A New Direction

After much prayer and research, we believe God is leading us to turn our adoption focus to Ethiopia. We have re-applied to our adoption agency and are waiting to get notice of acceptance into the Ehthiopia program. It is so weird that we're starting all over again. Oi. We're supposed to be getting some money back from our facilitator in Ukraine. Please pray that everything goes smoothly with that. I must say that a one-week stay in a warm country is a nice adjustment, as are many other aspects of Ethiopian adoption. We'll keep you posted on any further developments. Jump over to our new blogsite as we chronicle our journey to Ethiopia:
http://hollandadoptiontake2.blogspot.com

Gina

Disembarking from the Ukraine Train

Over the past couple months we have been following blogs of people going over to Ukraine to adopt children. As we've been watching many stories play out we've noticed that it has become increasingly difficult to move forward in that country if you want a young child under the age of 4. Just recently, a family that is working with the same agency we are, went over and spent 5+ weeks chasing down multiple referrals only to return home without a child. We were following another family via their blog that is from Florida and they also returned home without a child after multiple jacked up referrals.

So, about two weeks ago we began praying to see if God wanted us to continue with Ukraine or head a different direction by seeking another country or possibly domestic. We have been asking for clarity and wisdom and that God would be clear in His leading.

God could have spelled it out in my Alphabits, but instead He chose a different, less freaky way. Wednesday I (David) got a call from the Eastern Europe program director from our agency and she informed me that the State Department of Adoption in Ukraine would not be accepting our updated documents and that we could re-submit our dossier in 2009 with the slim possibility of receiving a healthy referral for a little girl under 5. Apparently the word coming from Ukraine is that they have no healthy children under age 8 available. It's not true, but that's the party line. She went on to say that if we chose to stay in the program that they would support that decision and assist in any way they can, but she did not recommend it based on what has been transpiring over there. She has never been this direct in her counsel, but it has never been this bad in Ukraine either.

So, later on today we're going to call her and officially remove ourselves from the Ukraine program. It's a very odd feeling because for the last 18 months we've been all amped up to adopt a little girl from there and now that is not going to happen. It's sad because we KNOW there is a little girl over there that would match our request. But, there is some relief as well because neither of us wanted to go back there for so long and get yanked all over the place jumping through all the hoops you have to and still likely coming home childless.

Please pray for us as we back everything up and start from square one. We're not sure which road to take, but we clearly see that God has stopped the Ukraine Train and it is time to disembark. Thanks for following our story, we'll keep you posted on the next step!

Waiting for Little Sissy

Davi has a little notebook (she calls it her diary) that she scribbles in from time to time. This picture was her most recent add. Mind you, there's not a lot of detail as there are with many of her pics--just a quick draw. I asked her about the picture. She said it's Little Sissy inside the orphanage. She's sitting waiting for us. I'm glad to see she has a smile on her face.

A few weeks ago Davi offered to give us money to help with the adoption. She's so funny and such a sweety.

Despite the fact that she's excited to get a sister, she's doing quite well with the wait. Actually, all three of us are feeling at peace about being put on hold as we're watching some messiness happen in Ukraine. We're hoping there as some good changes (and warm weather) in the near future that are timed perfectly with our return. Whatever the case, we know our God is capable of anything, and we're so grateful to be in His wise care.

Gina

March 7th

Our facilitator was not given an invitation this week for us to return for a second appointment. Go figure. He was told that invitations might come next week. Anyone want to place a bet?

Oh well, this is not our biggest concern right now. We just got word of a family who is returning home without a child. They had received three referrals (we've been told you only get two) and went to three regions only to be going home with no child.

We're also hearing of other families who are refusing first referrals, but we haven't gotten to see what is happening at second appointments yet.

We're trusting God's will in all this. Thanks for your prayers. Please pray that we would see God move to release more orphans.

Gina

Still No Appointment, but...

