Christmas Day in Moscow

New Year's Wish

Happy New Year!

2005 will always be remembered as the year we moved ahead, trusting God that everything would fall into place for the adoption of Jessica and Sam. It has been a wonderful year, a year of changes, a year of blessing.

In talking with Jessica and Haley Clark, I discovered that in Russia it is traditional to make a wish on New Year's Eve. Both of them had wished last year that they would be in America this year. God granted their wish!

While I don't believe in "wishes" per se, I do believe in prayer. My prayer for you in this new year is that you will be blessed as we have been!

Today was a good day. We spent it interacting and preparing for the holiday. We will be exchanging presents for "Christmas" on New Year's Day afternoon, since we were in an airplane last week on Christmas Day. So we are busily preparing for a large meal and lots of presents!

I will also be preaching Sunday morning, so pray for me! My head is not in it, although my heart is. So I'll be preaching from the heart on Jeremiah 29:11, "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." God certainly has reached into the lives of two very special children, and given them a future with hope!

From our family to yours, may 2006 be a blessed year, full of grace and peace and joy and, of course, love.

Blessings,

The Haworth Family

Trouble in Paradise

Well, just as we didn't expect the problems we encountered the day after our court date in Penza, so we didn't anticipate that in the first week home we would be confronted with some very strong challenges!

The Clarks are visiting us from Texas. You will remember that they adopted three teenage sisters from the same orphanage that Sam and Jessica come from. They have been having problems with their girls related to rebellion as they adjust (slowly) to family dynamics. Russian orphans do not learn family dynamics (most essentially that the parents are in charge and that the children are not) in the orphanage. So many (most) families find this one of the most difficult transitions. With the introduction of the Clark girls it has excellerated the process for Jessica (Sam is doing fine, so far), and she is angry at us for restricting her access to one of the Clark sisters! But we are concerned about the influence that this particular girl will have on Jessica. It is a long story, but suffice it to say that the assumption of the Russian orphans (in general, apparently) is that "love" means letting them do whatever they want to do. And, let's face it, American teenagers are not so very different!

So pray for us! We have to, literally, teach Sam and Jessica what true love is. Pray 1 Corinthians 13 over our family! We have faith for this and all of the challenges that are before us, but that faith assumes the prayers of our friends and family.

Glen is preaching at church on Sunday, January 1st and we will be introducing our new children to the congregation. Pray that attitudes and emotions will be in line with what God is doing in our midst! Thank you!

Blessings,

The Haworth Family in Chino

We're Home!

We got home late last night (early this morning, actually) and are busily getting unpacked and settled. At the same time, we are enjoying visits by family and friends. Our church family lavished us with surprises, gifts and more so that our house was totally decked out when we got home! What a great surprise!

Cyndy's parents are here from Florida and her sister and brother-in-law have been here as well. The Clarks flew in today, so we have a house-full!

When we got to the airport last night there was a whole crowd there to greet us! I won't try to name everyone because I KNOW I'll forget someone! Suffice it to say, we were over-whelmed with everyone and blessed beyond measure! Thanks, everyone!

For this first week, the Clark girls will be able to help us translate, so that will be great. But after they leave, we'll be on our own trying to communicate with Jessica dnd Sam. So much to do! Cyndy went and got shoes for the both of them today, and tomorrow we are getting some more clothes.

They are both doing great!

I'll write more later.

Blessings,

The California Haworths

Christmas Eve in Moscow

Today was Christmas Eve. It snowed most of the day, and it was the coldest day of the trip: high of 16 degrees! But we braved the cold and ventured by taxi to a shopping center in Moscow to look for last minute souvenirs. It was quite an adventure!

The five of us in a Russian Lada taxi! Glen in front with the driver, and everyone else in the back (Sam on Jessica's lap)! Coming back was the same, although it took us awhile to get a taxi to take us. We did a lot of shopping, and not much buying (Jessica bought two CDs). But it was not boring!

