also some important guests visiting today--some men who had donated things for the children...they were curious to know who we were...we could make out that Maria (Director) was telling them who we were and why we were there. They even played musical chairs w/the children! Roma was so cute to watch--he was fascinated by some Christmas lights that were blinking near him...all the children received a box of treats and 2 clementines. After the celebration they allowed us to play for a while longer w/him in the other room and we were allowed to feed him his treats--he has a sweet tooth!

He loved playing w/the toys we brought and actually let me hold him and sing a few songs to him. At one point he layed back while I sang "Jesus loves me"...it was cute. He even tried to say a few words. A little while later there were some more visitors to the orphanage and they brought toys! Once Roma saw the car that was being offered to him he wanted to play w/it so Jim opened it for him...well, this kind of shook things up a bit. As soon as the donor left the room the workers scooped up all the unopened toys (except Roma's) and put them up--there were several children who just cried--my heart broke for them! They whisked them off to another room while Jim played a little "soccer" w/Roma--he laughed out loud most of this time and seemed to really enjoy playing w/Pa-pa! Then it was time to go as he and the other children had to eat lunch and take a nap--a big day for them. It was clear when Jim told him that he had to go that he did not want to go w/the worker...Jim had to take him into the other room and leave him there.

Last night was a full night...as I said yesterday we were headed back to Vinnytsya w/Svetlana and Ruslan. We had to see a notary there as the ones here would not help Svetlana w/her paperwork--not sure why (i lost it in the translation). The notary in Vinnytsya was very helpful and even remained open to help us...she is actually a friend of Ruslan's! Before traveling back to Tulchyn Ruslan took us to his home for dinner where we met his wife (American), 6 foster children and his biological daughter (Isabella--2 1/2 years)...at one time they had 10 foster children. They run a home for children and hope to take in many more and give them the love of a family. They are unable to afford to adopt them all, but they feel that these children are theirs and raise them as such. We enjoyed the fellowship and food and know that we will see them again soon in the coming days. They have given us an open invitation to come and stay or just visit and eat. They live entirely by faith, like a modern-day-Ukrainian George Mueller! Jim asked him if he had ever heard of Mueller and indeed he had but only in a limited manner--he was encouraged by the things Jim told him. Jim has been very encouraged spending time w/Ruslan.

Now we are off to find some lunch...we are in an internet cafe and are unable to log onto our email addresses for now, so we might try again later. We love and miss you all so much. Please pray for Svetlana as she is meeting w/the judge right now to lay the ground work for our upcoming court appointment (don't know when that is yet) and she will head back to Kiev tonight to give our paperwork to the officials there. Pray for God's continued favor, for a quick court date and MAYBE even to have our 10 day waiting period waived!!! Pray boldly! Talk to you soon...

Love,

Karen & Jim

Day Two in Tulchyn

Dear Family & Friends,

It is another cold day here in Ukraine w/a few flurries here and there. Svetlana left without us this morning to take care of some important errands and so Jim and I were able to relax a little. However, the relaxing came to an end when I tried to take a “shower”.

In order for us to have water we have to turn it on, but once it is on it doesn’t just heat on it’s own, we have to light the gas to heat the water. “No problem” Jim told me…ha! Ha! Ha! I stood at the side of the tub waiting for the “rush” of water but it never really came—a very slow and tiny trickle came out of the old faucet…After Jim tried several times to light the “heater” I just gave up and jumped in while there was at least a little trickle—let’s just say it was colder than ice! J After a few more minutes of trying, the water-heater clicked on but only for about 30 seconds…at least it was warm for 30 seconds! I shivered for a while after that but once we got moving I was warm again. Needless to say I did not wash my hair today…all you ladies w/short hair will understand my hair woes today! Ha! Ha! Ha!—it is good to laugh.

After a while we heard from Svetlana that we needed to head back to Vinnytsya later today to the notary’s office as the notary here would not help her at all. Ruslan should be here any time to take us there and back, fill in as our translator at the notary’s office and he knows the notary—what a blessing this brother in Christ is! She also told us to walk to the orphanage and see Roma since we won’t be back for a while…

So, that’s what we did. When we entered his room he was being fed and the other children were sitting there eating too…it was neat to see some of the kids that the team from our church had seen this summer (apparently little David was adopted recently!!!). Before the second part of his meal, one of the caregivers came over and offered for me to feed Roma the rest of his lunch—I was delighted! He did so good…everytime I looked down to get another spoonful of food for him I could see him, out of the corner of my eye, staring at me…He also really stared at Jim—we think he is remembering “the man” from this summer who came for a visit. After lunch, we got to play with him for just a little while before his nap—it was wonderful! We had brought a little educational toy from home and thought it would be a good challenge for him, but he mastered it right away and he wanted to do it over and over. It was adorable. Jim and I were remembering how Georgia has prayed for him to learn how to use his hands and we saw firsthand that the Lord has answered her faithful prayers. The caregivers allowed us to put him in his bed for his nap—he loved that (and so did we). We are hoping that we will be back w/enough time for us to go back to see him tonight…we’ll see.