This morning we got an email from our family coordinator. Our facilitator, Yuri, did not receive an invitation for us, but he was told by SDA staff that they are working on invitations for all second appointment families. Yuri expects that we will be invited for April, possibly March, and that we will likely have notification of an appointment date next week. We'll see. God's timing, right?

The spring would be a great time to go, weather-wise. If we go this spring, please pray that we can get to Ukraine and back before Davi finishes school. It would be really nice if she could finish kindergarten and do all the end-of-the year activities with her class.

Gina

Hopefully new info on Friday!

We got a call from our adoption agency family coordinator today. Our facilitator in Ukraine, Yuri, got to meet with someone from the SDA. They told him that this Friday they will have an official letter of invitation for us to return to Ukraine for our second appointment. It is not clear as to whether there will be a specific return date in the letter. I hope it's not just a letter vaguely saying they will have us back sometime. We'll let you know if we do actually get the letter on Friday and what's in it!
Thanks for your prayers!
Gina

Forgotten Yet Fingerprinted

We got fingerprinted for the third time today...you know, just in case something has changed since the last two times we were fingerprinted. If I'm sounding cynical...well then you get my vibe. This was an update to the fingerprints we got last year about this time for the state of Nebraska. The FBI had to have their own set for the USCIS stuff--why they can't share is beyond me.

We're a little concerned that they won't be processed in time for our home study to be updated before the original one expires. Not much we can do about it, though. Of course we're praying.

In the meantime, we're feeling forgotten. I was just on the FRUA website, viewing some previous chats. The only other families, except for our new friends the Reeds and us, that I've come across who are waiting for second appointments are from Germany. At least one of them has been waiting since October. If anyone has heard of someone who was sent home and then returned for a second appointment, please let me know. It seems we've been forgotten by the SDA. They seem to have just gone on with business as usual, just like we never happened. At their first appointments, families have been getting children that we would have gladly welcomed. From a faith perspective, I know those children were not meant for us, but it's still hard to be waiting because "there are no children that match our request." I don't know what they plan to do with all of us who are waiting, or if they plan to do anything. Very frustrating. So we continue to do things like get our fingerprints updated because we're still hoping.

We're tired. We can't wait to have a face to put with all the preparation; then we'll say, "It was all worth it!" But right now, we don't have that face. I admit, I'm having a hard time keeping my focus on Christ without a wandering glance at my circumstances. I'm hoping for the time that we can look back on this and see God's fingerprints all over it. And I'm clinging to the fact that, in Christ, we are never forgotten.

Gina

Anyone?

I'm curious, have any of you heard of someone else who was sent home after a fruitless first appointment and is waiting to return to Ukraine for a second one? Other than our friends the Reeds and us, I have not been able to find anyone else in this situation. Yet, we were told at the SDA that over 100 people were in line ahead of us to be called back for a second appointment. I realize this includes hopeful adopters from other countries as well, but I have my doubts that the list is really that long. Let us know what you know!

Gina

Blood Work and Med Forms...Again

After getting our lab results back (you'll be happy to know we are still free from Hepatitis B, Syphilis, and HIV), we went in to get our medical forms updated. (Since our adoption hasn't been completed yet, we're having to make sure all forms in our dossier stay current.)

You may remember last year it was a major hassle to get these filled out correctly by the doctors and nurse staff. It took several tries (mainly by my doctor), and after finally getting it done right, I got a bill for $100--just for having the paper signed, in addition to what we paid for physicals, blood work, and all that. One of my big fears was having to re-do this form, and low and behold, we had to re-do it.

We went in yesterday, and thankfully it was a breeze! We both went to David's doctor this time, and he was very careful to make sure all the details were just right. He even walked down to the pharmacy with us to make sure it was notarized correctly by the notary-pharmacist, and let us carefully watch the process. Thank God for Dr. Bott! And for something smooth in this volatile process!

This week in Omaha, we'll be in the single digits. This makes Ukraine's 30's sound balmy. We know it's different when you have to be out in it, though. We're thankful to be able to go from building to car to building. We are so blessed here!

