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