As far as the paperwork is concerned…things are plugging along. Many neat things have happened so far along the way, but pray that the Lord would continue to go before us w/His favor. Svetlana is hopeful that she will return to Kiev tomorrow w/our paperwork and then we will have to wait for a court date from the judge—pray for the judge to grant us an early court hearing. She said that it usually takes 5 days or more just to hear about a court date…Keep praying for the impossible, as only God can bring about that which is impossible. Thank you for your faithful prayers…He hears!

We are doing fine…excited and filled w/joy to see and be w/Roman, but still longing for our family and the comforts of home J. We think of you all so often and miss you more than we can say… We love you!

Love,
Karen & Jim

We Are In Tulchyn

We left at 9:30 a.m. from Kiev and drove 4 hours to the town of Vinnytsia where we changed drivers and also picked up the orphanage director who was at a conference there. Our new driver was a Christian man who spends his time caring for orphans and had actually been to Roman's orphange before and was headed there with a load of gifts and supplies. He drove us to Tulchyn with the director and our facilitator. We arrived in Tulchyn around 3:30 p.m. and where able to meet with Roman’s social worker and begin the process of paper work. Then we went to the orphanage around 5:30 and spent 40 minutes with Roman before his bedtime.

The Lord answered all our prayer. He took to us right away and especially likes his mommy.

Tomorrow we have appt at 8 a.m. with social worker.

Please pray for the following:

• All paper work completed tomorrow. (Which would be a miracle).
• Our facilitator Svetlana will talk to the judge personally tomorrow to try and set-up an early appointment.
• Begin to pray for the passport process for Roman.
• Praise the Lord Roman is recovering well from his surgery and doing well. He seems to be bonding with us.

We'll write again when we can.

Blessings,

Jim and Karen

Getting Ready to Go!

Greetings Family and Friends…

I (Karen) am blogging for us tonight…well, we have just finished packing up our things for our early morning departure tomorrow morning to Tulchyn. We figured we better pack tonight so we don’t leave anything behind. It has been a quiet day for us…we got up this morning and Jim made a nice breakfast—cheese omelets, toast w/strawberry preserves and o.j.—it was great! We then headed off to church while all of you were fast asleep. It was a brisk walk for us and a little slippery as things are kind of frozen around here. We enjoyed church very much and got to see some familiar faces of folks that we met last year at this time, as well as some new ones. One of the pastoral apprentice guys we met last year was being ordained today and so that was really special. We also got to meet another missionary family who have only been in Kiev for about 4 weeks, but they are not new to the mission field, just Ukraine. They were really nice and also have 2 adopted daughters…I especially enjoyed talking w/the wife!

After church we went out for a long lunch/dinner with a doctor-friend and his wife (Jim and Maryanna) that we had met here last year. Jim really wanted to talk to him about some upcoming medical trips that are in the “works”. It was great just sitting and talking w/this couple about their life and how they ended up in Ukraine. They took us to this neat little restaurant and we both tried some new and interesting food. Jim and I both had “pancakes stuffed w/chicken, mushrooms and onions”—they were delicious! I was quite surprised how much I enjoyed it. Jim also enjoyed a nice Greek salad while I ventured out and had “pancakes stuffed w/bananas, covered in a warm chocolate sauce for dessert”—Yum! It was sooooo good…I could have had a second, but didn’t want to seem piggish! Ha! Ha! Ha! We left the restaurant and headed back here to the flat where we have been packing and are waiting for Helen to arrive w/some important documents for us to travel to Tulchyn tomorrow. The walk back was quite brisk-I think it is about 19 degrees or so out there—cold! We had some snow flurries a little while ago, but it has all stopped.

