In early September Freddie got a voicemail from Lena. We were stunned that somehow us giving money to a non-English speaking chaperone from the Ukraine in July at the airport when we brought Lena back actually resulted in Lena getting a phone and our number, and calling us. Stunned. We were able to talk with her a bit, basically the small talk she had learned while she was here.
Us, "How are you?"
Lena, "Good! I so happy to hear you! How are you?"
"Good! School good?"
"Yes, school good!"
"Good!"
That was fun the first couple of times but then it became frustrating for her because she really wants to communicate. So Freddie figured out how to get her on American Facebook (there's an Eastern European version too). And this is the coolest thing EVER.
For all of the downsides of Facebook that it's possible to experience, it has been a huge gift for me. When my dad died I was so sad thinking about losing connection to his side of the family who are spread out all over the country. Because of FB I think I'm probably more in touch with those aunts and cousins than ever before. (Yes Laura, Jan, Nora, Judy, Michel, Anne, Aunt Lois and everyone else... I'm looking at you)! And now, we get to be in touch with the girl who is more and more feeling like a daughter stuck abroad. She is posting pictures of where she lives, her classroom, her friends...technology is amazing. She still doesn't speak English well so she types in Russian, we open Google Translate and translate what she said, type in English and translate to Russian then cut and paste it back. It is the BEST!
I really want to show you all some of the pix she posted but I think she wouldn't like that. They are so great. I originally posted them here but took them off after a second thought. Believe me when I tell you, she's a cutie.
As far as when we will see her again and when she will be here:
We will be able to host her again for a month in December (a trip separate from the adoption process). She will come here in Dec. and have to go back in Jan. because she is not legally available to be adopted yet due to the laws in her country. We are hoping to find out this week when she is available to come here permanently and then we will start planning our trip abroad. (Prayers that she is available in January and that we can just travel back with her)!
IN THE MEANTIME..
The next big thing that feels so uncomfortable to talk about is fundraising. This whole process is so expensive. As far as the money is concerned, it's no surprise to me why there are still so many orphans when there are families who want children. We were told to estimate $40,000. Yikes. Writing a check for +$1000.00 - $3000.00 for 5 hours of someone's time is mind boggling.
SO, one of the ways we are going to do fundraising is by hosting a link to Amazon.com on this blog -and advertising it on Facebook. All you have to do is keep shopping on Amazon the way you have been (or start, it's a great thing to have stuff shipped to your house! Everyone loves a package, right?), but click THIS LINK to get to the Amazon website and we will automatically get a percentage of what you spend! SO EASY!!
Please send the link to your friends, book mark it, whatever you can to remember to go through THIS LINK and we will automatically, each month, have a total percentage of sales made through the link deposited directly to the account we have set up for Lena. Easy peasy.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, to pray for us, to buy stuff on Amazon and to just be in this with us somehow. This whole thing is a wild ride and we are thrilled to be a part of it!
xo
Andrea
P.S. I must give a shout out to God for all of the ways we have been provided for in this- so many of you have reached out to help and support tangibly and emotionally because you too have been moved. The process has been incredibly smooth and fast, we hope He is preparing us for her to come soon!!
P.P.S. Figuring out how to put links on this blog has taken me about 3 1/2 hours. No Joke. I laugh at how technologically challenged I am! HA!
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