Niko's Playlist

Okay. It's official. I love Niko.

Jon and I did not sleep last night. Not one little wink. It's not that we didn't try. It's not that we weren't tired. We went to bed around 10:30 and we were both very tired. But we just laid there. Every now and then, one of us would whisper,

"You still awake?"

"Yep."

Sigh. Roll over. Try again. Repeat.

We finally gave up at 4 am and got up. I started with coffee while Jon got in the shower.

Niko picked us up at 6 am to head down to Nikoleiv. He had picked someone up at the airport at 5, took him to his apartment and then came to get us. We were all packed and ready to go when he arrived. Jon told him we didn't sleep at all last night. Niko replied, "Vell. Ze vay is long. You vill sleep."

Niko is an interesting fellow. We learned a lot about him. He has quite a past and has done quite a few things and been to quite a few places. Our conversation ranged from our families, our kids, storks, seagulls, Jesus Christ, the Navy, the Airforce, his diplomatic immunity, catfish, crops...you name it, it probably came up today.

Around 8 am I started nodding off. I really didn't want to sleep on the way. I wanted to see the country and listen to Niko talk. I love Russian accents. Right about that time, Niko pulled off the road. All I saw was a little sign that said, "Espresso." God bless Niko. Espresso was exactly what I needed! We didn't stop just for that though. Niko took the time while we drank our coffee to smoke a few cigarettes.

We got back in the car and learned that Niko speaks many languages. Russian and Ukranian are his first languages. Then Spanish, Polish, English and another one. Italian maybe? He speaks fluent Spanish. He knows Spanish better than English. Interesting.

Ukraine is beautiful. Green rolling hills. Rivers, ponds and lakes. Just beautiful. I would've taken pictures, but it was a bit bumpy and I was in the back with tinted windows. Pictures would not have turned out well. But Ukraine is a beautiful country.

We stopped again at 10 am for lunch. Niko ordered us chicken, mash potatoes and cabbage and cucumber salad. At 10 am. I'm sure to him it did feel like lunch time. He had been up since 3 am. Though chicken and mashed potatoes did not sound appealing to me at 10 in the morning, I ate and it was very good. One thing I've learned in these travels is that when food is presented to you, you eat. You never know how long it will be before you eat again. We ate outside with a very old, skinny dog. We tried to give him some food and he was very scared of us. We threw some food down and walked away so the poor thing would come eat. He was so skinny.

The drive was 7 hours with all the stops. If 7 hours in a car with your driver doesn't bond you for life, well, I don't know what to tell you. If 7 hours in a car with your Russian driver listening to American 80's music doesn't make you friends for life, nothing will. We cruised the countryside to songs like, When a Man Loves a Woman, Nothing Compares to You, Carrie, Stairway to Heaven, Smooth Operator, etc. If singing along with your Russian driver, "Living it up at ze hotel California," doesn't make you smile, nothing will. If seeing him play the air guitar to The Final Countdown doesn't etch a permanent image in your brain, well, maybe you weren't looking. And let's not forget, All ve are iz dust in ze vind. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm making fun of Niko. I am not. I'm not saying anything I wouldn't say to him or with him. I love how he talks. We bonded today. After awhile, Niko got tired of that CD and asked Jon to put in his Julio Iglesias CD. Sure. Why not? What else would we expect to listen to in Ukraine? Memories. We made memories, people.

Niko and us...we're BFF's. Well, until the next family arrives anyway.

We arrived in Nikoleiv just after 1 pm. We met Sasha, our regional facilitator, and moved all our things to her car. We liked her instantly. She is very bubbly and so excited we are here. She loves Vera deeply and wants a family for her. She told us that 2 other families have come for Vera since the other family that we knew about. One family was from Italy and made it all the way to SDA with the intent to adopt Vera. There, they found out that she has CP and rejected her. They never met her, and Sasha wasn't sure if the 2nd couple met Vera or not. The people at the orphanage told Sasha that if this family (us) doesn't adopt Vera, they're going to kill her (Sasha, that is). Sasha said that Vera used to want a family and since the first family came, met her and left her, she's not so sure anymore. She told us we'll have trust issues to work through. We already knew that and I hope we're prepared. We are so thankful we had already planned on staying for the 10 day waiting period. After all this, there's no way we could leave without Vera. Even for 10 days. Leaving her would erase any trust we're able to build between now and then. Sasha told us that they will not introduce us as her mama and papa as they did with the other couple. We will be introduced to her simply as guests. We were glad to hear this since we were going to ask them to do that anyway. Once we sign everything saying we want to go to court for Vera, then they will approach her with the idea of us being her parents.

Please pray for Vera. We already have been, but please pray that God is preparing her for us and vice versa. Pray that with all the visits we'll get with her, that trust will begin and leaving the only home she's ever known will not be too traumatic for her. Pray for her little heart to begin to heal. Pray for wisdom for Jon and I when we meet her on Monday. Pray we're able to contain ourselves and not overwhelm or scare her. Pray for a peaceful meeting. Pray for peace for Vera.

Sasha will pick us up Monday morning at 8:30. Pray! Pray! Pray!