We had dinner at "Yelki-Pelki" (this one a Mongolian BBQ). Good, but confusing. Nathan decided he didn't want to walk in the cold to the book store, so we all came back to the room. The boys went swimming (for the last time) and the girls vegged in the room (again!). Just another Christmas Eve in the Haworth family!

We are ready to come home! Oleg will pick us up at 9:00 in the morning, and we'll be on our way! First to New York (JFK), where we'll go through customs, then on to LAX, arriving at 10:30 PM on Delta (Song). We hope to see a lot of you there!

We'll keep posting here even after we get home, so if you're interested, keep logging on. The adventure will continue!

Merry Christmas, everyone, from Moscow Russia!

The Haworth Family

Friday at the Market

We spent a couple of hours braving the cold weather (21 degrees) shopping at the Moscow open air market on Friday. We had a whole long list of things to buy for ourselves and special orders from friends and family back home! We found most of the things we wanted, but some things were not available. On Friday, the market is not as populated with vendors as it is on the weekends. Oh well!

We were glad we had Oleg with us, as he knows how to play the “game” of bargaining with the vendors. We Americans will just take the first price given! Russians know that you can usually argue the price down, sometimes quite a ways down! Anyway, safe to say that Oleg saved us (and our special orderers!) a lot of money. So treating him to lunch at “My-My” (pronounced “Moo-Moo”) was itself a bargain!

After becoming VERY cold out in the open, the boys enjoyed a nice soak in the hot tub at the hotel! The girls just vegged up in the room. We have one more day here in Moscow, and then we board a plane for the long journey home. We can’t wait! There is just so much gratitude on our hearts right now, I cannot begin to describe it. All of the prayers, the support, hard work, etc. etc. etc. finally coming to a head. Bringing the kids home to America will be one of the happiest days of our lives!

Thank you, God!

Blessings,

The Haworths from Moscow

Nathan and Jessica at the Moscow open air market

Jessica on a Moscow street in the snow

Winter scene on the way down the elevator at our hotel

Thursday in Moscow

We finished all of the official adoption processes in Russia today. We went to the US Embassy and got the US visas for Sam and Jessica, so now we are free to go home. And we are MORE than ready!

The weather here in Moscow is cold and snowy. Really great for Christmas, but it doesn't feel like Christmas here. They have almost no Christmas music on any of the radio or tv stations (we did bring our own), but there are decorations. Although they are almost all secular. The big holiday this time of year is New Years, and they don't observe Christmas until January 7th. Nevertheless, it is white and we don't have to dream of a white Christmas!

Everything is more expensive here in Moscow. We had a late lunch/early dinner today at the "American Bar and Grill" eating salads and hamburgers, for over $90! Good thing we had been here before and budgeted for it.

The swimming pool in the basement of the hotel is a God-send! Nathan and Sam are loving it. Jessica hasn’t been in yet and Cyndy manages to skip it as well. But with the Jacuzzi and pool, the boys are enjoying themselves!

For our part, everything seems a bit surreal, still. At the embassy there were 30-some families obtaining visas for their adopted children, only one of which appeared to be in her teens. Most of the children adopted from Russia are babies or very young children. So our children felt a bit out of place. But leaving the embassy, they both lightened up and we’ve been playing a lot ever since! Cyndy had a good talk with Jessica while the boys were swimming; we are totally amazed at what God is doing to knit us together as a family.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Moscow open air market to shop. It is supposed to be 21 degrees tomorrow, so we are dressing for COLD. These Californians are not used to this weather! Saturday is supposed to get up to 16! Thank God the heater works in this hotel!

Anyway, that’s all for now. We’ll post again before we leave for home.

Merry Christmas, everyone. God IS good!

Blessings,

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam Haworth

Moscow Winter Wonderland!

Swimming at the Moscow Marriott Grand INdoor pool!

The kids with Veronica and her Moom

Our three beautiful kids!

A new picture of all of us

Arrived in Moscow

We have arrived in the wintery city of Moscow! It has been snowing all night and all day, so it truly is a "winter wonderland" here in Russia's capital. And we are exhausted!