Gina

God sets the lonely in families

That's how Psalm 68:6 begins: "God sets the lonely in families..."
We are so thankful for the opportunity to be the family that a lonely child will be set into. Even though our little girl may be excited to come home with us, I doubt she has any idea what she's really missing in a family.

I think this could be said of a lot of people. And not just orphans.

He sets the lonely in families. We were reminded of this truth again this weekend. Our church family (Heartland Church) donated their hard-earned money to provide us with a really nice Christmas bonus. This follows the recent collection gathered for Pastor Appreciation in October. I believe the first gift toward our adoption came last year (2006) in the form of a Christmas bonus. Throughout 2007, we watched the church adoption fund (originated by our good friend and worship pastor Matt) grow beyond our expectations. In addition to financing, Heartland has been a huge support through prayer and encouraging words. I don't know what we'd do without this family!

For nearly our whole married life, we have lived far away from any biological family. Needless to say, there have been many lonely times. But thankfully, God sets the lonely in families. He continues to build us up through the Church around us, as well as through the larger Church family--friends/family from all over who have supported us. I don't know how many times this year I've thanked God for the Church. And I don't plan to stop any time soon.

Gina

Necessities

We know that many of you are reading this blog b/c you're also in the process of adoption. As you're preparing to bring home your child, you'll probably remember things like clothes and bedding. But I want to stress how important it is that you also remember music. Afterall, music is one way to help your child grow artistically. With that in mind, we'd like to recommend this option...you can thank us later.

(If you're not really interested in kids music, you'll want to watch too. This could change your mind.)

Pointless Meeting

Our facilitator Yuri did meet with the Deputy Minister. However, "they were not very helpful," according to our family coordinator. They still will not give approximate dates. She went on to write: "...we expect that they will check with Yuri when they potentially have children available which match what your request is regarding your openness to them and then you will be invited. This means that it appears we are back to where we started with the second appointment. The timing however is up in the air." We have to watch our dossier documents and make sure they are updated, which we've already been doing. More waiting. More money.

David is starting to get used to the idea of going a month or so later than we had planned. Being able to have warmer weather while we're there would be nice. But there's still that nagging urgency to get our daughter out of the orphanage and finally home.

Gina

Still waiting

Thanks for praying for Yuri's appointment today. Since it's around midnight in Ukraine as I write this, I'm thinking we won't be getting any news about the meeting today. Hopefully tomorrow. We assume that no news means no significant thing worth reporting happened at the appointment. But who knows?

What's a little frustrating is that even when we get some news, it can change just as quickly as it came. At any time, the new administration will be taking over, and we don't know how they will decide to do things. What we do know is that they can decide and put it into effect at a moment's notice. I had heard you have to be flexible when adopting from Ukraine. That's an understatement. I could be an Olympic gymnast after this journey!

Thankfully God is in charge. And He never changes.

Gina

Any News?

It's funny b/c we met some people online that are in the same situation we are processing through this stage of the adoption in Ukraine. They are having the same conversations with their friends and family as we are. The dominant question: So, do you have any news? The dominant response: Nope.

Well, here's some news...

We did get word from our family coordinator saying that she spoke with our facilitator (Yuri) in Ukraine and the scoop is that he spoke with a staff psychologist at the state department of adoption (SDA) and the plan is to invite families waiting for a second appointment back when there is a child matching their request (we were hoping for that!). Tomorrow, January 9th, Yuri has a meeting with the Deputy Director of the SDA to share our situation and to get clear answers regarding approximate travel dates based on when children matching our request will be available. This meeting is going down @ 3 p.m. Kiev time (7 a.m. Omaha time...but you can see that thanks to those saavy clocks we loaded on the site!)