I forgot to mention that while we were out to lunch/dinner our friends mentioned that they had a friend in the nearby town of Vinnytsya (about 1 hour north of Tulchyn) who is a believer and who would be a good contact for us if we needed a driver for anything or if we needed a translator, as his eldest daughter is college age and available and speaks good English! He also told us that this guy (Ruslan) has about 10 foster kids!!! WOW! But wait, there is more…while were sitting there our friend, Jim, gave Ruslan a call, as we will be in need of a larger vehicle tomorrow b/c once we get to Vinnytsya we will be picking up the director of Roman’s orphanage there (I forgot to mention that) and the car will be too small w/us, Svetlana, the Director, our driver AND our luggage! So, after Jim got done talking to Ruslan he told us that not only would Ruslan be able to help us w/transportation BUT he knew of Roman’s orphanage and has been there many times and was planning on going there tomorrow already!!! Talk about amazing…he is even hoping to foster about 6 kids from Roman’s orphanage…he also said that he has seen Roman before and knew exactly who were going to adopt! We were just floored…and it’s great b/c he speaks English very well! God continues to put puzzle pieces together all over the place…He is amazing!

Here is how you can be praying for us:

1) For a safe trip tomorrow…as of right now we are still planning on leaving sometime between 5:00-6:00 am…it is about a 3 hour drive or so to Vinnytsya and then a little over an hour to Tulchyn…we are not sure of road conditions so pray for safety.

2) We have a meeting tomorrow w/an “inspector”—kind of like a social worker—who will issue us a letter to go to Roman’s orphanage—pray for God’s favor and that he/she would be willing and wanting to get this done in a timely manner

3) As I said already, we are picking up Roman’s orphanage Director and will be traveling for about an hour w/her…pray again for God’s favor and that she will be desirous to help us get all paperwork underway QUICKLY and that she would be agreeable to help in whatever way she can. Pray that we will be able to show her the love of Christ, not just in word but in deed.

4) Pray for our living arrangements…not sure what they will be yet. I only asked that it be warm, have an inside potty and shower and that Jim not get asthma. Also, pray for someone to be willing to come and cook for us since there are NO restaurants in Tulchyn—so long as they don’t cook tongue, animal organs or pig’s feet! J ha! Ha! Ha!

5) Pray for us and Roman as tomorrow we will be reunited! WOW—it has been a long time coming.

6) Continue to pray for our children…and those caring for them.

We are not sure what kind of communication we will have once in Tulchyn so we will update when we can (you could pray for that too). We miss you all so much and love you and are so very thankful for your faithful prayers on our behalf…God is good—all the time!

Love and blessings,

Karen and Jim

Great Appointment

Dear Family and Friends,

We woke up this morning after a good sleep to find it still snowing. It really is beautiful!

Our driver picked us up at 9:30 am to take us to our scheduled appointment at the National Adoption Center here in Kiev. There was no running down the street in our dress up clothes this time, in fact we arrived 15 minutes early and had plenty of time to debrief with our facilitator, Helen, before being called up to our appointment.

At exactly 10:00am a young woman came out to meet us and took us back to our appointment and Helen was allowed to come with us—good news. At our appointment last year our facilitator was not allowed to attend our appointment with us. After some initial greetings the young government-appointed psychologist asked us to take a seat. She asked us how Nicholas was doing and then proceeded to show us Roman’s file and abbreviated history. She told us that everyone at the department was excited about our being able to adopt Roman and that she was sure Roman would have a happy life in our home. We learned that Roman’s mother’s name is Angel and his father’s name is Oleg. Roman’s parents are married and living in a small town not too far from Tulchyn. They were not prepared to handle his special needs. We are unsure at this time whether or not Roman has any other living siblings. The whole appointment lasted about 20 minutes!!!

Toward the end of the meeting the young woman told us that we would be able to receive our Letter of Direction allowing us to travel to Tulchyn and begin the adoption process between 4-5pm TODAY. This is GREAT News since usually the Department of Adoption does not issue these letters until at least the following business day, which would be Monday late afternoon.

What all this means is that we will be leaving Kiev at 5am on Monday morning which is 11:00pm Sunday night in the states. Once we arrive in Tulchyn around 9 am we will first meet with an “inspector” who will issue us another letter to go to the orphanage. Hopefully, the director of the orphanage, Maria, will begin her portion of the paper work later on Monday so that we can have our court appointment asap. We learned today that more than likely there will only have to be one court appointment for Roman’s adoption—Yea!!! We will know more once we get to Tulchyn, but are not certain what our internet capabilities will be.

We feel the power of many people’s prayers on our behalf both here and in the US. God has already been so gracious to us. Last night was especially hard for Karen as she was missing the girls and Nicholas terribly. Today, however, is better already.

Tonight we will be having dinner with Eric and Lauren Huber who are friends and missionaries working here with Mission to the World. We are hoping to meet up with other friends who are in the process of adopting right now later in the weekend.