The train ride from Penza was long and we didn't sleep well, but we got here and immediately went to the medical center for Jessica and Sam to be checked out. They checked out great (Jessica needs glasses and they both need dental work). So tomorrow we go to the US embassy for the visas.

We have broadband access to the internet here in Moscow (as long as we pay for it!), so if you have Skype you can call us directly. Email us glenhaworth@yahoo.com for our Skype address.

Oh, and our website domain registration lapsed (never got a renewal notification!), so we are working on it. It should be up and running soon. Hard to believe we have had it now for a whole year!

We will add more later.

Blessings,

The Haworths

Farewell Penza

We leave today for Moscow, riding the train all night and arriving in Moscow on Wednesday morning (remember, it is +11 hours here vis-à-vis California). We are all ready to go!

Today is mostly packing. It is amazing how Unpacked you can get in a week and a half. Thankfully, because we left a lot of clothes at the orphanage and have given a lot of gifts that we brought with us, there should be a lot more room in our suitcases! We have to pick up the x-rays and the international passports before we leave, because as soon as we arrive in Moscow, we will be taken immediately to the medical exams for the kids (for the American visas). Then on Thursday we will go to the US embassy to finalize their passage to America. Friday and Saturday are down days (hedges against any complications) then we’re off to America on Sunday!

As our time here in Russia draws to a close and we look forward to beginning our new lives at home, we are a family with mixed emotions. Everyone is excited about what God has done in bringing this thing about! And we are all looking forward to being home, meeting family and friends and being a family. But Jessica and Sam have mixed emotions about leaving Russia (Jessica has asked several times if she can come back for visits). As orphans, they already lack a solid anchor in their lives. Leaving everything they know and have come to rely on is probably the most difficult thing they have ever done since their mother was killed. But we pray with them every night, and we reassure them with looks, touches and hugs as often as we can. Soon, words will also be helpful. But for now, we are trusting God to convey our love in ways that are far deeper than mere words.

I won’t be able to post another entry on this blog until Wednesday night (Wednesday morning, US time) because we will not have internet access. I’ll try to post some more pictures, too.

Blessings to all our family and friends. We feel your prayers!

The Haworth Five

Our great kids!

Penultimate day in Penza!

Today (Monday) was rather mild as far as activity is concerned. We are winding down our time in Penza, leaving for Moscow tomorrow evening. We got the kids’ x-rays taken, we’ll pick them up tomorrow, along with their international passports. We will go over final paperwork with Tanya tomorrow afternoon, then board the train for Moscow. We’ll be in Moscow four days, leaving for home on Sunday afternoon.

The kids attitudes were much improved today. Even Nathan did better than he has for the last couple of days. Jessica is dedicating herself to studying English. Vadim helped her find some English books (for Russians) and we’ve been working some computer programs, and their Pimsler course. She wants to work extra hard to learn because she is afraid of not fitting in in America. She is a good student, so I’m sure she will do well. Sam is also showing increased interest in English. He also tickles Cyndy mercilessly! But he is a gamer.

The kids sent some pictures to their cousins and uncle which they took while they were visiting yesterday. They also sent some of their own money to their sister to help her as she cares for her child while her husband is in prison. I think Jessica is realizing that she can help her family and friends more if she goes to America than if she stays in Russia.

We are all ready to come home. Hanging out in the Penza hotel room is quite boring. Moscow will be more interesting (there is an indoor pool in the hotel there), and then the LONG flight home!

Keep us in your prayers. We have a lot of transitioning to do, and some red tape to cut through. But we’re almost there! Yea!!!!!

Blessings,

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam

Sunday in Penza

Sunday in Penza! Not much different from any other day, except that the stores open later and close earlier. But like America, you wouldn’t know that this was the Lord’s day. I don’t know what the statistics are, but I suspect that the percentage of people who attend worship in Russia is about the same as in the United States. It is a fairly secular culture, thanks to 70 years of communist rule. I wonder what our excuse is in the US?

