Our Adoption Journey
Our adoption journey began in the fall of 2000 when our desire to adopt a child had escalated to the point where we were ready to take the plunge! We had tried various means to fund our adoption to no avail and did not think that we would be able to adopt. My husband was in graduate school and I was working full-time with very little extra money to spend. I was at a bible study one evening when a woman stood up and announced that the private school where she worked was looking for a high school English teacher. My husband had an undergraduate English degree, but I could not imagine any way that he could be a teacher at this time. I came home and told him about the job rather nonchalantly. To my surprise, he called about the job and got it! He took a year and a half off from graduate school so that we could save some money to adopt. On top of that, I found on the web, A Child Waits Foundation that provides loans to people who want to adopt. Our adoption journey was on its way.
In January of 2001, we started our adoption to Ukraine with the many piles of paperwork. We decided to adopt in Ukraine because it was possible to see the children in the orphanage and decide which child would be right for your family. The criterion that we placed was for a child under two years old with special needs.
It took a total of nine months before our trip to Ukraine. One of the biggest troubles for us was that the events of September 11, 2001 occurred right at the time that we were about to travel. All flights were halted and we weren't sure if we should even go. We decided that we would go anyway because we knew that this was what God had placed on our hearts. We left on September 24, 2001 and spent the first few days in Kiev with our translator in his home. It was a wonderful experience as we were able to have meals with a Ukrainian family and find out what it is like to live there. They opened their home and their hearts to us, and for that we are forever grateful. A few days later we went to the National Adoption Foundation in Kiev and decided that we would go to the Lugansk region. This particular region borders right up to Russia. We went to the Lotikovo orphanage after a 12 hour drive and were shown 7 children. The last child that they brought in the room was an older boy, around three years old. In contrast to the other children, he was lively, talkative (although we didn't know what he was saying!) and inquisitive of us. Our decision as to which child to adopt came between Vladik, the three year old boy, and Sasha, a 19 month old boy. Sasha was perfectly healthy and we were told that there were a number of families waiting to see him. Vladik, on the other hand, was in an age category where few families would consider adopting and he had suffered a head injury while living in the orphanage. From the sketchy information given, a large metal curtain rod had fallen on Vladik's head when he was a toddler causing him to not be able to use his right hand and causing a slight limp in his right leg. We could tell quickly that the injury had not impaired him intellectually. We quickly realized that Vladik would have a hard life because of his disability, as he would be sent to a home for children with disabilities, most of whom have mental disabilities. We decided that it would be a tortured life for a child with full mental capacity to be confined to a life that would not exercise his mind and we knew that we could offer him the help he needed for his disability.
We chose Gavin and were not able to see him again for a week. The main reason for this is that our court date was not for another week and it would be more costly to stay in the region. We drove the 12 hour trip back to Kiev and spent most of the week sight seeing all of the cathedrals and military museums.
On October 4, 2001, we officially became Vladik's parents. His name was changed to Gavin and he recognized it very quickly. We spent a few days in Kiev finishing paperwork and then we were off to Poland to get Gavin's visa processed. We were a bit intimidated to leave our translator when we went to Poland for Gavin spoke Russian. We learned quickly however, how resilient Gavin was in learning English. We were in Poland for approximately two days and then we were off to America.
On October 11, 2001 we landed in Detroit, Michigan where Gavin became an American citizen. He has now been with us three years and has flourished. He is now in kindergarten and speaks fluent English. We are so grateful for A Child Waits Foundation's help in the process; for without it, we could not have adopted.
Mike and Leslie Mitchell
Parents of Gavin, 6, adopted from Ukraine at age 3
Jordan, 2