Enough to Spare

She came.  Liza's sister, V, arrived at the orphanage at 8am even thought we weren't coming until 10:30.  I think she was excited.  Our facilitator came to get just me at 10 to go sign a permission form to take Liza off the grounds.  When I arrived however they were nowhere to be found.  I walked the grounds, asked ladies in the dormitory and school, but nobody knew where they were.  We stood outside with the social worker for 30 minutes getting increasingly worried that our day was jeopardized.  But just as we were about to start driving around searching the neighborhood, a bell rang and they both walked out of the very building at which we'd been waiting. She'd been asked by a teacher to supervise some little people and wasn't in her correct classroom.  Phew.

I made sure the social worker knew she had the black eye so she wouldn't think she'd gotten it with us.   She said Liza swears she wasn't hit but fell.  She also had a cut on her gums on that side of her face and hurt her hand.  Who knows. I had to sign a form saying I was responsible for her safety.

We gave the girls the 10 second tour of the apartment before heading to the restaurant we'd checked out and pre-ordered from the night before.  It was really fantastic.  They were waiting for us and had a table set on an upstairs loft for our private use.  We didn't even have to share our restaurant Thanksgiving.  They brought out courses one at a time; first Greek and Caesar salads, the Boullion or Borscht, then mashed potatoes and roast chicken, then cappucinos with heart and animal shaped cream dollups.  It was not a traditional Thanksgiving but it was fitting.  A new tradition with a new family.

It felt like family even with our facilitator interpreting throughout dinner.  She's a stitch by the way.  Speaks 5 languages!  We explained the history and tradition of Thanksgiving and the girls ate every bite.  Language is not a 'barrier' but a tool, even when we don't share it with the person to whom we are communicating.  It's making us working harder to understand each other and also giving us far more insight into each other's body language and culture.  Paying more attention is a good thing.

During dinner I told V in my simpl Russian "I want to buy something for you.  A gift."  We walked down the street to a shop where she picked out a winter coat, a pair of jeans and a sweater.  Liza very helpfully handed her things to try on so she wouldn't turn us down.  She didn't have to speak English to tell me that.  She smiled at her sister's needs being met as a result of her having a family.

Beli and V

Bowling was an enormous amount of fun. Both girls and some of our American kids had never been bowling before.  Sad but true.  We threw a lot of gutter balls, laughed at each other, broke nails that got stuck in the ball, danced to rap music, and ate cheesecake.

We had to take Liza back earlier than we initially expected.  Maybe we're not trusted yet, maybe it's stricter rules in the government that make the orphanage directors nervous, but we wanted to return her early as a show of good faith.

On the way out I gave V my ring that matches the one I'd given Liza in the summer.  It says "Greater is He that is in me" John 4:4.  I told her to remember what it means and remember us and remember that she can call us any time.  Sometimes I let the translator speak clearly for me, sometimes I need to say the words myself In Russian. I said, "You are my family, too. I love you."  She said she knows that our family is now her home and I love you, too.  She was so willing to be loved today.  She hugged ALL of us all day long.  Us, the kids, my parents.  They soak it up.  Crave it.  Trust it.  Please pray for her.

I drove with the facilitator to bring them back to the school, where V would walk home from.  Tom gave Liza a hug goodbye and said, "I love you."  She said, "You too, Daddy."