I never seemed to be amazed at how God directs our lives, especially when we detour off the path he has chosen for us. After receiving INS approval to adopt a second time from Russia, the direction of our adoption quest changed. My husband and I were offered the chance to adopt domestically. In May, 1999 Abe and I were looking forward to the birth of a child we thought would become our son. When I heard the baby had been born, I immediately flew to the birth mother’s state. The trip began with such excitement but ended with incredible sadness. I was allowed to spend two days with him before the birth mother changed her mind. During that time, I rocked, fed and changed him. His birth mother wouldn’t even pick him up. With her decision being the last word, I kissed him good-bye and came home; bonded to a child I will never see again.

I spent many months grieving for this child. Even now, it makes me sad to think of him. I pray God watches over him. My husband and daughters, Amanda and Lia, recovered much more quickly than I. I don’t know exactly when I began to think of adopting again but for us the domestic route was closed.

Amanda, our oldest child, was born in August of 1989. What a surprise and a blessing. A miracle, as it turns out. We were never able to get pregnant after that. In 1997, we adopted Lia from Borovichi, Russia. She is such a special child. Adopting her changed us. I have no doubts we were intended to choose Lia. Abe and I love her as if she were born of us. When we lost the baby, we knew when the time came we would return to Russia. The entire experience touched our souls and made us thankful Amanda never had to endure what so many children do.

In October of 1999, as I did periodically, I logged onto the Frank Adoption web sight. The Lord must have known I was ready because Sveta (now Alma) and Natasha had been listed in the many weeks since I had last visited the site. Something about their photographs touched me. I immediately began thinking about them and even called Jody at Frank the next day. My husband was not sure I was ready but when he saw the pictures the agency forwarded to us, he slowly became hooked on them. Though we were falling in love and wanted to adopt them, money was the biggest issue. We could support them but the upfront expenses were not within our limits. Abe told me if I could show him how we could afford it, he was more than willing. (He’s the voice of sense between the two of us. Sometimes I hate to admit it but I speak with my heart first, he uses his head.)

We were able to contribute about seven thousand dollars. Bless them, our church missions gave us airline tickets. But we were still ten thousand short. Even through private avenues nothing worked. After several conversations, Jody suggested I contact A Child Waits Foundation. While they were processing our application, I received an urgent call from Frank. Jody explained, the coordinator for the girl’s region would be in the States until Saturday. Could I finish the dossier and get it to them in time for Tatiana to take it back to Russia with her? That call came on Tuesday. Now understand, we had no money and Abe would not say yes until we did.

I told Jody, "I will do my best." When I got off the phone I began praying for God to take over. Without him, I knew it would never happen.

The urgency to finish the dossier came from the unavailability of court dates in Tver. Tatiana, our coordinator, needed to get one for us before the country was closed for Y2K. The American Embassy, not being compliant, would close beginning sometime in December until most likely February. With all the backups and delays, no one knew how long it would be if we didn’t travel immediately. None of us wanted the children to spend another Christmas in the orphanage.

The rest of that week was spent running all over collecting documents. I had no time to worry about the money. Deep inside I knew God would take care of it. A peace filled me I still can’t explain. Abe however is more practical and he just stood back and watched I think he knew it would work out, too. I know him well enough to see he was cautiously excited when he began asking questions like, "I wonder what the girls are doing now?" and saying, "When we have four.

I finished the dossier and a week later we had a court date. November 22. We would be gone over Thanksgiving. We spent Valentine’s Day with Lia at the American Embassy in Moscow, why not spend Thanksgiving in Moscow with Natasha and Alma, ACW gave their approval and three days before we were due to leave, we received the money. Even the bank cooperated with us and didn’t place a hold on the $10,000.00 check.

We landed safely in Moscow after a long flight. After luggage, customs and meeting another couple, we were surprised to find we would not be staying in Moscow for the night as had been planned. Tatiana told us to use the "facilities" because we had a four hour drive ahead of us. We had to hurry. The girls were waiting and she didn’t want to disappoint them. The other couple would be adopting our daughters’ friend, Eugenia.

The trip to Olenin was bumpy and very cold despite the van’s heater. Our driver, Sasha, was very competent and we trusted him immediately with our safety. It was about ten o’clock p.m., a pitch dark, snowy night, when we finally reached the orphanage. All three girls were waiting at the back door. We couldn’t get in at first. It became confusing amidst all the hugs and kisses. They were so glad to see us but obviously shy at the same time my heart was pounding, two beautiful daughters. I was immediately drawn to Natasha’s huge, blue eyes and Alma’s warm smile. Alma gravitated to Abe while Natasha clung to me. She was very aloof with Abe in the beginning. As it turned out all men scared her. (It didn’t last long. Two weeks after we came home she was Daddy’s little girl too. However, she is still shy with men she doesn’t know.)