Would you please join us in prayer for that meeting tomorrow? Please pray for the following:

• That Yuri would have a productive meeting with the Director and that they would be honest and straightforward giving clear directions on what we can expect upon our return.
• That we would have a much clearer picture regarding travel dates
• That our second appointment would ultimately yield the little girl that matches our request

Tomorrow we're having to start the process of updating forms. We get to start with the medical form! This one was by far the most difficult one to complete the first time around. We have to go get another HIV, syphillis, hepatitis B, and TB test. I'm wondering what our insurance company thinks of all this? What would you think if someone came in to a clinic within one year of previously having these tests for high-risk behaviors? "This is for adoption!" "Yeah...sure!" Hmmmm......

Anyway, would you please spend some time in prayer over the course of the rest of today and tomorrow on our behalf? We'll let you know what we know when they tell us what went down!

An Audience with the Director

Our facilitator had the meeting on Monday and it led him to ask us to prepare a letter regarding our second referral. Here's the letter we just faxed to our facilitator in Ukraine:

We, David Lee Holland and Gina De Ann Holland, petition the State Department for Adoption and Protection of Children’s Rights of Ukraine to grant us a second appointment when a child or children who match our specific request are available. We are requesting, specifically:

• Girl with minor, correctible medical needs
• Age 14-36 months

We respectfully ask that you do not invite us for a second appointment until a child matching this request is available. We already traveled to Kiev for our first appointment at the State Department for Adoption on December 5th, 2007, during which we were shown only unhealthy children that did not match our request. We incurred multiple thousands of dollars in cost, spent much time and energy preparing for and being away from our employment, and expended much effort to prepare our child to be out of school to travel with us during our first visit. We do not want to incur further cost and effort for a second referral if we will not be able to adopt a child that matches our request.

Thank you for considering this request as you schedule our second appointment.

Our facilitator will be requesting a meeting with the director of the State Department of Adoption to explain our situation and hand this letter off to him/her.

Here's a verse that captures the heart of what we're praying for in regards to this second appointment: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21.

Would you please join us in praying that everything goes even better than we could ask or imagine during the meeting, for our second referral, and for our second trip to finally go meet her and finish up the process to complete the adoption so in the end it's obvious that God did an amazing work and we all look to Him and give Him glory?

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you're reading this, it's a huge encouragement to us to read your comments. It helps us know who is tracking with us. It's easy to sign up for an account so you can post responses. Thanks!

New Info

Here's the latest from our family coordinator at the adoption agency we're going through. Continued "good news" from Ukraine!

Dear Ukraine Families,

America World received an initial reports today based on a meeting that occurred at the SDA that the previously announced 2008 quota would be abolished in it’s current form. Currently the 2008 quota is broken down by country and by age of children. The quota may be changed to be one total number for 2008, without specification for how many dossiers any one country can submit and for any particular age range. The total number for 2008 may be 1500. I would stress that this is initial information and is subject to change at any time, especially as new leadership is expected within the Ministry of Family, Youth and Sports.

I would continue to expect potential difficulties and delays for families seeking to adopt children under 6 years old due to availability. There are currently 125 families reported to be waiting for second appointments, the majority seeking to adopt children under age 4. It is anticipated that these families will be invited back to the SDA for a second appointment between January 14, 2008 and February 29, 2008. This again is initial information.

I would stress that this is information as of today. We do not know what the future will look like in reality. We would strongly encourage families in the Ukraine program to consider their flexibility in the age and health of children.

Keep praying for us. We're supposed to find out more info on Monday when our in-country facilitator meets with some officials at the State Department of Adoption. We'll keep you posted regarding what we find out!

Our Kiev Crib!

Check out our digs while we were in Kiev!

Delta Flight #89, 137, and 4923

We started the journey back home on Saturday @ 12:30 Kiev time (4:30 a.m. central). We touched down in Omaha about 30 hours later at 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning. We did have a 6 hour break in there and were able to catch some Z's at the ATL Embassy Suites thanks to our good friends the Giambattistas cashing in some hotel points to give our heads a place to rest (thanks guys for your extreme generosity...we were weary travelers to say the least and that helped clear the fog! You guys are amazing friends!).