We let Jessica and Sam go by themselves in a taxi for a three hour journey to a little village out in the country to visit their cousins, friends and uncle. Also, they visited their mother’s grave and left some of their own money with their relatives to help take care of their mother’s and their aunt’s graves. We were a bit nervous about sending them out alone, but everything was fine. Our guide, Vadim, said it was the safest way for them to go, in a private taxi. There is another American family here adopting five children, so Misha and Vadim were busy attending to their needs.

While they were gone, our friend Veronica came over for a visit. She spent the day with us just talking about anything and everything. We met Veronica last April when we were here. Tomorrow we hope to go to her apartment and visit her and her mother. We went to a German-style restaurant for lunch. All in all, it was a good day.

The kids came back! Although Jessica is feeling sad about leaving her cousins and friends. It is an extremely hard thing, as I have noted earlier, for these kids to leave behind everything they have ever known for a life they have no way of understanding. Jessica is scared. Sam seems fine, but I’m sure he is feeling some of the same things. He just doesn’t wear his emotions on his sleeve like Jessica does.

Tomorrow we have only to get the chest x-rays for the kids, sometime in the afternoon. Then we hope to visit Veronica and her mother. The translator who helped us with the letters with our kids, Luda, is sick and we won’t be seeing her this time. But we are hoping to leave her gift with a colleague.

So, keep praying. We have just two more days here in Penza, then on to Moscow, then home. We are ready. We can’t wait to introduce Sam and Jessica to their new family and circle of friends! Thanks for your prayers for the kids as they face transition.

Blessings,

The Haworth Five

Doing a LOT of reading and vegging!

Friday in Penza

Sorry for the delay in this post! Our internet card ran out and it was too late to get another one until today!

Things are going really well. After Thursday, Jessica has come around and is doing great! We went to the orphanage again on Friday because we had to go to the bank in Gorodische to close the kids’ bank accounts, so we spent an hour or so at the orphanage as well. Jessica and Sam got to say goodbye to their friends and adult care-givers, take plenty of pictures and video, and now we are back in Penza. Our Saturday is free, so we are planning on resting and enjoying one another.

Nathan is also doing better, although we can tell that the trip is wearing on him. He is a home-body, and has remarked a lot that he misses home. I have to admit, I’m with him on that!

We broke down yesterday and gave the kids one of their Christmas presents. Jessica and Sam got CD Walkmans and Nathan got “Sky High” (a movie he has been wanting). We decided to do this because Jessica and Sam love music and the three kids have been sharing one Walkman! Now our only concern is batteries! We brought some Christian CDs, and we have purchased some Russian music CDs, so they have plenty to listen to. Cyndy, Nathan and Glen are missing Christmas music, however! We brought some, but haven’t had much time to listen.

We will be leaving Penza on Tuesday evening, returning to Moscow for some final arrangements with the US embassy. Our flight home leaves Moscow just after noon on Christmas Day. We fly to New York and go through customs, and then on to LAX, arriving around 10:30 PM on Delta (Song). Given that 1:00 PM Moscow time is 2:00 AM California time, we will be traveling for 20 ½ hours! We are ready to come home!

Blessings,

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam

Sam and Nathan wrestling

Jessica in the snow

A Tale of Two Countries

Our first full day as a family began with difficulty and was a long exhausting day of travel and paperwork. With the weight of the reality of having to say goodbye to their friends at the orphanage, Jessica was overcome this morning with doubts about going to America. She questioned Vadim about changing her mind and staying and if Sam could still go if she didn’t. As the conversation progressed, Cyndy and I prayed. Vadim shared with her how hard life would be in Russia for her and Sam, and how much more opportunity there would be for them in America. She worried that she wouldn’t fit in in America, and that learning English would be too hard. They talked for a good long time, all the while her mom and dad prayed silently. Finally, it was time to go to the orphanage and she had decided to stay the course and come to America.