After all the introductions were made, we were treated to a wonderful meal with the orphanage director, activities director (for lack of another name), our coordinator and driver. Needless to say we were starving. We were all very touched they had cared enough to wait so late and then prepare a meal for us. I can honestly say those pancakes were the best I’ve ever eaten. We spent more time afterwards with the girls and were sad when we had to leave for the hotel.

After an interesting stay at the local hotel, we returned to the orphanage for breakfast and another visit with the girls. On the way, (I have to tell this) Sasha turned down the wrong street and we drove past two older gentlemen standing over a dead pig. But the strangest part was, they were using a blow torch on this frozen carcass. It was a sight we’ll never forget. Seeing something like that makes you realize how easy we have it.

We spent a nice morning loving on the girls, seeing their rooms and getting a general tour of the facility. It was clean and neat, they even treated us to a performance which included all the children. After all the singing and dancing they fed us lunch and then it was on to Tver. Because of the deep snow, it took almost as long to reach Tver as it did to come from Moscow.

The next afternoon we appeared in court. As it turned out, the dossier was missing a document. (Consent from the girl’s grandmother for them to be adopted.) For a while it appeared we might not be allowed to proceed until the document could be obtained. The prosecutor, judge and coordinator argued for a long time about how the matter should be handled. At one point in their discussion, the prosecutor stopped and addressed us. For some reason, she wanted to know how many times a week we went to church. (I think Tatiana had used that to try and change their mind, though I can’t be sure.) I replied 4-5 times a week and then of course I had to explain all the things Abe, Amanda, Lia and I are involved in, A few minutes later the judge made her ruling allowing us to proceed with the adoption. Afterwards, Tatiana told us they were impressed with us and that being heavily involved in church swayed their opinion.

The following day, Tuesday, the girls arrived. Sasha and Ilia (our other interpreter) stopped and bought flowers. Alma and Natasha presented them to the judge and prosecutor, It was obvious by all the tears that they were touched. We can thank Tatiana for the suggestion. By that time my brain was mush.

On Wednesday, we had all the documents recorded and received the adoption certificates before heading back to Moscow. I thought we’d never get there. All three girls were car sick, everyone was hungry. I was exhausted, as was Abe and it was frigid outside. A fact that was tested by a hike into the woods for a restroom break. The bathroom at the only likely gas station was out of order. But we were rewarded by a short stop at the ‘Golden Arches’. Tatiana surprised our starving group by having Sasha drive-thru McDonalds. Even the kids felt better after that. It was so good and an hour later the hotel, western style, looked like a palace.

Thursday was Thanksgiving and essentially a free day. We were thankful to be moving toward the end of our trip. Our holiday meal consisted of Big Mac’s and forestberry pies at McDonalds. We considered it another blessing. And I don’t normally go to McDonald’s. But Ilia taught us the Russian way to eat Big Mac’s (layer by layer) and the pies were great. Red Square was just as beautiful at night and we saw a lot of places we recognized from our previous trip. All in all it was a nice day.

Friday, we were up early and at the embassy as soon as it opened. An hour later we were finished with the official business and on our way to the Delta ticket office to change our reservations. We were going home! Three days early! The change came off without a hitch. At four-thirty the next morning, we said our good-byes and began the long trip home, I was sad to say farewell to Sasha, Ilia and Tatiana. In one short week they became our friends. We laughed countless times together, shared knowledge and explanations. The memories are good ones. We’ve forgotten the few bad inconveniences (Next time, I will add Raid to my supply of toilet paper and water) and without a doubt our new friends will remain in our hearts forever. They were gifts from God.

As for our traveling companions; Caroline, Jack and Eugenia, we left them in Zurich with the promise to keep in touch. We will see them again and I have no doubt the girls will talk on the phone.

Home. We arrived without incident, happy to have made the journey safely. The first few weeks were hectic but we’ve settled into a nice routine now. They adore my parents and things get a tiny bit better every day. All four of our girls are slowly adjusting as are Abe and I. We love them all so much; I ache for all the terrible things our adopted girls have seen. Mostly for Alma and Natasha because their life was filled with so many heartaches, but now they are learning what families are all about and that here things are different. I hope they will always remember our trip and know how precious they are to us. God has blessed us and our girls in countless ways, I pray we can be the parents he intended us to be when he entrusted these wonderful children to us.

If you read this, may each one of you have the same blessing.

		Lia, Natasha, Alina and Amanda Abrams

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