It was rough getting out there, rough getting back, but we're home now and will begin the wait for the second appointment. We were told at the SDA that there were about 100 families ahead of us awaiting a referral for a child in our age range and could expect to wait 1-3 months. Not the most ideal situation, but that's what we've been dealt so we'll deal with it. The second appointment is supposed to match us up with a child that more closely resembles what we put in our documents (14-36 month old girl with minor, correctable health issues). So, we'll be praying hard for this to be a good referral.

We're all wiped out right now. Davi went to bed this evening at 4:45...we're headed that way right now even though it's only 6:30. We're all excited that we get to spend Christmas at home, but really wish that we had our other little girl with us to share in the memories. Next year, I guess. Davi is also anxious to go to school tomorrow and see her friends. Plus, they're having pancakes for lunch...one of her favorites!

Before I sign off, let me leave you with a few things we learned along the way in our travels:

* Your weight limit on luggage is 50 lbs per piece of luggage...domestic or international. We made it through Omaha and Kiev with no problem, but the fine Delta reps in Atlanta slapped us with a $50 charge for our ginormous bag. They wouldn't cut us any slack! My advice, take it or leave it, take smaller suitcases and use your 2 checked baggage limit. Your wallet and your back with thank you for it in the long run anyway!

* Don't forget your cell phone at home when you're traveling...ever! My discovery during this trip is that pay phones at airports have a horrible tendency to make you think they work. If you must use a pay phone when traveling...call the operator first the make sure the handset works before you dial in with your phone card. That nifty little trick just saved you $1.56 surcharge for using a pay phone!

* If your traveling to Kiev don't ask for too much ketchup at McDonald's! They don't just hand it out there or allow you to squirt it in those little buckets like here. You pay for it there...about a quarter for the equivalent of 2 little packets. Oh, they don't do refills either.

Well, guess that's it for now. We'll keep you posted on what's going on. Check back soon for a little video of the trip! Until next time...

Rebook!

OK, our suspicions were right. Our facilitator, Yuri, called the orphanage where the little 2 1/2 year old is and she does have fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and two other families had visited her in the past months and declined to take the referral. The other little 4 year old was referred to a couple from Spain this morning. We were relieved b/c we did not think she was healthy either and we didn't want to load up for an 8 hour train ride each way to discover what the medical report revealed anyhow (she had FAS and micro-enchaphaly, etc. in her file).

So, we met with Yuri today and wrote out a letter requesting a second referral clearly spelling out what we're looking for in a child. The current trend has been that families get a child that closely matches their request with minor, correctable health issues on the second referral. But, if you reject the second referral (whether a good one or not), that's your last shot. The expected wait time is 1-3 months. The sticky part is Ukraine is apparently not allowing families to update paperwork any longer which means we would have to travel before March b/c that's when the paperwork starts expiring.

So, we went to the Delta office a few minutes ago and we fly out of Kiev on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. to New York. We have a flight to Atlanta from there, but have to stay the night in ATL and then we head home to Omaha and arrive @ 10:30 a.m. on Sunday.

So...the wait continues. We'll keep you posted on what's up. Back to trying to find what's acceptable to eat and brushing our teeth with bottled water for another day!

To Mrs. Sweetman's Kindergarten Class

Hello from Davi!

She is starting to feel better from her cold but sure misses you guys! We're not as fun to play with as you guys are. I'm sure she misses eating lunch with you, playing on the playground, and all the Christmas fun things you guys are doing. When we get a chance we'll try to send a postcard from where we are so you can see what it's like here. The weather is like Omaha except it has been cloudy and foggy the whole time, along with the colder weather.

Here's one crazy fact for you...she was on ONE plane ride for the same amount of time from when you start school until you get out. That plane ride was from New York City to Budapest, Hungary! I'm sure Mrs. Sweetman can show you where those places are! Have fun!