Please pray for the following:

1) Pray that the days would go quick

2) Pray that our times of prayer and study would be rich and that we would sense the Lord’s nearness to us.

3) Pray for the girls and Nicholas who, at last check, were doing fine.

4) Pray for our ride out to Tulchyn on Monday morning as the roads are down to single lane in some parts because of the snow. The ride out is normally about 4 hours.

5) Pray for the appointment in Tulchyn with the “inspector”.

6) Pray for the orphanage director and staff to be our advocates.

We will write more when we can.

Love and Blessings,

Jim and Karen Weaver

We Made It!!!

Dear Friends and Family,

We made it safely to Ukraine! I lost my jacket (either left it behind or had it stolen) in Kennedy Airport. This was not a good thing since we arrived to find the weather very cold and very snowy. The weather was so bad that it took us about two hours to make the short drive from the airport to our apartment in Kiev. We stopped to buy a replacement coat on the way to the apartment. We are staying just a few block from the church where we have worshipped here in Kiev and our surroundings are pretty familiar. When we arrived at our apartment we found Taras, friend and director of Bethany Social Services in Ukraine, here waiting for us. Taras took us down to a small market around the corner to buy some groceries for the next couple of days. I learned today that Taras’ wife needed surgery last week and has been in a hospital in Vinytsa since that time. He made the trip into Kiev today to welcome us and is on his way back now.

Our official appointment is tomorrow at the adoption center. We will probably be in Kiev over the weekend and head off to Tulchyn to see Roman on Monday or Tuesday. It is looking more and more likely that we will be staying in an apartment in Tulchyn.

We are tired but in good spirits. The apartment is comfortable.

Blessings,

Jim and Karen

Here We Go Again!

Dear Friends and Family,

It is nearly midnight and we are packed and things are finally winding down after a busy night. Mom and Dad Weaver moved into our home tonight. It was the same time last year that Mom and Dad Weaver moved into our home to a watch the girls while we headed off to Ukrain for the adoption of Nicholas. The girls and Nicholas opened their stockings tonight since we will be away from them through Christmas. This was Nicholas' first taste of Christmas as a Weaver and he was thrilled. After pulling out the first gift very delicately he realized that he could just dump out the stocking's contents. Dad Weaver brought over a stuffed Santa Bear that moves while recounting the night of Jesus' birth. Nicholas was entranced by the speaking Santa Bear. After some words of encouragment and a teary bedtime the house is quiet.

We fly from Philadelphia to JFK tomorrow at 2:00. We leave JFK later tomorrow afternoon on a non-stop flight to Kiev, Ukraine. Our flight arrives at 10:00am on Thursday morning (which is around 3:00am your time).

Here is how you can pray for us:

1) Pray for our girls and Nicholas in our absence.
2) Pray for all of our family and friends who will be looking after our children for the next
several weeks.
3) Pray for safe travel on the road and in the air. Pray that we would have no airport glitches.
4) Pray for our important appointment at the Stated Department for Children, Youth, and
Sports in Kiev on Friday. This appointment should be a formality because they know we are
coming to adopt Roman.
5) Pray for our decision on where to stay once we leave Kiev early next week. We have to decide
whether or not it is best for us to stay near the orphanage in a local apartment or in the
nearest modernized city about an hour away from the orphanage.
6) Pray for fruitful meetings over the weekend with Orphan Care workers as we discuss further
projects and work in 2008.

Blessings,

Jim and Karen Weaver

The Call

Dear Friends and Family,

On Tuesday, November 28th, we received “the call” to come get Roman! It has taken us two years to get to this place. At times it seemed as though the road was too hard, but God was always faithful to provide streams in the desert. This is the end of a long journey filled with hard times and unexpected surprises. We will depart from Philadelphia on December 12th and will return sometime in January. The entire process is taking anywhere from 4-8 weeks. Karen will most likely return home after our first court appointment and I will remain until the adoption is finalized and we are permitted to leave. It looks like my brother-in-law Matt will be traveling over to spend some of the time with me and if the timing works out just right to help me bring Roman home.

We sat the girls down last night and told them about the news. Lauren and Georgia were sad that we would not be with them for a second consecutive Christmas, but all of the girls were excited that the brother for whom they have been praying will finally be coming home. God has used these last couple of years to mold and shape the character of our girls and teach them that our God is a prayer hearing God. There have been so many seemingly miraculous answers to prayer.

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to bring this little one home. Keep our girls and Nicholas in your prayers both in our absence and through the transition of a new brother.

That’s all for now! Praise the Lord.

Blessings,

Jim, Karen, and family