Both parents breathed a sigh of relief and a prayer of thanksgiving! We knew there would be times of doubt and questioning. We just didn’t figure it would come this quickly! Glen whispered to Cyndy, “I’m just glad she had her doubts today and not yesterday in court!”

What these two kids are doing takes a lot of courage. Think about it. Leaving the only life you have ever known, and leaving it so completely that you might never come back. The children in the orphanage are very close to one another; they have to be. It is quite literally “You and me against the world.” Because the society is stacked against them, they are drawn ever so much closer together. It is difficult to leave the only security they have.

This was a hard day for Nathan as well. I don’t know if it was the stress of yesterday or the spiritual struggles of this morning, but today it was very difficult for him to participate and join in. He has been doing very well up to today. Please pray for Nathan. While he has been excited about adding a brother and sister to his family, the reality of that is beyond his comprehension and is definitely a learning process for him also. As I write he is learning to play Go Fish with his brother.

This was a day of running around from place to place. We didn’t stay long at the orphanage before we had to leave to work on getting Jessica and Sam’s passports. The bank was closed in Gorodische so we couldn’t do the banking we need to do (that will happen tomorrow). It was exhausting! Tonight, we watched “Finding Nemo” (in Russian, with English subtitles!). Afterward, Jessica went to bed early and the boys played while Mom read (Dad’s novel!) and Dad wrote this blog.

All in all, we are grateful to God for what He is doing in us and through us. But today we experienced something of the difficulty that is before us. Yesterday was bliss. Today was hard. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. A tale of two countries and one family, joined by divine appointment. God be praised!

Blessings,

The Haworth Family

Cyndy's Perspective

Hello from Penza, Russia!

This is Cyndy! I know you are all surprised, but I thought especially my parents and sister would be glad to hear from me directly that the cold Russian winter has not swallowed me whole!

First I want to say how proud we are of Nathan. He has truly been a trooper through thick and thin. He is very much a creature of habit and needs to know well in advance exactly what is happening and when. This has not been possible most of the time! And the food has been another very interesting adventure for him ---- and us! But he has been gracious…..for the most part :) ….. and helped us tremendously. He has connected very well with his new brother and sister, even being the first to break the ice on the very first day at the orphanage!

Sam and Jessica did not study the Pimsler CDs, as we suspected would be the case. However, they are both eager learners. Amazingly, Sam remembered every flash card we learned in April – that’s far better than his mother!! We have had some really good laughs over each other’s attempts at certain English and Russian words!

Probably my proudest moment was decidedly trouncing Glen, Sam, and Jessica in Spoons last night! Sam was the most gracious in defeat. He also was the one who looked over at us after the decision was finished reading and smiled really big! Jessica was very nervous this morning and withdrawn. It turned out she was afraid she would cry in court. But she did just fine and presented herself very well. They both made their new parents proud!

We are going to do some paperwork and say goodbye at the orphanage tomorrow. Then on Saturday we will travel about 2 hours out to say goodbye to their cousins and Uncle (the same family they visited over the summer and their aunt passed away). Their uncle is concerned, so I hope to allay his fears.

Thank you all for praying for us. It snows all the time, but has been a delightful time for we southern Californians. We can’t wait to come home so you too can get to know these two precious additions to our family.

Blessings,

Cyndy

The Haworth Family

Duh!

It’s official! The Penza court has granted the petition of adoption, and Jessica and Sam are now, legally, our children!

Their new names are Yulia Jessica Joy Haworth and Samuel Gennadiy Haworth.

The court proceedings were solemn. We were asked a lot of questions. Glen made a lengthy statement explaining the petition to adopt (why we want to adopt these two children), and Cyndy filled in the gaps with her statement. The judge in her ruling (several pages) went through the history of the kids, why they are orphans, etc. etc. etc. But after two hours, the proceedings were complete, and Jessica and Sam became (officially) members of our family.

We cannot tell you how blessed we are! Everyone has been so wonderful here in Penza. The judge, prosecutor, both social workers… everyone has treated us with kindness. We are especially blessed by Tanya, our adoption agency worker here in Penza. She has done a wonderful job!

