Stahlke Adoption

Court Then (continued)

After leaving the courthouse, Masha immediately went to work to obtain the letter we needed. She asked us to telephone the U.S. embassy in Kyiv to request that they write the letter. As U.S. citizens, the embassy responds better to us than to her. Then Masha called several contacts in Kyiv to find a driver to bring the letter to Kirovohrad. When she secured the driver, we telephoned the embassy again to ask that they hold the letter for pickup. The staff member told us that they had already written it and almost put it in the mail. We were astounded that they had processed it so quickly, and relieved that it had not yet been sent.

The next morning, Masha's friend collected the letter at the embassy and drove it to Kirovohrad in his taxi. Court closed that day at 4:00 pm, and the trip from Kyiv to Kirovohrad is about a five hour drive. He must have driven quickly, for he and the letter arrived around 3:00 pm. (He delivered the letter and turned around to drive back to Kyiv, another five hours!) Masha immediately requested an appointment with the judge, which was granted. We stopped at the orphanage to pick up the children, and while most of them were dressed up, David came in his regular play clothes.

In the courtroom, the judge was very surprised that we could produce an original letter so quickly. He started talking as fast as he could, which Masha translated for us in brief. He was going through the formal statements that grant the adoption. I kept listening for the final pronouncement. Jonathan and I had waited for years and years to become parents, and in moments it would happen. The judge finished his speech and dashed out of the room. Masha nodded at us that the adoption was completed. We were now parents and the five children with us were now part of our family!

Tears of joy streamed down my face. David, seeing me crying and assuming the adoption was not going to happen, burst into tears. Motherhood came quickly for me, for I had to set aside my own feelings and comfort him. He learned that day that sometimes one cries with tears of joy.

We left the court building and took a family picture. If you've seen the _Lutheran Witness_ article (May 2007), you've seen this photo. David is wearing pink shorts, since the orphanage hadn't(understandably) prepared for two days of court.

The second day of court meant that our adoption anniversary with the five children landed on August 18 instead of August 17. Jonathan and I therefore became parents on the exact day of our fifteenth wedding anniversary!

posted by Stahlkes @ 10:05 AM