Heart to heart

Last night we ran into our first "hard" time with the kids. We (the adults) decided that we would all play a game (dominoes) and "invited" the kids to come join us. Yulia decided she did not want to play, and dug her heals in even after Cyndy and I made it clear that it was not optional. She eventually left the room. So we (Cyndy and I) went after her and took her back to our room for a 2-on-1 talk (through a Russian/English dictionary). It took some time, trying to understand each other and to share our hearts.

Yulia finds "family" difficult. And she does not like to play games. As the older sister (of Gena) she has had to be her own authority in some ways. Gena, for his part, entered into the game just fine. He loves to play and compete. But Yulia doesn't and she wasn't about to bow to our authority. Interesting dilemma. We are not "really" her parents yet, and yet we are. So after a long time, a lot of stammering, and quite a bit of hugging and affirmation, she agreed to come back to the family room and enter into the game. She is so precious. Our hearts are completely tender toward her.

Earlier in the day, we used our translator, Vadim, and had a talk with the kids. Yulia did all the talking. Gena difers to his big sister. He is a man of few words! We talked about America, about family and about school. We found out that Yulia does not like "Elizabeth" as a name, and prefers Jennifer or Jessica! Gena likes Samuel just fine. Now Cyndy and I have to decide if we bow to Yulia and change her name, or stick with what we had decided. She likes "Joy" just fine. Pray for us. We want to do the right thing.

Today (Wednesday) is the last full day with the kids before we have to take them back to the orphanage in Gorodishche and leave for Moscow. Pray for us and them. The parting will probably be quite hard. And pray for the rest of the orphans in the orphanage. We want to bring them ALL home!

Thanks for all your prayers and support. We can sense your prayers all the way in Russia! It is a strange and marvelous culture, but we are finding ourselves adjusting well.

More later.

Blessings,

Glen and Cyndy