After the court, we went to lunch (at a Japanese restaurant!) and then got the kids’ birth certificates and certificates of adoption. Tomorrow we go back to the orphanage to get their passports, close their bank accounts, purchase gifts for the orphanage from Jessica and Sam, take lots of pictures, and say goodbye. Please be praying for Jessica and Sam; tomorrow will be a difficult day for them as they say goodbye to their friends and adult care givers. We will probably not return to the orphanage.

We are just so thankful to God for this blessing! He orchestrated this adoption, first calling us to it and then paving the way, all along the way. Through you, our friends and family, we have been supported and encouraged constantly. Thank you! We thank God for you. Yulia’s (Jessica’s) prayers have been answered, and she and Gena (Sam) now have the family they have longed for. It is humbling and exhilarating at the same time! Praise be to God!

We are family!

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam HAWORTH!

Court Day!

It is early Wednesday morning in Penza. Our court date is today, at 10:00 AM (11:00 PM Tuesday, California time). Yesterday (Tuesday) was a day of running around.

We went to have Jessica and Sam’s chest x-rays taken for the American embassy in Moscow, but the person who does this for adoptions was sick, so we’ll have to do it another day. We did some shopping, picked up the pictures for their visas and some more pictures of our house for the court. We left Jessica and Sam at a movie theater (Vadim said it would be alright!) to watch a first run movie (in Russian) – they were very excited! We left Nathan at the hotel to watch one of his movies (he was very excited), and we went to the Folk Art Museum and souvenir shopping (Cyndy was very excited!)! Glen was still pondering the beef tongue we had for breakfast in the hotel restaurant!

After we all got “home” we hung out together. Cyndy worked English flash cards with the Russian kids while Glen worked on the “speech” he has to make to the Penza court today. We played “spoons” and just generally had a good time together. Nathan started not feeling well, so he went to bed early. He says he is still not feeling well. And Sam has a nasty cough. Pray for good health.

Everyone tells us that the court appearance today is a mere formality. But I (Glen) am quite nervous and anxious. It has been a long journey and we have waded through a lot of red tape. The judge COULD say no. But God called us to this, and God will see us through. We have been faithful to what we believed God called us to do, and so we must trust Him. Thank you, all, for your prayers and support! We will post again tonight (tomorrow morning for you in the US) and let you know how it all went. Hopefully, we have more pictures, too.

From Russia, with love,

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam

Sam the Man!

Here's our boy, Sam! Isn't he cute? He is very shy, but when he gets more English, we think he will come out more. He isn't shy so much in Russian!

Nathan with Headphones

Nathan is doing great! He is really trying to interact with Jessica and Sam. But he still needs alone time, and for that we have headphones and a CD player. We are very proud of him, and he is enjoying being a "big" brother!

Mom and Jessica Learning

Trying to communicate is difficult! Cyndy and Jessica are teaching each other how to count in their native language. The kids are really trying hard to learn English!

Glen and Cyndy Relaxing and Enjoying!

Third Day Together

Day Three together as family was quite successful in that we got the rest of the medical specialists visited. They all signed off on us as being healthy enough to adopt Jessica and Sam. A few of them wondered why we were doing this! It is hard to explain the real reason (God called us to do it), so we just say something like we fell in love with them in April and want to take them home! That’s the truth, too!

We also got their pictures taken for visas to come back to America. We did some shopping for a few needed things as well as some entertainment to fill up some of the long days we have ahead of us as we finish everything here in Russia and head home in two weeks. Russian/English DVD movies are only 30p. (just a little over a dollar) here! CD’s are a little more (about $3), but still a great buy! The kids picked out a movie each, and a CD each, and Vadim assures us that their choices are clean! We believe him.

Speaking of Vadim, our translator and guide in Penza, he is a kick! We are really enjoying our time with him. His English is excellent and his humor is great. He is a wonderful blessing.

We’ll post some more pictures as soon as we can get the pictures to upload!

