MIKHAIL AND ALEXSEI

 

Jon and I have been married for 9 years. We had finally come to the point where we accepted that we would most likely not conceive a child on our own and found ourselves surrounded with people who had adopted or were adopted themselves. The stories started surfacing and we met several couples who had adopted through Global Adoptions. We did a little research and knew without a doubt that this was God's plan for us also.

We sent for information and everything looked good, except for one thingÖthe fees! It seemed especially frightening since we were interested in adopting more than one child, but we finally turned the whole project over to the Lord and said, "Your will be done, if YOU want this to work, we will trust you to provide the way!" We started our paperwork and proceeded with the plans. After only 8 months, not only had God provided the money for our adoption, but we also received a referral for two toddler boys. We knew without even seeing the video or reading the medical reports, that these were "our" boys. I watched the video the minute it arrived. What I saw scared me, the boys were so tiny and their eyes so hollow. They needed so much love and food! We accepted the referral and three weeks later were on our way to Russia. We were picked up at the airport and driven six hours away to Ivanovo. After a needed pit stop to fix a flat tire, we arrived safely and were whisked into an apartment for the night. We were greeted with a hot meal, a warm bath and friendly faces.

The next morning we went to the baby home and were "interviewed" by the staff. The baby home was painted a light yellow inside and very clean. The workers very interested in us and our willingness and ability to give the boys a safe, loving home. WE were surprised that they asked us so many question, we thought we would be doing most of the asking. Then they brought in the boys. They were so tiny, but so beautiful and well cared for. Hours later we had our court hearing and later returned to the baby home to pick up our boys. We had only a minute to see the other children of their group, they all had the same look on their faces, it said "somebody please love me".

We were filled with excitement even though we were still drained from our long trip. We all spent the night in one big bed; the boys were so good. The next day it was back to Moscow. It was the boy's first time out of the orphanage, except for once getting their pictures taken. They kept saying, "Arp! Arp!" They recognized dogs! Our stay in Moscow was great. We went to many famous sights and the Circus, which I must say, was quite overwhelming to our boys, and were soon on our way home. The trip was so wonderful overall that we should have suspected a hitch at some point. We started our journey home and from Germany to the US, the boys screamed continuously! With only 3 hours of sleep in 48 hours, it seemed to be a nightmare. They couldn't communicate with us, they hated the food, the airplane scared them, and they disliked being confined to their seats. It was comforting however, to have other adoptive families on our flight who could relate. As for the rest of the passengers (and us) it is a good thing the airline provided headphones!

Our boys Aleksei and Mikhail are miracles from God. They both gained three pounds and grew an inch their first week home. They learned most English words in less than a month. They are both musical, with Mikhail having a natural rhythm that is incredible, and Aleksei a loud singing voice. It seems like they have been with us forever. Anna at Global Adoptions was so great to work with. She answered all of our questions and helped us work through those terrible waiting stages. I would highly recommend them if you are considering adoption. They take care to make sure the people and places they work with are reputable and caring and pay attention to every detail of your adoption. Their associates in Russia are knowledgeable and caring and take every possible measure to make your trip safe and enjoyable.

The best way I can explain the whole thing is as Mikhail would have said in those first few weeks, "OMPAH!" or "how exciting, I like!"