Churches, Economy and Brooms

I guess it was a good thing we weren’t able to sleep on our flights over. We both slept great last night and so far the transition of time zones hasn’t been bad.

It’s been a busy day. We started our day at the SDA. We met with a very friendly lady with a pretty smile who asked us a few questions; When did we meet Liuba, when did we decide we wanted to adopt her, etc. I showed her some pictures of our children and also some of Liuba when she was with us. She showed us a picture of Liuba when she was a baby. She said after we adopt her she will give it to us. She informed us that Liuba was left by her mother at the hospital when she was born. The record says her mother was sick and couldn’t care for her. This is different than what we thought. We were told her mother left her when she was five. She has been in the system her whole life, transferring to different orphanages as she grew.

I believe the statistics are one hundred and fifty thousand orphans in Ukraine and that many more children on the streets. Children graduate from the system when they are only sixteen and turned out. Most of the girls end up in prostitution and the boys in crime and drugs. These children have children and the cycle goes on. That is why Save the Children Foundation brings over older children, up to fifteen years old. Once a child turns five the chance of them being adopted is very small.

Ukraine recently started a foster system but from what I have heard it is corrupt. Our adoption facilitator compared it to slavery. He said families needing money and workers bribe children in the orphanage, with bananas or candy, to come home with them. They tell them they will have a great life but in reality they are put to work. What an advantage for the family, they not only get paid to take these children, they have next to free labor. When they are sixteen, the government stops paying the family and the kids are turned out on the streets. Some of the families trying to adopt have had their kids taken this way and there is nothing they can do about it. I’m sure not all foster families here do this. This is only what we have heard.

In Ukraine it is against the law to choose a child, or reserve them so to speak, before you are here. You may ask for permission or tell your intentions but they will do nothing to keep your children till you get here. It really is a mess. We met the Evensons today at the SDA. They are in Dave’s brother’s ward. The Evensons adopted two girls last November {it took them a year to get an appointment so we were very lucky to have gotten ours in only five months.} They wanted to adopt a boy also but he didn’t have his paperwork done. That is another problem here. He has been in the system for years and no one ever bothered doing his paperwork qualifying him as an orphan. Children must be classified as an orphan before they may be adopted. So they had to come back now. They said they still may have to come back yet another time to bring him home because his birthplace is in Russia and that poses new problem.

Another family we know who are adopting two sisters were invited to come in June for one of the girls but have to wait until next year to get the other. Her paperwork hadn’t been done yet. The director over two of the orphanages, where some families from the hosting program are trying to adopt, is against international adoption. Last year she received an award for having so many national adoptions. She has told the workers if they allow any international adoptions they will be fired. The economy here is horrible and they cannot afford to lose their jobs, so they tell the children lies or do what ever they have to do to get them to say they don’t want to go. Once the children say no there is nothing the family can do. One family did all the paperwork, paid probably around thirty thousand, and traveled all the way here only to find this out. They had been communicating with the children for months. The kids said they loved them and asked them when they were coming. When they got here the kids looked scared to death and would only say they “didn’t want to be adopted internationally”. This family was able to adopt other children from another region. These children had distant relatives that had to agree to allow them to be adopted. They would only do that once they knew they didn’t want the kids for their organs.

So, you can see it is a very difficult process. We are just hoping and praying that everything will go smoothly, and quickly.



This is me and Natalia in front of a church built over 1,000 years ago (mostly had to be rebuilt after the second World War).

Natalia talked to us about Ukraine today. She says it is nearly impossible to get a visa to travel. We happened upon one of her friends at the St. Sofia cathedral. He is a student and is traveling to Texas this year. Most students are granted visas. His goal is to move to Park City in a year but it all depends on if he can get a visa. Natalia said the youth here cannot see their future. She said with the economy and other factors there really is no future here. Her friend told us that out of a hundred people trying to get a visa only two will be accepted and this is only after all kinds of paper work and proof you will be coming back. Natalia said they are more independent since their break from Russia nearly eighteen years ago, but they feel like prisoners in their own country. Natalia said she has many relatives in Russia but she can only visit them for three days at a time. So she goes through all that work and travel for only three days.

The grivna {their currency} is eight to one dollar. We asked about the minimum wage and Natalia told us it is less than one hundred dollars a month. You can see why the orphanage workers are afraid to be fired. Food is cheaper here but clothing and other items are much more expensive. Natalia said the shopping here is more expensive than many other places in Europe.

Did I mention Natalia speaks not only English, Russian and Ukrainian but also Italian, Spanish, French and some Turkish. She is a snowboard instructor in the winter and wants to spend the summer at the black sea wind surfing and parasailing. I don’t know if she is indicative of other Ukrainians her age but I couldn’t help but thinking it wouldn’t hurt we Americans to broaden our horizons, at least as far as languages go.

After our appointment we did some sightseeing. There are a lot of churches and cathedrals here. We listened to part of a mass at St. Michael’s church then walked a few blocks away to St Sofia’s church. This church was built in 1031. It was destroyed in the World Ward II air raids, as most of the city was. There was only one church left standing. The rest have been rebuilt. So the city is old but most buildings have been built or rebuilt since the late forties.

This is front of St. Michael church. Natalia said the first time she saw a priest driving a nice car out of here she was very surprised. She says they make donations to the church and don't know where they go. To see a priest in a car like that was disconcerting. She wondered if that was were the money went.

We also visited a monastery. Apparently a month traveling down the Dnipro river wanted to stop on this mountain. He began an excavation of tunnels, which other monks continued. They lived there and died there and their remains are still there. They are covered and somehow preserved. Some of their hands are showing. They are black but the skin still covers the bones, after around a thousand years. I asked how they were preserved and was told nothing was done, they were preserved because they were Saints. We carried candles and the women had to cover their heads and wear skirts, which they provided. This is a sacred place for the Orthodox Catholic. Many of the people were deeply moved, crossing themselves, praying and kissing the glass covered remains. There is one monk in particular it was told for those who are sick if they pray at his remains they would be healed. Apparently in life he was a great healer. Even physicians would seek his advice. Imagine that…


This is the view from the monestary. The large statue is Mother Russia, also constructed after WWII


After our short visits to these ornate and beautiful churches and cathedrals I was impressed with the differences in the way we belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints worship and practice the way the Orthodox do. Much of the doctrine Natalia translated from our guide in the tunnels was the same as we believe. He talked of the final judgment, when Christ will come again in the sky and all shall see him, and that we are all sinners and must repent. I obviously cannot possibly know all that they believe in such a short time. What I observed and felt I can only put into words like this; what they worship and practice feels dead and collective and what we worship and practice feels alive and personal. I hope that doesn’t sound judgmental, I’m not trying to be. It is only what I felt today.

This is a random picture but I thought it was interesting. These are the brooms they use. (Andrew, you and your camera would have a hay day here!)

Anyway, we are leaving on the train to Dniprodzerzhynsk in the morning instead of tomorrow night. Things went quicker than we anticipated today. Let’s just hope it keeps up that way. These posts are really long, I know. Sorry if they are boring. Read what interests you and skip what doesn’t. Thanks for the comments and support. It’s fun to hear from so many. Lots of love.