Blessings,

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam

Sam on the ride back to Penza from the orphanage. His smile doesn't get much bigger than this! 

Jessica on the ride back to Penza from the orphanage. She is being very playful! 

Our First Day Together

Our first day together as a family went very well. Of course we are struggling with communication, but everyone (including Nathan) is taking a good attitude toward the language-gap. We have even developed some inside jokes, some of which are carried over from our trip in April with the Clarks (“Nip in the Nile”) and others that are developing naturally within the dynamics of the five of us (Nathan loves to make Sam and Jessica laugh by making funny faces at them!). We have had some pretty good laughs.

The time at the orphanage was taken up with meeting the social worker and the “Inspector” who will both write reports and appear at court on Wednesday, making their recommendations. We met in the orphanage director’s office. Tanya interpreted for us. We were read a medical history for both children, and wrote statements to the effect that we knew their history and we still wanted to adopt them! The meeting went very well (I think we passed!), and then they fed us lunch. We had prepared Nathan (who is very picky about food) to accept and enjoy whatever they put before us, and he did (tasting the fish, enjoying the soup and filling up on bread)! He is being really great; we are so proud of him! After lunch, we unpacked the huge duffle bag of clothes we brought from home for the children in the orphanage, and then took our leave.

We didn’t take many pictures yet. The first of us as a family is posted below. We’ll be putting up more, so keep checking back here. The dial-up internet connection here in Penza is very slow (14.4 kbs) so we won’t be doing much in the way of website updates, so the blog will be our main vehicle. We’ll try to send out an email to everyone after our court appearance.

I (Glen) woke up at 4:30 this morning and have not been able to go back to sleep, so I got up and wrote this. Shifting from California time to Russia time is hard! The time difference in Moscow and Penza is +11 hours, so 4:30 AM is for my biological clock 5:30 PM! Needless to say, we will probably get adjusted just in time to fly back home and do it all over again!

We played Yahtzee last night, among other games. Both Sam and Jessica took to it well, as did Nathan. We were a little concerned that Jessica might not join in, but she did without a hint of hesitancy! Sam, of course, is a gamer and we are going to have quite the challenge to keep him entertained.

We were supposed to leave Penza for the orphanage at 10 AM yesterday, but Tanya (IGAA’s legal rep. in Penza) got hung up somewhere and we didn’t leave until 11. Tanya was telling us that since April, Jessica has been calling her at least once a week to get an update on the adoption proceedings, being very inquisitive and learning pretty much how it all works. Since she knew when we were planning to arrive at the orphanage and we missed that appointed time, we got a call en route from her to make sure we were still coming! When I hugged her for the first time (this time), I could feel her let off a sigh of relief! She had been worried that we were going to change our minds! You can be praying for her and Sam, that God would begin to heal their wounds of abandonment and rejection. We have our work cut out for us, but God is already at work!

More to come!

Blessings,

Glen, Cyndy, Nathan, Jessica and Sam

The Haworth Family, together at last! Our first picture together at the Gorodische orphanage. It's cold outside, but we're loving being together! 

First Morning in Penza

Woke up at 6:30 AM this morning, which is not too bad, considering when we were here before neither Cyndy nor I could sleep much past 5!

Anyway, we are going to the orphanage this morning! Can’t wait to see Jessica and Sam again! We are all totally excited!

Tanya (the legal representative of our adoption agency here in Penza) is going with us so that we can meet with the social worker and the “inspector” at the orphanage (part of the requirement prior to the court appearance). So we are slowly meeting the requirements leading up to next Wednesday when the judge will, God willing, proclaim that Jessica and Sam are our children forever! We remember what a blessing it was when the judge in California made the same proclamation about Nathan about 17 years ago (his adoption took about a year to finalize). It is not unlike a birth (but without the physical pain!).

After meeting with the two people in Gorodische, we will bring Jessica and Sam back to Penza with us to remain. We’ll try to post some pictures tonight after we get back. But the internet connection here is slow (dial-up at 14.4 kbs), so not sure how pictures will do. Check back and you’ll see (hopefully)!

