Sponsorship and stuff

August 9, 2004 Monday

Before I launch into my post and tell about our day, I want to answer a few questions that some of you have asked. John and I write our blog entries on the laptop in our room and then pop the disk into the computer at the hotel so that we don't waste internet time; we pay by the hour here. So, by the time we read the comments and our email, we've already composed the day's blog entry and we have to try to remember to respond to your questions the next day. And since our minds are Mush right now, well, we've undoubtedly forgotten to respond to some of you.

A few days ago, someone asked about the clinic having a PayPal account. Not sure. We haven't seen anyone named Troy here though. A man named Sergei runs the place right now, though a lady named Svetlana introduced herself to us today as the director of the clinic. I can give you the address, email and website addy though so you can ask them directly; (They speak English quite well, so that's not a problem). Here goes:

Christian Clinic
Belgorod-Dnestrovsky
Odessa Region
Molodyozhnaya St. 69
Ukraine 67700

clinic@tm.odessa.ua
http://christianclinic.virtualave.net

Next, in the last few days we've been asked by a few different people both in private emails and on our blog about sponsorship for the children. If you go to the "Adoption" tab on our website, and then hit the "Ukraine" page, there is a link to "Adopt an Angel." This is a sponsorship program for some of the poorest, most "unadoptable" children in Ukraine. Our facilitator runs this charity, and I would highly recommend this organization. It was really neat to hear him share his heart with us about this organization as he drove us down here to B-D. He is very proud of it, and has a big heart for these children. (Dmitri Pugach is his name). You choose a child off of the website to sponsor and every month you send/wire some support money, and as often as possible send a package of things like shoes (believe me, they all need them), clothing, school supplies, nice toys, etc. Each child listed on the site has a wish list to give you an idea of what they are interested in. The children will receive translations of any letters you include, and YOU will also receive letters and photos of the children receiving their packages via Adopt an Angel's website. It is expensive to send packages directly to Ukraine, but many people send their packages to Life to Orphans which is in the state of Washington, (their link is also on our website), and they will ship it to Ukraine for you.

Speaking of Life to Orphans, they too are an excellent charity. I'm not as familiar with the process with this charity, but I know of many people who use it and speak well of it. The lady who runs this organization is part of our adoption group. This charity is more for sending packages to individual orphanages and not individual children. I would recommend this charity if you are unwilling to commit to a monthly support and want to send a one time gift.

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It got a bit hairy with Aleksa again today. She has a will of iron that is going to be tough to break I'm afraid. She likes to hit anyone *hard* if they "cross" her. Mama crosses her often it seems, and Mama has gotten smacked in the head more than a few times. Mama has had to be VERY firm with her, and though she didn't like to be corrected, she has definitely needed to know where the line is. I was worried that she'd hold a grudge all afternoon, but when we came again this evening, she ran to me like I was the cat's meow. (Speaking of cats, one of the orphanage cats has kittens! They are adorable.)

Katya said she'd take us shopping tomorrow for some clothes tomorrow. Our Kwik Point cards are coming in handy with her, and between our body language, our baby-talk Russian, our dictionary and our Kwik Point cards, we can pretty much tell her whatever we want. I hate to keep bugging her to take us shopping, etc., but whaddaya do? We had hoped to shop for clothes when Vica came back, but obviously it is taking longer than we thought. This afternoon Katya took us shopping for more fruit for the kids. It is Katya's and Aleksa's birthdays tomorrow, so I hope it is a special day for everyone.

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Vica called us tonight from Kiev and she said that the director wasn't in today, and that the deputy wasn't signing anything right now as the "prosecutors" are still there. (Vica pronounces it "persecutors," which John and I think is a riot.) Vica didn't know what the prosecutors were doing there, but she was hopeful that tomorrow was The Day for us. She said there were a lot of facilitators there hoping for their docs to be signed. There is another couple at our orphanage who have heard the exact story that Vica is telling us, so it's nice to hear the same thing from two directions.

Aleksa had to go potty again tonight. *grumble, grumble* We wandered all over the orphanage and the bathrooms/groupa rooms were all locked up while the kids were outside. That left the outside toilet again. (I really wish y'all could see how horrible this bathroom is, but John says I shouldn't post the picture of it, so you'll have to use your imaginations). Anyway, Aleksa started screaming as we got closer to the bathroom, and clung to my for dear life as I opened the door. (Yes, I knocked first). About now I was thinking, "I don't blame you, Aleksa, there is No Way Mama would go tinkle in here either." She absolutely would not let me put her down, (and truthfully, I only tried half-heartedly to make her), so out we went into the courtyard, where she bee-lined to her bush and squatted again. What on EARTH do I do about this??????? She can't be learning to go potty outside all the time, but I can't hardly blame her for not wanting anything to do with the Nasty Potty. Any advice from you Old Pros out there would be really helpful.

Things went really well with the other two tonight, so I guess all in all, this was a good day inspite of the bathroom emergencies.

Love,

Shelly

Aleksa on some steps
The Fisher children playing