Our hearts are full of love. Love for God who has brought us to this place for this amazing blessing; love for Jessica and Sam, who seem to us to have been with us forever; and love for you, our family and friends, who have stood with us through this process (and so many others). Thank you for your love, as well.

Blessings,

Glen, Cyndy and Nathan

We're in Russia!

We have arrived in Russia! We landed in Moscow on Thursday and took the over-night train to Penza, arriving Friday morning.

It is cold and slushy here. Vadim (our Penza translator and all-around guide) said that it has been snowing for several days (not today), but the temperature is above freezing, so what we have is a lot of melting snow. Walking is tricky, but we're getting along just fine.

Today we went to several Russian medical specialists to get "signed off" for the adoption. We will finish on Monday with the specialists. Our court date is next Wednesday (the 14th). We made it to three doctors today, so on Monday we will see five. Anna is a doctor who works with some of the orphanages. She is going around with us (along with Vadim and our driver Misha) to speed the process. It is going just fine.

Tomorrow morning we are going to Gorodische (where the orphanage is) to pick up Jessica and Sam! We get to keep them with us in Penza from then on. We'll post some pictures of our whole family together just as soon as we can!

We cannot tell you how thrilling it is to finally be back here in Russia and about to finalize the adoption. We can't wait to see the kids again and to begin building our "new" family! Even Nathan is totally thrilled to be here and is being a trooper with all the new foods, "fluid" scheduling, strange language, etc. etc. etc. And most of all, he is looking forward to meeting his new sister and brother. We think that God will do a marvelous work in Nathan as a result of this adoption!

Anyway, just wanted to let you know we got here safely (luggage got here with us!), and that everything is going as planned. We are so grateful to all of you for your support, prayers, and offers of help. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

We post more and (if possible) pictures tomorrow!

From Russia, with love,

Glen, Cyndy and Nathan

Getting Packed

Time is running out for us to be ready to go! So we are finishing up things that have to be ready for when the kids come home, and we are getting packed!

It is an exciting time. Just think: in a little over a week, Sam and Jessica will be officially our children! It is hard to comprehend!

Keep praying for a smooth path. We will keep you up to date!

Blessings,

Glen and Cyndy

House Decorated for Christmas

With help from Janet and Kim Harlan and Beth (Cyndy's sister) we got the house decorated for Christmas today! That means when we get home with Jessica and Sam, the house will be all Christmasy! Thanks, all!

Nathan and Glen will put up outdoor lights tomorrow (Monday) so that they will be greated with holiday cheer as we drive in on Christmas night.

We are so excited! The church family at Chino gave us a great send off this morning. Things are coming together. We leave in just a couple of days. Please pray for things to all come together for the trip and for court.

Blessings,

Glen and Cyndy

Moving Day

No, we're not moving, but it feels like we are! They are installing new carpet and laminate flooring in our house, and everything has to move from one room to another! It is total chaos!

But the house will look nice for the kids when we bring them home on Christmas night! We are PLANNING (you know what they say about plans?) to have the house decorated for Christmas, so that when we come home, it WILL be Christmas (not that it won't, but you know what we mean!).

So, anyway...

Keep praying! We have SO MUCH to do in the next very few days. Thanks for all your support!

Blessings,

Glen and Cyndy

Visas are here

We got our passports with Russian visas today! It is always a worry when you send off your passports in the mail, waiting for them to come back. But they are here, so we are happy.

Now, we are just working on finding the remaining finances for our trip. Please keep praying. We have some options that we are seeking out right now.

We got a letter from the kids. It is posted on our website at www.haworthfamily.net. It may be the last letter we get from them from Russia! So log on and read it.

The church is installing new carpet and laminate flooring in our house this weekend, so things will be pretty hectic around our house! Plus we have to pack. The shuttle van is coming to pick us up at 3:40 AM on Wednesday morning!!! Ay yi yi!

More to come!

Blessings,

Glen and Cyndy